Yeah, yeah.Originally Posted by JeffHCross
Yeah, yeah.
I will say, what a bitch my four losses have been. Lost to Ohio State by 2, to North Texas by 4, to Toledo by 2 and to Southern Miss by 4. Talk about harsh.
So, although I'll always root for real people over virtual teams, there is a small amount of satisfaction/pride in knowingwon.
So, although I'll always root for real people over virtual teams, there is a small amount of satisfaction/pride in knowingI was wondering when you'd make an appearance after that game.
Like I said in one of my posts above, I'll hand it to Southern Miss, they beat me straight up. The team stats were almost a mirror of each other, so they matched me play for play, yard for yard, score for score, and did what they had to do to pull it out at the end. I can't be upset about it. Ohio State, North Texas, Toledo, yeah, those games pissed me off because we shot ourselves in the foot multiple times in all three of those games. Southern Miss, they got the job done slightly better than I did.
So my hat's off to the Golden Eagles, and I hope I can somehow pull out this West Division title, and Southern Miss holds on for the East Division, so we can have a C-USA Championship game rematch to look forward to. Between the two regular season games our teams have played, as well as last year's insane C-USA CCG, another CCG rematch this season would already be guaranteed to end up being a completely insane game like the last three have been.
Game Nine
Game Notes
--- Reeling from back to back losses, it was onto the road to take on the Blue Raiders of MTSU, hoping to right the ship and stay in the West Division race. We would have a good shot of doing that, as MTSU entered ranked #111 in total offense, #112 in pass offense and #79 in rush offense. Ranked in the mid-60s for total, passing and rushing defense, hopefully our offense would be able to find a rhythm against the Blue Raiders. MTSU won the coin toss and elected to kick.
A touchback on the opening kickoff got our offense started at our 25 yard line. A first down rush by Brandon Price picked up 6 yards. Keeping the ball on second down, Price was able to fight his way ahead for a 5 yard gain and the first down at the 35. Continuing on the ground, an off tackle rush by Price went for a gain of 15 yards thanks to some big blocks, getting us across to the MTSU 49 yard line. Pushing his way through a tackle, Price picked up another first down, finding 11 yards on the ground to get to the 39. The play however ended badly, as Price didn’t get up afterwards, helped off the field by the trainers. The diagnosis was a dislocated thumb, leaving Price sidelined for a bit. The defense finally managed to slow down our run game, tackling Roy Smith for a one yard gain on first down. Coming out with play action, Brad Stephens launched a pass downfield to Donny Jordan for a 16 yard gain to give us first down at the 21. A pair of rushes by Smith went for gains of 9 and four yards to give us first and goal at the 9 yard line. Smith took the ball on first down, managing only two yards to the 7. A second down pass to Eric Hayden was complete for a four yard gain, leaving third and goal at the three yard line. We’d find the end zone on the next play, as Stephens lobbed the ball over the linemen to Smith for the three yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 lead with 3:16 left in the first quarter.
MTSU started their offensive drive at their 25 after the touchback. It was a quick start for the offense, as Trevor Mendoza hit Chad Payne for an 18 yard gain to the 43 yard line. A 5 yard pass to Jeremy Gates got the Blue Raiders close to midfield, but their drive would end there, as safety Darnell Turner intercepted a pass from Mendoza, giving us the ball at our 47 yard line with 2:36 remaining in the quarter. Back on the field after his injury, Price was stood up at the line no gain on the first down carry. A second down pass to Chad Fisher was thrown on target, but a hard hit by the safety jarred the ball loose and incomplete. A failed coverage assignment by the cornerback allowed Fisher to get open down the right sideline, hauling in a poorly thrown pass from Stephens for a 26 yard gain, just before momentum carried him out of bounds, giving us first down at the MTSU 26 yard line. The first down pass intended for Max Thompson was played by the cornerback, and nearly intercepted, leaving second down. The second down pass intended for Nicholas Roberts sailed long and off target, Stephens hit as he was releasing the ball. A dropped pass by Hayden over the middle would leave us kicking a field goal. The 43 yard kick by Alphonso Pratt was good, extending our lead to 10-0 with 1:10 left in the first quarter.
A touchback on the kickoff left MTSU at their 25 yard line. The Blue Raiders started through the air, as Mendoza connected with Payne for a 6 yard gain, followed by a 19 yard pass to Payne for a first down at the 50 yard line. An 8 yard rush by Payne was followed with a two yard pass to Tom Richardson, leaving MTSU with third and inches at our 40. They would keep the drive moving, Mendoza finding Richardson again, this time for 11 yards to our 29 as the first quarter came to an end, our lead at 10-0.
Opening up the second quarter, after two incomplete passes, the Blue Raiders converted third down as Mendoza hit Richardson again for 21 yards, giving first and goal at our 7 yard line. Mendoza tried to keep the ball himself, but was tackled for a loss of three yards, leaving second and goal at the 10. An 8 yard rush by Payne got the Blue Raiders down to our three yard line with third and goal. They would punch it in on the next play, Payne driving up the middle for the three yard touchdown rush, cutting our lead to 10-7 with 7:59 left in the second quarter.
A 20 yard kickoff return by Fisher got us started on our next drive at our 21 yard line. Price took the ball on first down, picking up 9 yards, before fighting his way across the line of scrimmage for two yards and a first down at the 33 yard line. Keeping the ball himself, Stephens was only able to pick up one yard as the safety came sprinting up to meet him. A pitch right likewise resulted in little gain, Price getting spun around and falling backwards into the pile of bodies for a three yard gain to leave third and 6. We were able to keep the drive breathing, Stephens connected with Hayden for a 15 yard gain to the MTSU 49 yard line. After a 6 yard pass to Hayden get us down to the 43, Stephens kept the ball himself, running for what would have been a first down, before the ball was stripped loose, middle linebacker Jeremiah Wilson recovering the fumble for MTSU and returning it 14 yard to our 49 yard line with 4:46 to play in the first half.
Mendoza went into the air on first down, connecting with Gates for a 5 yard gain, but two incomplete passes would thankfully kill the drive. Punting away on fourth and 5 from our 45 yard line, the ball sailed into the end zone for a touchback, giving us possession at our 20 yard line with 4:16 remaining, no damage suffered from the turnover. Breaking up the middle, Price picked up 10 yards to get a quick first down. Another rush picked up 11 yards to get us out to our 41. A quick pass to Hayden gained 12 yards and got us across midfield to the MTSU 47 yard line. The defense came charging in on first down, sacking Stephens for a four yard loss to leave second and 14. A pass to Roberts was initially caught, but knocked loose by the cornerback to force the incompletion. Thompson kept us moving, grabbing a pass from Stephens for a gain of 18 yard yards and a first down at the 32 yard line. Fisher came through huge for us on the next play, catching a pass over the middle and avoiding the diving tackle by the linebacker, racing all the way down to the one yard line before getting tackled by the safety, a 32 yard gain, to leave first and goal inside the one yard line. Price was unable to punch it in on first down, getting stood up at the line of scrimmage, again remaining on the field after the play with an injury. It was worse news this time, as it was revealed that Price had broken his collarbone, ending his season and his career, and killing any hopes of a Heisman trophy. Smith would get the job done on second down, falling forward through a tackle attempt by the middle linebacker to score the one yard touchdown and open our lead to 17-7 with 47 seconds left in the half.
A touchback on the kickoff started MTSU on their 25 yard line with 39 seconds to go. The drive started with promise as Mendoza found Barrett Washington for a 12 yard gain to the 37. It would crash to an end however as middle linebacker Keith Battle intercepted Mendoza’s pass on first down, returning it 15 yards to the MTSU 23 yard line with 26 seconds on the clock. A quick pass over the middle to Fisher gained 10 yards down to the 13 yard line, our first timeout stopping the clock with 22 seconds. A pass to Hayden went for a gain of 12 yards, giving us first and goal at the one yard line, our second timeout stopping the clock with 18 seconds remaining. Smith would shake off a tackle attempt by the middle linebacker and drive into the end zone for the one yard touchdown rush and a 24-7 lead with 16 seconds to go. A 24 yard kickoff return gave MTSU the ball at their 24 yard line with four seconds remaining. The Blue Raiders would raise the white flag on the first half, Payne rushing ahead for a three yard gain to bring the second quarter to an end, our halftime lead at 24-7.
Opening up the third quarter, Lance Mills returned the kickoff 21 yards out to the 26 yard line for the MTSU offense. After giving up two touchdowns in a 30 second span to end the first half, the Blue Raiders were looking for any sort of a response to get back into this game. Mendoza came out firing, throwing an incomplete pass before connecting with Edward Walker for a 12 yard gain. After another incomplete pass, Mendoza hit Washington for 7 yards to leave third and three. A dropped ball by Payne would end the drive on fourth and three from the 45, the punt team coming out. A 9 yard return by Fisher on the 43 yard punt got us started at our 21. A first down carry by Smith only gained two yards, the Blue Raiders ready for our run game. A play action pass on first down was batted incomplete, leaving third and 8. The third down pass intended for Hayden was broken up, nearly intercepted by the outside linebacker, and we were forced to punt the ball back. A four yard return on the 44 yard punt got MTSU started at their 37 yard line. It turned out to be a drive to nowhere for the Blue Raiders, as two dropped passes gave way to a sack for a loss of 8 yards, and the MTSU punt team came out on fourth and 18.
An 8 yard return on the 49 yard punt set our offense up at our 29 yard line, looking to get a drive going this time. Smith never had a chance on first down, tackled for no gain by the middle linebacker. Stephens kept the ball himself on second down, but only managed to pick up two yards as the cornerback quickly collapsed down on the play and forced Stephens inside to the linebackers. Taking a shot deep, the third down pass intended for Fisher was batted incomplete, leaving us punting once again. A fair catch on the 44 yard punt left MTSU at their 24 yard line to start. With our offense suddenly stuck in mud after losing Price to injury, our defense at least was continuing to come through, tackling Payne for a loss of two yards, followed by two incomplete passes that forced MTSU to punt the ball away yet again. A three yard return by Fisher on the 46 yard punt got our offense started at our 34 yard line. Smith finally started to find his stride this drive, rushing ahead for a gain of 10 yards, leaving second and inches. Smith would put his mark on the game, rushing up the middle, breaking through a tackle by the middle linebacker, bouncing outside and outracing both safeties and the cornerback to the house for the 56 yard touchdown rush, his third touchdown of the game, and a 31-7 lead with 3:53 to play.
A touchback on the kickoff left MTSU at their 25 yard line and hopes of a comeback quickly fading. After an incomplete pass to start the drive, Mendoza was able to find Richardson over the middle for an 11 yard gain out to the 36. Keeping in the air, Mendoza found Gates on first down for a gain of 5 yards, but two incomplete passes would cut the drive short, as MTSU punted away on fourth and 5. A fair catch on the 47 yard punt left us starting from our 12 yard line on our next drive. Taking the handoff on first down, Smith was able to gain three yards up the middle. Keeping the ball on the ground, another three yard rush left us looking at third and four. A quick pass over the middle to Jordan went for a gain of 7 yards and picked up the first down at the 25 yard line. Smith never had a chance on the first down rush, the middle linebacker blowing up the play for a loss of one yard. Keeping the ball himself, Stephens was chased all the way to a sideline, managing to gain 8 yards to set up third and three. That would be the final play of the third quarter as the clock hit all zeroes, our leading holding at 31-7.
Starting the fourth quarter looking at third and three from the 32, the third down pass intended for Fisher hit him in the hands, but was broken up by the safety and left us punting away. A three yard return on the 53 yard punt gave MTSU the ball at their 18 yard line. It would be another short drive for the Blue Raiders, as Payne was tackled for a two yard loss, followed by two more incomplete passes to bring the punt team out on fourth and 12. A 6 yard return by Fisher on the 48 yard punt set us up at our 42 yard line.
Smith was able to bounce outside on the first down carry for a 5 yard gain, followed by a 7 yard rush to get the first down at the 46 yard line. A 5 yard rush by Randy Newman was followed with a one yard gain by Smith to leave third and four. Just when things couldn’t get any worse for our run game, Smith was slow getting up after the play and brought over to the sideline. It was then determined that he had suffered a mild concussion that would leave him on the bench for the remainder of the game, leaving fullback Newman to take over the rushing duties for the rest of the game. A quick pass over the middle to Fisher was completed for a big 20 yard gain, giving us a first down at the 20 yard line. A rush up the middle by Newman gained 9 yards to leave second and one, the clock ticking under 5 minutes. A two yard rush by Fisher picked up the first down, giving us first and goal at the 9 yard line. Newman took the first down carry up the middle for a two yard gain to the 7 yard line, the clock now down below four minutes. Another rush gained one yard to leave third and goal at the 6 yard line, less than three minutes to play. Newman took the handoff straight up the gut, seemingly about to punch it in for a score, but he was brought down by the middle linebacker at the one yard line for a 5 yard rush, leaving fourth and goal on the one. The 18 yard field goal by Pratt was good, extending our lead to 34-7 with 2:23 left to play.
A touchback left the MTSU offense coming back onto the field at their 25 yard line. The Blue Raiders started with an 8 yard pass from Mendoza to Payne against our second team defense, before Payne was wrapped up for a two yard loss to leave third and four. A three yard rush by Mendoza wouldn’t be enough to save the drive, as the Blue Raiders punted away one final time on fourth and one. A 28 yard return by Fisher on the 48 yard punt left our offense starting at our 45 yard line, just 1:32 away from victory. Stephens and the offense came out to close out the game, kneeling the ball down three times to seal the 34-7 victory.
With the win, we improve to 5-4, 3-2 in C-USA action. With the loss, Middle Tennessee State drops to 2-6, 0-5 in C-USA play. Up next, our road trip takes us to Rice. The Owls enter the game 1-6, 0-4 in C-USA action. Rice opened their year with a 23-17 win over FCS Southeast, but it's been all downhill ever since. A 28-21 loss to Troy, 54-17 loss at #3 Texas, 17-10 loss to Florida Atlantic, 34-7 loss at Southern Miss, 38-28 loss at Louisiana Tech and a 31-14 loss to UTSA leave the Owls tumbling downhill into their game against Tulsa.
Final Score
7
Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense – Stephens had a pretty good day, going 13-22 for 180 yards passing and one touchdown. Only negative was that he committed our only turnover getting stripped while rushing with the ball in the first half. It had started off a promising day for Price, but going down with the broken collarbone, ending his collegiate career, he ended the day with only 71 yards on 11 carries. Smith would end up being the leading rusher today, ending with 105 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries, to go along with one reception for three yards and a touchdown. Smith was directly involved on all four touchdowns we scored today. Five receivers caught a ball today, Fisher was the top target, catching four passes for 88 yards.
Tulsa Defense – Other than that one touchdown drive in the second quarter, it was nothing but shut down defense today, along with two interceptions that set up a touchdown and a field goal in the first half.
Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day by Pratt. Went 2 for 2 in field goals, kicking 44 and 18 yard field goals. Also went 4-4 in PATs.
Scoring Summary
Team 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Final Score 10 14 7 3 34 0 7 0 0 7
Time Team Result Play Score First Quarter 3:16 Touchdown R. Smith, 3 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick) 1:10 Field Goal A. Pratt, 44 yard field goal Second Quarter 7:59 Touchdown C. Payne, 2 yard run (M. Craig kick) 0:47 Touchdown R. Smith, 1 yard run (A. Pratt kick) 0:16 Touchdown R. Smith, 2 yard run (A. Pratt kick) Third Quarter 3:53 Touchdown R. Smith, 56 yard run (A. Pratt kick) Fourth Quarter 2:23 Field Goal A. Pratt, 18 yard field goal
Game Stats
Tulsa Stat MTSU 34 Score 7 19 First Downs 7 384 Total Offense 158 41 - 204 - 3 Rushes - Yards - TD 9 - 16 - 1 13 - 22 - 1 Comp - Att - TD 14 - 32 - 0 180 Passing Yards 142 1 Times Sacked 1 6 - 12 (50%) 3rd Down Conversion 3 - 10 (30%) 0 - 0 (0%) 4th Down Conversion 0 - 0 (0%) 0 - 0 (0%) 2-Point Conv 0 - 1 (0%) 5 - 3 - 1 (80%) Red Zone - TD - FG 4 - 1 - 0 (25%) 1 Turnovers 2 1 Fumbles Lost 0 0 Intercepted 2 54 Punt Return Yards 7 20 Kick Return Yards 45 458 Total Yards 210 3 – 47.3 Punts - Average 7 - 47.0 0 - 0 Penalties 0 - 0 23:53 Time of Possession 12:07
Tulsa Contract Goals Update
Fail Impact Goal Progress Pass Impact 21+ points per game in each season 27 Win 10 games in one season 5 3300+ passing yards each season 2055 65% pass completions over the entire contract 61% Win 6 games in one season 5 15+ rushing TD in each season 1/4 Completed 3200+ total offensive yards each season 1/4 Completed 3400+ total offensive yards each season 1/4 Completed
Job Security Status
42%
Last edited by SmoothPancakes; 01-18-2013 at 11:48 AM.
Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, it was a short lived stay at #1 for Auburn, as 4-4 LSU shocks Auburn in overtime, 35-28, wasting a 14 point comeback Auburn had made at the end of the game just to tie it up and force the overtime period. #2 Notre Dame will reclaim their top ranking, with a 55-17 dismantling of West Virginia. #4 Texas had their hands full with Kansas State, pulling away late for the 38-20 win. #5 Iowa hands #20 Northwestern their second loss, winning 35-21. #8 Ole Miss recovers from their first loss with a 38-20 win over Arkansas.
Mississippi State improves to 6-2 and puts themselves in position to bust back into the top 25 with a 24-17 upset of #9 Alabama, knocking the Tide down to an uncharacteristic 6-3 on the year. One week after their first loss of the season, #10 NC State rebounds with a 35-26 victory over North Carolina. #11 Rutgers had a little trouble early with UMass, but eventually pulled out the 38-21 victory. In a non-conference battle, #22 Virginia shocks #12 Wisconsin in Madison, 41-34. #13 Miami picks up a 31-14 win over #18 Pittsburgh. #15 Ohio State gets taken down to the wire but pulls out a 17-14 win over Indiana. Baylor obliterates #19 Texas Tech 49-21. And #24 Stanford uses a 20-0 second half advantage to put away a spunky 1-6 San Jose State, 30-13.
For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss continues to stake their claim on first place in the East Division, improving to 7-1 (4-0 C-USA) with a 33-21 win over Florida Atlantic. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 3-5 (2-3 Pac-12), knocking off 5-3 Utah 23-13. Mors, as mentioned in the Top 25 recap, West Virginia falls to 2-6 (2-3 Big 12) with a 55-17 whooping from #2 Notre Dame. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 5-2 (2-0 Sun Belt) with a 27-6 win over BYU.
In C-USA action, UTSA beats Rice 31-14, Louisiana Tech whoops UTEP 42-16, Florida International beats UAB 31-9, Southern Miss takes down Florida Atlantic 33-21, and UCF wins a non-conference game over Marshall 24-14.
With those results, looking at the current standings, in the East Division, Southern Miss (4-0) stands on top, followed by Florida International (4-1), Marshall (3-1) and Louisiana Tech (3-2). Florida Atlantic (3-3) might have an outside chance, but they're most likely eliminated, as it UAB (1-4). In the West Division, Tulsa and UTSA are both tied in first place (3-2), followed by both North Texas and UTEP (2-2). Rice (0-4) and MTSU (0-5) have both been officially eliminated.
The showdown for the East Division (technically) will take place in week 11, as Southern Miss (4-0) goes on the road to Florida International (4-1). Marshall (3-1) will try and keep pace with a road game at Florida Atlantic. If Marshall can win out the next couple weeks, they'll get their chance in week 14 with a road game at Southern Miss.
Looking at undefeated teams left, with #1 Auburn losing this week, our number of undefeated teams drops down to 2. Just #2 Notre Dame (9-0) and #3 TCU (8-0) remain with an unblemished record this season.
Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 1 teams still looking for their first win: Memphis (0-8).
Teams getting their first win this week were: Central Michigan (35-20 over 5-3 Toledo).
On a player/awards note, goodbye any outside hope of a Heisman Trophy. With the broken collarbone sidelining Brandon Price for the rest of the season (and thus the rest of his career), Price has already disappeared off the Heisman Watch list. Notre Dame QB Jordan Cooke tops the list in first, followed by Georgia HB Matt Blount climbing up into second, TCU QB Andrew Schmidt drops to third, North Carolina HB Caleb Davis remains fourth and Rutgers HB Ben Parham making a new appearance on the list in fifth.
Taking a look at the new Top 25 polls, in the Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (34 first place votes) moves up one to retake #1, TCU (27 votes) climbs one to #2, Texas climbs one to #3, Iowa moves up one to #4 and Oklahoma jumps one to #5. Oregon and Ole Miss both climb one to #6 and #7, NC State jumps two to #8, Rutgers jumps two to #9 and Auburn falls nine to #10. Miami, Nebraska and Ohio State all jump two to #11, #12 and #13, as does Michigan State and Georgia Tech jumping two to #14 and #15. Wisconsin falls four to #16, Virginia leaps five to #17, Alabama falls nine to #18, Clemson climbs two to #19 and Georgia climbs three to #20. Mississippi State enters the poll at #21, Stanford jumps two to #22, Northwestern falls three to #23, Texas A&M climbs one to #24 and Pittsburgh falls seven to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was Texas Tech (from #19). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, USC (256 votes) is #26, followed by Boise State (228), LSU (216), Vanderbilt (186) and Southern Miss (10) to round out the Top 30.
In the Media poll, Notre Dame (43 first place votes) climbs one to retake #1, TCU (22 votes) climbs one to #2, Texas, Iowa and Oklahoma all jump one to #3, #4 and #5. Ole Miss jumps one to #6, Oregon climbs two to #7, NC State jumps two to #8, Miami climbs three to #9 and Auburn falls nine to #10. Rutgers and Ohio State both jump two to #11 and #12, Nebraska and Georgia Tech climb three to #13 and #14, and Clemson remains stuck at #15. Wisconsin falls five to #16, Michigan State jumps two to #17, Virginia climbs four to #18, Alabama falls eleven to #19 and Mississippi State enters the poll at #20. Stanford jumps two to #21, Northwestern falls three to #22, Georgia and USC both climb one to #23 and #24, and Texas A&M enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Pittsburgh (from #18) and Texas Tech (from #19). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Pittsburgh (284 votes) is #26, followed by Vanderbilt (253), Boise State (237), LSU (176) and Arizona (175) to round out the Top 30. Three other teams are also picking up votes this week: Southern Miss (104), Texas Tech (62) and North Carolina (18)
Looking at the new BCS standings: #1 Notre Dame (1.000), #2 TCU (.995), #3 Texas (.989), #4 Iowa (.984), #5 Oklahoma (.978), #6 Oregon (.970), #7 Ole Miss (.970), #8 BC State (.956), #9 Auburn (.948) and #10 Miami (.944).
So I'm currently giving it some thought, while late in the first quarter against Rice, but I might "retire" Casey Bishop for the rest of the season. He's still sitting on the injury list as Probable from his pulled hamstring injury. After recovering from the initial time out, he spent at least three weeks, if not four, listed as questionable, and now has been probable for the last two (maybe 3?), and I wouldn't be surprised to see him still on the list next week.
There are only three games left after Rice. Sure, Casey Bishop is a better rated QB (85 OVR, 80 THP, 81 THA) than Brad Stephens (78 OVR, 83 THP, 79 THA), but it's not by much, and they're pretty much even in regards to the two throwing ratings. The big boost for Bishop comes in Awareness (89 to 64 for Stephens). Even if Bishop came back next week, it'll be his first game back since the very first game of the season, since the first or second quarter (or whenever it was) against Texas State. Meanwhile, while Stephens started out very green and very rough in those first couple games after Texas State, he has matured big time and has been more consistent in his throws than he was 6-7 weeks ago.
Bishop's stat line for 2016 reads 3-3 passing for 26 yards and one touchdown and two rushes for 5 yards. Stephens has come together very well, currently sitting at 139-233 for 2,026 yards and 10 touchdowns while throwing only two interceptions all year, while also rushing for 100 yards and a touchdown on 51 carries. Now he does suck at holding the ball, as Stephens has committed four rushing fumbles, but he has still played lights out for being a freshman in his first season on the team. With Bishop being a redshirt senior who is graduating after this season, I may very well just leave him on the bench for the rest of the year, even after he gets back to 100% and finally comes off the injury list, and stick with Stephens for the remainder of the year, let him get all those remaining snaps and hopefully use that as a springboard into next season when Stephens will be my full time starter the entire year.
Game Ten
Game Notes
--- Coming away from our dominating victory over MTSU that snapped a two game losing streak, it was time to go after a two game winning streak and clinch a bowl berth. The only thing standing in our way of our sixth victory was one-win Rice. The Owls were sliding farther and farther down with each passing week, entering on a six game losing streak. Coming into the rivalry showdown with us, it would without a doubt serve as no great way to break that losing streak than by knocking off us and winning the Battle for the Williams Trophy. With Brandon Price out for the season and he career at a conclusion with a broken collarbone last week, and Roy Smith, while skilled, by far less talented than Price, taking over the starting duties, it was all but certain we would have to rely heavily on our passing game and our defense today. That boded well for us, as Rice entered with the #122 offense in the nation, ranking #111 in rushing and #116 in passing averaging only 17 points a game and less than 156 yards rushing and passing per contest. Their defense wasn’t any better, ranked #117 in the nation, giving up 460 yards a game, while also ranking #100 in rush defense and #107 in pass defense. Hopefully our players would not get lulled into thinking it was a sure thing and avoid getting surprised like so many teams had experienced this season. We won the coin toss and elected to kick, getting the shindig underway.
It was a booming kickoff and sailed out for a touchback, and Rice started at their 25 yard line. D'Juan Gray took the ball to start the drive, rushing for a two yard gain, before the defense pushed back, tackling him for a three yard loss to leave third and 11. A one yard rush by Tim Schneider was all the Owls could manage, and the punt team came out. A fair catch on the 47 yard punt gave our offense our first possession from our 28 yard line.
Taking the ball on first down, Roy Smith rushed ahead for a 6 yard gain to leave second and four. Shaking off a tackle, Smith was able to bust up the hole for a gain of 5 and pick up the first down at the 39 yard line. Another rush by Smith went for 5 yards, before Brad Stephens kept the ball himself and rushed for four yards to leave third and one. Randy Newman took the third down handoff up the middle, gaining 7 yards for a first down at the Rice 46. A quick pass to Donny Jordan caught the defense sleeping, going for a gain of 8 yards. Punching back with the left jab, Smith took the second down handoff for a 9 yard gain around the left tackle to get the first down at the 29 yard line. Rice brought the house on first down, which only served to hurt them as Eric Hayden cut across the wide open middle, hauling in the pass and turning up the field for a 15 yard gain and a first down at the 14 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Stephens hit Chad Fisher for a 10 yard gain to set up first and goal at the four yard line. Smith was tripped up on first down for no gain, leaving second and goal, before Newman took the ball and pounded it in for the four yard touchdown rush and a 7-0 lead with 2:31 left in the first quarter.
A 20 yard return on the kickoff set Rice up for their second drive at their 22 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Schneider ran for a two yard gain to leave third and 8, before Gray threw to Clifton King for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the 36 yard line. After Schneider was tackled for a loss of three yards on the first down carry, Gray connected with King again for 5 yards to leave third and 9. The Owls would pick up the first down and then some as Gray threw deep to Derek Carter for a 26 yard gain and a first down at our 37 yard line. After two incomplete passes, the Owls could only manage a 7 yard toss from Gray to Mark White before the drive seemed to stall out at our 30 yard line. The Owls weren’t about to settle for a field goal, and instead went for it on fourth down, Phil Morse rushing for three yards and the first down at our 26 yard line. After a one yard rush by Schneider, Gray threw to Justin Nolan for 16 yards to give Rice first and goal at our 9 yard line. That would be where the first quarter would come to a close, our lead 7-0 but in danger.
Opening up the second quarter with first and goal at our 9 yard line, Schneider took the ball for a 5 yard gain to get Rice to our four yard line. A three yard scramble by Gray left the Owls with third and goal at our one yard line. The Owls would punch it in on the next play, as Gray dove into the end zone for the one yard touchdown to tie the game up at 7-7 with 8:29 left in the second quarter.
A 19 yard kickoff return by Fisher got us underway at our 22 yard line looking for a response. After a one yard rush on first down, Smith was able to bust outside, get a block that took the cornerback out of the play, and race down the field angling toward the sideline for a 25 yard gain out to the 48 yard line before the safety was able to catch up. Newman took the ball on first down for a 9 yard gain, leaving second and one at the Rice 43, before Smith was just able to get across for a two yard gain and a first down at the 41. The first down pass intended for Fisher was broken up, leaving second down. Fisher hauled in a pass from Stephens for a gain of 6 yards, leaving third and four. The third down pass was off the mark, leaving us with fourth down. The 51 yard field goal attempt by Alphonso Pratt was no good, and Rice took over at their 34 yard line, 5:12 left in the quarter.
After a dropped pass on first down, Gray connected with Carter on second down for a 15 yard gain to get out to midfield. A 10 yard pass to White left second and inches, turning into third and inches after an incomplete pass. Gray would keep the ball himself on third down, stood up at the line of scrimmage for no gain, the Owls left with fourth and inches at our 40 yard line. They would go for it on fourth down, but the defense would again rise to the occasion, tackling Morse for no gain, holding three straight plays and refusing to give up those inches, forcing the turnover on downs and giving us the ball at our 40. A first carry by Smith gained two yards, before Stephens found Fisher for a gain of 15 and a first down at the Rice 43 yard line. Stephens was just barely able to release the ball as he was hit, the pass falling to the ground 5 yards away and incomplete. Stephens was again nearly sacked as the defense brought the house, again just barely able to let go of the ball, falling incomplete to leave third and 10. The third down pass from Stephens sailed as he was forced to quickly get rid of it to avoid the sack, the cornerback rushing up with plenty of time to bat away the lob pass incomplete, leaving fourth down at the 43 yard line. The punt sailed into the end zone for a touchback, and Rice took over at their 20.
The Owls opened their drive up with an incomplete pass on first down, before Gray was tackled for a one yard loss to leave third and 11. Gray took a chance throwing deep, our defense hawking to the ball and cornerback Jonathan Chambers intercepting the pass, giving us back possession at the Rice 24 yard line with 2:38 left in the half. Smith never had a chance on first down, as the middle linebacker blew through and tackled him for no gain. The outside linebacker batted the pass intended for Fisher incomplete, leaving third and 10. The third down pass appeared to be successful, as Smith hauled in a quick pass from Stephens around the 10 yard line, for what would have been at least a 14 yard gain, but a vicious hit by the safety jarred the ball loose and incomplete before Smith could fully take possession. That left us with fourth and 10, Pratt coming out to attempt another field goal. The 41 yard kick was good this time, and we took a 10-7 lead with 1:52 to play.
A touchback on the kickoff left Rice starting at their 25 yard line. A two yard rush by Gray and a pair of incomplete passes left the Owls going nowhere fast, a timeout by the defense stopping the clock with 1:35 left ahead of the punt. A fair catch on the 43 yard punt gave us the ball at our 29 yard line, 1:29 left on the clock and two timeouts. Stephens was finally able to get a precise pass off, hitting Thompson for an 11 yard gain to the 40 yard line. The defense then chose to help us out, outside linebacker Bryan Williams getting flagged for defensive facemask, the 15 free yards giving us a first down at the Rice 45 yard line. Stephens threw up a pass to Smith on the smash route on first down gained 22 yards down to the 23 yard line. Racing up to the line before the clock started ticking, Stephens was able to find Fisher over the middle for a 14 yard gain and first and goal at the 8 yard line, 1:15 left on the clock. Throw up a high pass to Hayden in the corner of the end zone, he came down with the pass for the 8 yard touchdown to extend our lead to 17-7 with 1:04 left in the half.
No return on the following kickoff left Rice starting from their 25, now trailing by double digits and only 55 seconds on the clock. Our pass coverage forced Gray to dump off the ball short to Nolan for a 5 yard gain, the Owls burning their first timeout with 51 seconds to go. After a dropped pass, Gray connected with Issac Hart for 21 yards to get to our 49 yard line, their second timeout stopping time with 40 seconds left. Three straight incomplete passes left Rice stuck with fourth down and 29 seconds remaining. The Owls came out showing punt, but instead tried to go for the fake pass, but our punt rush was too fast, sacking punter Darnell Roach for a three yard loss, forcing the turnover on downs with 22 yards left, ball on the Rice 47 yard line.
With two timeouts still in the bag and only 47 yards in front of us, we decided to go for the home run right now. Going for that home run quickly paid off, as a coverage failure by the defense allowed Smith to get wide open down the right sideline, hauling in the pass from Stephens for a 30 yard gain, down to the Rice 18 yard line, our second timeout stopping the clock with 17 seconds. We got some bad news after the play, as Smith came off the field with an injury, determined to be a bruised elbow that would keep out for the remainder of the half. In range to take shots into the end zone now, it was time to go for the touchdown. The first down pass into the corner of the end zone intended for Nicholas Roberts was broken up, leaving second down. We would find the end zone on the next play, as Thompson hauled in the pass from Stephens around the 8 yard line, racing the linebacker to the pylon for the 18 yard touchdown, opening our lead up to 24-7 with 8 seconds left before halftime.
A touchback on the following kickoff left Rice at their 25 yard line, just one second remaining on the clock. Schneider took the ball on first down, looking to just end the half, but even then the Owls couldn’t catch a break, as our defense stormed the backfield, tackling Schneider for a three yard loss. With that, the second quarter came to an end and we headed into halftime leading 24-7 after a late flurry of points.
Opening up the third quarter, Fisher returned the opening kickoff back 25 yards to our 24 yard line to start our next drive. Taking the ball on first down, Smith broke loose for an 11 yard gain out to the 35 yard line. Keeping the ball on the next play, Smith was stood up for no gain, leading up back into the air. The pass from Stephens intended Hayden was off the mark, sailing out of bounds as Stephens was forced to throw on the run, leaving us third and 10. The third down pass for Hayden was swatted away by the outside linebacker, and we were forced to punt away. A 10 yard return on the 46 yard punt gave Rice the ball on their 29 yard line. It was a very short drive, as two incomplete passes and a dropped ball left the Owls punting back without moving a single yard.
A 9 yard return by Fisher on the 47 yard punt set us up at our 33 yard line. A pair of rushes by Smith went for gains of 7 and 6 yards to get the first down at the 46 yard line. Another rush picked up 5 yards to leave second and 5 at the Rice 49. Newman took the ball on the next play, fighting ahead for three yards, leaving third down and two. Keeping the ball himself, Stephens picked up two yards, leaving fourth and inches. Instead of punting, most likely for a touchback, we elected to go for it on fourth down, Smith just barely getting one yard to get the first down and keep the drive moving. A 7 yard rush by Smith was followed with a four yard gain by Newman to get the first down at the 32 yard line. Continuing to run the ball down the throats of the Rice defense, Smith broke loose from a tackle in the backfield, stumbling ahead for a 5 yard gain to leave second and 5. A toss to the left to Newman only picked up one yard, leaving third and four. A quick out route pass to Jordan picked up 7 yards and the first down at the Rice 19 yard line. Smith rumbled up the middle on first down for a 7 yard gain, followed by another pickup of 7 yards to set up first and goal at the four yard line, where the third quarter would come to a close, our lead still 24-7.
Starting the fourth quarter with a 24-7 lead and looking at first and goal at the four yard line, it was time to put this one away. Smith took the ball on first down, rushing ahead for three yards before being tackled inside the one yard line. Smith never had any hope on the next play, the middle linebacker blowing through untouched, tackling Smith for a loss of two yards, leaving third and goal at the three yard line. Coming out on third down trying to catch the Owls off guard, we ran option on the play. Stephens was able to pitch the ball to Newman just as he was getting hit by the cornerback, Newman turning to catch the ball and then spinning around to his outside, racing the safety and the linebacker to the pylon for the 3 yard touchdown rush and a 31-7 lead with 7:38 to play.
An 18 yard kickoff return got the Owls started back on offense at their 22 yard line. The drive started promising with a 5 yard pass from Gray to White, but a pair of incomplete passes brought it quickly to an end, the Owls once again punting the ball. A 5 yard return by Fisher on the 49 yard punt gave us the ball at our 28 yard line, just 7 minutes away from victory. Smith took the first down handoff, only able to gain one yard, leaving second and 9. Taking the ball on the second down, Smith got a massive hole up the middle, racing out to the 42 yard line for a 13 yard gain and a first down. Another rush, this time by Newman picked up 6 yards, followed by a 10 yard gain by the big fullback to get the first down at the Rice 42 yard line, the clock down to 5 minutes remaining. A 10 yard rush by Fisher gave us another first down at the 32 yard line, the clock down to near four minutes to go. Newman took the ball on the next play, fighting ahead for a 5 yard gain, followed by a two yard gain to leave third and three on the 25 yard line. Stephens kept the ball himself, sprinting up the middle on the delayed rush, picking up 6 yards for the first down at the 18 yard line, the clock down to 2:28. A pair of rushes by Newman went for two yards each, leaving third and 6 at the 14 yard line, one minute left in the game. A four yard rush by Fisher left us with fourth and two at the ? yard line, but it wouldn’t matter, as we were able to run out the final 37 seconds without taking another snap, sealing the 31-7 victory and winning the Battle for the Williams Trophy for the third year in a row.
With the win, we improve to 6-4, 4-2 in C-USA action and become bowl eligible. With the loss, Rice drops to 1-7, 0-5 in C-USA play. Up next, one more bye week before our final home game of the season against UTSA, potentially playing for the West Division title in the game.
Final Score
7
Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense – Another good game by Stephens, ending 12-23 for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Rushing, Smith had a good day, ending with 126 yards rushing on 24 carries, along with 52 yards receiving on two receptions. Newman got the glory on the ground, rushing for 58 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. Receiving, five players caught a ball today, Smith led in yards with 52 yards on two receptions, Fisher led in catches with 45 yards on four receptions.
Tulsa Defense – Outside of that one drive that spanned the end of the first quarter and start of the second quarter, a great day by the defense allowing pretty much not a thing.
Tulsa Kicking – A split day for Pratt, going 1-2 in field goal, making from 41, missing from 51. Pratt did go 4-4 in PATs.
Scoring Summary
Team 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Final Score 7 17 0 7 31 0 7 0 0 7
Time Team Result Play Score First Quarter 2:31 Touchdown R. Newman, 4 yard run (A. Pratt kick) Second Quarter 8:29 Touchdown D. Gray, 1 yard run (L. Ferguson kick) TIED 7-7 1:55 Field Goal A. Pratt, 41 yard field goal 1:04 Touchdown E. Hayden, 8 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick) 0:08 Touchdown M. Thompson, 18 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick) Third Quarter --- --- --- --- --- Fourth Quarter 7:38 Touchdown R. Newman, 3 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
Game Stats
Tulsa Stat Rice 31 Score 7 22 First Downs 6 372 Total Offense 132 42 - 208 - 2 Rushes - Yards - TD 13 - 10 - 1 172- 23 - 2 Comp - Att - TD 10- 30 - 0 164 Passing Yards 122 0 Times Sacked 0 4 - 10 (40%) 3rd Down Conversion 4 - 12 (33%) 1 - 1 (100%) 4th Down Conversion 1 - 3 (33%) 0 - 0 (0%) 2-Point Conv 0 - 0 (0%) 6 - 4 - 0 (66%) Red Zone - TD - FG 1 - 1 - 0 (100%) 0 Turnovers 1 0 Fumbles Lost 0 0 Intercepted 1 14 Punt Return Yards 10 44 Kick Return Yards 38 430 Total Yards 180 2 – 44.5 Punts - Average 4 - 47.3 1 - 15 Penalties 1 - 15 25:24 Time of Possession 10:36
Tulsa Contract Goals Update
Fail Impact Goal Progress Pass Impact 21+ points per game in each season 27 Win 10 games in one season 6 3300+ passing yards each season 2219 65% pass completions over the entire contract 60% Win 6 games in one season 15+ rushing TD in each season 1/4 Completed 3200+ total offensive yards each season 1/4 Completed 3400+ total offensive yards each season 1/4 Completed
Job Security Status
48%
Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #5 Oklahoma is try to make their case for a national time game visit, beating West Virginia 35-17. #6 Oregon was able to avoid the upset, holding off Arizona late for a 35-23 win. After working their way back up to the rankings, #7 Ole Miss heads for another tumble, losing to Tennessee 30-17. It was a battle, tied 14-14 going into the fourth quarter, but #8 NC State pulls out the 24-14 win over Florida State. Maryland scores an upset of #9 Rutgers 35-21.
The once mighty #1 falls even farther, as #10 Auburn loses for the second straight week, 44-34 to #24 Texas A&M. Virginia Tech knocked off #11 Miami 31-26. #13 Ohio State escaped with a 31-24 win over Purdue. North Carolina scored a 31-20 upset over #15 Georgia Tech, scoring 14 straight to pull away for the win. #17 Virginia came out on top of #25 Pittsburgh 34-24. Once completing for a berth in the national title game, the Tide could be falling completely out of the top 25, as LSU beats #18 Alabama 28-24, dropping the Crimson Tide to 6-4 on the year with their second straight loss.
After a 17-17 tie at halftime, #19 Clemson ran roughshod over Boston College in the second half on the way to a 41-17 win. #20 Georgia scored 21 straight points during teh second half to come back and beat South Carolina 31-28. One week after reentering the rankings, #21 Mississippi State is gonna faceplant straight out of them, losing 35-20 to 2-7 Syracuse. #23 Northwestern looks to be headed out of the rankings, losing 35-28 to #12 Nebraska. It was an insane fourth quarter. The score was 13-7 Nebraska after three quarters, Nebraska outscoring Northwestern 22-21 in the fourth quarter alone.
For our readers, souljahbill, the battle for East Division supremacy goes to Southern Miss, who tops Florida International 31-21, improving to 8-1 (5-0 C-USA). Jaymo, Arizona State falls to 3-6 (2-4 Pac-12), losing 45-38 to Oregon State. ASU had the lead, but the Beavers scored the winning TD with 2:02 left. Mors, as mentioned in the Top 25 recap, West Virginia falls to 2-7 (2-4 Big 12) with a 35-17 loss to #5 Oklahoma, leaving the Mountaineers home for another bowl season. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 6-2 (3-0 Sun Belt) with a 33-24 win over Western Kentucky.
In C-USA action, Marshall wallops Florida Atlantic 42-0, UTSA tops MTSU 17-13, North Texas knocks off UTEP 24-14, Southern Miss beats Florida International 31-21 and in non-conference action, Northern Illinois escapes UAB 21-16.
With those results, looking at the current standings, in the East Division, Southern Miss (5-0) remains on top, trailed closed by Marshall (4-1). That week 14 showdown between Southern Miss and Marshall may just be for all the marbles barring any upsets. After that sits Florida International (4-2) and Louisiana Tech (3-2). Florida Atlantic (3-4) and UAB (1-4) are officially eliminated. In the West Division, it's now a tie on top between Tulsa and UTSA (both at 4-2), making the week 13 game of UTSA at Tulsa essentially for the West Division title. Just behind us is North Texas (3-2), followed by UTEP (2-3). Rice (0-5) and MTSU (0-6) are officially eliminated.
Looking at undefeated teams left, nobody lost this week, our number of undefeated teams remains at 2. Just #1 Notre Dame (9-0) and #2 TCU (9-0) remain with an unblemished record this season.
Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 1 teams still looking for their first win: Memphis (0-9).
Memphis failed to get their first win this week, but they tried, falling in overtime 34-31 to 2-6 Tulane.
Taking a look at the new Top 25 polls, in the Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (40 first place votes) remains #1, TCU (21 votes) remains #2, Texas #3, Iowa #4, Oklahoma #5 and Oregon #6. NC State makes the first move, up one to #7, Nebraska, Ohio State and Michigan State all jump four spots to #8, #9 and #10. Virginia climbs five spots to #12, Auburn falls three to #13, Ole Miss drops seven to #14 and Rutgers falls six to #15. Clemson and Georgia both climb three to #16 and #17, Texas A&M jumps six to #18, Stanford bumped up three to #19, Miami fell nine to #20 while Georgia Tech fell six to #21. LSU, Maryland, USC and Boise State all enter the poll this week #22 through #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Alabama (from #18), Mississippi State (from #21), Northwestern (from #23) and Pittsburgh (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, North Carolina (291 votes) is #26, followed by Vanderbilt (234), Southern Miss (223), Northwestern (215) and Tennessee (177) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes are Alabama (153), Air Force (127) and SMU (70).
In the Media poll, Notre Dame (38 first place votes) remains #1, TCU (27 votes) remains #2. The rest of the top 5 are the same, Texas #3, Iowa #4 and Oklahoma #5. Oregon jumps one to #6, NC State climbs one to #7, Ohio State and Nebraska both jump four to #8 and #9, and Wisconsin leaps six to #10. Clemson climbs four to #11, Michigan State moves up five to #12, Ole Miss falls seven to #13, Auburn drops four to #14 and Virginia climbs three to #15. Texas A&M leaps nine to #16, Rutgers fell six to #17, Stanford climbed three to #18, Georgia jumps four to #19 and Miami dropped eleven to #20. Georgia Tech fell seven to #21, USC climbed two to #22, and LSU, North Carolina and Boise State all enter the poll this week at #23, #24 and #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Alabama (from #18), Mississippi State (from #21) and Northwestern (from #23). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Vanderbilt (265 votes) is #26, followed by Maryland (258), Northwestern (217), Tennessee (196) and Southern Miss (150) to round out the Top 30. Alabama is the lone other team picking up any votes this week, getting 48.
Looking at the new BCS standings: #1 Notre Dame (1.000), #2 TCU (.995), #3 Texas (.989), #4 Iowa (.984), #5 Oklahoma (.978), #6 Oregon (.973), #7 NC State (.967), #8 Nebraska (.959), #9 Ohio State (.959) and #10 Wisconsin (.948).
On a bye week, so lets jump right into it.
Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #1 Notre Dame moves one step closer to the national title game with a 59-24 win over Boston College. #3 Texas makes a move for the championship game, beating Kansas 45-27. In the game of the week, #4 Iowa has an easy day with #10 Michigan State 35-18. After climbing back up the ranking, #7 NC State is going for a fall, losing to 4-6 Wake Forest 49-38. #8 Nebraska scores 17 straight points to put away #11 Wisconsin 24-13. #12 Virginia shoots up the rankings, then promptly gets knocked off, 38-21 by 5-6 Louisville. It's a hard life in the SEC, as Auburn goes from undefeated and #1, to suffering their third straight loss, 42-35 to #17 Georgia.
Florida State plays upset artist, beating #16 Clemson 35-28. #18 Texas A&M pulls out a 34-24 win over #22 LSU. The Hurricanes fall, as Duke knocks off #20 Miami 35-16. #21 Georgia Tech avoids the upset, beating Virginia Tech 24-17. Indiana knocks off #23 Maryland 28-17. Arizona counters a fourth quarter safety with a touchdown with 5 minute to play, edging out #24 USC 27-26. #25 Boise State enters the poll this week, and then just barely avoids dropping right back out, holding on to pull a 28-26 win over Nevada out of their ass. The deciding margin occurred when Nevada returned an interception 56 yards for a touchdown with 3:18 left, went for the two-point conversion but failed.
For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss beats Louisiana Tech 27-7, improving to 9-1 (6-0 C-USA). Jaymo, Arizona State falls to 3-7 (2-5 Pac-12), losing 34-31 to UCLA, eliminating Sparky from bowl contention. Mors, West Virginia remains 2-7 (2-4 Big 12) with a bye week. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State falls to 6-3 (3-1 Sun Belt) with a 27-10 loss to Louisiana-Monroe.
In C-USA action, Marshall tops UAB 38-27, Southern Miss beats Louisiana Tech 27-7, Florida International beats North Texas 38-17, UTEP takes down UTSA 38-14, MTSU wins over Rice 52-35. In non-conference action, Syracuse beats Florida Atlantic 30-17.
With those results, looking at the current standings, in the East Division, Southern Miss (6-0) remains on top, trailed closed by Marshall (5-1). That week 14 showdown between Southern Miss and Marshall is still on track for all the marbles barring any week 13 upsets. After that sits Florida International (5-2). Louisiana Tech (3-3), Florida Atlantic (3-4) and UAB (1-5) are officially eliminated. In the West Division, thanks to UTEP's win, Tulsa (4-2) now sits on top. Just behind us is UTSA (4-3), followed by UTEP and North Texas (both 3-3). MTSU (1-6) and Rice (0-6) are officially eliminated.
Looking at undefeated teams left, nobody lost this week, our number of undefeated teams remains at 2. Just #1 Notre Dame (10-0) and #2 TCU (9-0) remain with an unblemished record this season.
Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 1 teams still looking for their first win: Memphis (0-10).
Taking a look at the new Top 25 polls, in the Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (39 first place votes) remains #1, TCU (22 votes) remains #2, Iowa jumps one to #3, Texas falls one to #4. Oklahoma and Oregon remain #5 and #6. Nebraska and Ohio State both climb one to #7 and #8, Ole Miss jumps five to #9, Georgia leaps seven to #10. Rutgers moves up four to #11, Texas A&M leaps six to #12, Wisconsin fell two to #13, Stanford jumps five to #14, NC State falls eight to #15. Georgia Tech jumps five to #16, Auburn falls four to #17, Michigan State drops eight to #18, Boise State climbs six to #19 and North Carolina enters the poll at #20. Southern Miss enters the poll at #21, Arizona and Alabama enter at #22 and #23, Miami drops four to #24 and Clemson falls nine to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Virginia (from #12), LSU (from #22), Maryland (from #23) and USC (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, USC (185 votes) is #26, followed by Virginia (160), Colorado (157), San Diego State (143) and Mississippi State (119) to round out the Top 30. One other the getting some votes this week, Northern Illinois (28).
In the Media poll, the top 6 remains the same, Notre Dame (36 first place votes) #1, TCU (29 votes) #2, Texas #3, Iowa #4, Oklahoma #5 and Oregon #6. Nebraska jumps two to #7, Ohio State remains #8, Ole Miss climbs four to #9, Georgia leaps nine to #10. Rutgers jumps six to #11, Texas A&M moves up four to #12, Stanford climbs five to #13, Wisconsin falls four to #14, and NC State drops eight to #15. Georgia Tech climbs five to #16, Auburn falls three to #17, Michigan State tumbles six to #18, Boise State jumps six to #19 and North Carolina climbs four to #20. Clemson plummets ten to #21, Southern Miss enters the poll at #22, Alabama and Arizona both enter at #23 and #24, and USC falls three to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Virginia (from #12), Miami (from #20) and LSU (from #22). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Miami (226 votes) is #26, followed by San Diego State (140), Mississippi State (110), Colorado (82) and Virginia (55) to round out the Top 30.
Looking at the new BCS standings: #1 Notre Dame (1.000), #2 TCU (.995), #3 Iowa (.986), #4 Texas (.986), #5 Oklahoma (.978), #6 Oregon (.973), #7 Nebraska (.967), #8 Ohio State (.962), #9 Ole Miss (.956) and #10 Georgia (.951).
Taking a look at the first bowl projections of the year, if they hold out, it's a trip to the New Orleans Bowl for Tulsa fans, to take on 7-2 Louisiana-Monroe from the Sun Belt. The AutoZone Liberty Bowl would be #21 Southern Miss (9-1) vs. Cincinnati (7-3).
Looking at the BCS bowl projections, in the Rose Bowl, #3 Iowa matches up with #6 Oregon. The Sugar Bowl features #10 Georgia vs. #19 Boise State. The Orange Bowl has #15 NC State vs. #7 Nebraska. The Fiesta Bowl, #4 Texas takes on #9 Ole Miss. And in the national championship game, #2 TCU takes on #1 Notre Dame.
Why am I not considered a "for our readers"?
Twitter: @3YardsandACloud
Why am I not considered a "for our readers"?
I think it's been because I usually just copy/paste the weekly recap from week to week, and when I first started doing those early on, you were an occasional visitor/commenter, so I never thought about adding you/Ohio State to the list.
I'll go ahead and add them in the future weeks/seasons though. I already specifically simulate the Ohio State games from week to week, instead of letting them auto-sim when I advance the week, just to see how they did (same with Toledo, BG, etc. I may be root for Navy, but I still have a soft spot for the local Ohio teams), so it'd just be a matter of tagging you onto the "for the readers" section.
I'll include you/Ohio State in the next update after the UTSA game, whenever I get around to actually playing it this weekend.
Thanks. If nothing else, that'd make it easier on knowing where to look in your recap
Twitter: @3YardsandACloud
Holy shit! It's snowing in Tulsa! This UTSA game is the first time I have played a game in the snow ever since I started this dynasty clear back at FIU.
Game Eleven
Game Notes
--- Back on a winning streak that kept us in the race for the West Division, it was time for our final home game of the year to say goodbye to our seniors. A great class of players would be saying goodbye to the Tulsa faithful, including: QB Casey Bishop, HB Brandon Price, WR Chad Fisher, WR Max Thompson, TE Nicholas Roberts, TE Donny Jordan, LG Daniel Peters, RG Jason Smith, RT Kyle Davis, LOLB Spencer Jones, LOLB A.J. Walton, MLB Keith Battle, ROLB Marc Patterson and FS Jason Stephens. The Roadrunners were as weak offensively as MTSU and Rice, but they had a much better offense, that our offense would have to overcome to keep UTSA from hanging around throughout the game. A heavy snowfall leaving the field white would test the offenses in the slippery conditions. UTSA won the coin toss and elected to kick.
A 16 yard kickoff return by Jason Stephens got our offense started at our 18 yard line. A first down carry by Roy Smith picked up four yards, followed by a 5 yard gain to leave third and one. Randy Newman took the ball up the middle for a 6 yard gain, giving us first down at the 34. Continuing to pound the ball, Smith picked up 5 yards, before taking the handoff around the left tackle for 8 yards and the first down at the 47. Running play action on first down, the pass by Brad Stephens was wildly off target and incomplete. Going back to the air on second down, Stephens hit Chad Fisher over the middle for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the UTSA 39 yard line. Another pass to Fisher gained 19 yards to get us down to the 20 yard line. Breaking loose from a tackle, Smith took the ball up the middle, fighting forward for a 9 yard gain. A one yard rush picked up the first down, setting up first and goal at the 10. After a two yard rush by Smith, it was back into the air as Stephens hit Eric Hayden over the middle for the 8 yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 lead with 3:43 left in the first quarter.
The Roadrunners began their opening drive from their 25 yard line, after a touchback on the kickoff. Johnnie Tyree took the ball on first down, but was quickly tackled for a one yard loss. After an incomplete pass, Tyree again met our defense, tackled for a two yard loss to leave UTSA punting on fourth and 13. A four yard return by Fisher on the 46 yard punt set our offense up at our 35 yard line. We nearly found the end zone on the first play, as Smith took the handoff and broke loose through the secondary, rushing all the way to the UTSA 34 yard line for a 30 yard gain, where a desperation dive by the safety tripped Smith up and saved what would have been a guaranteed touchdown. Keeping it going on the ground, Smith picked up 6 yards on the next play, before taking the handoff, avoiding the linebacker and busting open to take it 28 yards for the touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 1:50 left in the first quarter.
Another touchback on the kickoff left UTSA again at their 25 yard line. The Roadrunners would manage to gain positive yards this drive, as Adrian Valentine picked up four yards on the ground, before two incomplete passes left UTSA punting one more on fourth and 6. A fair catch on the 49 yard punt gave our offense the ball at our 22 yard line. The defense had almost no answer for our run game, as Smith took the ball again and broke for a 13 yard gain, giving us first down at our 35. A pair of rushes by Smith went for gains of 6 and three yards to leave third and one at the 44. Smith would pick up the first down and then some, rushing for a gain of 10 yards to the UTSA 46 yard line. The final seconds would tick off the clock, and the first quarter came to an end, our lead 14-0.
Opening the second quarter, the defense finally managed to slow down our run game, as the middle linebacker blitzed through to tackle Smith for no gain. Looking to keep the defense honest, Stephens threw up a 14 yard pass to Hayden down to the 32. Another pass, this time to Max Thompson, picked up 15 yards, giving us a first down at the 17 yard line. A pass to Fisher gained 6 yards, followed by a 5 yard pass to Newman to set up first and goal at the 6 yard line. A rush by Smith went for a two yard gain, before being tackled for no gain to leave third and goal at the four yard line. The third down pass intended for Fisher was batted incomplete, and we were forced to settle for a field goal. The 21 yard kick by Alphonso Pratt was good, extending our lead to 17-0 with 6:04 left in the second quarter.
No return on the following kickoff gave UTSA the ball at their 25. Tyree took the ball on first down for a three yard gain, before an incomplete pass left third and 7. The Roadrunners would finally pick up a first down, as Marcus Leonard connected with Tyree for an 8 yard pass out to the 36 yard line. After an incomplete pass, Leonard rushed for four yards, before another incomplete pass stranded the drive on fourth and 6. A 16 yard return by Fisher on the 46 yard punt set our offense up at our 29 yard line. After picking up three yards on first down, Smith was again tackled for no gain, leaving our offense with third and 7. The pass by Stephens intended for Smith sailed long and incomplete, leaving our punt team trotting out. A 5 yard return on the 50 yard punt left UTSA starting on their 22 yard line. After a three yard rush by Tyree, Leonard threw deep to Stephen Alston for a 28 yard gain and a first down at our 47 yard line. Tyree was tackled for a three yard loss on the next play, before recovering those lost yards to leave the offense with third and 10. A third down pass to Cortez Estes was completed for a 14 yard gain, moving the Roadrunners down to our 33. Another pass, this time to Tyree for a gain of 15 yard, gave UTSA a first down at our 19 yard line. Tyree took the ball on the ground for a 7 yard gain to our 12 yard line, before a false start penalty set the offense back, leaving second and 8 at our 17. Tyree was then tackled for a three yard loss, leaving the Roadrunners looking at third and 11. An incomplete pass would leave UTSA short of the end zone, settling for a field goal attempt. The goose egg would remain on the scoreboard, as the 36 yard kick by Kyle Ostrander was no good, giving our offense the ball at our 20 yard line with 1:48 left in the half.
Throwing deep on first down paid off, as Fisher hauled in the pass from Stephens, racing down the sideline before being run out of bounds at the UTSA 30 yard line for a 50 yard gain. A first down pass to Hayden picked up 8 yards, before an incomplete pass left us with third and two. Taking a shot up the middle, Smith gained three yards to get the first down at the 19 yard line, our first timeout stopping the clock with 1:12 left in the quarter. A pass to Fisher gained 8 yards, followed by an incomplete pass, stopping the clock with 48 seconds. Another rush by Smith gained two yards, enough to give us first and goal at the 8 yard line, our second timeout stopping the clock with 45 seconds. After an incomplete pass on first down, Stephens found Donny Jordan for a four yard gain, leaving third and goal at the four yard line. The third down pass intended for Hayden in the back of the end zone was broken up, leaving the field goal unit coming out with 22 seconds left. The 21 yard kick by Pratt was good, opening our lead up to 20-0 with 19 seconds remaining.
After a touchback on the kickoff, Tyree was tackled for a two yard loss, the final seconds ticking off and the second quarter coming to end, as we headed to halftime with a 20-0 lead.
No return on the kickoff to open the third quarter gave UTSA the ball at their 25 yard line. The drive started off poorly, as Leonard was sacked for a 10 yard loss, leaving second and 20. Leonard found Steve Bright for a gain of 5 yards, followed by a 9 yard pass to Guy McCauley, but it wasn’t enough, as the Roadrunners punted away on fourth and 6.
A 6 yard return by Fisher on the 45 yard punt gave us the ball at our 32. A pair of rushes by Smith for gains of 5 and four yards left us looking at third and one, before Smith took the ball and pounded it up the middle, picking up 11 yards and the first down at the UTSA 49 yard line, the Roadrunners again searching for a way to stop our run game. Newman took the ball for a gain of three yards, before a pass to Fisher picked up 15 yards and a first down at the 31 yard line. The first down pass from Stephens sailed long and out of bounds, forced to rush by the pass by the defense. A quick pass over the middle to Hayden, as the secondary cleared out after other receivers, was completed for a 21 yard gain, leaving us first and goal at the 9 yard line. Smith picked up two yards on the ground, before a failed run by Stephens resulted in a loss of three yards, leaving us with third and goal at the 10 yard line. The third down pass was completed to Max Thompson for 10 yards, but the tackled by the cornerback kept him just shy of the end zone, leaving us fourth and goal, the tip of the ball just inches shy of the goal line. Going for it on fourth down, Smith punched it in for the one yard touchdown rush, expanding our lead to 27-0 with 2:35 left in the third quarter.
A touchback on the kickoff started the Roadrunners at their 25 yard line, any hope of even trying to comeback all but extinguished with that last score. After a dropped pass, the defense got flagged for defensive holding, the 5 yard penalty moving the Roadrunners to their 30 yard line and a new set of downs. Tyree picked up three yards on the first down rush, before the defense broke through and sacked Leonard for a loss of 8 yards on the next play, leaving third and 15. A two yard pass to Valentine left UTSA punting away on fourth and 13. A fair catch on the 45 yard punt gave us the ball at our 28 yard line, 1:37 left in the third quarter. Smith took the ball on first down, picking up two yards, followed by a 7 yard rush to leave third and one. Keeping the ball on the ground, Newman rumbled ahead for a gain of 8 yards and the first down at our 44 yard line, where the third quarter would come to an end, our lead at 27-0.
Opening up the fourth quarter, Smith took the handoff up the middle for a 9 yard gain to leave second and one at the UTSA 47. A three yard gain by Smith picked up the first down on the next play. A delay of game penalty pushed up back to the 49 yard line, leaving first and 15. It was even further back that we went as Smith was tackled for a two yard loss on a pitch right, leaving second and 17. Stephens was hit as he tried to throw the ball, the lame duck pass nearly intercepted by dropped incomplete, leaving third and 17. An off target pass by Stephens sailed incomplete, leaving us punting away. No return on the 42 yard punt gave UTSA possession at their 8 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, the defense got flagged for illegal contact, giving the Roadrunners a first down at the 15 yard line. After a two yard pass to Alston, the defense was flagged for defensive holding, giving UTSA a first down at the 22 yard line. Three incomplete passes later left the Roadrunners punting the ball away on fourth down.
A fair catch on the 42 yard punt set us up at our 35 yard line, just 6:18 away from victory. Smith rushed ahead for a four yard gain. Trying to eat up the clock before snapping the ball again, the offense took too long to snap it, flagged for delay of game, pushing us back to our 34 yard line and second and 11. Trying to recover the lost yards, the second down pass intended for Fisher was batted incomplete. The drive would only get worse, as Stephens was sacked for a loss of 9 yards, leaving us punting on fourth and 20. A fair catch on the 43 yard punt gave UTSA the ball at their 30 yard line. Three incomplete passes quickly ended the drive, Fisher calling for a fair catch on the 44 yard punt, returning possession at our 25 yard line.
The second team offense came out to close out the game, Smith rushing for a 5 yard gain on first down. Another rush picked up 6 yards and the first down at the 36. Smith rushed for a three yard gain on the first down carry, followed by a pickup of two yards to leave third and 5. A. Banks was able to bounce outside around the right tackle and just get to the first down line for a 5 yard gain and the first down at the 46 yard line. Another rush by Banks went for a gain of 6 yards to the UTSA 48. A 6 yard gain by Banks picked up the first down at the 42 yard line with 54 seconds left, Erik Wallace kneeling the ball down once to close out the 27-0 victory.
With the win, we improve to 7-4, 5-2 in C-USA action. With the loss, UTSA drops to 5-6, 4-4 in C-USA play. Up next, it's back on the road to close out the season at UTEP, who enters at 6-5, 4-3 in C-USA action. The Miners opened their year with a 38-14 win over FCS Southeast and a 41-17 win against New Mexico State. They suffered their first loss, 31-27 at Air Force, recovered with a 37-28 win at Marshall, before losing two straight, 38-19 at Florida International and a 49-0 shutout at the hands of #24 Miami (FL). UTEP picked up a 30-10 win over MTSU, but then lost two straight, 42-16 to Louisiana Tech and 24-14 at North Texas. The Miners fought back to .500 with a 38-14 win at UTSA, before beating Rice 26-14 to set up the battle for the West Division win week 14.
Final Score
Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – A good day for Stephens, ending 14-25 for 196 yards and one touchdown. A huge day for Smith, rushing for 202 yards and two touchdowns on 35 carries. Five receivers caught a ball today, Fisher leading the group with 112 yards on six receptions, Hayden ended the day with 51 yards and a touchdown on four catches.
- Tulsa Defense – Shut down defense all day long. Couldn't be more proud of the defensive effort today.
- Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day for Pratt, kicking 2-2 field goals, both 21 yard kicks, and 3-3 PATs.
Scoring Summary
Team 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Final Score 0 0 0 0 0 14 6 7 0 27
Time Team Result Play Score First Quarter 3:43 Touchdown E. Hayden, 8 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick) 1:50 Touchdown R. Smith, 28 yard run (A. Pratt kick) Second Quarter 6:04 Field Goal A. Pratt, 21 yard field goal 0:19 Field Goal A. Pratt, 21 yard field goal Third Quarter 2:35 Touchdown R. Smith, 1 yard run (A. Pratt kick) Fourth Quarter --- --- --- --- ---
Game Stats
UTSA Stat Tulsa 0 Score 27 4 First Downs 22 151 Total Offense 420 12 - 34 - 0 Rushes - Yards - TD 45 - 224 - 2 7 - 23 - 0 Comp - Att - TD 14 - 25 - 1 117 Passing Yards 196 3 Times Sacked 1 2 - 10 (20%) 3rd Down Conversion 7 - 13 (53%) 0 - 0 (0%) 4th Down Conversion 0 - 0 (0%) 0 - 0 (0%) 2-Point Conv 0 - 0 (0%) 2 - 0 - 0 (0%) Red Zone - TD - FG 6 - 2 - 2 (66%) 0 Turnovers 0 0 Fumbles Lost 0 0 Intercepted 0 5 Punt Return Yards 26 0 Kick Return Yards 16 156 Total Yards 462 7 – 46.0 Punts - Average 3 - 46.0 1 - 5 Penalties 5 - 29 10:53 Time of Possession 25:07
Tulsa Contract Goals Update
Fail Impact Goal Progress Pass Impact 21+ points per game in each season 27 Win 10 games in one season 7 3300+ passing yards each season 2415 65% pass completions over the entire contract 59% Win 6 games in one season 15+ rushing TD in each season 1/4 Completed 3200+ total offensive yards each season 1/4 Completed 3400+ total offensive yards each season 1/4 Completed
Job Security Status
48%
Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #1 Notre Dame steamrolls Western Michigan 35-3, one win away from assuring themselves a spot in the national title game. #2 TCU stays in line with Notre Dame, smoking West Virginia 45-24. #3 Iowa returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown with 1:46 left in the game to hold off Michigan 31-28. #5 Oklahoma holds off a 28 point fourth quarter comeback by Texas Tech to win 48-42.
#7 Nebraska had some trouble early on, but piled up the points late for a 59-28 win over Minnesota. LSU destroys #9 Ole Miss 51-21, handing the Rebels their third loss in five weeks. #23 Alabama wallops #12 Texas A&M 59-35. #13 Wisconsin races out to a 20-3 halftime lead, then holds on for the 23-17 upset of #8 Ohio State. #24 Miami knocks off #16 Georgia Tech 24-3. #18 Michigan State escaped with a 28-25 double overtime victory over Northwestern.
For our readers, souljahbill, #21 Southern Miss beats UAB 42-7, improving to 10-1 (7-0 C-USA). Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 4-7 (3-5 Pac-12) with a 48-31 win over Washington State. Mors, West Virginia drops to 2-8 (2-5 Big 12), losing 45-24 to #2 TCU. Jeff, Ohio State falls to #13 Wisconsin, 23-17, dropping to 8-3 (5-3 Big Ten). Other teams of interest, Arkansas State falls to 6-4 (3-2 Sun Belt), getting knocked off 31-28 by Texas State.
In C-USA action, Marshall tops UAB 38-27, Southern Miss beats UAB 42-7, Tulsa beats UTSA 27-0, Florida International takes down Florida Atlantic 20-17 in double overtime, MTSU defeats North Texas 24-17, UTEP picks up a 26-14 victory over Rice and Marshall escapes Louisiana Tech.
With those results, week 14 will be for all the marbles in both divisions. In the East Division, it comes down to Southern Miss (7-0) and Marshall (6-1), with Marshall traveling to Southern Miss. In the West Division, it comes down to Tulsa (5-2) and UTEP (4-3), with Tulsa traveling to UTEP.
Looking at undefeated teams left, nobody lost this week, our number of undefeated teams remains at 2. Just #1 Notre Dame (11-0) and #2 TCU (10-0) remain with an unblemished record this season.
Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 1 team still looking for their first win: Memphis (0-11).
Taking a look at the new Top 25 polls, in the Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (34 first place votes) remains #1, TCU (27 votes) remains #2, Iowa, Texas and Oklahoma remain #3, #4 and #5, Oregon and Nebraska remains #6 and #7. Georgia climbs two to #8, Wisconsin jumps four to #9 and Rutgers moves up one to #10. Stanford and NC State jump two to #11 and #12, Ohio State falls five to #13, Auburn jumps three to #14 and Michigan State climbs three to #15. Boise State climbs three to #16, Alabama jumps six to #17, North Carolina and Southern Miss climb two to #18 and #19 and Ole Miss falls eleven to #20. Miami climbs three to #21, Arizona remains #22, Clemson jumps two to #23, and LSU and USC enter the poll at #24 and #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Texas A&M (from #12) and Georgia Tech (from #16). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Texas A&M (265 votes) is #26, followed by Virginia (231), San Diego State (152) Georgia Tech (120) and Mississippi State (113) to round out the Top 30. Northern Illinois (82) is also receiving votes.
In the Media poll, the top 7 remains the same, Notre Dame (36 first place votes) #1, TCU (29 votes) #2, Texas #3, Iowa #4, Oklahoma #5, Oregon #6 and Nebraska #7. Wisconsin leaps six to #8, Georgia climbs one to #9 and Rutgers climbs one to #10. Stanford jumps two to #11, NC State climbs three to #12, Ohio State falls five to #13, Auburn jumps three to #14 and Michigan State jumps three to #15. Boise State jumps three to #16, Alabama climbs six to #17, North Carolina climbs two to #18, Ole Miss drops ten to #19 and Southern Miss climbs two to #20. Clemson remains #21, Miami enters the poll at #22, Arizona and USC climb one to #23 and #24, and LSU enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Texas A&M (from #12) and Georgia Tech (from #16). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Texas A&M (276 votes) #26, followed by San Diego State (238), Mississippi State (190), Virginia (185) and Georgia Tech (132) to round out the Top 30. Northern Illinois (122) is also receiving votes.
Looking at the new BCS standings: #1 Notre Dame (1.000), #2 TCU (.995), #3 Iowa (.986), #4 Texas (.986), #5 Oklahoma (.976), #6 Oregon (.973), #7 Nebraska (.967), #8 Georgia (.959), #9 Wisconsin (.959) and #10 Rutgers (.937).
Taking a look at the newest bowl projections, if they hold out, it's a trip to the New Orleans Bowl for Tulsa fans, to take on 7-4 BYU from the Sun Belt. The AutoZone Liberty Bowl would be #19 Southern Miss (10-1) vs. Connecticut (7-4). #13 Ohio State (8-3) would make a trip to the Gator Bowl to take on Vanderbilt (8-4)
Looking at the BCS bowl projections, in the Rose Bowl, #3 Iowa matches up with #6 Oregon. The Sugar Bowl features #8 Georgia vs. #11 Stanford. The Orange Bowl has #12 NC State vs. #7 Nebraska. The Fiesta Bowl, #4 Texas takes on #16 Boise State. And in the national championship game, #2 TCU takes on #1 Notre Dame.
Game Twelve
Game Notes
--- Well, here it was. The regular season finale. A trip on the road to take on our hated rivals, the UTEP Miners. And this game would be much more than a rivalry, it be to decide who would win the West Division and play for the C-USA Championship against the winner of Marshall-Southern Miss. Our defense would be tested this week, as UTEP enters the game with the #13 passing attack in the nation, averaging 285 yards a game through the air. On top of that, the Miners have the #26 passing defense in the nation, but their weakness is the run, ranked #105 defending the rush, giving up nearly 200 yards a game on the ground. It would be a true battle today. It was a bright and sunny one at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, a complete reversal from the Snow Bowl that was Tulsa last week. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.
The opening kickoff went out for a touchback, and UTEP began at their 25 yard line. Doug Prater started things off with a two yard rush, before a false start set the Miners back, the penalty leaving second and 13. Rich Livingston went into the air on second and long, hitting Spencer Alford for a 10 yard gain to leave third and three. Prater would take the handoff on third down, fighting for a gain of two yards, but it wouldn’t be enough and the Miners would punt away on fourth and one. A fair catch by Chad Fisher on the 48 yard punt gave us the ball at our 18 yard line.
Coming out firing, the deep pass intended for Nicholas Roberts was batted away incomplete. The second down pass for Chad Fisher was broken up by the outside linebacker, leaving third down. Max Thompson was able to get enough separation to haul in the third down pass from Brad Stephens for a gain 15 yards and a first down at the 32 yard line. Spinning off of a tackle, Roy Smith picked up four yards on the first down carry, followed by a 6 yard gain to get the first down at the 42 yard line. Randy Newman took the ball on first down, breaking outside the right tackle for a two yard gain, before getting up slow. Word from the trainers was a bruised sternum, keeping him out for a little while. Smith plowed ahead of second down, picking up 8 yards to get the first down. A first down pass to Eric Hayden was completed for a gain of 8 yards, leaving second and two. A rush up the middle by Smith picked up 11 yards and gave us another first down at the UTEP 28 yard line. Throwing up to Fisher on a comeback route, the play ended in disaster as the strong safety James Bryant jumped the ball, intercepting it to give UTEP the ball at their 17 yard line.
Taking over after the interception, Prater was tackled for a three yard loss, before Livingston threw a deep bomb to David Bennett, complete for a gain of 35 yards to set up first down at the 49. A three yard rush moved UTEP into our territory at the 48. After an incomplete pass, UTEP converted third and 7 with an 11 yard pass from Livingston to Mike Griffin, for a first down at our 37. Our defense answered back with an interception of their own, cornerback Chad Wheeler jumping the pass from Livingston intended for Griffin, giving us the ball at our 24 yard line.
Smith took the ball on first down, getting three yards before being stood up by the linebacker. A pass over the middle to Hayden picked up 10 yards and a first down at the 37. A quick pass to Fisher gained 9 yards, followed by a one yard rush by Smith to leave us looking at third and inches. Smith was able to avoid the blitz by the middle linebacker, plunging up the middle for a 9 yard gain and a first down at the UTEP 44 yard line. The next play ended in an immediate setback, as the Stephens was sacked for an 11 yard loss, leaving us with second and 21 as the first quarter came to an end, still scoreless.
Opening up the second quarter facing second and very long, a pass to Thompson on an out route picked up 16 yards, leaving third and 5. Going deep to Hayden, the safeties continued to prove to be a serious goddamn pain in the ass, as free safety Danny Holmes jumped the pass and intercepted the ball, returning the pick 9 yards to the 31 yard line. A pair of rushes by Prater for gains of three and 7 yards left third and inches, before a 5 yard rush picked up the first down at the 46 yard line. Livingston completed a deep pass to Griffin for 23 yards and a first down at our 31 yard line. After a three yard rush by Prater, Livingston was tackled for a loss of two yards, leaving third and 9 at our 29. A 14 yard pass to Bennett converted the third down, UTEP now at our 15 yard line. A 6 yard rush by Prater was followed with a loss of two yards by Griffin to leave third and 5 at our 10 yard line. A dropped pass by Alford would save our defense, the Miners forced to kick a field goal. We would catch an even bigger break, as the 27 yard field goal by Joel Hill was no good, shanked wide left, and our offense took over at our 20 yard line.
Smith was only able to get two yards on the first down carry, before Fisher hauled in a pass from Stephens for a gain of 8 yards and a first down at the 30. Potentially stupidly, we kept the passing attack up, Thompson catching a pass for a 13 yard gain out to the 43. Running a smash route, Smith hauled in a pass along the far sideline for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the UTEP 43. Smith stumbled ahead for a four yard gain, followed by a pickup of 6 yards from Newman to get the first down at the 32 yard line. A pitch left was blown up, resulting in no gain. Fisher hauled in the off balance pass from Stephens for a 5 yard gain, leaving third and 5. Our offense made the first big strike of the day, getting down to the UTEP four yard line with a 22 yard pass from Stephens to Smith, setting up first and goal, our first timeout stopping the clock with 1:27 remaining. Smith plowed ahead for a four yard gain, leaving second and goal from one foot out. We would strike first blood on the next play, Smith leaping into the end zone from one yard out to take a 7-0 lead with 53 seconds to go.
A touchback on the kickoff left UTEP starting at their 25 yard line, 46 seconds left until halftime. After an incomplete pass on first down, Prater took the ball up the middle for a three yard rush, followed by an 8 yard gain to get a first down at the 36 yard line, UTEP’s first timeout stopping the clock with 31 seconds. A 7 yard pass to Griffin was followed with an 8 yard toss to Paul Denman, giving UTEP a first down at our 48 yard line, their second timeout stopping the clock with 19 seconds. The defense struck back as Livingston was sacked for a 9 yard loss, pushing UTEP back to their 43 yard line with 11 seconds remaining. A 12 yard pass to Griffin would see the remaining seconds run off the clock, and we headed into halftime with a 7-0 lead.
Starting the third quarter, a touchback on the kickoff gave our offense the ball at our 25 yard line. Smith opened up the drive with a 7 yard rush, followed by a 12 yard sprint up the middle to get a first down at the 44 yard line. Another rush on the next play picked up three yards to leave second and 7. A quick pass to Donny Jordan picked up 10 yards and a first down at the UTEP 42 yard line. Taking the ball on first down, Smith had nowhere to go, tackled by the middle linebacker for no gain. A toss up to Thompson was completed for a gain of 12 yards and a first down at the UTEP 30. Stephens kept the ball himself on the next play, getting a block to seal off the cornerback and then racing the safety to the sideline for an 18 yard gain down to the 12 yard line. A rush up the middle by Smith went for a gain of 7 yards, followed by a two yard rush by Newman to leave third and one at the three yard line. Smith was able to drive across the line for a two yard gain, giving us first and goal at the one yard line. Newman would punch it in for the one yard touchdown rush on the next play, giving us a 14-0 lead with 3:22 remaining in the third quarter, the drive taking nearly two-thirds of the quarter off the clock.
No return on the following kickoff left UTEP searching for an answer. Griffin started the drive with a four yard rush, following by a 9 yard pass from Livingston to Prater to get the first down at the 38 yard line. Bennett and Griffin both rushed for four yard gains to leave third and two, when the defense struck a wound, sacking Livingston for a 5 yard loss to leave the Miners with fourth and 8 at their 41. An 8 yard return by Fisher on the 49 yard punt gave us the ball at our 17 yard line, looking for a score to potentially put the game away. Or kill another 6 minutes off the clock like last drive. The first play went nowhere fast, as the middle linebacker blew through untouched, tackling Smith for no gain. Going into the air on second down, Hayden hauled in a pass from Stephens for a 12 yard gain to get the first down at the 29 yard line. Smith picked up 6 yards on the first down carry, followed by a 6 yard gain by Newman to get a new set of downs at the 41 yard line, as the third quarter came to an end, our lead at 14-0.
Opening up the fourth quarter, Smith took the handoff up the middle, fight out to midfield for a 9 yard gain. A blitz by the defense brought Smith down for no gain on the followed play, leaving third and one at the 50. The middle linebacker did his best, but it wasn’t quite good enough as Smith fell forward under the tackle attempt for a two gain and a first down at the UTEP 48 yard line. A 10 yard rush by Newman left second and inches at the 38 yard line. Smith would get the first down on the next play, rushing up the middle for 7 yards to the 32 yard line. Catching the defense cheating, Stephens threw up a quick toss to Hayden for a 15 yard gain and a first down at the 16 yard line. We would find the end zone on the next play, as Fisher hauled in the pass from Stephens right on the goal line for the 16 yard touchdown pass and a 21-0 lead with 6:30 left in the game.
A touchback on the kickoff got UTEP started at their 25 yard line, the Miners looking for the must have touchdown to get back in the game. UTEP started the drive in the air, as Livingston hit Alford for an 8 yard gain, before taking the ball on the ground himself for a 5 yard rush and the first down at the 37. A pass to Bennett for 6 yards was followed with a 20 yard strike to Alford, giving UTEP a first down at our 37 yard line, 5:30 left to play. After a pair of dropped passes, UTEP took a shot deep, but our defense responded as cornerback Allen Moore intercepted the second UTEP pass of the day, giving our offense the ball at our 15 yard line, 5:01 left on the clock. Smith picked up a quick first down with an 11 yard gain out to the 26. Another rush for a gain of 6 yards, was followed with a two yard gain to leave third and two at the 34 yard line. The third down rush by Smith was blown up, as he was instantly driven back and wrapped up by the defensive end for a 5 yard loss, leaving fourth and 7 at the 29 yard line. A 9 yard return by Griffin on the 44 yard punt set UTEP up at their 36 yard line with 2:48 left to go in the game.
The defense effectively sealed the game on the first play from scrimmage, as Malone intercepted his second pass of the day, third of the game by the defense, giving us possession at the UTEP 44 yard line. Smith picked up three yards on first down, followed by a four yard rush by Newman to leave third and three. UTEP knew they were beat, not even bothering to call one of their three timeouts as the clock ticked under two minutes. A 10 yard rush by Newman picked up the first down at the 26 yard line, clinching the victory as Stephens needed to only kneel down the ball twice to run out the clock on our 21-0 victory.
With the win, we improve to 8-4, 6-2 in C-USA action and win the West Division. With the loss, UTEP drops to 6-6, 4-4 in C-USA play. Up next, one more bye week before we play for the C-USA Championship against the winner of the Marshall-Southern Miss game.
Final Score
0
Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense – A so-so day by Stephens. He did end 15-19 for 186 yards and a touchdown, but two interceptions also could have potentially screwed us if not for our defense. Smith led the way on the ground with 123 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. Five receivers caught a ball today, Thompson the leading receiver with 56 yards on four catches, Hayden next up with 45 yards on four catches, followed by Fisher with 39 yards and a touchdown on four catches.
Tulsa Defense – Let UTEP drive down deep into our territory a number of times, but did end up with three interceptions that killed UTEP drives before any damage could be done.
Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day by Pratt. No field goals, but did go 3-3 in PATs.
Scoring Summary
Team 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Final Score 0 7 7 7 21 0 0 0 0 0
Time Team Result Play Score First Quarter --- --- --- --- --- Second Quarter 0:53 Touchdown R. Smith, 1 yard run (A. Pratt kick) Third Quarter 3:22 Touchdown R. Newman, 1 yard run (A. Pratt kick) Fourth Quarter 6:30 Touchdown C. Fisher, 16 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)
Game Stats
Tulsa Stat UTEP 21 Score 0 23 First Downs 10 353 Total Offense 215 41 - 167 - 2 Rushes - Yards - TD 17 - 52 - 0 15 - 19 - 1 Comp - Att - TD 12 - 20 - 0 186 Passing Yards 163 1 Times Sacked 2 6 - 8 (75%) 3rd Down Conversion 4 - 8 (50%) 0 - 0 (0%) 4th Down Conversion 0 - 0 (0%) 0 - 0 (0%) 2-Point Conv 0 - 0 (0%) 3 - 3 - 0 (100%) Red Zone - TD - FG 3 - 0 - 0 (0%) 2 Turnovers 3 0 Fumbles Lost 0 2 Intercepted 3 8 Punt Return Yards 9 0 Kick Return Yards 0 361 Total Yards 224 1 – 44.0 Punts - Average 2 - 49.0 0 - 0 Penalties 1 - 5 23:21 Time of Possession 12:39
Tulsa Contract Goals Update
Fail Impact Goal Progress Pass Impact 21+ points per game in each season 27 Win 10 games in one season 8 3300+ passing yards each season 2601 65% pass completions over the entire contract 61% Win 6 games in one season 15+ rushing TD in each season 1/4 Completed 3200+ total offensive yards each season 1/4 Completed 3400+ total offensive yards each season 1/4 Completed
Job Security Status
48%
How the hell did you get through a season so quickly. Lmao. 48-0 in two games. Maybe you need to change conferences.
Twitter: @3YardsandACloud
Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #1 Notre Dame punches their ticket to the national title game, beating #25 USC 44-23. #2 TCU takes one step closer to the title game, escaping #4 Texas 31-26. #7 Nebraska scores an ass-whooping 45-14 upset of #3 Iowa. #5 Oklahoma survives the Bedlam this season, beating Oklahoma State 45-24. #6 Oregon wins the Civil War over Oregon State 48-28. #8 Georgia gets a win over rival Georgia Tech 30-7. #15 Michigan State knocks off #9 Wisconsin 38-24.
#12 NC State uses a 17 point fourth quarter to pull away from Boston College 38-17. Michigan improves to 6-6 on the year and becomes bowl eligible with a 41-17 dismantling of #13 Ohio State in Columbus. #17 Alabama wins the Iron Bowl, taking down #14 Auburn 48-38. #16 Boise State closes out their year with a heart attack game, edging out Utah State 41-38 in overtime. The Golden Eagles come up short, as Marshall scores a touchdown with 11:06 left in the game to knock off #19 Southern Miss 24-21.
Mississippi State knocks off #20 Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl, 37-24. #22 Miami takes down #18 North Carolina 42-21. Sparky may not be going bowling, but he's dancing, as Arizona State upends rival #22 Arizona 28-21, a 90 yard returned interception with 1:11 to go in the third quarter the score that put the Sun Devils ahead for the win. The Battle for the Palmetto State goes to #23 Clemson, with a 42-14 win over South Carolina. Arkansas knocks off #24 LSU 34-31.
For our readers, souljahbill, sorry man, #19 Southern Miss shits the bed, losing to Marshall 24-21, dropping to 10-2 (7-1 C-USA), losing the East Division and a spot in the C-USA championship game to Marshall. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 5-7 (4-5 Pac-12) knocking off rival #22 Arizona, 28-21. Mors, West Virginia improves to 3-8 (3-5 Big 12) with a 30-29 win over Texas Tech. Jeff, Ohio State gets their asses handed to them by Michigan, 41-17, dropping to 8-4 (5-4 Big Ten). Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 7-4 (4-2 Sun Belt) with a 24-18 win over Troy.
In C-USA action, Tulsa beats UTEP 21-0, Marshall knocks off #19 Southern Miss 24-21, UTSA beats Texas State 30-27, North Texas gets a 20-15 win over Rice, and Louisiana Tech beats UAB 45-24
With those results, the C-USA Conference Championship Game will be Marshall (7-4. 7-1) vs. Tulsa (8-4 (6-2) in Huntington, West Virginia.
Looking at undefeated teams left, nobody lost this week, our number of undefeated teams remains at 2. Just #1 Notre Dame (12-0) and #2 TCU (11-0) remain with an unblemished record this season.
Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. Memphis wraps up another winless season at 0-12.
Taking a look at the new Top 25 polls, in the Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (36 first place votes) remains #1, TCU (25 votes) remains #2, Nebraska leaps four spots to #3, Oklahoma climbs one to #4, Oregon climbs one to #5, Georgia jumps two to #6, Texas falls three to #7, Iowa drops five to #8, Rutgers moves up one to #9 and Stanford climbs one to #10. NC State climbs one to #11, Michigan State jumps three to #12, Boise State and Alabama both jump three to #13 and #14, and Miami leaps six to #15. Wisconsin drops seven to #16, Clemson jumps six to #17, Texas A&M enters the poll at #18, Auburn drops five to #19, Mississippi State enters the poll at #20, San Diego State enters the poll at #21, Southern Miss falls three to #22, Ohio State drops ten spots to #23, Northern Illinois enters the poll at #24 and North Carolina drops seven spots to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Ole Miss (from #20), Arizona (from #22), LSU (from #24) and USC (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Maryland (171 votes) is #26, followed by Ole Miss (85), SMU (64), Ohio (27) and USC (13) to round out the Top 30.
In the Media poll, TCU (40 first place votes) jumps one to #1, Notre Dame (25 votes) drops one to #2, Nebraska leaps four to #3, Oklahoma climbs one to #4, Oregon moves up one to #5. Texas falls three to #6, Georgia and Rutgers jump two to #7 and #8, Michigan State climbs six spots to #9 and Iowa drops six to #10. Stanford and NC State both remain stuck at #11 and #12, Alabama climbs four spots to #13, Boise State jumps two to #14, Miami leaps seven to #15. Wisconsin falls eight to #16, Clemson moves up four to #17, Mississippi State, Texas A&M and San Diego State all enter the poll at #18, #19 and #20. Auburn drops seven to #21, Southern Miss falls two to #22, Northern Illinois enters the poll at #23, Ohio State plummets eleven to #24 and North Carolina tumbles seven to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Ole Miss (from #20), Arizona (from #22), LSU (from #24) and USC (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Ole Miss (141 votes) is #26, followed by Maryland (80), Nevada (75), USC (54) and Ohio (48) to round out the Top 30. Vanderbilt (34) is also receiving votes.
Looking at the new BCS standings: #1 Notre Dame (.997), #2 TCU (.997), #3 Nebraska (.989), #4 Oklahoma (.984), #5 Oregon (.978), #6 Georgia (.970), #7 Texas (.966), #8 Iowa (.957), #9 Michigan State (.949) and #10 Rutgers (.946).
Taking a look at the newest bowl projections, if they hold out, it's a trip to the New Orleans Bowl for Tulsa fans, to take on 8-4 BYU from the Sun Belt. Southern Miss is now projected to visit the TicketCity Bowl and face off with Northwestern (7-5). #13 Ohio State (8-4) would make a trip to the Insight Bowl to take on Baylor (6-5)
Looking at the BCS bowl projections, in the Rose Bowl, #3 Nebraska matches up with #5 Oregon. The Sugar Bowl features #6 Georgia vs. #10 Stanford. The Orange Bowl has #11 NC State vs. #8 Iowa. The Fiesta Bowl, #4 Oklahoma takes on #13 Boise State. And in the national championship game, #2 TCU takes on #1 Notre Dame.
Other than Thursday through Saturday, most of my evenings are free enough to play two games a night, so I can quickly knock them out.How the hell did you get through a season so quickly. Lmao. 48-0 in two games. Maybe you need to change conferences.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks