Week 9
Top 2 Most Exciting Games of the Week
(Both Games to Watch for last week had to be included in this category)
1. Ohio State Buckeyes @ Penn State Nittany Lions (local name for mountain lions that used to roam near the school a long time ago)
Just before the start of the season, star quarterback Braxton Miller of Ohio State injured his shoulder in practice so bad that he would miss the entire season. Sophomore quarterback J.T. Barrett stepped into the starting role and led his team to a close victory in Week 1 against Navy. In the second game of the season, Barrett's inexperience caught up to him and he played poorly in a disappointing home loss to Virginia Tech. Ever since that game, however, the Buckeyes have played better and better, thanks to the superb coaching of Urban Meyer and the huge improvement shown by Barrett. But their first real test of the season would come against a hard-nosed Penn State team, surrounded by over one hundred thousand fans.
The game began as many expected it would, with Ohio State taking an early lead. Just five plays into the game, the Ohio State defense intercepted a pass by Penn State QB Christian Hackenburg, giving their offense excellent starting field position. 7 plays later, Ohio State's rising star running back Ezekiel Elliot zoomed into the endzone for the first points of the day. The score remained the same until a field goal by the Buckeyes extended their lead to 10. Then, late in the 2nd quarter, Ohio State blocked a punt, providing Barrett and the offense once again with great field position. This time the Buckeyes scored even faster, by way of a Barrett TD pass 6 plays later. Thanks to superb play on defense, Ohio State led 17 to nothing at the half.
In the locker room, Penn State head coach James Franklin rallied his troops and they came out hungry for some points. The Buckeyes got the ball first, but the Penn State defense had other plans. 3 plays into the drive, Barrett's pass was intercepted by Penn State linebacker Anthony Zettel and he returned it for a touchdown. The white-clad Penn State fans jumped up and down with glee, and the stadium came alive with energy.
The crowd settled down a bit, as both teams traded punts until the 4th quarter. On the first play of the Buckeyes' initial 4th quarter drive, Barrett was intercepted again, setting up Penn State with great starting field position of the own. The Nittany Lions wouldn't let this opportunity slip through their paws and closed to 3 points on a touchdown pass by Hackenburg. The teams then traded 3 punts and with just under 3 minutes to play, Penn State would have 1 final chance to tie it or take the lead. Starting at their own 9 yard line, Penn State put together a long 19 play drive, thanks to a trio of 3rd down conversions all completed by Hackenburg, 2 with his legs and 1 with his arm. Then, with nine seconds remaining, kicker Sam Ficken put the ball through the uprights to send the game to overtime. (Tied at 17)
In overtime, Penn State started with the ball, and 2 completions by Hackenburg got the ball down to the 2 yard line. 2 running plays later, the Nittany Lions had a touchdown and a 7 point lead. However, Ohio State's offense, specifically Barrett and Elliot, finally woke up from their 2nd half slumber. After a short gain by Elliot, Barrett needed only 2 plays to run the ball into the endzone, with his excellent decision making and speed. After the touchdown, a Penn State player was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, which would give the Buckeyes the ball at the 12 yard line instead of the usual starting point of the 25 yard line.
The Buckeyes escaped with a victory, but they had better learn some lessons from this game if they are to win on the road again in 2 weeks against powerful Michigan State.
Final Score: Ohio State 31 Penn State 24 (OT)
2. University of Southern California (USC) Trojans @ Utah Utes
This game would decide which team would stay in the hunt for the PAC-12 Conference Championship. The Utes fans were riled up as usual and hoping to spur on their team to their 1st win over a storied USC program.
From the very beginning, the game was sloppy. On the 2nd offensive play by USC, quarterback Cody Kessler threw a backwards pass to his receiver Darius Rogers. Rogers missed the catch and the ball bounced onto the ground. Both teams stood still, thinking it was an incomplete pass, while failing to remember that a dropped backwards pass is a fumble!! Finally, at the urging of his coaches, a Utah defender picked up the ball and ran it back for a touchdown.
However, the Trojans did not let this blunder get the best of them, tying up the game with a 10 play touchdown drive. No more scoring occurred until the 2nd quarterback when Utah quarterback Travis Wilson completed passes to 3 different receivers that all resulted in 1st downs. But the drive stalled at the 7 yard line and they had to settle for a field goal. Unfortunately for the Utes, the Trojans returned the subsequent kickoff for a touchdown. 5 minutes later, both teams headed into the locker room, with USC leading 14 to 10.
Describing the start of the 3rd quarter as uneventful would be an understatement, as 6 punts were made. It started to pick up when, 4 plays after a fumble by Utah, the home team intercepted a pass by Kessler and stole the ball right back. Starting at the Trojans 38 yard line, the Utes needed only 4 plays to score by way of a rushing touchdown by Devon Booker. Utah would head into the final quarter with a 17 to 14 lead, but the game was far from over.
On a drive that started in the 3rd quarter, Cody Kessler went to his 2 top receivers Darius Rogers and Nelson Agholor to orchestrate a drive that ended in a TD. Finding themselves down by 4, Travis Wilson and the Utah offense were stymied by a tough Trojans defense. USC got the ball back and looked like they were going to run out the remainder of the clock as they got 3 consecutive 1st downs. But then the Utah defense stiffened and forced USC into a 4th down. Instead of trying a 45 yard field goal to extend their lead to 7, USC head coach Steve Sarkisian decided to go for the 1st down. Agholor caught a toss from Kessler and had plenty of room to make the first down. But he stepped out of bounds a yard shy of the marker. Utah had a chance.
Thanks to a pass interference call on the Trojans, and 4 great passes by Wilson, the Utes were soon at the Trojans' 19 yard line. Then, on the next play, Wilson saw an opening, sped through the defense and had just enough room to leap into the endzone! The stadium was filled with happiness. But hold the presses! Upon review, Wilson was pushed out of bounds at the 1 yard line. Twenty second remained on the clock, and Utah's attempt to pound it into the endzone with Booker was stopped. Thankfully, Utah had saved 1 last timeout. 12 seconds left. On 2nd down, Wilson rolled to his right and fired a dart of a pass into the waiting arms of his receiver.
The victory was soon in the books, and the fans rushed the field. "What a game," the announcers said. Certainly a game to remember for Utah.
Final Score: Utah 24 USC 21
Top 2 Games to Watch: Week 10
1. No. 10 TCU Horned Frogs @ No. 20 West Virginia Mountaineers: 10/1 at 3:30 p.m on ABC or ESPN 2
TCU's offense is on fire, scoring a combined 182 points in their last 3 games. But can they go on the road and beat an on-fire West Virginia team that is coming off two big wins of their own? Or will the Mountaineers continue to sharp-shoot their way to another huge victory?
My pick: TCU
2. No. 4 Auburn Tigers @ No. 7 Ole Miss (Mississippi) Rebels: 10/1 at 7 p.m. on ESPN
Ole Miss is coming off of a surprising road loss to the underwhelming LSU Tigers and comes back home facing a even tougher test. Can Auburn, led by coach Gus Malzahn, defeat a disheartened Ole Miss team. Or will the Rebels bounce back well and deal the Tigers a loss that would end their championship hopes?
My pick: Auburn
Special Requests
Illinois is a team that has been struggling to win games in the Big 10 Conference for years. But in a game against Minnesota, a team which had not lost a conference game this year, that was all about to change. This was a homecoming game for Illinois and instead of wearing their usual orange and white uniforms they wore gray uniforms to honor a legendary Illinois player from the 1920's known as "The Gray Ghost." The Illinois players put together their best first half performance of the season, and led 14-3 at the break. Then, Minnesota mounted a comeback in the 3rd quarter and fought their way to a 24-21 lead. Fast forward to about 3/5ths of the way through the final quarter, and Minnesota has the ball and is trying to run out the clock. The usually sure-handed Minnesota running back David Cobb gets a handoff, but an Illinois defender knocks the ball free. A teammate of his scoops up the ball and marches into the endzone. Illinois would hold on to win 28-24, a surprising win over a talented Minnesota team.
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