College Football Roundup Week 9 Oregon Triumphs
Oregon Ducks Take Control of the Pac-10 Conference Title Race
Nov 5, 2009
Oregon were able to capitalise where Oregon State were not, one week after narrowly escaping defeat, the Trojans defense was again exposed, only this time it was fatal. Jeremiah Masoli threw for 222 yards and a touchdown, he also ran for another 164 yards and a touchdown as the Ducks offense ran all over USC’s defense including a total of 391 rushing yards. Matt Barkley and his offense were simply unable to keep up as Jeremiah Masoli caught the Trojans defense out with his double threat time and time again. Oregon is now the clear front-runners for the Pac-10 with four remaining games against Stanford, Arizona State, Arizona and Oregon State.
The Texas Longhorns defense is stepping up as the College Football season reaches its critical phase. They combined for four interceptions, two returned for touchdowns as Texas routed a potentially tricky opponent in Oklahoma State 41-14. Colt McCoy gave the Longhorns a solid and efficient offensive effort to seal the comfortable win, the win propels Texas into the #2 ranking and if their defense can re-produce the efforts from the last few weeks then this is a team with a legitimate shot at the national championship.
Is the Pac-10 now Oregon’s to Lose?
This week’s Oregon vs USC clash was widely accepted as the key matchup in deciding the Pac-10 winner. Oregon now has four games left this season featuring Stanford (4-2), Arizona (3-1), Arizona State (2-3) and Oregon State (3-2). In their current form it is hard to see the Ducks losing any of these games, but the likelihood is even winning three out of four would be enough to secure the Pac-10 title, something that is surely now all but Oregon’s.
Week 9 Roundup
North Carolina caused a huge upset in defeating Virginia Tech 20-17; the Hokies suffered their second straight defeat as their season is in danger of crashing, the win was the Tar Heels first against ACC opposition. B.J. Daniels threw for 232 yards and 3 touchdowns and South Florida put together a much better defensive effort as they upset #20 West Virginia 30-19. Auburn got back on track when they upset #24 Mississippi 33-20; Ole Miss had been seemingly improving again with two straight wins but suffered another setback defeat in a difficult season.
Cincinnati and Boise State eased to victories once again this week, solidifying their unbeaten records and places in the rankings. Florida, LSU, TCU, Penn State and Ohio State all secured comfortable victories in the ninth weekend of College Football action. Ricky Stanzi overcame 5 interceptions as Iowa scored 28 fourth quarter points to pull off an improbable win over Indiana to remain unbeaten. Case Keenum managed yet another career high with 559 yards and 5 touchdowns as Houston escaped with a 50-43 win over Southern Miss. Freshman Jordan Wynn stepped in for Utah in the second half and helped to guide a recovery that saw the Utes defeat Wyoming 22-10. Jimmy Clausen and Notre Dame finally had a relaxing fourth quarter as they secured a comfortable 40-14 win over Washington State. Oklahoma held off Kansas State in a 42-30 offensive battle, Landry Jones showed off his arm throwing 294 yards and four touchdowns, Sam Bradford’s shoulder surgery means that the Sooners are very much his team. Down 31-28 late in the third, Josh Nesbitt and Georgia Tech rallied to an impressive 56-21 victory; Nesbitt ran for two touchdowns and threw another two, while Jonathan Dwyer also rushed for three touchdowns. Wisconsin broke into the top 25 with a convincing 37-0 win over Purdue. Cal was also able to break back into the top 25 in spite of a sloppy penalty filled game where they only just edged Arizona State 23-21.
Outside of the top 25, Oregon State scrambled to a 26-19 win over UCLA thanks to another strong performance from Jacquizz Rodgers. Michigan suffered another difficult defeat as Illinois finally produced a strong performance; the Fighting Illini defeated the Spartans 38-13 for only their second win of the season. Baron Batch ran for 123 yards and four touchdowns as Texas Tech inflicted the third consecutive loss on the slumping Kansas Jayhawks by a score of 42-21.
Week 10 Preview
Game to Watch
(9) LSU vs (3) Alabama
This is the game that will likely decide who represents the West in the SEC Championship game, if Alabama remain unbeaten this week; they will have all but secured a showdown with Florida. Expect both teams to be Stingy on defense, the key matchup will be just how much offense LSU are able to generate, the Tigers will need at least a few big drives if they are to overcome the Crimson Tide.
Other interesting fixtures; Ohio State vs Penn State, Navy vs Notre Dame, Virginia Tech vs East Carolina
Upset Pick
Oregon State on (23) California
Cal have yet to prove that they are the team that was so highly rated at the start of the season while Oregon State has spent most of the season being under-estimated. The numbers were better this weekend but Kevin Riley will still need to be better if he is to keep up with a very strong Beavers offense.
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