Cigar Butts for Week 4
This weekend we began separating the Pretenders from the Contenders. The Pretenders have been acting like they were championship material but were proven not to be. See, Vanderbilt, for instance. The Contenders showed they were on track to making it to the Final Four.
Alabama vs Vanderbilt– When aiming for the King one must not miss, for the King will crush the rebels. This is exactly what happened in Nashville. In the days leading up to the game, the 3-0 Commodores talked like they were going to take down the King of the College Football world. I think they call it, ˜trash talking”. Alabama showed them just how far they are from ascending the throne. By the end of the 1st quarter, the score was 21-0, Bama;- when the 2nd quarter ended, it was 31-0. Then the third quarter, with the Alabama second and third strings playing, and the score was 51-0. In the fourth quarter it was “everyone gets to play” for the Crimson Tide and the score ended being 59-0. Even with this difference, the King was being merciful. There is no telling how far Tua could have led the back-ups. Long Live the King! Roll Tide!
TCU vs Oklahoma State– The Pokes of Stillwater where considered Contenders, even we here at CSF thought they were championship material. We were wrong. OSU learned a very valuable lesson Saturday, and that is that defense wins championships. I believe that Bear Bryant and I have said this before. TCU has a defense and they were able to stop the Cowboys, and the Cowboys couldn’t stop the Horn Frogs. Nothing went right for the gunslingers from Oklahoma and everything went right for Frogs of Texas Christian. The game ended, 44-31. Now the Frogs are considered Contenders and challengers to take down the front-running Oklahoma Sooners.
Michigan vs Purdue– The Boilermakers thought, THOUGHT, they were in the right place at the right time to beat the Wolverines. Through the first half, it looked they just might, with the Boilermakers leading, 10-7. Then came the second half and the Maize and Blue ran away with the game, ending the dream of the Pretending Engineers, 28-10.
NC State vs Florida State– At the start of the season the Seminoles knew they were contenders, everyone said so. They held onto this thought even after losing to Alabama. Then they didn’t play for two weeks, something about a hurricane cancelling games. The Wolfpack has never been afraid of FSU, and Saturday they proved that they still aren’t. Besides beating the Noles in Tallahassee, NC State broke a 10 game losing streak to ranked teams. Granted, FSU was playing with their second string quarterback, but that’s no excuse. Florida State is Pretending this year. NC State, not quite a Contender, but they done good.
Penn State vs Iowa– The Nittany Lions are considered Contenders, and, against Iowa, they almost weren’t. But true Contenders find a way to win and that’s just what Penn State did. On the last play of the game, QB Trace McSorley threw a 7 yard prayer to Juwan Johnson which somehow wasn’t intercepted and, instead, completed. Lions won the game ,21-19. Iowa fans were crushed, Penn State escaped.
Mississippi State vs Georgia– The Bulldogs, Mississippi variety, had looked like they were Contenders the week before when they demolished LSU, but, here’s the thing, Contenders have to prove it every week and against Georgia, they didn’t. Not only did the Bulldogs fail to prove a point, UGA showed that they were Contenders in dynamic fashion. The Dawgs took control of the game from the opening whistle and never let up. MSU was staggered and couldn’t recover. Georgia ran away with the game, 31-3, and all the Dawgs are still barking.
Florida vs Kentucky– The Wildcats haven’t beaten the Gators since 1979 and this was going to be their year. Coach Stoops had an experienced, senior-heavy squad, and they were pretending to be Contenders with a 3-0 record. They led the Gators, 27-14, in the fourth quarter, but the Cats hadn’t paid attention to what happened last week when Florida played Tennessee. With 43 seconds left in regulation, Gator QB Luke Del Rio threw a 5 yard touchdown pass to go ahead, 28-27. BUT, that may have not been enough. On the final play, Kentucky attempted a 57 yard field goal, only to have it fall short. Florida has already proven they aren’t Contenders, but Kentucky almost proved they were. Let’s give credit where credit is due, the Wildcats are getting better.
Oregon vs Arizona State– The Ducks have been stealthily returning to their winning ways as they quacked into Tempe, AZ, at 3-0 against a slumping Arizona State. With 2:33 in the fourth, Freshman field goal kicker Brandon Ruiz nailed a 41- yard kick to give the Sun Devils a 37-35 victory. Oregon has a history of stumbling over their quackers when away from Autzen Stadium, and this time they lost to a forlorn Arizona State squad. The Ducks could still be a Contender, but it’s gonna be a lot tougher. For the first time in a long time, Coach Todd Graham’s seat is not so hot in Tempe.
Cigar Ashes:
Washington continued to dominate Colorado, 37-10
Auburn added to Missouri’s woes, 51-14
San Diego State downed Air Force, 28-24
LSU recovered (some) against pesky Syracuse, 35-26
Memphis clawed over Southern Illinois 44-31
Notre Dame beat Michigan State, 38-18. Darn it!
Stanford got back to winning by thrashing UCLA, 58-34
Utah beat Arizona, everyone saw that coming, 30-24
Clemson shot down the Eagles of Boston College, 34-7
Oklahoma had more trouble with Baylor then they should have, but still won, 49-41. The Sooners are Contenders
Army lost to Tulane, and that’s my fault, I only wrote about them in the short smokes and not in the main article. So, my bad. Unfortunately for the Black Knights, last second touchdowns count.
Texas A&M once again beat Arkansas in overtime, 50-43. The Daughter swears she needs a doctor to check her heart health, but she’s smiling….at least today.
Duke kicked North Carolina 27-17, UNC is in trouble
North Alabama lost to West Alabama 38-17….What the Hell! We’re the Lions, and we don’t lose to West Alabama!