This week was a bit of the same in a season where every week has been everything the previous one wasn’t.
For one of the few weeks of this football season, there wasn’t a truckload of upsets or close calls or shootouts. The week appeared to be tame by the standards of excitement and entertainment set so far this year. However, hidden below all of this was the reality that the teams most in the spotlight were consistent this week and refused to let the wave of unexpected events and miracle plays and scores enter into their outings. That and the Big-12 stopped its implosion for one week at least.
Graham Harrell runs wild again throwing six touchdowns to down Oklahoma St.
Another nationally televised primetime game, another big performance from Graham Harrell. By now you could say it’s clockwork, and you’d probably be right.
Harrell tore through another defense that had done its job up until a meeting with the Red Raiders, as Oklahoma St. would be the latest team to feeling Harrell’s wrath. Harrell threw 40/50 for 456 yards and six touchdowns making the Red Raiders’ 56-20 win over the Cowboys seem as easy as it was.
Michael Crabtree was one in a line of Red Raider receivers to have a big night, but his was the biggest. Crabtree caught eight passes for 89 yards with three of those catches being for touchdowns. His last two came in the third quarter putting the final nails in the Cowboys’ coffin.
The Red Raiders’ secondary should be credited with halting the breakthrough performance of Cowboy receiver Dez Bryant before it got started. Bryant’s statistics virtually matched Crabtree’s going into this game, as did he résumé for big plays. However Bryant would be another victim of the Cowboy’s beating only catching four passes, gaining 86 yards off of them, and not catching a touchdown in the game.
The extent of the beating that Tech dished out Saturday night was evident by Red Raider backup quarterback Taylor Potts coming in for a drive and going 5/5 for 60 yards on the drive, which ended in Potts hooking up with Shannon Woods for a 16-yard touchdown with 2:31 to play.
Sam Bradford scores five in dominating win over Aggies
Sam Bradford being responsible for five touchdowns in a game has been something almost expected this season as opposed to being a fantastic game.
Bradford was responsible for five touchdowns—four passing, one rushing this time—for the fifth time this season as Oklahoma blasted Texas A&M away 66-28. Bradford ended the day 22/33 passing for 320 yards to go with his scoring passes. Bradford ran for a 15-yard touchdown to start the game’s scoring.
Bradford’s touchdown passes went to DeMarco Murray (14-0 Sooners), Matt Clapp (28-0 Sooners), Ryan Broyles (45-14 Sooners), and Juaquin Iglesias (59-21 Sooners).
Bradford’s big day overshadowed the big day of Sooner running back Chris Brown. Brown helped keep the Sooner offensive assault on the relentless side by rushing for 117 and three touchdowns. Brown scored a touchdown in each of the first three quarters of the game, his scores coming from 22, 5, and 28 yards.
DeMarco Murray had a dual-duty big day offensively rushing for 123 yards on seven attempts to go with his 63 yards receiving on seven catches, a total of 186 yards on fourteen touches (an average of around 13.3 yards a touch).
Wilson, Coffee lead Crimson Tide to overtime win in coach Sabin’s Baton Rouge return
Despite the top-ranked Crimson Tide’s defense getting the job done when it needed to, Alabama’s overtime win over LSU this past weekend was a three-man show. Those three were quarterback John Parker Wilson, running back Glen Coffee, and receiver Julio Jones.
Wilson himself scored the first and last scores of the game, both on quarterback sneaks; the first put the Tide up 7-0 early and the final was the game-winner in overtime to lift the Tide from a potential upset loss to a win that propels them into the SEC Championship game. Wilson ended the game with 215 yards passing on only 15/31 and no touchdown throws. It was an off day for Wilson’s arm, but his legs provided the necessary boost for his team.
The win clinched the SEC West for Alabama and made the proverbial heavyweight title fight against Florida official for the Georgia Dome championship weekend.
Jones rushed for 126 yards on 26 carries keeping Alabama in a game where LSU had ‘Bama right where they wanted them most of the way. Jones’ three-yard touchdown broke the game’s halftime tie giving ‘Bama a 21-14 lead and was their final score of regulation.
Jones was the big playmaker at receiver for the Tide catching seven of Parker’s fifteen completed passes for 128 of Parker’s 215 yards through the air.
Defense and special teams told the tale of this game as a combined seven turnovers (3 for The Tide, 4 for LSU) plagued both offenses from ever getting into the groove.
Rashad Johnson returned an interception 54 yards for a touchdown to tie the game 14-14 at halftime for Alabama as well as intercepting a pass in overtime to be the unsung hero of this game for the Tide.
LSU would get a break as ‘Bama was poised to win the game in regulation with a short field-goal, but that kick would be blocked mainly because of how low it was kicked, and the game went to overtime as a result.
Giants win again as they and Eagles shoot it out in wild Sunday night meeting
As two teams who rarely score a lot of points against each other, the fact that they put 67 points on the board Sunday night was more impressive than the Giants’ 36-31 win.
As is the case in Eagles/Giants games, the two quarterbacks were on display—this time more for good than bad.
Donovan McNabb went 17/36 for 194 yards and three touchdowns. Also, McNabb lead the Eagles in rushing for the game with 35 yards on the ground.
Eli Manning fared better by getting the W, but didn’t quite match up statistically going 17/31 for 191 yards and two scores.
The first half saw the majority of the game’s scoring as the teams combined for 37 points. Manning would throw both of his scores in the first half to go along with two John Carney field goals for the Giants. Manning threw one of his touchdowns with the other Eagle first half scores coming on a Desean Jackson touchdown run and a David Akers field goal as time expired in the half.
McNabb threw touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters with Hank Baskett and Kevin Curtis respectively making the grabs.
On this night it was Brandon Jacobs who was the real hero for New York. Jacobs scored both of the Giants’ second half touchdowns while rushing 126 yards on 22 carries for the game.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This past week seemed to be the eye of the usual November storm. While Penn St. did go down, there were no other big upsets during the week, as even Utah was able to escape against TCU. This week was one where the traditional players strutted their stuff and the ones just making their way into the show kept things going; Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, the New England Patriots, the Tennessee Titans, all of these teams showed this week why they are in the positions they are in with performances that ranged from dominating to valiant. Most had no trouble vanquishing their foes while others had to tough it out and did. Such is the setting for the final weeks of the college football season and this final seven weeks of the NFL season: a mix of raw talent and the mental capacity to go where others have fallen. Some will, most won’t and in the end we should see the same kind of crazy end to the calendar year that the sport of football provides year in and year out.
