The Red River win did alot to quiet speculation about Mack Brown. Photo by Charlie Neibergall/AP.
The Good
Texas: It was a Red River rout, just not the kind most were expecting. The Longhorns struck early and often, while looking like the Texas of old. Their offense was firing on all cylinders and the defense was at its best in a long time. Mack Brown pretty much needed this win to save his job, so the question now is how much time does it buy him? Nevertheless, his team is suddenly undefeated in the Big 12 and atop the standings with Texas Tech.
Oregon: Sure it’s nice to put up massive offensive numbers on lower tier teams, but the Ducks proved they could do it against stiff competition. Washington had one of the top defenses in the country and Oregon was still able to pile up their normal high amount of yards. The Huskies kept challenging late into the game, but the Ducks were able to weather the storm and pull out ahead for huge win.
The Bad
Upsets: Oklahoma wasn’t the only team to get upset this weekend. Georgia was stunned by Missouri, Stanford got shocked by Utah, Wisconsin ran over Northwestern and Penn State outlasted Michigan to shake up conference standings. Georgia lost a strong lead in the SEC East as did the Sooners in the Big 12, Stanford doesn’t look good heading into a tough stretch of games, plus both Northwestern and Michigan losing doesn’t look good for the B1G, especially if the Buckeyes want to get into the National Title game.
Stanford: For the Cardinal, it’s more then a stunning loss to an unranked team. Their normally stingy defense seemingly had no answer for the Utes and while their offense performed well, they were unable to put up enough points. They were thwarted at the end by a Utah goal line stand that would have likely avoided the upset. Now they have to regroup before playing UCLA, Oregon State and Oregon in successive weeks.
The Ugly
Michigan: The Wolverines might be able to take some positives away from how they came back after halftime, but that’s about it. Devin Gardner continued to have trouble with turnovers in causing three on his own, but the most maddening part was kicker Brendan Gibbons and his sudden inability to make field goals. What would have been the game winner in the 4th fell just short, but it got worse in OT as he had one blocked and missed another. That’s three separate times Michigan could have won the game.
Northwestern: The Wildcats’ run game has been the focal point of their offense this season, but it ran into a red brick wall called the Wisconsin Badgers. They got a measly 44 yards on the ground and were only able to get 2 field goals. It’s the second disheartening loss in a row for a team that had B1G aspirations.
Awards
The ‘Charlie Weis Ate My Cheeseburger’ Award for Defense: Sure the pundits might say how LSU-Florida was all about good defense, but Virginia Tech-Pitt was about great defense, mostly in the ground game. In their 19-9 win, the Hokies held Pitt to just 23 yards rushing on 26 carries and never really let them anywhere near the endzone. Despite losing, Pitt put in a solid effort, holding VT to 76 yards rushing and keeping the team in the game by allowing field goals instead of TDs.
The ‘Shirley, You Must Be Joking?’ Offensive Performance Of The Week: Marcus Mariota continues to throw the proverbial gauntlet at the feet of the other Heisman contenders. Facing one of the better defense in the country all he did was get over 450 total yards and 4 total TDs. While he might get the award yet again this week, a close second would have to be Terry Baggett of Army, who rushed for 304 yards and 4 TDs against Eastern Michigan.
The ‘These Are Not The Droids You’re Looking For’ Mystery Of The Week: Can anyone explain why ESPN, or any other network for that matter, would have Matt Millen as an analyst for college football. Isn’t this the same guy who ran the Lions into the ground? So how can anyone take his ‘analysis’ seriously? The only thing that would have been worse is if Skip Bayless was in the booth with him.
