Week nine weekend review

• Virginia Tech 30, Boston College 10

The Hokies made that one look easy.  They play all phases of the game well, although some not so spectacularly.  One thing they're doing really well right now is playing field position ball.  They force a lot of early possession 3-and-outs and get the ball back for more manageable 60 and 70 yard scoring drives, kick off, get another stop and do it again.  That kind of football is demoralizing.

• North Carolina State 21, Southern Miss 17

The Wolfpack inserted a new starter at quarterback, and he lagged.  But they also found their new starting tailback in frosh Andre Brown, who had 248 yards on the day.  So much for superfrosh Toney Baker.  'Pack coach Chuck Amato lives to see another day.

• Miami 34, North Carolina 16

The 'Canes, playing in throwbacks, played like the ancient Miami teams for a half before turning things around and dominating the latter part of the game.  Tyrone Moss had a big game, with nearly 200 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Kyle Wright threw three picks in just 18 attempts and was pretty ineffective.  They really haven't gotten it together this year, but they get a shot at Virginia Tech this weekend to show some life.

• Oklahoma 31, Nebraska 24

The Sooners had a big early lead here that they coughed up, but still came out with the win.  Adrian Peterson ran pretty well, and Rhett Bomar is starting to look at least decently comfortable at quarterback.  It looks like Nebraska has no clue on offense unless they go to the basics and their scripted scoring drives.

• Ohio State 45, Minnesota 31

Here comes the fall for Minnesota.  They played a gutty game, but can't defend OSU's modest offense.  Ted Ginn went nuts on special teams on a day where the Buckeyes' defense had a really bad day.

• Auburn 27, Mississippi 3

The Tigers shut down Ole Miss' offense and clawed their way to a few scores against the tough Rebel defense.

• Texas Tech 28, Baylor 0

The Bears were a game opponent until early in the fourth quarter (down just 6-0), unable to muster any kind of scoring to match the Red Raiders' pedestrian effort.

• Alabama 35, Utah State 3

Now Watergate does not bother me, does your conscience bother you?  Sweet Home Alabama...

• Florida State 35, Maryland 27

Sniffed these Seminoles out before the season even started.  They're alright, but definitely not great.  Survived your typical ACC scare.

• Florida 14, Georgia 10

Bleh...  I hate games like this because its really hard to tell who was better.  It's usually just two teams going home, one happy, the other disappointed.  The Gators were certainly more effective on offense, but really didn't try to distance themselves from the Gators given their advantage.  Gotta love offenses driven by fear like that.  Anyway, UGA's championship hopes are over.  I think they miss Shockley pretty bad.

• Penn State 33, Purdue 15

The Lions pounded Purdue on the ground and pulled away in the second half.  It's a nice win, though, as they are clearing the midlevel Big Ten hurdles such as Purdue and Northwestern in their quest for a conference crown.

• USC 55, Washington State 13

Easy win for USC, whose defense is swiftly fixing itself.  This game might be the start of another one of their fabled dominating end-year runs.

• Arizona 29, Oregon State 27

True frosh QB Willie Tuitama was shaky, but still impressed Wildcat coaches and observers.  Good call, CFR.

• UCLA 30, Stanford 27 (OT)

The comeback was predictable.  I kind of called this one, too, as Stanford jumped to a nice lead before UCLA righted itself and went about overcoming the deficit.

• Michigan 33, Northwestern 17

The Wolverines jumped out early and the Wildcats couldn't overcome the early deficit.  Another good call.

• Texas 47, Oklahoma State 28

A predictable comeback here.  Vince Young went crazy and the game was over at 28-19 even though the 'Horns were still down.  Thing is, the Longhorns have now shown their hand with comebacks---it's Vince Young or nothing as they didn't get anything going on the ground or air until he had that big carry.  I'm sure USC and VT's coaches both noticed as much and have plans ready on how to manage.

• South Carolina 16, Tennessee 15

Yeah, defense is everything... except when you have a junky offense!  The Vols' season was over midway through their opener against UAB.  They looked like crap then, they look like crap now.  When will we start to get it right earlier in the season and sniff teams like this out farther in advance instead of going along with this established power gets the benefit of the doubt charade?