College Football Roundup – Rivalries

There were a couple of big rivalry games this weekend, one of which had playoff implications, as well as one other top ten matchup. Taking the games chronologically, Texas and Oklahoma played the traditional “Red River Shootout” which has apparently been renamed as the “Red River Showdown”. I’m not sure if that’s because the universities were worried that, with Texas’ ridiculous open-carry laws, some fans might take the nickname seriously. More bizarrely, near the end of the game, the Fox sportscasters congratulated themselves on barely ever making the mistake of calling it the “Shootout” . It really takes a certain amount of cognitive dissonance to allow the proliferation of more guns but worry about calling a football game a “Shootout”. Anyway, the game was a typical Big 12 high-octane offense, no defense affair. The teams racked up over 1,100 yards in total offense as Oklahoma held on for a 45-40 win. Oklahoma kept on looking like it would run away with this game but Texas just kept on coming back, to their credit. Unfortunately for Texas coach Charlie Strong, that probably won’t be good enough. Strong knew what he was getting into when he took over for Mack Brown, the man who had brought a national championship back to Texas. However, Mack basically left the cupboard empty for Strong – Texas just did not have players. Under Strong, the offense has improved considerably and they have some real game-breakers. But Strong was known as a defensive specialist and the defense continues to get torched. The boosters are restless nd it sure looks like Strong will be fired at the end of the season. Meanwhile, Oklahoma, despite only being 3-2, is undefeated in the conference.

Later in the afternoon, #9 Tennessee traveled to College Station to take on #8 Texas A&M and their 12th man. Texas A&M moved to the SEC a few years ago but in this game it looked more like Tennessee had moved to the Big 12 as the teams combined for over 1,250 total yards and 10 turnovers. As usual, Tennessee fell behind early and was trailing 28-7 early in the third quarter. And, as usual, they clawed their way back into the game as Texas A&M played it just a little too conservatively. The Volunteers scored 21 points in the 4th quarter, the last TD with just 41 seconds left to tie the game at 35. A&M, however, marched down the field and had a makeable 38 yard field goal to win the game as time ran out, but the kicker missed it badly to the left. After both teams came up just short of first downs in the first overtime, they both elected to kick field goals. A&M scored a TD on the opening possession of the second overtime to take the 45-38 lead. Josh Dobbs was then intercepted of Tennessee’s fist play to seal the win for the Aggies.

The evening game matched #10 Miami against #23 Florida State in one of the great rivalries in college football. It’s amazing how many of these games have come down to a last second kick that would determine the winner or the loser. And this game was no different. Miami dominated the first half but could not convert touchdowns, which only left them with a precarious 13-3 lead at halftime. Florida State took over in the second half, scoring two third quarter touchdowns on passes of 59 and 20 yards and then added a field goal with about 9 minutes left in the 4th quarter to complete a 17-0 run and take a 20-13 lead. But a long punt return set up Miami deep in Seminole territory with a couple of minutes to play. With 1:38 to play, a Brad Kaaya to Stacy Coley 11-yard touchdown pass looked like it would send the game to overtime. But Florida State’s DeMarcus Walker burst through to block the extra point to give the Seminoles a thrilling 20-19 win.

In other games of note, Washington absolutely crushed Oregon 70-21, taking out their frustrations for what I believe was the prior seven years of losses. Washington looks head and shoulders above anyone else in the Pac-12 and will certainly be in the national championship playoffs if they can keep a clean sheet for the remainder of their schedule.

Finally, Navy upset #6 Houston 46-40 in the rain at Annapolis. How many times has Navy taken on a ranked opponent over the years and given them fits with their precision triple-option attack. So many times, they have come up just short. But this time, the Midshipmen intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown to take a lead they would never relinquish. Navy racked up 306 yards on the ground on 63 carries and dominated the time of possession by nearly a 10 minute margin. While the offense kept the high-powered Cougar offense off the field, the Navy defense did not give up the big play, forcing the Houston offense to methodically move the ball down the field. Eventually, Houston just ran out of time and with it went their chance to make the playoffs. It is a big win for Navy, marking the first win over a top-ten team since 1995.