Weekend Wrap Up

While it has been sometime since I last wrote concerning the state of college football, I have nonetheless been following it with the same intensity. I have also been almost at a loss for words concerning the things that have happened in the past few weeks in college football. The two teams that I felt were the best in the nation lost their starting quarterback for the season and for a game respectively, and ended up losing at least one game. Oregon lost their Heisman candidate for the season, and lost to Arizona, and now to UCLA. Oklahoma lost their nation leading quarterback and lost to Texas Tech. Oklahoma’s Bradford returned for their last game against Oklahoma State. Bradford didn’t throw for many yards, but was able to throw 4 touchdown passes, to get the Sooner’s back on track. When the Sooner’s are playing healthy, they are the best team in the country. They get a chance to play against the currently ranked #1 team in the polls and in the BCS this coming weekend when they play Missouri for the second time. If you remember, Missouri’s one loss this year came from the Sooners.
Another quick note about Sam Bradford. He has broken the NCAA freshman record for touchdown passes, and still has a game to go. He has played phenomenally, and the Sooners are not getting the credit they deserve in the polls, and Bradford is not getting the credit he deserves. Though I normally disagree with pre-season Heisman watch lists, I’ll play the game and say that Bradford should be on everybody’s list next season. Bradford this season has thrown for 32 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions. His completion percentage is 70.2% and 2670 yards. He still has two games to go, with the Big 12 Championship game, and whichever Bowl game they attend.
The tragedy of the BCS this year is that Ohio State may still end up in the National Championship game. Should West Virginia or Missouri lose, the Buckeyes will have gained admission through doing nothing. West Virginia plays Pitt this weekend, and should win, locking up a spot in the title game, while Mizzou faces a tougher test, as previously mentioned, against the team that has already beaten them this year. If Mizzou loses, we will see a similar NC game as last years. Ohio State doesn’t have the speed or the talent to play with West Virginia. In one writers opinion, that is one reason the BCS is again flawed. Do I have a solution, sure, but it won’t happen, so I won’t discuss it.
One game I’d like to talk about is the rivalry game known through out the country as the Holy War, or the battle for the Beehive Boot. BYU v. Utah. BYU has scored more than 30 points in six of their games this year, and had two other games where they were on the verge of 30. Utah was on a roll scoring over 27 points in their last 4 games, and 50 in their game against Wyoming. This was lining up to be a high scoring game with the last team with the ball winning. But with this rivalry, you never really know.
The first half was a defensive struggle, with the only points coming off the foot of BYU’s kicker, Mitch Payne. The Utes definitely had the edge in special team play, but were unable to take advantage of that. BYU had been able to move the ball effectively against the Utes, but couldn’t seem to get in the end zone. In the fourth quarter, the Cougars were up 9 - 3, with no one in the end zone. BYU had multiple chances. A couple were just out of reach or off the fingertips of the receivers, and another was nullified by an offensive pass interference call on Austin Collie.
The Utes also had their opportunities. They were put into scoring position after an interception by BYU quarterback Max Hall, but rather than scoring Utah quarterback in turn threw an interception, that would have gone the distance had Cody Hodgkiss not tripped over his own feet.
Utah was finally able to get into the end zone on a 1 yard run by Darryl Mack. They had taken the lead, but left BYU with just over a minute and a half to take back the lead. Max Hall fumbled the snap on first down, putting BYU in a second and 18. Failing to convert on second and third down, BYU now faced a 4th and 18, and the game. Utah played a prevent defense, and Hall scrambled around, until he found Austin Collie standing alone in the field for a 49 yard gain. This kept BYU’s hopes alive. Utah then proceeding to give the game away with a personal foul, and a pass interference call. BYU was now 11 yards out, and freshman sensation running back, Harvey Unga rumbled into the end zone for the go ahead touchdown. BYU lead by 5 points, and opted to go for a two point conversion. Hall found Collie in the back of the end zone to convert the two points.
Utah had some time left, but their hopes ended when Johnson threw a 50 yard pass into the end zone that was batted down. BYU had won another nail bitter against their rival. This is a team that should be good for years to come. They have a good discipline and a good coach.