CigarSmokinFootball

This football season, for which I awaited so impatiently, is about to kill me! What another weekend! Perhaps not quite up to the heart-stopping thrills of upset weekend, but, still, … 82 points? And, rumors that I yelled at the tv during the Alabama-Tennessee contest are just that, rumors. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.

 
ACC
Let’s start off on the Atlantic coast. Miami treated Virginia Tech rather poorly Thursday night. It wasn’t until the 4th quarter that VaTech got on the scoreboard, after they had given up 30. The Hokies, after beating Ohio State, have tanked.
In the preview of this weekend CigarSmokinFootball picked Virginia to beat North Carolina, but we did say we weren’t sure what to expect from the Tar Heels. They proved us correct in that aspect. (I’ve even learned from the liberals, put a positive spin on every defeat.) UVA led throughout the game, keeping UNC off the score board until late in the 4th quarter. That’s when the wheels began to come off the vehicle. UNC backup QB Mitch Trubisky threw a 16 yard TD pass to take the lead, 28-27. No sweat, plenty of time for Cavilers, but North Carolina tried an onside kick, recovered it, and ran out the clock. Brilliant call by Larry Fedora.
Pitt was hosting Georgia Tech and they were ready to swat the Yellow Jackets. Only one problem, they turned the ball over FIVE times in the 1st quarter! GT capitalized on four of those. Kind-of hard to defeat a team when you spot them 28 points. The Yellow Jackets stung the Panthers, 56-28. Pitt needs to STOP TURNING THE BALL OVER!
Boston College was having very little trouble with Wake Forest, – until the second half, that is. With a 17-0 lead, the Eagles were cruising. How many times do I have to say it? DON’T CRUISE! AND DON’T TURN THE BALL OVER! The Demon Deacons came storming back, scoring 17 points. BC they scored 6 points more in the fourth to preserve the win, 23-17.
For all those fans that like field goals, Syracuse vs. Clemson was the game for you. It looked like all these teams could do was kick FG’s. Then, in the 4th quarter, the Tigers, South Carolina variety, finally scored a touchdown to win 16-6.

Big 12 that only has 10 teams
In the conference that doesn’t have a conference championship game, just like the Independents, like Notre Dame, K-State faced Texas, seeking its 500 victory. I remember when I was a kid living in Kansas and the thought of the Wildcats ever reaching 500 wins was just a pipe dream. Fast forward with one Bill Snyder, and here we are. Not only did KSU win, they shutout the Longhorns 23-0. My daughter, the A&M fan, giggled. K-State tightened its grip on the Big 12 that only has ten teams lead. What was it the K-State crowd was chanting near the end? “We own Texas”.
TCU scored 82 points against Texas Tech with their newly-polished offense. Yep, you read that right, 82 Points! Hopefully, everyone on the Horn Frog team got some playing time. Wow! The game between K-State and Texas Christian is shaping up to be one heck of a game. They play in two weeks, can hardly wait.
West “By Golly” Virginia is ranked 22nd in the nation, just in case nobody noticed. They have lost to Alabama and Oklahoma. They visited Oklahoma State, who was coming off a loss to TCU. The Mountaineers jumped out to a 14 point lead and never looked back, winning 34-10. Their next game is against TCU. Anybody besides me thinking that’s going to be a high scoring game?

Great White North
Minnesota was undefeated in league play when they traveled to Illinois. Wearing their grey uniforms, the Illini played with abandon and won, 28-24. Something about a Yankee team wearing grey that just doesn’t sit right with me. It’s just wrong!
In the featured game of the day Michigan played Michigan State. Years ago RB Hart of Michigan called MSU the little brother. That did not sit well with Coach Dantonio, not at all. To make matters worse, the Wolverines, at the start of the game, came out of the tunnel and stuck a spike in the field. What were they thinking? The Spartans were already fired up, why would they give them one more reason? Sure enough, MSU gave the “Big M” another beating, 35-11. Michigan needs a miracle just to become bowl eligible. The Spartans have the week off to get ready for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes played the first half against Penn State in fine form. They led by 14 points at the intermission, but Penn State played in the second half, evening the score in the 4th. Both teams scored touchdowns in the first OT. The Buckeyes scored first in the second overtime and stonewalled the Nittany Lions for the win.
Elsewhere, Wisconsin had very little trouble with Maryland, winning 52-7. Nebraska smothered Rutgers, 42-24. Ameer Abdullah ran for 225 yards against the Scarlett Knights. With that type of production, it makes coaching easy, even if you wear your hat cockeyed. Hand the ball to Abdullah and watch him run. Simple.

 
SEC
My brother summed up the Ole Miss vs LSU game for all Rebel fans, “Crap!” LSU did everything they could to give the game to Mississippi, they turned the ball over again and again, and UM never capitalized. Ole Miss needs a power runner, because on nights when QB Bo Wallace is “Bad Bo” they need to be able to run the ball, which they weren’t able to do against the Tigers, Louisiana variety. Because they couldn’t run the “Land Shark” defense was on the field WAY too long. LSU has a running game and in the second half, that’s about all they did, run right, run left, run up the middle. After LSU scored, on a pass play, if you can believe that, and took the lead, 10-7, Ole Miss still had chances. They moved down the field to set up a field goal and tie the game. A Delay of Game penalty caused Coach Freeze to change his mind and put the offense back on the field. Instead of throwing the ball to a receiver on the sidelines for a closer field goal attempt, “Bad Bo” threw the ball almost into the endzone where a Bayou Bengal grabbed it. Game over, LSU wins, Ole Miss falls from the ranks of the undefeated.
Alabama – Tennessee, the winner smokes cigars to celebrate the victory. First play from scrimmage, Amari Cooper caught a short pass and ran 80 yards for a touchdown. UT couldn’t stem the Crimson Tide in the first quarter. Bama made the Ohio State mistake, and the BC mistake, and the Michigan State mistake against Oregon, and took their foot off the gas. Tennessee QB Joshua Dobbs took over and led the Vols on a comeback. It seemed like no time and the score was 27-17, and UT wasn’t quitting. Alabama scored again, apparently putting the game out of reach, and winning, 34-20. Cooper set the Alabama receiving record with 224 yards. He is good. The Crimson Tide enjoyed nice cigars after the game, so did I.
South Carolina and Auburn swapped leads all night. One team would score the other would answer. Into the 4th quarter the score was 35-35. Then the Tigers, Alabama variety, scored the go ahead TD, 42-35. USC-S couldn’t answer.
Mississippi State had their hands full against the pesky Kentucky Wildcats, but were too much, eventually, 45-31. Arkansas did not play an SEC opponent, which means they won, beating UAB 45-17. The highlight of the game was when 350lb offensive guard Sebastian Tretola took the snap and threw a Touchdown pass off a fake field goal. That makes Tretola the owner of the honor of being the heaviest person in all of college football to throw a touchdown pass. Good to see the fat guys shine.
Missouri beat Vanderbilt, 24-14, but it was way too hard.

PAC-12
Friday night the Oregon Ducks defeated the California Bears, 59-41. It appears the “Quack Attack” has recovered and fixed their wrongs. Defense needs some work, though.
UCLA vs Colorado, and CSF was tempted to call for another upset by the Buffs. But, since they failed against USC, we didn’t. Colorado made it into one heck of a game, scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter and forcing overtime. Both teams kicked field goals in the first overtime period. Colorado kicked another field goal but were not able to keep the Bruins out of the endzone. UCLA won 40-37. PAC-12 better be taking notes here;- the Buffalos as getting better.
Utah hosted USC. It looked like the Trojans were going to pull it out, but the Utes scored and regained the lead, 24-21. Pat Hayden didn’t have enough time to run down on the field and dispute the call. Author’s note: With Archie Manning pulling himself out of the Selection Committee for medical reason, shouldn’t another member be dismissed so they have an odd number? I nominate Tommy Trojan Pat Hayden. I love Condi Rice. I’d vote for her for President. But she graduated from Notre Dame, was the Provost at Stanford, and was born in Alabama. I’m (kinda) sure she’ll be fair.
In possibly the windiest college game ever, Arizona State played Washington. Everyone knows that Seattle is known for rain, but wind? Isn’t that Chicago? The wind was so bad that the satellite feed caused skips in the broadcast. Of course, with this wind it made punts and passes look like acts of the Keystone Cops. ASU ran the ball better than the Huskies and won, 24-10.
Arizona did their thing and passed WSU, 59-37, Stanford had little trouble with Oregon State, winning, 38-14.
Tuesday night will be the first time that the Selection Committee releases their rankings. Who’s going to be the top four? Which one-loss teams will be considered worthy? Let the arguments begin.
In Division II action the North Alabama Lions cut it close with West Georgia, winning 31-28. A little too close for comfort. Next week my Lions play at Delta State. Just for the record I DO NOT like Delta State, not one bit.