Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

College football report: Goodbye Columbus, hello respectability

Last week, after San Diego State struggled at home before beating Eastern Washington, a Division I-AA team, its hometown newspaper columnists all but suggested the Aztecs cancel their trip to No. 2 Ohio State, the reigning national champions.

"If distance in anyway is related to performance, it should take the Aztecs about 20 years to get to OSU, which might be a very good idea," wrote Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union-Tribune after SDSU's 19-9 season-opening victory.

"I don't have a map on me, and Galileo and I grew up in different atmospheres, so I can't tell you exactly how far Eastern Washington's football program is from Ohio State's. But, if you go with the current distance between Earth and Mars, you might be real close."

But just for the heck of it, San Diego State decided to venture into a college football galaxy far, far away -- and nearly beat Darth Vader in his own airspace.

To the astonishment and agreement of everybody who saw it, the Aztecs outplayed the Buckeyes in every phase of the game except the one that counts, as Ohio State, a 32-point favorite, won 16-13.

The San Diego columnists were quick to admit that they were wrong about SDSU.

"If there can be glory in defeat, this is it," wrote the Union-Tribune's Tim Sullivan. "It was not quite a win, and yet it was wonderful. Like Rocky Balboa's first bout with Apollo Creed, this was a defeat that paid off in the currency of credibility."

If not for a 100-yard touchdown return of an intercepted pass, the Buckeyes might have lost by double digits. Ohio State did not score an offensive touchdown, was held to under 200 yards and did not a convert a third-down opportunity until the very final one in the fourth quarter. Its three field goals came after "drives" of 33, 8 and 4 yards.

San Diego State, playing a freshman at tailback and a backup at quarterback, turned the ball over four times. If the Aztecs don't beat themselves, they win easily.

Maybe Ohio State should consider itself lucky that it doesn't play Colorado State or BYU. San Diego State was picked to finish seventh in the eight-team Mountain West, which gets about as much respect from the national press as a tavern that closes early.

The turnovers and missed opportunities notwithstanding, perhaps an even bigger factor in the outcome is that the game was supposed to be played at Qualcomm Stadium before SDSU sold it back to OSU for a portion of the gate receipts.

Regardless, the Aztecs are richer for the experience in more ways than one, as they are feeling pretty good about themselves today.

And so, for that matter, is Eastern Washington.

The starting 11

Miami 38, Florida 33: In an early candidate for Game of the Year, the No. 3 Hurricanes rallied from a 33-10 third-quarter deficit to post a pulsating victory that wasn't decided until backup Gators quarterback Chris Leak threw an interception deep in Miami territory in the closing seconds. Although Miami scored 28 consecutive points during a seven-minute period in the second half, it was only the second-most amazing comeback in Hurricanes history. In 1988, Steve Walsh and company erased a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit against host Michigan in just six minutes.

USC 35, BYU 18: The upstart Cougars learned you can't spot an excellent team such as No. 4 Southern Cal a 21-0 first-quarter lead and come back. At least not all the way back. BYU scored 18 unanswered points to pull within 21-18 midway through the fourth quarter before the Trojans tacked on two late touchdowns to win a game that could have gone either way.

Bowling Green 27, Purdue 26: Facing a fourth-and-14 on the Purdue 32 with 2:17 to play, Bowling Green lined up in its "All Go" formation -- and stopped years of futility against ranked opponents. The Boilermakers, who were rated No. 16, are the highest-ranked team BGU has beaten.

Oklahoma 20, Alabama 13: The Crimson Tide played so hard that the No. 1 Sooners were forced to resort to trickeration to take control. A Sooner who hadn't thrown a pass since his freshman year in high school and another who hadn't caught one since high school collaborated on the game's biggest play, as punter Blake Ferguson threw a 22-yard pass to reserve defensive back Michael Thompson on a fake punt in the fourth quarter. On the next play, Jason White tossed a 47-yard touchdown pass that held up for the winning points. "Some of these games away from home you need to make something happen," said Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops. "You need to make a play. And you've got to have the guts enough to go for it."

Tennessee 34, Marshall 24: No Randy Moss. No Chad Pennington. No Byron Leftwich. Yet the Thundering Herd still made the Volunteers sweat bullets, as Tennessee didn't put the game away until the final three minutes. Vols coach Phillip Fulmer had an interesting perspective on the close call: "There were two or three upsets (Saturday), and I'm just glad we're not one of them," he said. It might have been easier for Tennessee had the game been played in the early 1950s as a Marshall touchdown drive was aided by not one but two Volunteers facemask penalties.

Notre Dame 29 Washington State 26 (OT): The Irish rallied from a 19-6 deficit after three quarters to win in overtime, spoiling Cougars coach Bill Doba's return to his roots. Doba grew up in South Bend, went to high school in New Carlisle, Ind., and coached at Hoosier State high schools Mishawaka and Goshen.

Wake Forest 38, North Carolina 24: Wake Forest in the Top 25? The Demon Deacons earned their first win against a ranked opponent (N.C. State was No. 14) since 1999 and began clamoring for a spot in the polls. They got it, too, checking in at No. 20 this week. "After a while, you get tired of hearing the David and Goliath story every week," Wake linebacker Kellen Brantley said. Wolf Pack coach Chuck Amato said he knew his team was in trouble early -- like from the coin flip on. "How many times have you seen that? They won the coin toss (and) when was the last time you ever saw a team take the football?" Amato said. "I turned right to our defense. I said: 'Men, they're going to test your manhood.' And they did."

South Carolina 27, Virginia 7: No, Virginia, there isn't a college football Santa Claus, as the 15th-ranked Cavaliers did not find a replacement for injured quarterback Matt Schaub (shoulder) in their stocking and were dominated by the Gamecocks. Schaub's replacement, redshirt freshman Anthony Martinez, managed just 28 yards of total offense and Virginia also yielded a 99-yard touchdown pass.

Georgia Tech 17, Auburn 3: Now you know why The Sporting News is known as the "Bible of Baseball" and not of college football. Auburn, which TSN ranked No. 1 in the preseason and the consensus favorite to win the Southeast Conference championship, has yet to score a touchdown in two games. Tech wrecked Tigers quarterback Jason Campbell, sacking him seven times en route to its first victory against Auburn since 1978. After the game, Tech students tore down the goalposts but couldn't figure how to get them out of newly remodeled Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Colorado 16, UCLA 14: After surviving with last-minute victories against Colorado State and UCLA, the Buffaloes contined to bemoan their tough schedule. Next up for Colorado are Washington State, which blew a big lead and lost to Notre Dame in OT Saturday, and Florida State.

Boston College 27, Penn State 14: "I guess that old adage (about improving between games one and two) isn't 100-percent correct," is how Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno summarized No. 25 Penn State's performance after it fell behind 21-0 in the first quarter.

Big men on campus

Stats enough

There were two 99-yard touchdown passes Saturday, as South Carolina's Dondrial Pinkins and Troy Williamson as well as Wisconsin's Jim Sorgi and Lee Evans played long ball in victories against Virginia and Akron. ... N.C. State coach Chuck Amato, after a 38-24 upset loss to Wake Forest: "Stats are for losers. The only numbers that matter now are 2-0, and that's what Wake Forest is."

Couch Potato Bowl

Division I-A Lite

Unlike its AP and ESPN/USA Today big brothers, the Division I-A Lite rankings reward the agony of an impressive defeat. That's why we've put those Aztec warriors from San Diego atop the chart this week:

1. San Diego State: Aztecs made Marshall Faulk proud by outplaying No. 2 Ohio State.

2. Brigham Young: Southern Cal should be glad only West Coast viewers were watching when Cougars pulled to 21-18 midway through the fourth quarter.

3. Bowling Green: Bowling for dollars: Falcons get a big payday, bigger win at Purdue.

4. Marshall: Thundering Herd rumbled to the end in competitive loss at Tennessee.

5. Colorado State: Rams beat Pac-10 foe Cal on road without two-way star Dexter Wynn.

6. Northern Illinois: Huskies' upset of Maryland loses a little luster as Florida State turns Terps into Twerps.

7. Utah: More respect for Mountain West as Utes' 2-point conversion on last play of game at Texas A&M comes up short.

8. TCU: Frogs' defense sinks Navy while offense just floats on the surface.

9. Fresno State: Bulldogs beat Pac-10's Oregon State with a one-armed bandit at quarterback.

10. Connecticut: Army men join Indiana on Huskies hit list.

Games we'd like to see

In this space each week the Sun will present a dream college football matchup, with statistics and highlights provided by Lance Haffner Games' 3-in-1 computer simulation. Readers who would like to propose future matchups can do so by contacting me.

1983 Miami vs. 1996 Florida: In honor of their thrilling game Saturday night, this week's matchup features 1983 Miami against 1996 Florida in a battle of national champions and colorful coaches. It's Howard Schnellenberger's 11-1 Hurricanes against Steve Spurrier's 12-1 Gators. Hold onto your visors.

While the Hurricanes stunned the Gators with 28 unanswered points at the Orange Bowl Saturday night, Florida turns the table in the computer game, scoring 16 consecutive points in the fourth quarter to erase a 14-9 deficit en route to a 25-14 victory. The Gators pile up 521 yards to the Hurricanes' 236, as Danny Wuerffel completes 24 of 39 passes for 265 yards and two TDs. The stingy Florida defense limits Bernie Kosar just 127 yards.

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