Cody's Blog

Just as was happening left and right in the first 5 weeks or so of the college football season, today’s docket of NCAA games featured many attractive match-ups and possibilities for these upsets to occur. On Friday, the Backyard Brawl between West Virginia and Pitt lived up to the hype as a smash mouth type of game as the teams combined on only 35 points and kicked seven total field goals with the game winner coming on the foot of West Virginia kicker Tyler Bitancurt’s 43 yard make as time expired. Pitt was #9, and that loss knocks some of the luster from their showdown with Cincinnati next week. In this year’s Egg Bowl between #25 Mississippi and Mississippi State, the Bulldogs used a 17 point third quarter and a two prong rushing attack as two guys (including the backup quarterback) rushed for over 130 yards and a score. In NC State’s upset over the #24 UNC, Russel Wilson torched the Tar Heel secondary for 4 TD’s and a 74% completion percentage and Alan-Michael Cash blocked what would have been the game wining field goal with 5 minutes left to give the Pack the victory. In the USC-Clemson game, the Gamecocks improved to 6-1 at home this season as they upset the #18 ACC championship bound Clemson Tigers 34-17. USC tight end Weslye Saunders caught two TD passes and despite Heisman candidate C.J. Spiller’s record setting opening kick return, the Gamecocks held the Tiger offense to just 260 yards as they grabbed their seventh win of the season. In this year’s Bedlam Series match-up in Norman, the #12 Oklahoma State Cowboys came in looking to stay alive in their BCS hunt, but the Sooners silenced any talks off that with a 27-0 trouncing of OK State in which DeMarco Murray rushed for two touchdowns and the Sooner defense held the high-falutin Cowboy offense to a measly 109 first downs and just six first downs. These upsets dealt blows to each team’s bowl hopes, and for the winners, provided them with some much needed confidence in what was for some the last week of the season.