Week 4 2015

Results of Last Week's Games to Watch

1. #18 Utah Utes @ #13 Oregon Ducks

2. #9 UCLA Bruins @ #16 Arizona Wildcats

These games turned out to be very similar in many respects.  If you remember from last week, I picked the home teams to win.  Unfortunately for the fans in Eugene, Oregon and Tucson, Arizona, my picks were solidly wrong.  No, the games weren't close; they were blowouts in favor of the away teams!  Both the Utes and the Bruins dominated every aspect of the game: offense, defense, and special teams.  Utah and UCLA's offense were cranking on all cylinders.  Bruins' freshman quarterback Josh Rosen and slippery running back Paul Perkins shredded the Wildcats' defense.  1200 miles to the northwest, Utah quarterback Travis Wilson, playing through an injury to his non-throwing shoulder, threw the enthusiasm out of the packed stadium with a 227 yard 4 TD passing performance.  As a result of these titanic losses, the losers have dropped out of the rankings.  Better luck next time, home teams!

Final Scores:  Utah 62 Oregon 20 & UCLA 56 Arizona 30

Most Exciting Game of the Week

#3 TCU Horned Frogs @ Texas Tech Red Raiders

If you like high scoring, heart-stopping, spellbinding games, you would have loved this one!  Good defense could not be found at few points of this game as the teams accounted for a total of 1,357 yards of offense, 70 1st downs, and zero turnovers.  This game came down to the final play, so buckle your seats belts!

The big story line coming into the game was the state of the TCU defense.  Due to a bunch of injuries to their defensive starters, the Horned Frogs defense was expected to be porous.  However, the play makers on offense, Heisman hopeful QB Trevone Boykin, stellar wide receiver Josh Doctson, and running back Aaron Green, might just make enough plays to win it.  On the other side, Texas Tech QB Patrick Mahomes was looking to extend the Red Raiders' legacy of upsetting Top 5 opponents at home.  

TCU's Boykin, Doctson, Green, and Texas Tech's Mahomes were all playing their best from the first snap.  The speed at which the ball traveled up and down the field during the 1st half was truly amazing.  Watching the game was like being on a roller coaster.  You scarcely had time to familiarize yourself with the score before another touchdown occurred.  The Red Raiders were just as effective on offense thanks to the crisp passing of Mahomes and the speedy legs of running back DeAndre Washington.   Wide receiver Josh Doctson was the star for the Horned Frogs, catching 3 touchdowns in the 1st half alone, the last with under a minute left in the 2nd quarter. (see below)  That TD reception gave TCU a 33-28 lead going into halftime.

The scoring in the 3rd quarter slowed down a little bit and the Horned Frogs' slim lead shrunk, as Texas Tech scored 10 points to TCU's 7. Going into the 4th quarter, the score was TCU 40 Texas Tech 38.  The final quarter would feature a jaw-dropping play similar to the crazy play that Ole Miss pulled off last week.  

On Texas Tech's 1st drive of the 4th quarter, Mahomes and Washington led their team down the field once again on a 12 play drive that was capped off by a short TD run by Washington.  TCU got the ball back and took back the lead at the end of a TD drive that only took half as many plays.  Then, the Red Raiders offense came back onto the field and picked up where they left off.  Mahomes and Washington continued to tear TCU's defense apart en route to yet another touchdown.  Now there was just under 6 minutes left in the game and the Red Raiders held a 52-45 lead.  I'm sure you're expecting that TCU scored a TD on their next drive.  Actually, they went 3 and out.  Fortunately for the Horned Frogs, so did the Red Raiders.

TCU got the ball again with 3 minutes remaining.  One last chance to win the game.  Could they pull it off?  After the fifth play of the drive, it looked like they would, as another pass from Boykin to Doctson got the ball to the 8 yard line.  However, after 3 straight run plays failed to cross the goal line, TCU was staring at a last chance 4th and Goal with 29 seconds left.  The snap was caught by Boykin and he immediately looked for Doctson.  Doctson jumped high into the air just above a Texas Tech defender.  Boykin threw the ball his way, but the pass was a bit too high and it hit Doctson's fingerprints.  For a fleeting moment, it looked like Texas Tech would hold on for the upset.  However, the ball deflected downward towards the back of the endzone.  Just in case, running back Aaron Green had been following behind Doctson.  The ball deflected toward him, he dove, caught the ball, and stuck his foot into the grass.  After the referee raised his arms to signal a touchdown, Green and the entire team celebrated wildly.  The commentator shouted: "Do you believe it?!!"

But 23 seconds were left on the clock and the Red Raiders would make it interesting.  They got the ball to the 50 yard line for 1 final play.  Mahomes completed a short pass instead of a Hail Mary.  The Horned Frogs were protecting against the possibility of a Hail Mary and this gave the receiver to advance to about the 30 yard line.  By this time, the defense converged on him, forcing 3 consecutive laterals that got the ball to the 15 yard line.  The TCU defense trapped the ball carrier against the sideline and finally knocked him out of bounds at the 10 yard line.    TCU Head Coach Gary Patterson breathed a sigh of relief as the victory was sealed.  The final sentence spoken by the commentator before he signed off: "I think I need a break."

Final Score: TCU 55 Texas Tech 52

Top 2 Games to Watch: Week 5

#13 Alabama Crimson Tide @ #8 Georgia Bulldogs: 10/2 at 3:30 p.m. on CBS

This is the first time in a long while that Alabama has been the underdog and boy it is refreshing to see.  Georgia continues to play well every year under long-time head coach Mark Richt.  This year's offense features talented sophomore running back Nick Chubb and accurate quarterback Greyson Lambert.  Will the Bulldogs be able to knock the Crimson Tide out of the playoff race and solidify their spot as the favorite to win the SEC East?  Or will that pesky Alabama team find a way to keep themselves in the playoff race just like last year?

My pick: Do I need to even say it?

#6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish @ #11 Clemson Tigers:  10/2 at 8 p.m. on ABC

Notre Dame comes into this game battle-tested and ready to play.  They have weathered the storm of losing their starting quarterback one week before facing a ranked opponent in Georgia Tech.  They completely dominated Georgia Tech and I expect they to play just as well against Clemson.  Yes, Clemson is a better team than Georgia and Notre Dame is playing on the road in this game.  Nevertheless, Notre Dame is a resilient team and Clemson has somewhat of a tendency to under-perform in big games.  Two years ago, College Gameday (a great pregame show on ESPN at 9 a.m to noon every Saturday of the regular season) was on hand for Clemson's game against a tough Florida State team.  The Clemson players and fans were revved up, but from the first snap the Tigers played terribly, making mistakes on offense and defense.  And guess who's going to be there this weekend: College Gameday.  

My pick: Notre Dame

Extra Point

This post would not be complete without talking about Florida's amazing comeback win over Tennessee.  With 10 minutes left in the game, the Gators were down by 13 points after giving up a 16 play TD drive.  But Florida had defeated Tennessee for 10 years in a row and the Gators were not about to see the streak end in the Swamp.  The Gators put together a long drive, converting a 4th and 7 on the way to a TD pass by QB Will Grier.  The stout Gators defense then forced an important 3 and out and gave the ball back to their offense.  4 plays later, however, they were facing a 4th and 14. Grier fired a pass to receiver Antonio Callaway who sprinted around a Tennessee defender and ran down the sideline into the endzone for a 63 yard TD. (see below) The Gators now led by a point and the fans were going crazy.  However, just like Texas Tech, Tennessee made it interesting.  They managed to get to the Florida 37 yard line to attempt a long 55 yard field goal.  Thankfully for the Gators it sailed just, and I mean just, to the right.  Phew!  The Gators are now 4-0 and ranked (#25) for the first time since 2013.  They have to face a great Ole Miss team next weekend and they are predicted to lose.  But they still have a chance.  Go Gators!!