Real Kato Blog: College Football Recap

Uh, this is late, I know. It's not because Michigan lost last week; I just haven't had the opportunity to post.

Michigan 20, Michigan State 26 (OT). You know, this loss was disappointing, but it's not a season-killer. No one expected Michigan to be 4-0 coming into this game, and no one expected Michigan to finish the season undefeated. It would have nice to beat an in-state rival, especially a rival whose coach is unnaturally obsessed with Michigan, but, eh.

Michigan's main problem came on offense, where they couldn't run the ball all day long. But it didn't help that the defense gave up 3rd-and-long conversions; I hated the three man rush, I hated the soft pass coverage, and I hated the poor tackling by the linebackers. MSU had the ball for nearly all of the first half, and that didn't let Michigan's offense find a rhythm.

Michigan almost pulled off another miraculous comeback, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter (for the third time this season), and tying the game with two seconds left. But Forcier threw an interception in overtime, and MSU scored on a 26-yard run to win the game.

Offense: D. Running game was non-existent; pass protection was poor; receivers dropped passes at key times. Fourth quarter heroics by Forcier aside, this was a dismal day by the offense.

Defense: B-. You know, though the defense gave up some crucial plays, on the whole it wasn't a bad day. Michigan's defensive line stuffed the MSU running game most of the day; it was just a few bad angles and blown coverages that let MSU off the hook on long-yardage conversions. Oh, and Jonas Mouton was killing me; he was responsible for many of the critical busts.

N.C. State 24, Wake Forest 30. Russell Wilson threw two interceptions, ending his record-setting interception-free streak. One of the interceptions was in the end zone with two minutes left to play, stopping a potential game-winning touchdown drive. Wilson was erratic, completing only 20 of 43 passes, and the rushing game didn't fare very well, picking up 104 yards. Meanwhile, Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner shredded the N.C. State defense for 361 yards, on 31 of 45 attempts.

Big Ten

#13 Iowa squeaked by Arkansas State 24-21; #15 Penn State beat Illinois (who may bench starting quarterback Juice Williams) 35-17; #9 Ohio State beat Indiana 33-14; Wisconsin remains undefeated; beating Minnesota 31-28; Northwestern keeps their bowl hopes alive, beating Purdue.

Top 25

#3 USC stomped #24 Cal, 30-3. #17 Miami beat #8 Oklahoma 21-20. Oklahoma is still inexplicably ranked this week, despite being 2-2 and not having beaten any good teams. #12 Houston lost to UTEP in a wild game, 58-41, probably ending their BCS hopes.

Permalink