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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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 comeback in college football, especially in the ACC whose members were not shy about mounting thrilling, drama-filled comebacks in overtime or with minutes, or seconds, remaining. North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest, Maryland and Florida State relied on the comeback to beat the likes of Connecticut, Army, Stanford, James Madison and Jacksonville State, respectively. Michigan/Notre Dame, Tennessee/UCLA, Wisconsin/Fresno State and USC/Ohio State were thrillers as well, and that's just naming a few.

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

- Iowa is the worst preseason top 25 team to start the season 2-0 in this history of the game. They showed why they dropped out of the rankings following a win, and did little to help their bid to reclaim their spot in the top 25. The 35-3 score was misleading. It took two and a half quarters for the Hawkeyes to separate from an Iowa State team that closed 2008 with 10 straight losses. And the Cyclones really killed themselves with turnovers. I know it's a rivalry game, but c'mon.

- Connecticut's defense was stout, but if that's all North Carolina's offense can muster, they're in trouble. It took a holding call in the end zone to give UNC the win.

- Two games in and Lou Holtz has been proven mad. Armando Allen said that he wanted to break more big runs for Notre Dame this season. So far, so good. Too bad Tate Forcier decided to steal the show with 11 seconds left. Or was it 9?

- I asked myself three times, "Why is Aaron Eckhart carrying a clipboard on the Tennessee sideline?" before realizing that it was Lane Kiffin. Tennessee fans should take solace in their killer running back combo of senior Montario Hardesty and freshman Bryce Brown. Give credit to UCLA for beating a very good Tennessee team, but three interceptions and a botched exchange from center to quarterback didn't help the Volunteers' effort. If nothing else, the Vols should be happy they've now got a little big game experience to carry into the Swamp next week.

- I'm not worried about Oklahoma State moving forward. Down 24-7 at half, the Cowboys came out of the half with new energy and responded to adversity. The upset was more a testament to how well Houston played rather than how poorly the Cowboys played. If not for a tipped ball in the end zone and Dez Bryant's cramping legs that likely led to a pick-six, the Cowboys could be letting out a sigh of relief instead of lamenting a tough loss to an unranked and unheralded, but underrated and explosive, Houston Cougars team. Don’t be too surprised if Oklahoma State beats Texas or Oklahoma later in the season.

- I can't decide which true freshman starting quarterback impressed me more: Matt Barkley or Tate Forcier. On the one hand, Barkley led an impressive drive to close out the half for the Trojans. He followed that up with a game winning drive to end the game, but that was much on the back of Joe McKnight. Forcier, on the other hand, looked cooler, calmer and more poised than any true freshman quarterback leading a game winning drive in his second college game and one of the biggest games he will ever play. He made some huge throws, too. Yeah, it's Forcier, but with props going out to Barkley for keeping his pants clean while leading the game winning drive. These guys are good.

So in a week that saw more than a few fourth quarter comebacks and dramatic finishes, there aren't any games on Sunday or Monday to hold us over until Thursday's Miami/Georgia Tech showdown. Speaking of the ACC, did any conference need an 8-1 Saturday like the ACC did? Sure, they had to come from behind to defeat some less than spectacular teams, but they'll take it.

Every week a player decides to burst onto the national scene in a big way. This week's New Household Name is Derrick Morgan. The Georgia Tech defensive end was all over Clemson's backfield on Thursday night, finishing with 10 tackles and 3 sacks.

Last week, Dez Bryant Proved He's Worth the Hype. This week, Tennessee defensive back Eric Berry did the same in a losing effort. Berry finished with 10 tackles and was all over the field for the Volunteers defense.

Next week's games to watch come before College Football Saturday even kicks off. Thursday night's Miami/Georgia Tech matchup promises to be a good one, as does Friday's Boise State/Fresno State game. On Saturday, Tennessee travels to Florida, Nebraska visits Virginia Tech, Utah and Oregon go at it and BYU takes on Florida State. Texas plays Texas Tech in the primetime matchup. North Carolina should be on upset alert when East Carolina comes to town, as should Iowa with the Arizona Wildcats visiting. 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.