College Football Saturday In 500 Words Or Less

A recap of what went down and what you should take away from Saturday's college football games.

Few upsets this week, as only one top 10 team was defeated. We were, however, able to learn more about some teams than we had learned all season. As teams begin to get away from their cupcake schedules at the beginning of the season and enter conference play, that early season mask is pulled away and we get our first glimpses of how teams will fare over the course of the season.

Recapping the day in 500 words or less, this is what Saturday taught us about the season:

-  Iowa needed to prove their win over Penn State was no fluke. Granted Saturday's win came against Arkansas State, the Hawkeyes' offense showed some signs of life. Iowa began the game with two quick scores and came out of the half firing, but if they want to hang in there all season long, they've got to find a way to produce on offense more consistently. Still, I'm about ready to call myself a believer after the 5-0 Hawkeyes' shaky start.

-  Does any team rely on a single player the way Minnesota relies on Eric Decker? Wait, that would be Cal with Jahvid Best. Whereas the Gophers' supporting cast was able to take advantage of the double teams that Decker drew (in a loss), Kevin Riley and the Cal offense could not take advantage of the attention given to Best by Oregon and USC.

-  I've said it almost every week, but UNC's offense is anemic. How do you manage only 3 points against Virginia?

-  On that subject, is there anything less exciting than an ACC matchup? Maybe it's because their games have little implications on the national landscape. Maybe it's because outside of a few programs (notably Miami and FSU—and maybe BC, Clemson and Virginia Tech) there is a lack of longstanding football tradition in the programs.

-  More Tate Forcier. Seriously, this kid doesn't have a give-up bone in his body. Of course, his interception in the end zone didn't help matters, but the Michigan Wolverines have a bright future as long as Forcier is under center.

-  Penn State bounced back after to their poor showing last Saturday night in the loss to Iowa. They got off to a slow start on offense against Illinois (hangover?) but scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to get back on the winning path.

-  Golden Tate's extraordinary confidence began at birth…when his parent's named him Golden. I wonder what that does for a boy's confidence growing up. Golden sure has a quiet arrogance about him (not in a bad way) and he's emerged as the big playmaker on the Notre Dame offense this season.

-  Kyle Rudolph is going to be the next big tight end to come out of college football. The guy's 6-6, has become a favorite target of quarterback Jimmy Clausen and has a basketball background like Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates.

-  Speaking of Notre Dame, their overtime win over Washington was the game of the week. Clausen and Jake Locker are quietly underrated on the national scope. I say 'quietly underrated' because everybody knows they're good, but few consider them among the elite, which is where they belong.

-  Besides looking like he's about to deliver a pizza to a group of co-eds in some dimly lit apartment, Landry Jones showed Oklahoma fans they have reason to cheer about the team's future. Oklahoma's supporting cast just didn't back him up on Saturday. Give credit to the Miami Hurricanes, though.

We're in that really meaty part of the season, where most teams begin, or have begun, conference play and the real season begins to take shape. Florida will get their first big-time test next week when they visit LSU, while Miami will get their first breather when Florida A&M, and their kickass band, comes to town.

Robert Hughes became a New Household Name with his performance in Notre Dame's overtime win against Washington. He filled in for Armando Allen, who was injured in the game, rushing for 70 yards on only 8 carries and scoring a touchdown in which he dragged most of the Huskies defense and Irish offense into the end zone in the process. The 235 pound halfback even broke off a 37 yard run in the win. The Irish should take solace in knowing that they have some depth at running back after Hughes' performance.

This week, Jacory Harris Proved He's Worth The Hype. Harris was able to bounce back after making two poor decisions to start the game, which resulted in interceptions. He would throw for 3 touchdowns and led Miami to a win over 8th ranked Oklahoma, and a 3-1 record in the process.

Next week's big games include top-ranked Florida's trip to LSU to face the fourth ranked Tigers in the prime time headliner. Michigan visits Iowa in another big prime time matchup. In earlier matchups, Georgia visits Tennessee, Alabama visits Mississippi and Oregon visits UCLA. - Danny Hobrock

Danny Hobrock is a sports journalist who primarily covers college football and professional baseball. He is a contributor for several sports related blogs and is the former editor of a political and current events website.

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College Football Saturday In 500 Words Or Less

A recap of what went down and what you should take away from Saturday's college football games.

It was the week of the giant killers in college football, as Ole Miss, Penn State and Cal all fell to unranked opponents. In addition to the fourth, fifth and sixth ranked teams, the ninth ranked Miami Hurricanes were downed by 11th ranked Virginia Tech. 40% of the teams in the top ten will be different from the previous week, once again reminding us why they play the games, and why we love college football so much.

Recapping the day in 500 words or less, here's what Saturday taught us about the season:

- O.K. really, the instant replays have gotten out of hand. At one point I was flipping between three channels and all three referees were waiting for word from the replay officials.
- If Wisconsin runs the ball effectively, watch out. Whereas they lost three fumbles last Saturday against Wofford, and fumbled five times total, the Badgers lost only one fumble yesterday. John Clay ran the ball 32 times, opening up the passing game enough for Scott Tolzien to throw 4 touchdown passes.
- Who are you FSU? You play well against Miami, squeak out a victory against FCS Jacksonville State, annihilate BYU and go down to South Florida.
- UNC's lackadaisical offense finally caught up to them. Besides a few big plays here and there, the Tarheels need to figure out a better way to consistently move the ball down the field.
- Fresno State is the best three-loss team in the nation. They've never been out of any game, taking Wisconsin to double overtime, sticking with Boise State's high octane offense up until the very end and playing keep away from Cincinnati all game, allowing the Bearcats to control the ball for just over a quarter. If they had been able to get over the hurtle and stole a win from one of their early opponents, would they have continued to do so? Hawaii is next, and the Bulldogs are looking at a much easier schedule to close out the year.
- Tate Forcier looks like he's the real deal. He's got guts. Down 26 to 21 to Indiana at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Forcier led the Wolverines down the field, diving head first into the end zone to give the Wolverines a three point lead after converting the two point conversion. With five and a half minutes left and trailing once again, Forcier led the Wolverines down the field again to answer the Hoosiers' score. Michigan won the game 36-33.
- The Miami Hurricanes looked absolutely flat against Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech, on the other hand, stepped up their defense after being challenged by the coaching staff and managed to stymie the Hurricanes offense. Funny how the same analysts who were shouting 'Miami's back!' on Saturday morning are now calling such declarations premature.
- You shut down Jahvid Best and you shut down Cal. Oregon looked pretty good to say the least.
- JoPa said he wasn't out for revenge against Iowa. Maybe he should have been. After a 79 yard bomb to begin the game, Darryl Clark managed only 119 yards passing. It was Penn State's only touchdown of the game. Penn State couldn’t manage much offense last year either when Iowa downed the then third ranked Nittany Lions. Maybe Penn State should avoid a top five ranking in seasons they play Iowa.
- Arizona, down star tight end Rob Gronkowski, lost starting tailback Nic Grigsby and backup tailback Keola Antolin to injury, but still managed to beat Oregon State.

Without question, the game of the week was Houston's thrilling victory over Texas Tech. No giants went down in this one, but anybody who stayed up late enough, or stayed in late enough, was rewarded. With a few big boys taking hits on Saturday, a significant shakeup to the top 10 was inevitable.

This week's New Household Name is Arizona quarterback Nick Foles, who replaced Matt Scott as the starting quarterback on Saturday. It was Foles' first career start and he made the best of the opportunity, throwing for 254 yards and three touchdown passes. He probably isn’t a household name per se, but he earned the right to be recognized as the breakout performer of the week.

You might make the argument that Tori Gurley is the new household name based solely on his name and his appearance in primetime on Thursday, but I'm giving it to Foles nonetheless.

This week, Tate Forcier Proved He's Worth The Hype with another breakout performance. This guy is growing up right before our eyes, letting pressure bounce right off of him and leading his Wolverines on game winning drives almost weekly it seems.

Next week's games to watch include Oklahoma's trip to Miami, the always entertaining Michigan/Michigan State matchup, LSU vs. Georgia and Washington vs. Notre Dame. Cal takes on USC in the primetime headliner. - Danny Hobrock

Danny Hobrock is a sports journalist who primarily covers college football and professional baseball. He is a contributor for several sports related blogs and is the former editor of a political and current events website.

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Have a Fantasy Football or Rotisserie Baseball question? Want to know who to pick up, who to activate and who the hot prospects are? Ask Dr. Roto. Let Dr. Roto guide your team to a league championship!