CigarSmokinFootball

What a weekend! Have I said that before, like, last weekend? Personally, I nearly died of a heart attack Saturday night but what a great day. Let’s take a look at what happened.

 
ACC

 
Ok, folks, it’s time to be honest;- selections committee, I’m talking to you, too. Florida State is not a national powerhouse. They have name recognition, they have tradition, but, come on, man, how can one possibly say they are one of the top schools in the nation after what we’ve witnessed? FSU struggled against Virginia, yes, they won, but, seriously? I like UVA, I think Mike London is a very good coach, but they are not in the same league as the top teams and neither is Florida State. It’s time to suck it up and take a stand; the Seminoles have the easiest schedule in the nation. They should not be in the Top Ten, much less the top 4.

 
Elsewhere in the EasyCoast (ACC) league, Duke, the most underrated one loss team, handled Syracuse in upper New York with no problem, 27-10. Georgia Tech did that thing they do, which is run the ball like mad, over NC State, 56-23, and Louisville flew over BC, 38-19. That’s enough of the ACC

 
Big 12, that only has ten teams

 
The middle of American conference gave us a hair-raising, exciting day! (for those that have hair that is, the rest of us just remember that feeling) Baylor, for the first time in school history, visited Norman, Oklahoma, and left town with a win! It wasn’t just a win, it was a statement victory. After Oklahoma led in the first quarter, 14-3 the Bears of Waco scored 45 unanswered points. The Sooners looked lost and confused.
Texas, who has struggled most of the year, turned in its best performance of 2014. Hosting #23 West Virginia, the Longhorns shocked the Mountaineers, 33-16. Here at CigarSmokinFootball.com, we said, “Look out for UT, Charlie Strong has got these players right where he wants them.” They are starting to buy into his system and his outlook on life, they’ve turned the corner in Austin and they’re not done upsetting people.

 
Kansas, the freakin’ Kansas Jayhawks, won a conference game by beating Iowa State, 34-14. How in the world did KU win a Division 1 game? They haven’t won a Division 1 game in years, like, since they hired Charlie Weis. Now they’ve done it! As a reward, their next three games are TCU, Oklahoma, and Kansas State. Hope the Jayhawks enjoyed that win.

 
Kansas State, who I actually picked to win, did not have a good day in Fort Worth, Texas. TCU took control of the game from the opening gun. The Wildcats couldn’t penetrate the Horn Frog defense to save their life. Texas Christian ran, passed, jumped, flipped, all over the field. Boykin had a career day with 123 rushing yards and 23 for 34 passes. He played the best he has all year! But the heroes of the game were the Defensive players of TCU. They dominated the K-State line and confused the Wildcats. This was TCU’s fifth ranked opponent in the last six games! How many ranked teams has Florida State played? One, maybe two?

 
Great White North Conference

 
Minnesota, coming off a loss to Illinois, was expected to struggle a bit with the Iowa Defense. Instead, the Gophers ran all over the Hawkeyes, scoring 51 points. Iowa scored one TD at the start of the game and then a pity score in the fourth quarter. It was a brutal beating. Minnehaha now has the Little Brown Jug, for beating Michigan, and the Floyd of Rosedale, which is a heavy brass pig, for beating Iowa, both in the same year, for the first time since 1967. Next up, Ohio State. I don’t know if they have a traveling trophy between these two schools or not.

 
Ohio State, almost universally picked to lose to Michigan State, did not read CSF’s prediction. They beat the Spartans by running the ball! No one is supposed to run the ball against the Spartans! How dare they! But they did, they ran wide all night long! The Buckeyes won by 12 points, 49-37, but it was much worse than the score indicated. OSU is now the only GWN team without a league loss.

 
Elsewhere across the snow-filled land, Michigan and Northwestern neither could score. Michigan finally tallied to lead, 10-3. Northwestern scored their own touchdown. Now it’s 10-9, extra point pending. The Wildcats went for the win. Their two point conversion failed, but, Bless their hearts, they tried. Wolverines won. Wisconsin beat Purdue, 34-16, and Penn State beat Indiana.

 
PAC-12

 
Let’s go to the desert where Arizona State opened a can of whoop-ass on Notre Dame. By halftime, it was 34-10 and it wasn’t until the last minute of the half that the Irish scored their touchdown. The Sun Devils could do no wrong. Then they did the worst thing they possibly could do, they took their foot off the gas. Why, oh, why, do teams do this? Notre Dame came storming back with three touchdowns to pull within three points. But Arizona State was able to find their mojo again and they crushed the Irish, 55-31. Let’s not give all the credit to the Sun Devils’ offense, Everett Golson contributed mightily to the win. He kept giving the ball away all game long. He had two interceptions in the first half and one fumble. Then he threw two more interceptions in the fourth quarter. ASU is now in control of the PAC-12 South and on a collision course with Oregon. Notre Dame SHOULD BE out of playoff consideration., but, …the Luck of the Irish.

 
Oregon beat Utah, no big surprise, the Ducks were picked to win. But it could have been different. What’s that saying, “Playing smart will always beat playing dumb”? Kaelin Clay caught a Utah pass downfield and ran all the way to the end zone untouched! Utah should have been up by two scores;-… should have been. Clay thought it would be a good idea to showboat as he ran into the end zone, but he started by dropping the ball one yard before he crossed the goal line. After some initial confusion, an Oregon player picked it up, dropped it, another Duck picked it up and ran it all the way for an Oregon touchdown. That 14-point swing was too much for the Utes.

 
Washington State beat Oregon State, 39-32. UCLA did not let the rain in Seattle bother them as they beat Washington, 44-30. Colorado, who is improving, fell to Arizona, 38-20. Look out for the Buffs in ‘15.

 
SEC

 
Georgia was having a tough go with Ken-Tuck-Y until they determined, “By Golly, that is Enough!” The second half was far different from the first, and the Dawgs beat the Cats, 63-31. Why they didn’t play this way against Florida, I’ll never know. The Bulldogs, from Georgia, are becoming a head scratcher of a team. Ole Miss and Mississippi State played FSB teams and, surprise, surprise, the SEC teams won. (Sarcasm there). Florida pulled away from Vanderbilt in the fourth to win, 34-10.

 
Texas A&M came to the Ugly Corner of Lower Alabama, UCLA, (That’s where Auburn resides) with a true freshman starting at quarterback. The Aggies had lost 3 in a row until they barely beat UL-Monroe. No one, except my daughter, was picking A&M against the defending SEC champions. One of these days I’m going to learn not to bet against my daughter, she has won too much money from me. TAMU, as they call themselves, jumped out to a 14-0 lead, the Tigers, Alabama variety, came storming back, 14-14. Aggies scored another 21 points in the second quarter, War Eagles managed only 3. This freshman Kyle Allen was looking like an all-star. Second half! Auburn scores touchdowns, A&M field goals, 41-38, but Aggies still lead. Auburn has the ball inside the Aggies’ five yard line. Nick Marshall and Cameron Artis-Payne combined to drop it. DOG PILE!!! Once the official unpiled the players, Aggies Ball! Auburn wanted a replay to see who had recovered the fumble. I have no idea how replay shows the bottom of that pile, but, whatever, it was on Auburn’s homefield. All the boys from College Station had to do was to get a first down, but, they didn’t, so they punted. Auburn drove inside the Aggie 30 yard line. Marshall tries to change the play at the line, the center hears something different and snaps the ball, … to no one! A&M recovers. Half the state of Alabama, ( actually, I thinks it’s less than half) is stunned, in total disbelief. The Tigers lose their second SEC West game. Gonna be tough to make it to Atlanta.

 
Let’s try for our second heart attack, shall we? Alabama vs. LSU is always a good game to test your digitalis. I’m not sure what the coaching staff for Bama was thinking, but relying on Sims to pass the Tide to victory was pipe-dreaming. For three and 14/15’s quarters, he couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn if it was beyond 7 yards down field. He was terrible! LSU ran the ball, it’s what they do. In the fourth quarter, with minutes left, the score was tied, 10-10. What does TJ Yeldon do? He fumbles the ball on the 6 yard line! Alabama’s 6 yard line! Are you kidding me! Remind me, again, of John Heisman’s quote about fumbling the ball and dying a young man. TJ lost his Darth status. Yeldon is no longer a Sith Lord. Luckily, the Tide defense and one unsportsmanlike conduct penalty backed the Tigers, Louisiana variety, to the 21 yard line. They kicked the go ahead field goal. Then, somehow, someway, the Alabama offense, that had been terrible all game, came to life. With 50 seconds left they drove down to the LSU 10 for a game tying kick. This is why sports fans die early, things like this. It’s great, and awesome, and we wouldn’t trade it for the world, but it does kill you. The Crimson Tide gets the ball first in OT and scores a touchdown! 20-13! LSU’s turn, four straight incomplete passes and the game was over. Crimson Tide victory! As a hardcore Bama fan, I have to say that LSU outplayed the Tide all night – … until the final minutes.

 
North Alabama followed up their one and only loss by beating Shorter University, 45-7. Roar Lions!!

What a great Saturday in College Football!! Just wait’ll THIS weekend!!!