The Northwest Report-Week 9 Rewind
By Nick Haswell for Football Reporters Online

The 9th Saturday of the college football season provided two great matchups in the Northwest. Unfortunately, neither game lived up to its expectations as the home team in each game scored decisive victories. The victors of each game still have hope of winning a National Championship in their teams’ respective classifications, while the losers of each game have seen their championship dreams vanish.

Game of the Week #1-USC at Oregon: In Eugene, the Oregon Ducks established themselves as the team to beat in the Pac 10 conference after dismantling the USC Trojans 47-20. Duck QB Jeremiah Masoli accounted for 386 yards of total offense and 2 TDs. RB LaMichael James added 183 yards rushing as Oregon rolled up 613 yards of total offense; the most yards given up by a Pete Carroll led USC defense. The Ducks now enjoy a one-and-a half game lead on 2nd place Arizona in the Pac 10 standings. USC, meanwhile, falls to 3-2 in the conference, which ties them for 4th.

Game of the Week #2-Weber State at Montana: In Missoula, the Montana Grizzlies separated themselves from the rest of the Big Sky with their 31-10 win over the Weber State Wildcats. Montana dominated the Wildcats on both offense and defense, as evidenced by the total offense difference of 506-299. Chase Reynolds led Montana with his 241 yards rushing and a TD. The Wildcats also suffered from 4 Cameron Higgins INTs, including 2 by CB Trumaine Johnson. The Griz are just a victory over cellar dweller Idaho State away from clinching a share of their 12 consecutive Big Sky Conference Championship. With the loss, Weber State is now tied with Eastern Washington for 2nd place at 5-2, but has more than likely seen their postseason hopes dashed due to its 5-4 overall record.

Washington State vs. Notre Dame (in San Antonio, TX): Notre Dame dominated Washington State at the Alamo Dome in San Antonio by winning 40-14. The Fighting Irish enjoyed a 592-206 total yard edge and won the time of possession battle by over a 2:1 margin. RB Dwight Tardy for the Cougars racked up 72 yards rushing, but only on 8 carries, as the Cougars fell behind quickly and was forced to throw early and often.

UCLA at Oregon State: James Rodgers ran for a 17 yards TD with 44 seconds left in the game to lift Oregon State over UCLA 26-19. UCLA had tied the score at 19 with 2:06 left in the 4th quarter on a 7 yard TD and successful 2-point conversion. The Rodgers brothers, James and Jacquizz, accounted for 338 of the 463 total yards of offense for the Beavers and Jacquizz also threw for a 14 yard TD in the 2nd quarter.

San Jose State at Boise State: Kellen Moore completed 21 of 33 passes for 278 yards, 3 passing TDs and a rushing TD in leading the Boise State Broncos to a 45-7 win over the San Jose State Spartans. After the Spartans tied the score at 7 with 11:28 remaining in the 2nd quarter, the Broncos scored 17 points to finish the first half, including 2 TDs in the final 44 seconds of the half, in pulling away from San Jose State.

Louisiana Tech at Idaho: DeMaundray Woolridge scored his 2nd TD of the 4th quarter with 52 seconds left, and Trey Farquhar kicked the extra point to lead Idaho over Louisiana Tech 35-34. Vandal QB Nathan Enderle threw for 327 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs. The difference in the game proved to be a missed PAT by Louisiana Tech after its final TD, after going up 34-21 in the 4th quarter.

Portland State vs. Eastern Washington (in Seattle, WA): Eastern Washington CB Matt Johnson tied a Big Sky record by picking off 4 passes in a game in the Eagles’ victory over Portland State 47-10. EWU QB Matt Nichols passed for 413 yards and 4 TDs. Eastern limited PSU to 278 yards of total offense, including only 163 passing. Last year, Vikings QB Drew Hubel threw for 623 yards and 5 TDs against Eastern Washington.

Idaho State at Montana State: Montana State RB rushed for 108 yards and 2 TDs as the Bobcats blew out the dismal Idaho State Bengals 41-10. Idaho State actually led the game 10-3 until a Bobcat TD tied it at 10 with 4:07 left in the 2nd quarter. After that, it was all Montana State. Idaho State finished with only 144 yards of total offense, including just 17 on the ground.

                                                  ACC Wrap Up Week 9
 
By Rafael Garcia
Sr. Contributing Writer
Southeast Region
assisted by
William Queen
Football Reporters Online
 
 
 
NORTH CAROLINA – 20 VIRGINIA TECH – 17
Virginia Tech came into this game as heavy favorites, but left as just another inconsistent team in the ACC. Big names such as Tyrod Taylor fooled fans into believing it would be a high scoring affair. However, early on, it proved otherwise. Holding Taylor to only 161 yards and no touchdowns through the air, UNC’s defense proved to be very strong against the pass. They also prevented the big play from happening; both of the Hokies touchdowns came off 1-yard runs. On the other side of the ball, UNC quarterback TJ Yates threw for a mere 131 yards, but managed a crucial two touchdowns through the air. Two turnovers also spurred UNC to victory, including a recovered fumble at the Hokies 24-yard line with only 50 seconds left. Off the turnover, sophomore kicker Casey Barth chipped one through the uprights for the win. Not only did Virginia Tech practically lose their chances at the ACC title, but they also ruined a potential 10-2 season. These games show just how unpredictable the ACC can be. One week, North Carolina has their heads down due to a blown lead and the next thing you know, they’re upsetting the #13 team in the country.
 
MIAMI – 28 WAKE FOREST – 27
In my mind, the Hurricanes established themselves as another one of those feast-or-famine teams. When they show up to play, they’re one of the best teams in the country. But on other days, such as this one, they don’t quite get their message across. Now I know they won, and boy were there some stats. Miami quarterback Jacory Harris threw for 330 yards and 3 touchdowns, as his opposition Riley Skinner threw for 349 yards and 2 touchdowns. However, Miami didn’t win this game, Wake Forest lost it. Winning 17-0 midway through the second quarter, the Deacons looked to pull off a tremendous upset. Though, once again, turnovers plagued the hopes of Wake Forest ever winning this game. Two missed field goals and an interception in the fourth quarter alone; they practically gave the game to Miami. Honestly, I couldn’t believe how badly Miami played. There’s really no specific area. They couldn’t take advantage of turnovers like I’m used to seeing them do, their defense was running in circles and they nearly lost to a .500 team. Unfortunately, Miami is currently third in the costal division of the ACC and looks to be on the outside looking in at the ACC championship game.
 
DUKE – 28 VIRGINIA – 7
I never thought I would get to say this, but Duke’s on a run! This win makes it their third straight ACC victory this season, something that the Blue Devils haven’t done in 10 years. Now as for the game, there was the 343 yards through the air by Duke Quarterback Thaddeus Lewis He has gone for 300+ yards in five games this season, leading the Blue Devils to an impressive 5-3 record. Posting a 9-3 score at the half implied a low-scoring affair, however it proved wrong, as Duke exploded for 19 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to seize the victory. Usually, it’s Duke’s offense that does the work, but what really surprised me was how well Duke played on defense. Allowing a meager 196 yards of total offense, the Blue Devil’s defense played one of their best games all year. Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell threw for only 86 yards and back Rashawn Jackson rushed for only 83 yards. Virginia was embarrassed on third downs. But in the end, all this mess equals the Duke Blue Devils being at the number two spot in the Costal division of the ACC. One more win and they’re bowl eligible, two wins and they’ve secured a bowl trip and if they win out then they’re ACC champions. Duke controls their destiny. 
 
FLORIDA STATE – 45 NC STATE – 42
Can we get some defense? NC State quarterback threw for 349 yards and 5 touchdowns and Seminoles quarterback threw for 277 yards and one score, both offenses drove all over the field the whole game. The game-winning score came from Bert Reed on a 3-yard reverse, giving Florida State their second in-conference victory.
 
GEORGIA TECH – 56 VANDERBILT – 31
An impressive win over an SEC team, Georgia Tech improved to 8-1 on the season.  They scored 56 points, along with 597 yards of total offense, the Yellow Jackets offense didn’t disappoint. Georgia Tech’s defense locked up the second half, holding Vandy to just 3 points.
 
BOSTON COLLEGE – 31 CENTRAL MICHIGAN – 10
Going up against perhaps the best the MAC has to offer, Boston College didn’t let anyone down. Eagles running back Montel Harris helped the offense with his 136 yards rushing, as the defense did its part with two forced turnovers.
 
CLEMSON – 49 COSTAL CAROLINA – 3
Possibly the easiest game of the year so far for Clemson, the Tigers scored 49 unanswered points over a three quarter span. No real impressive stats, as playing time was distributed between players evenly, giving them a chance to look ahead to next week’s ACC showdown vs. the Seminoles.

                                 SEC Week 9 Wrap Up
By Rafael Garcia
Sr. Contributing Writer Football Reporters Online
Southeast Region
 
Tennessee 31 South Carolina 13
The last time their was this much excitement in Knoxville the Vols were considered a good team. When this year began the idea was to get the program back to it’s winning ways. A task tat would fall to new head football coach Lane Kiffin and his new staff. Things did not start well for the Vols but began changing when they lost that narrow game to Florida. They followed it up with a closer one against Alabama. Although they were losses they seem to build the character of this team and they seemed to have found some kind of unity and understanding of each other. I had written that maybe they had found that missing piece of something that they needed to build their confidence and play ball again. Well on Saturday they were facing a Gamecock team that would not fold easily. Yet when it came to game time they could not execute as they fumbled three times in the first half to help the Vols take a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. The Vols wore Halloween uniforms also going with the black top with orange letter on it. It was a move by a team that is feeling more confident each week. After the first half all the Vols had to do was hold on to the lead as South Carolina never really threatened or put up any kind of fight. It was a huge win for the team as they showed that they can compete and finish against a quality opponent. The fact that they were humiliated by S.C. last year, then a few days later Phillip Fulmer was advised that he would not return as coach, played a big part in their motivation. Jonathan Crompton continues to improve and show more confidence in his game. He managed the game well going 12-24 for 142 yards and two touchdowns. Most importantly he did not throw an interception and was on target for the most part. Montario Hardesty continues to run strong and hard as he ended the game with 121 yards on 23 carries. There was the almost customary blocked field goal and that will have to be addressed too. Junior Chad Cunningham handled the kicking duties while Daniel Lincoln was nursing an injured quadriceps. Gamecock quarterback Stephen Garcia had 300 yards passing on 25-50 but most of it was late when his team was trying to come back too little too late. He was bothered all day by the new blitzing schemes implemented this past week and never really could get into a rhythm. The running game was not a factor as well due to the lead that was built by Tennessee. It was the first time in a while that UT outplayed a Steve Spurrier coached team like this. He is usually prepared for any situation but not on this day. The win puts UT at 4-4 on the year with hope of finishing off strong. An 8-8 record is not out of the question yet.
 
Florida 41 Georgia 17
This was not supposed to be this bad but AT&Tebow made sure it was. He accounted for four touchdowns, throwing and running for two each, and set the record for rushing touchdowns in SEC history with his 50th and 51st of his career. A.J. Jones had two big picks and another was returned five yards by Brandon Spikes for a touchdown. It was the best that      Florida has played in quite some time as they won their 18th straight game to extend the nation’s longest win streak. They also clinched at least a tie for the SEC East title after the South Carolina loss. As for Georgia it was a rough outing to say the least as they are still smarting form last year’s 49-10 loss to the Gators in which coach Meyer called two timeouts to prolong the Bulldogs loss. Pictures of him calling the timeouts were posted all over the Georgia locker room and but it did nothing as far as motivation. Georgia QB Joe Cox was replaced in the lineup by Logan Gray and the Gators welcomed him on the pick by Jones to end the scoring. Georgia will now have to take another look at their team to see what they can do to salvage a season they hoped would go better than this one has gone. They are now at 4-4 overall and at 3-3 are tied with South Carolina in the East. It’s been a disappointing season but they have time to finish strong.
 
Mississippi State 31 Kentucky 24
It was the Anthony Dixon show as he ran for a school record 252 yards and two touchdowns. He broke the school record that was held by Jerious Norwood (247 yards) right after he broke the career mark also set by Norwood two weeks ago. The Bulldogs keep their bowl hopes alive and are now 2-3 in the West and 4-5 overall. Quarterback Tyson Lee was efficient going 10-17 for 145 yards a touchdown and two picks. For the Wildcats it was not enough even though they started so strong jumping out to a 14-3 lead. Quarterback Morgan Newton continues to show signs that he is the future of this team. He was just 11-19 for 119 yards but on his 11-yard scoring run he dragged defenders with him showing his toughness. He made good decisions but made his mistakes as well. Kentucky was moving the ball in attempt to tie the game but fell short when they turned it over on downs. The bowl picture still looks god for both of these teams.
 
Auburn 33 Mississippi 20
 LSU 42 Tulane 0
Georgia Tech 56 Vanderbilt 31
Arkansas 63 Eastern Michigan 27