I might as well have called this article “Rivalry Week Part II.”
Thanksgiving weekend has gone through an interesting evolution over the years as far as the football element is concerned. It used to be one or two pro football games and a college game involving Nebraska against Oklahoma or Colorado would take place on Thanksgiving Day and the weekend would be similar to any other weekend in November with rivalry games sprinkled around. Then it became Mississippi/Mississippi St. or Pitt/West Virginia on Thanksgiving night to go with two pro games involving the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions respectively. Now, you get a third pro game thanks to the NFL’s deal with the NFL network as well as the one college game, but the day after Thanksgiving has become just as vital as the weekend in the football world. That Friday usually involves the same grouping of rivalry games—Colorado/Nebraska, Texas/Texas A&M, LSU/Arkansas—as well as a variety of other games involving teams from coast-to-coast, and usually the majority of the games have big implications on conference and national levels. The weekend has now become an extension of the preceding Rivalry Week because there are rivalry games that are traditionally on that Saturday, but in recent years any rivalry game that didn’t get scheduled for Rivalry Week is penciled in for Thanksgiving weekend. It is a proverbial smorgasbord for football fans that ends up leaving their football needs as well as their bellies thoroughly stuffed.
Oklahoma offense scores touchdowns on six consecutive possessions to beat Oklahoma St., win Big-12 South
The controversy came after the beating as a 61-41 win for the Oklahoma Sooners over in-state rival Oklahoma St. propelled the Sooners past Texas to the #2 spot in the BCS standings and thus giving the Sooners a birth in the Big-12 title game due to a three-way tie between Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech in the Big-12 South.
Sam Bradford answered Colt McCoy with a breathtaking performance of his own accounting for five touchdowns for the sixth time this season throwing for four and rushing for one. Bradford went 30/44 through the air for 370 yards on the game.
Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray were once again a potent one-two punch in the backfield for the Sooners as the two combined for 171 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Brown gained 98 and scored twice while Murray ran for 73 and scored once.
Bradford had a one-two punch to throw to in this game in the form of Jermaine Gresham and Juaquin Iglesias. Gresham caught nine passes for 158 yards and two scores, Iglesias scored once while catching eight passes for 86 yards.
Oklahoma St. quarterback Zac Robinson kept the game competitive for more than three quarters due to one of his best performances of the season going 17/26 for 254 yards and three touchdowns all the while enabling the Cowboys to keep up the pace with Oklahoma’s offense.
Cowboy receiver Dez Bryant did have the best game of his season finally coming through for his team in a big game. Bryant scored twice, his only two touchdowns against a ranked team this year, including a two-point conversion (both great, leaping catches). Bryant ended the game with six catches for 91 yards.
The game itself was a back-and-forth offensive shootout until Perrish Cox’s 90-yard kickoff return for the Cowboys made the game 44-41 Oklahoma with around half of the final quarter to play. At that point the Sooner defense finally stiffened and Bradford continued to roll, all the way to Kansas City.
Ducks run all over Oregon St. spoiling their Rose Bowl dreams
While it’s never a one-man show in a team sport, Oregon St. running back Jacquizz Rodgers was sorely needed as his team’s 65-38 loss to in-state rival Oregon may have cost the Beavers a Rose Bowl berth.
Rodgers did not play due to a shoulder injury suffered last week against Arizona.
Despite the fact that their running proved to be the force that won them the game, the Ducks scoring was spread across the board as their 11 scores were divided into three field goals, three rushing touchdowns, three passing touchdowns, and two interception return touchdowns.
Walter Thurmond III’s 40-yard return in the second quarter took any momentum away from the Beavers going into halftime, Spencer Paysinger’s 70-yard return finished off the day’s scoring.
The Ducks rushed for 385 yards as a team with the bulk of that coming from running backs Jeremiah Johnson and LeGarrette Blount. Johnson rushed for 219 yards on 17 carries and scored on an 83-yard touchdown run. Blount gained 112 yards on 17 carries and scored on a 9-yard touchdown run.
Duck quarterback Jeremiah Masoli used the opportunity to play spoiler to have a command performance rushing for 53 yards on 12 carries while going 11/17 through the air for 274 yards and three passing touchdowns.
McCoy spanks Aggies on Turkey Day
The only time there was really any doubt in this one was right before kickoff. Because after the ball went into play for the first time, the Aggies didn’t have a shot and Colt McCoy and the Texas Longhorns made quick and easy work of their Thanksgiving weekend rivals to the tune of 49-9.
This was the first time the teams had met on Thanksgiving night since 1992 as they had played the day after Thanksgiving in all the years since.
Colt McCoy made his pitch for the Heisman Trophy loud and clear in this one with a performance that will be savored by Longhorn fans as well as in the state of Texas for years to come mostly because it took place on Thanksgiving night.
McCoy went 23/38 for 311 yards and two touchdowns through the air while also rushing for two touchdowns going for 49 yards on 11 carries on the ground. McCoy was responsible for the Longhorns’ first four touchdowns scoring on thrilling runs of 14 and 16 yards in the first and third quarter respectively while throwing his two touchdown passes in the second quarter leaving no doubt in his mind whether he was the best quarterback and best player in college football.
Cody Johnson picked up right where McCoy left off rushing for two touchdowns in the final quarter while making a lot out of a little rushing for 102 yards on only eight carries.
Backup quarterback John Chiles scored the Longhorns’ final touchdown on a two-yard run late.
Iron Bowl no contest as Crimson Tide shouts out Auburn
While it wasn’t as flashy or brutal as some of Alabama’s other games this year (close or a plain slaughter), it did the trick as the Crimson Tide rolled into the SEC title game with a 36-point shutout in their most important regular season game.
John Parker Wilson didn’t have to do much in this one as going only 8/16 for 144 and throwing only one touchdown proved to be enough. Especially since his substitute Greg McElroy added a 34-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter after the game was already decided and Wilson had called it a day.
The Tide’s defense was the real star on this day as they completely dismantled the Tigers holding them to only 170 total yards. The Tigers were only able to amass 8 first downs and 57 yards on the ground in the game. Auburn didn’t help themselves by committing three turnovers and going 4/14 on third downs.
The Tide’s 234 rushing yards—a great deal of those in the final quarter—was the icing on the cake of a slaughter that combined with a great defensive performance and a good enough performance from their team leader to create an Iron Bowl win for the ages down in Tuscaloosa.
Gators dominate Florida St. for fifth straight win over in-state foe
While it’s unlikely Tim Tebow will win a second consecutive Heisman Trophy, he’s going to make the vote a close one.
Tebow once again tore through another top-25 foe with in-state rival and 20th-ranked Florida St. as this week’s victim. The defending Heisman winner went 12/21 through the air for 185 yards and three scores while rushing for 80 yards and a touchdown. Tebow also had the image of the weekend and probably the year at Florida, as at one point during the game it appeared that blood had stained a good amount of his jersey and was still running down the right side of his face. Whether it was blood or not is irrelevant as the look on Tebow’s face combined with the red “fluid” was all people needed to see to know what this player is like on the field.
Percy Harvin’s day was cut short by a sprained ankle he suffered in the second quarter thanks to Harvin’s inability to get footing on the rain-soaked field on this particular play. It was a problem that plagued both teams—Florida St. more than Florida—on this day.
The Gators ran for 317 yards as a team, the most rushing yards the Seminoles have given up in thirteen years.
Pitt wins Backyard Brawl in final minute, gives Cincinnati Big East title
It was another well balanced, defensive, and even football game between Pitt and West Virginia. Unlike last year’s, Pitt didn’t need Pat White to be injured to be competitive, but like last year’s game, Pitt won.
With Pitt’s win, Cincinnati won the Big East title and a berth in a BCS bowl game, most likely the Orange Bowl.
Both team’s quarterbacks had similar days through the air with Pitt quarterback Bill Stull going 12/23 for 156 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions while Mountaineer quarterback Pat White went 15/28 for 143 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
Both teams had seven receivers catch at least one pass and five men run the ball at least one time.
The teams were separated by only 33 yards in rushing yards, 13 in passing yards, and 46 in total yards while having five penalties apiece (16 more penalty yards for West Virginia), and Pitt committed three turnovers to West Virginia’s two.
Pitt only held the ball for 3:28 longer than West Virginia in the game.
In the end, it was a few little things that helped Pitt. While Pitt only went 3/9 on third downs, West Virginia went a more damaging 3/14 on third downs. While Pitt made more mistakes by committing more turnovers and missing a fourth down like West Virginia did, their mistakes came early, and most importantly Pitt gave West Virginia less than fifty seconds to go nearly the length of the field and with the way the game had been played throughout, it just wasn’t going to happen.
Yellow Jackets run all over Georgia for first win over in-state rival since 1999
The last time Georgia Tech was able to be Georgia in their yearly meeting it was a shootout and the highest scoring game in the rivalry’s history at 51-48 Yellow Jackets. This year’s meeting was just as much a shootout at 45-42 with the Yellow Jackets once again on top.
The Yellow Jackets rushing game against completely overpowered an opponent to the tune of 409 yards on the ground for Tech, the second straight game they have rushed for at least 400 yards as a team. Again, the Yellow Jackets let their opponent know exactly what they were going to do attempting only six passes as a team (with only one completion) against 56 rushing attempts as a team.
A 26-point third quarter broke the game wide open for Tech, who trailed 28-12 at half, but wouldn’t trail again once they took their first lead of the game in that quarter.
Jonathan Dwyer scored twice in the third on runs of 60 and 23 yards. He would finish with 144 yards on 20 carries.
Roddy Jones also scored a touchdown in the third quarter on an 8-yard run; he would run in another touchdown, this one from 54 yards, in the fourth to seal the win. Jones finished with an amazing 214 yards on only 13 carries, averaging 16.5 yards a carry.
Like just about every loss Georgia has had this year, Bulldog quarterback Matthew Stafford has been let down by his teammates on defense after having a great day. Stafford threw five touchdown passes on 24/39 through the air for 407 yards. Still it wasn’t enough. Stafford threw touchdown passes in all but the third quarter including three second quarter touchdown throws that built the Bulldogs’ twelve point halftime lead.
Again, it was Mohamed Massaquoi who caught the bulk of Stafford’s passes pulling in 13 in this one for 180 yards. Massaquoi caught three of Stafford’s five touchdown passes, all three coming in the second quarter as the two dominated the Georgia Tech defense the same way the Tech running game would dominate Georgia’s D in the second half.
Even Knowshon Moreno had a great outing with 168 total yards (94 rushing, 74 receiving) and a touchdown.
FINAL THOUGHTS
While the week did have its share of interesting side stories—Notre Dame playing worse than usual, more offense on the field than food on people’s plates, the Plaxico Buress drama—it’s all about the Texas/Oklahoma situation when all is said and done. While everyone is pitching their theories about how it should be handled, all of these theories are based around which team that person wants to see in, not what is right for the conference. Mike Leach wants a graduation rate—something that makes no sense here and has nothing to do with football—because Texas Tech is far and above the top school of the three involved here, Mac Brown wants the head-to-head meeting to be the only factor because Texas beat Oklahoma albeit in a neutral location, but they still beat them. And Bob Stoops has no theory because his team is going to Kansas City to play for the Big-12 title and a spot in the national title game. So who’s right? Nobody. The current system the Big-12 had in place for this scenario—the highest BCS ranking—only takes into account the team’s progress through the weeks the BCS rankings are in place (they don’t come out until mid-way through the season). Mac Brown’s theory doesn’t make sense because it only involves one game (and only two of the teams that were tied) leaving Texas Tech out of the equation, not to mention the fact that Oklahoma beat the team Texas didn’t and Texas Tech beat the team that Oklahoma didn’t. In the end Brent Musburger, the man announcing the Oklahoma/Oklahoma St. game Saturday night, may have had the best solution and probably the only solution that is the fairest in the event of a three-way tie where a simple head-to-head tie breaker doesn’t work: point differential against common conference opponents. All three of these teams have played at least one common opponent within their conference schedule this year and they showed the point differential numbers and in the end Oklahoma was at the top. For that reason, above all others, Oklahoma is the right team to be playing Missouri for the Big-12 title this coming weekend.
