It was an awful week all around. Not only did the Bulls lose a game that they could have won but our opponents mostly got flattened as well. Ten losses against just two wins. Here is the grid!
| OPPONENT | W | L | Tot % | Conf | W | L | conf % | Last | Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh | 2 | 1 | 0.667 | Big East | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | Loss 31-27 at Iowa | vs Notre Dame |
| Stony Brook | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | Big South | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | Loss 21-20 vs Brown | vs Lafayette |
| Ball State | 2 | 1 | 0.667 | MAC | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | Win 28-25 vs Buffalo | vs Army |
| Connecticut | 1 | 2 | 0.333 | Big East | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | Loss 24-20 vs Iowa State | at Buffalo |
| Tennessee | 2 | 1 | 0.667 | SEC | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | Loss 33-23 at Florida | Bye |
| Ohio | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | MAC | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | Win 44-7 vs Marshall | at Rutgers |
| Temple | 2 | 1 | 0.667 | MAC | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | Loss 14-10 vs Penn State | at Maryland |
| Northern Illinois | 1 | 2 | 0.333 | MAC | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | Loss 49-7 vs Wisconsin | vs Cal Poly |
| Miami (OH) | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | MAC | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | Loss 29-23 at Minnesota | vs Bowling Green |
| Eastern Michigan | 2 | 1 | 0.667 | MAC | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | Loss 31-3 vs Michigan | vs Penn State |
| Akron | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | MAC | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | Loss 59-14 at Cincinnatti | vs VMI |
| Bowling Green | 2 | 1 | 0.667 | MAC | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | Loss 28-27 vs Wyoming | at Miami |
| Total | 17 | 18 | 0.486 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 | |||
| MAC | 12 | 11 | 0.522 | 2 | 1 | 0.667 | |||
| Past | 2 | 4 | 0.333 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | |||
| Upcoming | 15 | 14 | 0.517 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
Iowa 31 Pitt 27: Another Typical Pitt Loss - Cardiac Hill
Pitt always seems to have these losses where they've led or been close, only to falter in the 4th. Cincinnati and NC State in 2009. Utah and Connecticut last season. After being here for the 3 years, no Pitt loss surprises me anymore. It is disappointing though. Congrats to Iowa, they deserved to win this game.
Iowa 31, Pitt 27: What The Hell Was That? - Black Heart Gold Pants
Near the end of the third quarter, as Iowa trailed 24-3 and things looked bleak. The Iowa offense had looked dead on the table for most of the game, either shooting themselves in the foot repeatedly (the first half was an avalanche of stupid penalties that moved the offense backwards) or by being generally incompetent (they didn't string together too many decent drives). I was prepping a venting thread and pondering a recap of the game that highlighted the eerie (and unpleasant) parallels between this season and the 2007 season. A heavily-hyped new quarterback who had looked promising in cameo appearances but who had struggled upon giving the keys to the offense permanently? A multi-year skill position starter on offense back for one last go 'round? A defense loaded with new faces that struggled to stop the run and the pass? Check, check, and check.
Brown Bears vs. Stony Brook Seawolves - Recap - September 17, 2011 - ESPN
Stony Brook (0-3) took a 17-7 lead with 6:22 to go in the third quarter. After the Bears recovered a fumble on a punt return, Newhall-Caballero threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Alex Tounkara-Kone, who finished with seven catches for 149 yards.
IOWA STATE 24, UCONN 20: GOOD TIMES NEVER FELT SO GOOD - Clone Chronicles
Granted, it was a very ugly win. Between the soft defense and the ridiculous amount of penalties on both sides of the ball, it was clear that this team was still mentally and physically exhausted from last week. Let's just call it what it was: a tough, gritty win over an offensively struggling Big East squad on a rebuilding year.
Iowa State 24, UConn 20: Yikes. - The UConn Blog
I could theoretically write for hours on every other thing plaguing this godforsaken team, but nothing quite sums up the state of UConn football like the fact that - despite all evidence to the contrary - Paul Pasqualoni believes that Johnny McEntee is our quarterback. (Nothing personal against the guy; he was given a shot, and he didn't perform. No shame in that - he's hardly the first UConn QB to play poorly.)
Florida 33 Tennessee 23 - False Start - Rocky Top Talk
Did we overvalue Tennessee coming in? That's almost impossible to tell because of the injury to Justin Hunter, which all signs point to being one that will sideline him for a long time. Did we undervalue the Gators? To me, Florida was who we thought they were: Chris Rainey is spectacular, and the Gator defense created the necessary havoc to keep the Vols out of sync. A big part of that havoc was, surprise surprise, stuffing the running game. We joked coming in that maybe Tennessee should just throw it every down, but today it wasn't funny.
Florida Vs. Tennessee Rapid Recap: Gators Grind, Chris Rainey Dazzles In 33-22 Win - Alligator Army
The moment the Gators were seemingly guaranteed a victory? Rainey's tremendous 83-yard catch-and-run in the third quarter, the longest touchdown reception by a running back in Florida history, made the score 30-7 in the Gators' favor, essentially putting this one out of reach for a Justin Hunter-less Tennessee offense. But it wasn't until Matt Elam's interception with under two minutes left that Florida sealed its 10-point win.
BobcatAttack.com - For Fans of Ohio University Sports
"They’ve gotten the best of the past two times we’ve played them, so it feels good to finally get that bell home and get it where it belongs," Ohio linebacker Noah Keller said. "I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a little bit of revenge factor coming into play. You want to win every game, but I sort of wanted to win this one quite handily. I wanted to not only win, but win quite favorably."
Temple Football Forever: Owls get to the top of Mt. Nittany ... and slip
I thought the Owls got away from establishing Bernard Pierce, who had only four carries in the second half. I don't care if they were stacking the box, you've got to feed him the rock and hope he busts through the line just once. My guess is that the PIAA state 100-meter dash champion might not have been caught. I've always said Pierce was a "rhythm" back, meaning he'd go with carries of 1, 1, 2, 3, 2 an then break a 68-yarder. That's how he got 179 yards and three touchdowns in the 30-16 win over Fiesta Bowl-bound UConn.
Recap: Penn State 14, Temple 10 - Black Shoe Diaries
The offensive line also took a step back this week, a combination of poor communication on blitzes and guys just getting beat in crucial spots. Averaging 2.6 yards per carry is abysmal against any opponent, especially Temple. The quarterbacks are what they are, and they are receiving precious little help from the running game or playcalling. The tight ends have four catches for 26 yards in three games. This is a bad offense, and there is no other way to characterize it. As fans, we love to overrate the talent on our favorite teams. Defensively, Penn State has many players who would be coveted by the best programs in the nation. Offensively? Decidedly less. Which of the offensive linemen do you think will get a remote whiff of Sunday football, nevermind a second or third-team all-conference selection? Exactly. This is reality, and it will not produce points against good teams. It was barely enough to beat Temple.
NIU News: What the heck happened vs. Wisconsin edition - Red And Black Attack
I'm still dazed after this one folks. I felt like Vince Lombardi all day long. All I know is that Wisconsin is really, really good and the Big 10 title is theirs if they don't beat themselves. We also got PAID $3 M for an indoor practice facility. Other positives: errrrr we play Cal Poly next week? I get way too emotionally invested in these things...
Badgers tame Huskies 49-7 in Chicago - Bucky's 5th Quarter
After NIU failed to recover a surprise onside kick, the Badgers scored a touchdown on four of their next five possessions, including two more touchdowns for Wilson and Montee Ball, and one for James White. Wilson, however, stole the show from his offensive counterparts.
Gophers Take Care of Business, Beat Miami (Ohio) for First Win of the Season - The Daily Gopher
The good news is that Gopher fans were witness to an entertaining and close football game that resulted in a Gopher win. The bad news is that we were witness to two evenly matched teams in terms of overall talent. But for now, let us focus on Jerry Kill's first win coaching the Golden Gophers. For the first time this year the Gophers played consistent football for four quarters. It wasn't great football but it was consistent and we did a number of things well, and finally it was enough to win.
Run Denard. Run. - Michigan Turns Back the Clock to 2010, Beats Eastern Michigan 31-3 - Maize n Brew
On a clear Saturday in September, Michigan fans had to feel like they were watching a repeat of last season. Bad defense. Denard left. Denard right. Denard up the middle. Twenty-five carries and almost 200 yards later, Michigan had topped Eastern Michigan 31-3. While a 28 point victory is usually the cause for celebrate, this weekend's jump into Marty's DeLorean created more questions about this season that generated answers.
Cincinnati Bearcats 59 Akron Zips 14 - Down The Drive
This was the kind of performance I expected from this UC team. The Bearcats are just way better Akron so the result is not even the least bit surprising. The starters played a half and so completely and so thoroughly dominated the proceedings that the outcome was never in doubt. I liked the performance, and I liked the excecution from the starters. And it is hard to really be discouraged about forcing 6 turnovers in a game and turning in three defensive TDS in 30 minutes of play. But there are still some things I saw that I didn't like.
Wyoming Holds On 28-27 Over Bowling Green - Cowboy Altitude
The Cardiac Cowboys are back! Wyoming has already equaled their win total from 2010 and memories of the close wins from 2009 come flooding back. After giving up a 28-14 lead in less then five minutes the defensive line stepped up to save the victory. Defensive ends Josh Biezuns and Gabe Knapton teamed up to block the extra point and give Wyoming it's first road win of the year and first 3-0 start since 1996. This game featured big momentum shifts, key plays and a mix of sloppy play on both sides. Bowling Green had their usual potent offense show up as they totaled 514 yards of offense including 437 passing yards by QB Matt Schilz. A combined six turnovers buried the Falcons offense. The biggest surprise for Wyoming was the big play by true freshmen CB Blair Burns who had two key interceptions and fumble recovery. Burns is the third corner on the team and mostly see action in dime and nickel coverage.