Upsets, Upsets, and More Upsets

Five Top-25 teams are upset over the weekend, beginning with George O'Leary's Central Florida Knights knocking #6 Louisville from the ranks of the unbeaten on Friday night.  Then it's the shocker in Death Valley with #5 Florida State dismantling #3 Clemson.  Finally, complete and utter carnage in the SEC, as perennial loser Vanderbilt sends #15 Georgia to its third loss of the season; unheralded Tennessee shocks #11 South Carolina; Ole Miss topples #8 LSU; and #23 Auburn stuns #7 Texas A & M.  Not sure if I get all those rankings accurately from before the weekend, but what the hell does it matter?  I mean, Baylor is now #5...FIVE.

The upset bug doesn't spare The Smack, although many games come down to the wire and are decided by teensy-weensy margins.  With the wife otherwise engaged in yoga instructor training, I have unfettered access to lounge chair, big-screen, and refrigerator taking in about 936 different games.  An exciting weekend of ball to say the least, with no excuses for errant picks.

Napoli welcomed in the dugout after blast.

Oh, and the Sawx are going to The Series.

And in other news of New England...

Western New England 33, Union 30.  Dutchmen play this one bass-ackward, allowing Western only 7 points in the first half but giving up 23 more in regulation after halftime.  The Golden Bears gamble four times on fourth down, converting twice, and their defense intercepts Garnet QB Connor Eck three times.  Western QB John Krafick throws for two TDs and runs for another, while RB Kevin Cook adds a pair of rushing scores.  Despite dominating time of possession, Union can't overcome mistakes and drops a heartbreaker on a field goal in double OT.

Temple 33, Army 14. The Owls find an offense, as QB P. J. Walker throws for 203 yards and two TDs.  Although Army enters the game averaging over 352 rushing yds./game, the Temple defense holds the Black Knights to just 255 yards on the ground.  Cadets don't help their own cause when a lost fumble turns into a 19-yard Temple touchdown just before the end of the first half.  Army's Kelvin White, subbing for injured QB Angel Santiago, also throws two picks.

Toledo's "front four" stops Reynolds, no one else

Toledo 45, Navy 44 (2OT).  I manage to catch nearly all of this war of attrition.  Looks very much like Toledo's game plan is to let everyone except Keenan Reynolds run the ball, allowing the rest of the Middies to run for 382 yards while holding Reynolds to just 37.  As for the Navy defense, the only way they're able to contain RB David Fluellen (153 yds. on 19 carries) is to try to snap off his leg.  The injured Fluellen is replaced by Kareem Hunt who manages 127 yds. of his own.  Craziness ends when Navy's PK Nick Sloan misses the P-A-T in the 22nd OT and the Rockets cash in.

BYU 47, Houston 46.  No overtime, but another wild one.  72 points in the first half alone...whew!  If ever there's an argument for balance on offense, Houston makes the case with 435 yards through the air but only 48 on the ground.  Houston's QB John O'Korn throws for three TDs but is also picked off three times.  A late 2-pt. Houston conversion attempt leaves BYU within one score of a tie.  They capitalize with just 1:08 remaining in the the game when QB Taysom Hill hits Skyler Ridley for an 11-yard score. 

"First Down Moses"

Notre Dame 14, USC 10.  Both defenses play exceptionally well, with no scoring whatsoever in the 2nd half.  Irish QB Tommy Rees plays just well enough (166 yds, 2 TD passes) before leaving the game with an injury in the 4th quarter.  Unable to utilize WR Marqise Lee, who himself leaves game with a re-aggravated knee injury, QB Cody Kessler suffers a late 4th-down sack followed by a last-gasp three passes, all of which sail incomplete, to seal the victory for Notre Dame.

Texas State 24, Georgia State 17.  For the second straight week the Panthers lose a contest by just one touchdown.  Both teams score in the first quarter and Georgia State trails at halftime and again after three quarters, by virtue of only a 20-yard Jason Dann field goal.  After that, it's all Bobcats, with Georgia State scoring again with only one tick left on the clock.  QB Ronnie Bell throws for 208 yds. of passing as well as 36 on the ground in a close, but losing effort.

Photo does no justice to glitter finish

#2 Oregon 62, Washington State 38.  In a rather odd kind of upset, it's Oregon's assistant coach Nick Aliotti who calls out State's head coach Mike Leach for calling nothing but pass plays in the second half of this game, won handily by Oregon.  In earlier editions of The Smack we carried discussion of running up the score, but this is the first time a coach from the winning team complains about the opponent trying to win the game.  Sorry, Coach Aliotti...anyone wearing those garish helmets (and in vulgar combination with the yellow in the jerseys) doesn't get to complain...AT ALL.  Hey Ducks, "Gaudy Day" was last week.


South Portland 55, Biddeford 24.  QB Duncan Preston throws 29 passes, averaging nearly 20 yds. per completion.  Six of those go for TDs, a personal best to say the least.  He even runs for a 7th and gets a 2-pt. conversion to boot, but Preston unselfishly credits his receivers, remarking "We talk about spreading the ball around because we have playmakers."  Give credit to the coaching staff which tear the Riots a new one at halftime because of numerous mental lapses allowing Biddeford to keep it close.  Good thing the Tigers suffer from the same problems, including letting SP score the last 21 points on Senior Night.  Riots playing for either the #1 or #2 seed in the west heading into the playoffs.

Rogers 48, Bethel 28.  Once again QB Grayson Madland is the story, throwing for four TDs and running for two others.  His one error comes on a 3rd-quarter  interception that is returned 38 yards for a TD.  The Ram defense shuts down Bethel's passing game and even blocks a P-A-T, but allows scores on three red zone runs.

Parting Shots

1.  New Smack follower "The Llama" asked that a take on the Grambling State debacle be included in the weekly review.  To do so would be to take a jovial little blog in a pretty serious direction.  In the interests of keeping things light whenever possible, I offer the following link to those interested in reading about a college football program that is truly struggling to operate under legitimate hardship.

http://therotation.sportsonearthblog.com/the-grambling-state-football-strike-what-just-happened/

2.  To "The Sentinel":  Your secrets are safe with me.