Around the CFB World Week Six

Headlines

1. Gators Bite

The swamp claimed its first victim of the year: Auburn. Florida finished week six with a 24-13 victory. It was the Gator defense that was particularly effective, allowing just one touchdown and shutting out Auburn in the second half. Offensively, Lamical Perine carried the load with 130 yards rushing and a touchdown.

2. Ws for Wells

Matt Wells picked up his first signature win as Texas Tech head coach, with a 45-35 upset win over Oklahoma State. It was a pretty thorough win, with TTU jumping out to a 13-0 lead and holding a two score advantage throughout the game, at one point up by as many as 26 points.

3. Commander-in-Chief Trophy, Part I.

Air Force and Navy had themselves an epic clash on Saturday. Navy won 34-25, but the score doesn’t tell the full story. The Mids were up 14-12 on the Falcons entering the fourth quarter. Following a Navy fumble, Air Force would record its first touchdown of the game, and after Navy punted on its next possession, Air Force added another touchdown going up 25-21. Malcolm Perry would go on an 11 play scoring drive, ending with a 3-yard rushing touchdown with 23 seconds remaining. When Air Force began lateraling the ball on its final play, the Navy defense got the scoop and score to ice the game.

Taillines.

1. De-Knighted

Although UCF had a loss on its schedule, it looked like the Knights still had a pretty good shot at sweeping through the AAC. That came to an end when the Knights lost 27-24 to Cincinnati. Although the Knights led at half, the Bearcats scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to go up 27-17. Turnovers were a problem for UCF, losing the ball four times in the loss.

2. Ole Big Ten

Michigan and Iowa played a game. I think. Michigan won the game 10-3 despite only outgaining Iowa by six yards and losing the time of possession battle. Iowa, presumably in an effort to be hospitable to the visitor, managed more punts (9) than rushing yards (1). Nate Stanely did his part as well, tossing three interceptions in the loss.

3. ACC-12?

It’s been easy to dump on the Pac-12 the last few years and its lack of championship quality teams. This year, however, the ACC is doing its best to cannibalize its postseason chances. Duke had a chance to enter week seven 4-1, but lost to Pitt despite outscoring the Panthers 20-3 in the fourth quarter. Louisville’s 41-39 win put the Cardinals over .500 but dropped Boston College to 3-3. Virginia Tech barely escaped with a 42-35 win over Miami in which the Hokies blew a 28-0 lead, allowing three straight Miami touchdowns over a five minute period in the fourth quarter.

Video Potpourri

Notes

• Oklahoma got a little Miles-ed against Kansas. The Sooners were tied with the Jayhawks after one quarter, but remembered they were Oklahoma and scored 35 unanswered points to bust the game open.
• SMU, Boise State, and Memphis continue to headline the Group of Five. All three won this weekend and remained undefeated. Boise and Memphis had convincing wins. Meanwhile, it took three overtimes for SMU to top Tulsa 43-37
• Things were looking up for UCLA following the big win over Washington State. Now, not so much. The Bruins got smacked 48-31 at home to lowly Oregon State. With the loss UCLA fell to 1-5 on the year.
• Tulane made a trip up to West Point and came away with a 42-33 win, at one point doubling up Army 42-21. The loss snapped Army’s 15-game home winning streak.