Guest Post: Recap of College Football Games Weekend of September 9, 2012

The second week of the 2012 college football season is in the books and there was plenty of exciting action around the country. Several top 25 teams were upset this weekend with #8 Arkansas being the biggest surprise losing at home in overtime to Louisiana Monroe. Let’s take a closer look at all of the top 25 action from this past weekend. #1 Alabama vs Western Kentucky – The Alabama Crimson Tide did not have any hangover effect from last week’s drubbing of the Michigan Wolverines. Alabama cruised over Western Kentucky 35-0 and will eagerly await a date with Arkansas next Saturday. #2 USC at Syracuse – This game was played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and saw a lengthy delay because of bad weather. Once play resumed in the second half, USC poured it on and defeated Syracuse by a final score of 42-29. #3 LSU vs Washington – LSU had no trouble with the Washington Huskies allowing just 183 total yards, and showing the country that they have one of the best defenses around en route to a 41-3 thrashing. #4 Oregon vs Fresno State – Once again Oregon showed they may have the best offense in the country as the Ducks rolled to a 42-25 win over Fresno State. Oregon built a 35-6 halftime lead but appeared to let up a bit in the second half before Kenjon Barner scored on a 16-yard run to ice the victory. #5 Oklahoma vs Florida AM – Oklahoma was able to put last week’s mild scare at UTEP behind them and clobbered Florida AM 69-13. #6 Florida State vs Savannah State – A lot was made of this game because of the record setting 69.5 point spread Las Vegas posted. The game was eventually called in the third quarter with FSU winning 55-0. This may have been a blessing in disguise for anyone who held a Savannah State +69.5 ticket as the Seminoles were scoring at will. #7 Georgia at Missouri – In one of the marquee games of the week, Missouri hosted #7 Georgia for their first ever SEC conference game. Missouri defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson added some excitement to this game by stoking the ire of the Georgia Bulldogs and proclaiming that no one could stop Missouri if they were executing their plays. The contest was a close one for much of the game, but Georgia proved to be too much on defense for Missouri as the Bulldogs capitalized on several fourth quarter mistakes by the Missouri Tigers en route to a 41-20 victory. #8 Arkansas vs Louisiana Monroe – Arkansas was the biggest shock of the day as the #8 Razorbacks lost at home to Louisiana Monroe. Arkansas lost their starting quarterback Tyler Wilson in the first half and he did not return in the second half of the game. This surely played a role in allowing UL Monroe to stick around and force overtime in the final minute of the game. Arkansas has since dropped out of the top 25 rankings after losing to an unranked opponent. #9 South Carolina vs East Carolina – South Carolina QB Connor Shaw did not play in this game because of a shoulder injury he suffered in week one. Backup quarterback Dylan Thompson performed admirably in Shaw’s place though, throwing for 330 yards and 3 TDs helping lead the Gamecocks to an easy 48-10 victory. #11 Michigan State at Central Michigan – MSU displayed their offensive dominance over a MAC foe this past Saturday. Michigan State racked up an impressive 495 total yards of offense while demolishing Central Michigan 41-7. #12 Clemson vs Ball State – Clemson was without star wide receiver Sammy Watkins for a second game as he continues to serve his suspension, but did not matter much as the Tigers scored points at will against Ball State. Clemson gained over 500 yards of total offense, including 372 through the air en route to a 52-27 victory over Ball State. #13 Wisconsin at Oregon State – The Wisconsin Badgers had a dismal day on offense against the Oregon State Beavers. Wisconsin managed to score just seven points all day long and could not get anything going on the ground, eventually losing 10-7. Star running back Monte Ball failed to score a rushing TD for the first time in twenty-one games. There was a bit of controversy at the end of the game as Wisconsin had apparently recovered an onside kick but it was reviewed by the officials and decided that Wisconsin’s kicker had touched the ball before it traveled ten yards, negating the onside kick recovery. #14 Ohio State vs Central Florida – Ohio State’s Braxton Miller had a great day running the football. Miller scored three touchdowns in the game and the Buckeyes easily defeated Central Florida by a score of 31-16. #15 Virginia Tech vs Austin Peay – There was no let down for the Hokies after they defeated Georgia Tech in week one. Virginia Tech cruised to a 21-0 halftime lead and eventually beat Austin Peay by a final score of 42-7. #16 Nebraska at UCLA – Nebraska was another Big 10 upset victim on Saturday as the Cornhuskers traveled west to face the UCLA Bruins. Both teams played a highly entertaining game, but UCLA was able to limit their mistakes in the fourth quarter when in matter most. The Bruins eventually emerged with a 36-30 victory for one of the school’s biggest wins in recent memory. #17 Texas vs New Mexico – Texas had little trouble with New Mexico all day long, eventually winning by a final score of 45-0. New Mexico was only able to manage 35 passing yards all game and just a total of 241 total yards. #18 Oklahoma State at Arizona – The Oklahoma State Cowboys were another top 25 upset victim on Saturday, falling to Arizona by a final score of 59-38. Oklahoma State was able to rack up 636 total yards of offense but four turnovers ended up being their demise. #19 Michigan vs Air Force – The Michigan Wolverines narrowly escaped being another Big 10 upset victim by pulling out a 31-25 victory over Air Force. QB Denard Robinson accounted for 426 total yards of offense as the Wolverines got back on track after an embarrassing loss to Alabama in week one. #20 TCU vs Grambling State – TCU easily creamed Grambling State 56-0. Grambling State was only able to muster 70 yards of total offense all game long. #21 Kansas State vs Miami – The Miami Hurricanes made their first trip to Kansas State and were promptly greeted with a 52-13 defeat. The Hurricanes had no answer for Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein who scored four total touchdowns in the game including three on the ground. #22 Notre Dame vs Purdue – Notre Dame narrowly avoided defeat to in-state rival Purdue by beating the Boilermakers 20-17 on a last second field goal. Former starting QB Tommy Rees entered the game on the Irish’s last possession and helped lead his team down the field for the game winning field goal. It is unclear how Rees’ performance will affect his status with the team the rest of the season. #23 Louisville vs Missouri State – Louisville Cardinals quarterback Teddy Bridgewater had a career day completing 30 of 39 passes for 344 yards. The Cardinals used Bridgewater’s performance to roll to a 35-7 victory over Missouri State. #24 Florida at Texas AM – The Florida Gators welcomed the Texas AM Aggies into the SEC with a 20-17 defeat. Just like last year, Texas AM was unable to hold onto a second half lead as Florida rallied from a 17-10 halftime deficit to beat the Aggies on their home field. #25 Stanford vs Duke – Stanford played much better this week than they did against San Jose State in week one, beating the Duke Blue Devils 50-13. QB Joe Nunes completed 16 of 30 passes for 275 yards and had 3 TDs to go with 1 INT. Stanford will eagerly await their showdown with rival USC next weekend. By Don Phan - Just another sports enthusiast.