Notes for a September Football Song

Footballs were flying from coast to coast sparking upsets everywhere. The end results had head coaches and athletic directors tearing out their hair and cursing those dreaded home and home contracts which came home to roost on Saturday. In case you didn't catch all the comings and goings here's a look at what may have escaped your view.

SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES. Conference realignments and defections precipitated by the quest for the seemingly ever elusive bigger gate receipt, have facilitated more moves in recent years than U-Haul.

 

 College football traditionalists can be thankful for at least three meetings which took place over the weekend. Virginia and North Carolina met for the 109th time in a series dating back to 1892. It's the fifth oldest rivalry in division 1-A and smacks of what is healthy in intercollegiate football at the highest level. The Cavaliers won in relatively easy fashion downing the Tar Heels, 56-24. The outcome was no surprise as UNC hasn't won in Charlottesville since 1981 and dropped its twelfth straight to its ACC counterpart. QB Marques Hagans completed 10 of 12 passes as the Cavs rolled up 549 yards on offense and scored 49 first half points, burying North Carolina under 5 second quarter TDs.

 

 There was a time when Texas and Arkansas used to play late in the season to decide the champion of the SWC on an annual basis. Unfortunately those days are long gone. Still, the 'Horns and Hogs met in Fayetteville, for the 76th contest in their storied rivalry begun in 1894. UT coach, Mack Brown, is still searching for his first conference title in 21 years of patrolling the sidelines and after leading Texas to its 18th win in its past 19 road games, he may soon be able to put an end to his quest.

 

 RB Cedric Benson's 188 yards rushing, 16 first quarter points by Texas and four turnovers by Arkansas were enough to push the Longhorns to their 55th victory against the Razorbacks, this time by a slim, 22-20, margin.

 

 The Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech and Clemson Tigers renewed pleasantries for the 69th edition of their series which stretches back to 1898. The visitors pulled out an improbable win in the final minute of play after Clemson suffered a special teams' meltdown in which a horrible deep snap dribbled to punter Cole Chason, forcing him to cover the ball deep in Tiger territory.

 

 Reggie Ball found Calvin Johnson for their third TD connection of the game to provide Tech with the upset of the previously 18th ranked Clemson squad.

 

 In an era marked by changing allegiances and ill-considered conference memberships, this trio of rivalries, all in their third century of being contested, is a vanishing breed in college football.

 

LIMPING TO THE VICTORY. The UCLA Bruins, losers of a half dozen straight games entering their contest with the Fightin' Illini--losers of 11 of 12 a year ago--used a pair of early TDs on the road to open a lead they never relinquished. QB Drew Olson threw 3 TD aerials and passed for more than 200 yards as the Bruins improved to 1-1 for the year.

 

LONG ROAD HOME. John Robinson's UNLV Rebels lost a second straight road game to a nationally ranked team when it fell in Madison to the Wisconsin Badgers, 18-3. After being hammered by Tennessee last week, UNLV was positively inept on offense against a team it upset last year.

 

 The Rebels held the ball for just 24 minutes, produced only 174 yards of offense and allowed Wisconsin to score two safeties and a TD on a blocked field goal attempt which was returned 86 yards.  The pair of season opening games marked the first time UNLV had played consecutive games against ranked teams.

 

LUCK OF THE IRISH. After losing its season opener in Provo to BYU last weekend, Notre Dame found itself facing a home opener against the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan toyed with the Irish last year in dismissing them, 38-0.

 

 Tyrone Willingham's ND squad entered the contest having lost 10 of its past 15 games as the two most successful teams in division 1-A history met for the 32nd time. A furious fourth quarter rally saw Notre Dame score 21 points. A stingy defense limited Michigan to 56 yards rushing, while on offense, the Irish gained 135 on the ground after having produced 11 yards from its backs against BYU.

 

 Notre Dame's, 28-20, victory may buy the beleaguered Willingham a few moments of peace until preparations begin for the team's game at Michigan State next weekend. Michigan will try and recoup in the Big House when San Diego State pays a visit.

 

BUCKEYES' BLACK EYE? Ohio State needed a 55 yard field goal from PK Mike Nugent as time expired to avoid being trampled underneath the hooves of the Thundering Herd of Marshall.

 

 The teams met for the first time as OSU sought to post its 18th win in a row at home. Two interceptions, two fumbles and a mere twenty-four minutes of possession on offense nearly conspired to upset the Buckeyes. QB Justin Zwick's 318 yards and 3 TDs were just enough to save the Buckeyes from a major embarrassment.

 

BUFFALOED. The Colorado Buffs are 2-0 on the season in spite of miserable play from their secondary. CU managed a last second escape against instate rival Colorado State last weekend despite allowing 403 yards passing to Justin Holland and the Rams.

 

 Washington State's passing attack riddled CU for 387 yards, but Colorado coach Gary Barnett's team found a way to win a game in which it produced 125 yards of offense. The Buffaloes now find themselves in the unlikely position of beginning the current season with a 3-0 start if they can defeat North Texas next week in Boulder. They'll need some help from an offense which failed to reach the end zone in the team's, 20-12, win against the Cougars.

 

ALPHABET BOWL. USC topped CSU, 49-0, as the Trojans improved to 2-0 on the year while Sonny Lubick's Rams dropped to 0-2. LenDale White ran for three scores and QB Matt Leinart added a pair of TD passes for the co-defending national champs.

 

 The lone bright spot for the Rams was WR David Anderson, who grabbed 9 passes for 137 yards and now totals 18 catches thus far for 293 yards in the first two weeks of the season. USC coasted to its 11 straight victory overall and 16th in a row at home while raising its record to 12-3-1 against Mountain West Conference competition. 

 

 BY THE NUMBERS. Fresno State may be this year's outsider trying to wreak havoc on the post-seasons plans of the BCS. The Bulldogs hounded the Kansas State Wildcats, 45-21, in Manhattan and limited KSU to 180 yards on offense.

 

 Purdue's Kyle Orton completed his first fifteen passes en route to a school record 88.5% effort in connecting on 23 of 26 attempts in the Boilermakers', 59-7, rout of Ball State.

 

 QB Aaron Rodgers and TB J. J. Arrington led California to a 41-14 win against N.M. State as the Golden Bears moved to 2-0 on the season.  Rodgers tossed a TD pass and Arrington ran for three.

 

 He's at it again. Oklahoma's Antonio Perkins returned another punt for a TD, for a record-tying eighth time in his career. The Sooners rolled past Houston, 63-10.

 

 The Boston College Eagles posted just their fourth win in 23 tries against Penn State by downing the Nittany Lions, 21-7.

 

 Texas A & M held the Wyoming Cowboys to minus three yards rushing in posting a 31-0 shutout in the Aggies' home opener.

 

 PK Wes Zunker booted a 43 yard field goal as the gun sounded to enable the New Mexico Lobos to overcome a 449 yard passing performance by Texas Tech's Sonny Cumbie, as Rocky Long's squad won a, 27-24, decision in Albuquerque.

 

 Two teams headed in diametrically opposed directions are the Boise State and the Army.  The Broncos handled Oregon State, 53-34, for their 14th straight win--tops in division 1-A.  BSU travels to UTEP next week.  At the other end of the success curve are the Army Black Knights of Bobby Ross. The Cadets endured a season opening loss to the Louisville Cards by a 52-21 count. Next up: Houston.