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  • 02:09 AM ET  09.16
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14. Most impressive win of the day: Florida 59, Tennessee 20

Well, Tim Tebow can throw. Not that there was every any real doubt for anyone who saw Tebow light up the Florida state record books in high school, but for the uninitiated, it seemed the big guy was only effective when he could come in and run the ball straight up the guy last year. But after throwing for 300 yards, including a picture-perfect strike to Percy Harvin at midfield when the Gators were backed up at their own 1, opponents have to be as concerned with Tebow's arm as they do with his legs. Tennessee, trailing 28-6 late in the second quarter, got back in the game with a quick strike before halftime and then a pick-six of a Tebow pass (which was the fault of the receiver), but Florida then scored the game's final 31 points. The threesome that had allegedly separated itself from the rest of the nation (USC, LSU and Oklahoma) must be considered a quartet until further notice.

Runner-up: USC 49, Nebraska 31 (and it was nowhere near that close)

13. Least impressive win of the day: Wisconsin 45, The Citadel 31

Can we just rename this category the least impressive Big Ten win of the day? Then again, considering the state of the conference, maybe we should consider any win impressive, even one over a I-AA team from the Southern Conference. The Badgers' win at least evens the Big Ten's mark against the SoCon to 1-1 this year after Michigan's whiff against Appalachian State. Wisconsin was played dead even for 30 minutes by the Bulldogs, then apparently woke up after halftime, going up 45-21 before giving up 10 points late. But the Badgers' defense let Citadel QB Duran Lawson do anything and everything he wanted in the first half, and that's troubling for what was supposed to be one of the Big Ten's better defenses. Considering Iowa visits Madison next week, perhaps you can give the Badgers a slight pass for the look-ahead, but Iowa on Saturday lost to Iowa State, which had previously lost to Northern Iowa and Kent State. If we break that down a little big further, there's a good chance we can make a convincing argument that Mount Union would beat Wisconsin on a neutral field, but let's spare the Big Ten that embarrassment for one more week.

Runner-up: Virginia Tech 28, Ohio 7

12. Worst loss of the day: Utah 44, UCLA 6

It's tough to win a game with five turnovers, but when you have the far superior roster, you at least shouldn't get blown out by 38 points regardless of how many times you give the ball away. UCLA was supposedly in the top echelon of Pac-10 teams along with USC and Cal, but clearly that isn't the case. Tommy Grady threw four TDs for Utah and the Utes took a 14-6 game at halftime and opened it up in the third quarter before blowing the Bruins out in the fourth. UCLA couldn't run the ball and Ben Olson got sacked five times to go along with his three interceptions and one fumble. The Bruins will have to rebound against equally despondent Washington next week, but can look forward to a visit from Notre Dame on Oct. 6 to cure all of their offensive and defensive ills.

Runner-up: Mississippi State 19, Auburn 14

11. Best game of the day: Alabama 41, Arkansas 38

Arkansas trailed 21-0 after one and could've easily been down 28-0 before regrouping and pulling within 21-10 at the half. They again fell down by three touchdowns in the third before reeling off 28 straight points to lead 38-31 with eight minutes to play. Alabama marched down and kicked a field goal with just over four minutes left, and with Darren McFadden sidelined with an apparent injury, the Hogs could not kill the clock. The Tide got one more chance and John Parker Wilson, fabulous for most of the day, delivered again, finding Matt Caddell in the back of the end zone to give Alabama the win. Overshadowed were McFadden's 200 yards rushing and teammate Felix Jones' 100, and a gutty, three-touchdown performance by Casey Dick. But Wilson's arm was the difference for Alabama.

Runner-up: Florida Atlantic 42, Minnesota 39

10. Craziest game of the day: Kentucky 40, Louisville 34

The back-and-forth affair was everyone it was expected to be, with six lead changes and well over 900 yards of total offense, two stud first-day NFL draft picks at quarterback and an electrifying 100-yard kickoff return. But it was a a blown coverage that was the difference. After a terrible unnecessary roughness penalty had Kentucky in a 2nd-and-24 on their own 41 with time ticking down, Andre Woodson found Steve Johnson open by 15 yards down the left sideline to give the Wildcats the lead and eventually the win. A bizarre decision to bypass the two-point conversion that would have put Kentucky up by seven didn't come back to haunt Rich Brooks, as Brian Brohm's desperation Hail Mary was caught on a deflection by Harry Douglas at the 10-yard line, but the Cards' stud receiver was stopped there. Douglas finished with 13 catches for 225 yards, but it was Kentucky's Rafael Little who was the unsung hero, tallying 151 yards on the ground.

Runner-up: Tulsa 55, BYU 47

9. Who beat Temple this week?

Connecticut, but not as badly as you think. The Huskies won 22-17, but a controversial touchdown that would have given Temple a one-point lead with 40 seconds left was overturned, and the Owls go winless for another week.

8. Who beat Duke this week?

NO ONE! Northwestern had the ACC's designated punching bag on its schedule, but the Wildcats fell to the rising power that is the Duke nation, 20-14, after a fourth-down pass from the five fell incomplete in the end zone. The Blue Devils' 22-game losing streak, dating back two years, and their four-year winless streak on the road, have come to an end. They'll get their first shot at a winning streak since Sept. 13, 2003, next week against Navy.

7. On the rise: Cincinnati, Boston College, Tulsa

6. On the decline: Auburn, Iowa, UNLV

5. The worst BCS conference this week is the: Big Ten

While the worst BCS conference overall may still be the ACC, nothing tops what the Big Ten pulled this week. Northwestern's loss to Duke is hardly excusable, but let's face it, the Wildcats are pretty bad themselves. Minnesota's loss to Florida Atlantic was ridiculous, but the Gophers should have been 0-2 going in anyway. But Iowa losing to Iowa State, in-state rivalry and Cy-Hawk trophy be damned, is a complete disgrace. Kirk Ferentz's teams have been largely forgettable since Brad Banks left town and Ferentz got a new contract, but this loss, to a team that had been smacked around by Kent State and Northern Iowa, takes the cake. Michigan and Ohio State looked strong, though any victory over Notre Dame has to be treated as the equivalent of beating a junior high girls' team, but the three disasterous losses plus Wisconsin's struggles doom the Big Ten this week.

4. The best BCS conference this week is the: SEC

Couldn't put the Pac-10 back here for another week after UCLA's blowout loss and Washington's second-half disappearing act. The SEC gets this honor based on Florida's domination, unranked Alabama's takedown of Arkansas, and the eighth-best team in the conference beating the defensively challenged Louisville Cardinals.

3. The request for more remedial math courses being offered at some of America's finest institutions of higher learning:

Lost in the pandemonium of Kentucky's late touchdown against Louisville was the idiotic decision of Rich Brooks to kick the extra point with a five-point lead and 28 seconds left. What good is a six-point lead going to do with that time left when it could have been seven? Fix, six? Same thing. Seven? The worst we can do with that is go to overtime. Equally puzzling was Mack Brown's decision, up 11 with less than five left against UCF, to go for two rather than kick the PAT. Up just 11 can mean a field goal and a touchdown plus two ties it. Up 12 and a team is forced to find the end zone twice to beat you. Same thing up 13. I understand some of these mathematical "quandaries" can get overlooed in the heat of the moment during a game. But coaches have charts for just these situations. And if you can't figure out a seven-point lead is better than a six-point lead with under a minute remaining, well, you're just lucky that Hail Mary was stopped at the 10.

2. Top five games to watch next weekend:

Penn State at Michigan, Kentucky at Arkansas, South Carolina at LSU, Washington at UCLA, Oklahoma at Tulsa (not a pretty slate next Saturday)

1. Top 10 teams after 9/15/07:

1. LSU

2. USC

3. Oklahoma

4. Florida

5. West Virginia

6. California

7. Texas

8. Ohio State

9. Penn State

10. Oregon

 

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