Trav's Thoughts

Well, the laptop has behaved so far today.

I always try to be gracious in defeat. So I shall congratulate Michigan for taking advantage of everything Notre Dame gave them today on it's way to beating the Irish. Freshman QB Tate Forcier overcame a late interception that resulted in the go ahead score for ND. Forcier scrambled effectively and drove the Wolverines to the game winner in the final seconds.

I've been a champion of ND head coach Charlie Weis. But I have to question his decision to throw the ball twice on the Irish's last possession, when what he should have done was run the ball and force Michigan to use its last times out. Had he done that and not gotten a first down, then he punts the ball but leaves UofM with less time to engineer a drive. Perhaps we still have the same outcome with the Irish losing, or perhaps the Wolverines get a field goal to tie the game, but let's be a bit smarter here in how we manage end of game situations and make sure we leave ourselves a chance to win.

And give me a break with all these holding penalties! Notre Dame had a TD and a 75 yard gain called back due to holding penalties. Let's square that away, shall we?

Junior QB Jimmy Clausen had an outstanding statistical game, throwing for 336 yards on 25 of 42 with 3 TDs. Junior RB Armando Allen rushed for 139 yards on 21 carries, but he went out of the game late with a leg injury. Both Sophomore WR Michael Floyd and Junior WR Golden Tate caught passes for more than 100 yards each. But Tate dropped a couple of passes, one that would have been a sure TD and another that could have led to one. And Floyd also left the game with a leg injury.

I do have to say that as well as Clausen played, there were several passes that he simply couldn't keep in play. He had receivers open and either over-shot the corner of the end zone or tossed the football just wide out of bounds. You have to keep the ball in play. Otherwise why bother to throw it?

So Michigan can celebrate its freshman QB and his late game heroics. It was a hard fought victory for the maize and blue. Notre Dame can head back to South Bend knowing they had every opportunity to be 2-0 and let it get away.

Notre Dame hosts Michigan State next week. The Spartans also lost today, to Central Michigan.

Huzzah to the Huskies!

Despite being out-gained offensively by Idaho, Washington figured out how to score TDs instead of FGs and beat the Vandals 42-23. Junior QB Jake Locker threw for 3 TDs and ran for another. He passed for 253 yards on 17 of 25.

This win breaks a 15 game losing streak for the Huskies, dating back to the 2007 Apple Cup against Washington State.

But yikes! Washington hosts #3 USC next week.

Speaking of USC, the Trojans came from behind to edge a fierce and determined Ohio State team. Freshman QB Matt Barkley showed the poise of a veteran against the Buckeye pass rush, particularly on the game winning drive.

Neither Barkley nor OSU Sophomore QB Terrelle Pryor had great stats, but both young quarterbacks played exceptionally well under intense pressure. The defenses for both teams were outstanding.

If I'm honest, OSU really did deserve to win the game. But the Buckeyes just couldn't hold USC on that last drive. Barkley took the Trojans 86 yards on 14 plays in just over 6 minutes to get the winning score.

Here's a look at the results from the Top 25:

1 Florida beat Troy 56-6. Tim Tebow threw for 4 TDs and rushed for another.
2 Texas beat Wyoming 41-10. Colt McCoy threw for 337 yards on 30 of 47, with 3 TDs. He also rushed for 44 yards and a TD.
3 USC beat #8 Ohio State 18-15.
4 Alabama beat Florida Int'l 40-10. Trent Richardson rushed for 118 yards on 15 carries, with 2 TDs.
5 Oklahoma State lost 45-35 to Houston. Case Keenum threw for 366 yards on 32 of 46, with 3 TDs. He also ran for a TD.
6 Mississippi was idle.
7 Penn State beat Syracuse 28-7. PSU's defense picked off 2 passes. Daryll Clark threw for 3 TDs.
8 Ohio State lost 18-15 to #3 USC.
9 BYU beat Tulane 54-3. Max Hall threw for 309 yards on 24 of 32, with 2 TDs.
10 California beat Eastern Washington 59-7. Jahvid Best rushed for 144 yards on 17 carries.
11 LSU beat Vanderbilt 23-9.
12 Boise State beat Miami (OH) 48-0. Kellen Moore threw for 307 yards on 16 of 25, with 4 TDs.
13 Oklahoma beat Idaho State 64-0. Landry Jones threw for 286 yards on 18 of 32, with 3 TDs. DeMarco Murray rushed for 101 yards on 12 carries, with 2 TDs.
14 Virginia Tech beat Marshall 52-10. David Wilson rushed for 165 yards on 12 carries, with 1 TD. Ryan Williams rushed for 164 yards on 16 carries, with 3 TDs.
15 Georgia Tech beat Clemson 30-27. Anthony Allen rushed for 127 yards on 5 carries.
16 TCU beat Virginia 30-14. TCU rushed for over 200 yards.
17 Utah was playing San Jose State late on Saturday.
18 Notre Dame lost 38-34 to Michigan.
19 North Carolina beat Connecticut 12-10. UNC got a safety on a holding penalty with 1:32 to play.
20 Miami (FL) was idle.
21 Georgia beat South Carolina 41-37. Brandon Boykin had 187 yards on kick off returns, including a TD, and intercepted a pass.
22 Nebraska beat Arkansas State 38-9. Zac Lee threw for 340 yards on 27 of 35, with 4 TDs.
23 Cincinnati beat SE Missouri State 70-3. Cincinnati had 578 yards of offense, while giving up only 184 yards.
24 Kansas beat UTEP 34-7. Todd Reesing threw for 259 yards on 25 of 41, with a TD. Jake Sharp rushed for 104 yards on 16 carries, with 2 TDs.
25 Missouri beat Bowling Green 27-20. Derrick Washington rushed for 120 yards on 23 carries, with a TD.