10/25 Top 10 Run Down

*All rankings are BCS rankings and are accurate as of the time of the games on Saturday*

#1 Ohio State(8-0) 24 - #38 Michigan State (5-3) 17
The Buckeyes got out to a quick 24-0 lead before going to sleep towards the end of the 3rd quarter giving the Spartans 2 defensive touchdowns and almost a third turnover that would have let MSU get back in the game. Luckily for Tressel and Co. they were able to run out the clock and preserve their #1 BCS ranking
Up Next: Michigan State at Iowa (Oct. 27). #1 Ohio State at Penn State (Oct. 27).

#34 Rutgers(5-2) 30 - #2 South Florida(6-1) 27
In a back-and-forth game in Piscataway, NJ, it was the boys from Jersey pulling off the final defensive stop to hold on for victory. South Florida wasn't playing like the #2 team in the land, but definitely played well enough to win the game, especially if looking at their "poor man's Tebow" quarterback Matt Grothe. Ray Rice basically willed his Scarlet Knights to victory with 39 carries and 181 yards. Rutgers used a fake punt to gain a first down early in the first quarter, but it was a fake field goal pass that went for a touchdown in the 2nd half that really gave Rutgers the game. The offense outside of Ray Rice was quite pedestrian, and quarterback Mike Teel will have to play better for Rutgers to knock off their 2nd straight top 10 team in WVU next weekend.
Up Next: #2 South Florida at #37 Connecticut (Oct. 27). #34 Rutgers vs #9 West Virginia (Oct. 27).

#3 Boston College (6-0) BYE
Up Next: #3 Boston College at #11 Virginia Tech (Oct. 25).


#4 LSU(7-1) 30 - #17 Auburn(5-3) 24
Auburn, behind the strong running of Brad Lester and efficient passing of Brandon Cox, were able to get out to a 17-7 halftime lead on LSU in Tiger Stadium. The Bayou Bengals responded outscoring Auburn 13-0 in the first 27 minutes of the 2nd half before Cox found Roderiqus Smith in the corner of the end zone giving Auburn a 24-23 lead with 3:21 remaining. Auburn continued their strategy of squibbing the kickoff giving LSU the ball on their own 42 down only a point. LSU used the arm and legs of QB Matt Flynn to get the ball down to the Auburn 22 with 8 seconds remaining. Flynn then dropped back and found receiver Demetrius Byrd in the back of the end zone with only 1 second left on the clock and gave LSU a 6 point lead. Auburn was not able to do anything with the ensuing kickoff and LSU escaped with the victory. Flynn finished 22/34 for a career high 319 yards 3 TDs and 1 INT (that was off of a mystifying tip by inconsistent LSU receiver Brandon Lafell). LSU outgained Auburn 488-296.
Up Next: #17 Auburn vs Mississippi (Oct. 27). #4 LSU at #35 Alabama (Nov. 3).

#5 Oklahoma(7-1) 17 - Iowa State(1-7) 7
Iowa State used two Oklahoma turnovers and a number of other miscues to get out to a 7-0 lead at Halftime in Ames, Iowa. Chris Brown ran for two touchdowns in the second half, and Oklahoma was able to survive against an Iowa State team that lost to D1-AA Northern Iowa earlier this season, and who only have beaten Iowa so far this season. D.J. Wolfe's end-zone interception midway through the fourth quarter helped turn the tide for the Sooners who did not look nearly as impressive as they did against Missouri a week ago. With a down Big12 this season, and with their schedule not including Kansas this season, Oklahoma should continue coasting to the Big12 title game.
Up Next: #5 Oklahoma vs #47 Texas A&M (Nov. 3). Iowa State at #16 Missouri (Oct. 27).

Vanderbilt (4-3) 17 - #6 South Carolina (5-2) 6
In one of the biggest surprises of the weekend, the Head Ball Coach wasn't able to score a touchdown against Vanderbilt losing to the Commodores for the first time as a collegiate head coach. South Carolina was in the driver's seat in the SEC East race heading into the day, and luckily because a loss by Tennessee to Alabama were able to remain tied with Georgia and Florida atop the standings in the SEC East. After watching this team dismantle Kentucky two weeks ago them laying an egg against Vanderbilt really is a surprise. Also a surprise was Spurrier benching quarterback Chris Smelley for the guy he replaced against LSU, Blake Mitchell. Neither quarterback found the end zone and both threw interceptions (2 for Smelley, only 1 for Mitchell). Vanderbilt's sophomore QB completed half of his passes for 123 yards and two TDs. He also led the Dores in rushing with 86 yards on 13 carries. With three wins, a bowl game is a definite possibility for the 'dores.
Up Next: Vanderbilt vs Miami (OH) (Oct. 27). No. 6 South Carolina at No. 21 Tennessee (Oct. 27).

#15 Florida(5-2) 45 - #7 Kentucky (6-2) 37
Tim Tebow kept his Heisman hopes alive with a 5 touchdown day (4 passing, 1 rushing) that gave him a rushing touchdown in 8 consecutive games (the longest streak in the nation). Tebow had 256 yards threw the air to go along with 20 rushes for 78 more yards. Not to be outdone, Kentucky's own Heisman candidate Andre' Woodson threw for 415 yards and 5 touchdowns. Neither quarterback threw an interception and also neither team had a turnover. A back and forth game that really was a 2 touchdown win for Florida, but Kentucky was able to score a touchdown on the final play of the game in which many Florida defenders basically gave up with the game already in hand. Tebow had powered his way into the end zone on a 2-yard run to put the game out of reach with only a minute and a half remaining. With the win Florida is back into a tie in the SEC East with a showdown looming with both Georgia and South Carolina. Kentucky now has to hope both South Carolina and Florida find another loss in order to find their way to Atlanta.
Up Next: #15 Florida at #20 Georgia (Oct. 27 - AT JACKSONVILLE FL). #7 Kentucky vs #50 Mississippi State (Oct. 27).

#8 Arizona State (6-0) BYE
Up Next: #8 Arizona State vs #12 California (Oct. 27).

#9 West Virginia(6-1) 38 - #50 Mississippi State(4-4) 13
West Virginia scored early and often as they blew out Mississippi State for the second straight year. The Mountaineers got out to a 31-0 lead in the beginning of the second quarter by scoring on their first 5 possessions. Steve Slaton broke out of a two-game slump to rush for 127 yards and set a school record for rushing touchdowns for the Mountaineers. Mississippi State didn't get on the board until garbage time when this one was well out of reach. Fans of South Florida will have more salt in their wounds from Thursday night when they wake up Sunday morning to discover the voters will most likely have West Virginia ahead of their Bulls who beat the Mountaineers a few weeks ago. After playing what Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom called one of its best games a week ago in a 33-21 loss to No. 20 Tennessee, the Bulldogs were limited to 12 first downs and 214 total yards against the Mountaineers.
Up Next: #50 Mississippi State at #7 Kentucky (Oct. 27). #9 West Virginia at #34 Rutgers (Oct. 27).

#10 Oregon(6-1) 55 - Washington(2-5) 34
This game was close for three quarters (actually tied at 31 going into the 4th quarter) but Oregon was able to "run" away with this one, literally. Oregon rushed for an eye-popping 465 yards on 62 attempts. To put that in perspective, that's 192 more yards than Notre Dame has gained on the ground all season. Quarterback Dennis Dixon was 19-of-30 for 196 yards, added 99 yards rushing and a 13-yard scoring run with 4:52 left for the final margin. Washington lost its fifth straight, all to teams ranked in the top 12 at one point this season. Redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Locker had the best yards passing night of his young career, throwing for 257 and four scores, but Washington's defense could never slow down the Ducks potent spread offense. This Washington team still could be really good, but because of their incredibly difficult schedule we just can't be sure. Remember, this is the same UW team that only lost by 3 to USC. Washington's schedule does lighten up in the coming weeks with their remaining schedule being: Arizona, @Stanford, @Oregon State, Cal, @Wazzu, @Hawaii. This team could still get bowl elligible and ruin Hawaii's BCS dreams. The only games that Washington shouldn't be favored in are the match-ups with Cal and Hawaii. I wouldn't be surprised to see Locker and Willingham pull off all 6 games and finish the year at 8-5
Up Next: #10 Oregon vs #14 USC (Oct. 27). Washington vs Arizona (Oct. 27).