Iowa rolling, Wisconsin imploding

(11) Iowa 20 - Wisconsin 10 : The Hawkeyes continue their road romp through the Big 10 Saturday beating the Badgers in Madison. After defeating Penn St. earlier in the season on the road, the Iowa picked up their effort in the second half at Camp Randall to beat Wisconsin. Same old Hawks football. QB Ricky Stanzi played efficiently while RB Adam Robinson rushed for 91 yards and a TD on the ground. The defense was its stingy self giving up just 230 total yards to the Badgers.

Wisconsin in the past couple of weeks has seen their season fall apart. After starting the season 5-0 Wisconsin has lost 2 straight to Ohio State and now Iowa. QB Steve Tolzien seems to have lost his touch from the first 5 weeks throwing 3 picks and 0 TDs against the Hawkeyes. This further clears up the Big 10 picture as Wisconsin keeps fading and Iowa holds strong, undefeated on the season. Iowa could easily be undefeated going into the Horseshoe against Ohio State later this season with their next three at Michigan State, and at home for Indiana and Northwestern. But don't put the cart before the horse just yet, Michigan St. is playing better ball these days.

Reloading or Rebuilding at the OSU?

Purdue 26 - (7) Ohio State 18 : Things are not all good in Columbus. The Buckeyes dropped their second loss of the season to a team that has lost 5 straight. Purdue upset the Ohio State for their first conference win and OSU's first conference loss. I feel like I'm saying this every week but it's been true every week. QB Terrelle Pryor isn't there yet and we all need to realize that. QB is a tough position to come in and make an impact immediately. This kid is a true sophomore and is in his first full season as a full-time starter. I'm not saying he won't be good, I'm just saying it's going to take more time than everyone thought. What player does he remind us of: Vince Young. Vince's breakout year was his REDSHIRT sophomore year. I truly do believe that extra year is important. Pryor looks eerily similar to Vince his RS freshman year. Showing flares of unmatched talent, but not a dominant player. We need to back off and give this kid some time. And when I say we, that means you too Tressel. Because currently the Sweater-vest is putting his young QB in the position to do too much (see: 31 pass attempts and 21 carries for Pryor Saturday).

The tale of an ugly game

(3) Texas 16 - (20) Oklahoma 13 : This was not a pretty football game. Neither team looked especially good while no offensive stars shined. The defenses did though. Each defense played pretty stout throughout the game, with Texas' coming up big in the end. A jarring hit from Texas CB Aaron Williams knocked QB Sam Bradford out of the game early. He re-injured his throwing shoulder and did not return to the game. Redshirt freshman Landry Jones filled in nicely throwing for 250 yards and a TD. But 2 ill-advised passes ended up INT's for the 'Horns and killed OU drives.

The question coming into this season for each team was OU's offensive line and Texas' defensive line. Could each team reload at those spots? With OU's O-line banged up that was answered quickly and often. Although the Sooner D tallied more sacks than the Longhorns, Texas' line was just as effective. He didn't record a sack but DE Sergio Kindle was disruptive the entire game. On many running plays he forced the play to be bounced outside or cut back inside to LB's and D-linemen. He got the opportunity to shine against solid competition an he did finally. The factor Kindle also brings to the table is the attention he gets on his end. Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp said the blitz by CB Aaron Williams that knocked Bradford out of the game was put together with Kindle in mind. Muschamp figured OU would be rolling their pass protection towards Kindle and that left the backside open. Oh, and this Aaron Williams kid is good. Texas' defensive secondary is going to be scary good for a year or two with he and S Earl Thomas back there. Much like the Florida Gators were a year ago and this season, most of those guys are sophomores and juniors.

Texas' run defense was also as advertised holding the Sooners to -16 net rushing yards. RBs Demarco Murray and Chris Brown never got going and OU was relegated almost exclusively to the pass. Texas on the other hand struggled throwing it. The OU D-line got a consistent pass rush and never let QB Colt McCoy get in a groove. McCoy looked out of sync all day and may very well have lost the Heisman. But Texas got much needed rushing yards out of RBs Fozzy Whittaker and Cody Johnson, in addition to some key runs by McCoy. Whittaker and Johnson combined for over 100 yards on the ground which helped Texas control the clock late, especially with the absence of their passing game. Oklahoma did a great job neutralizing WR Jordan Shipley holding him to 4 catches for 22 yards and 2 punt returns for -3 yards.

21 penalties, 6 fumbles, and 3 interceptions are what Texas and Oklahoma gave us Saturday. But the Red River Shootout is always a fun one and even though it wasn't pretty, it was enjoyable. Texas now takes the wheel in the Big 12, but if they don't improve in the coming weeks, I wouldn't put it past someone else knocking them out of the driver seat.

Cincy gets win, but sustains a loss

(8) Cincinnati 34 - (21) South Florida 17 : Cincinnati did exactly what they needed to down in Tampa on Thursday night. The Bearkats handed the Bulls not only their first conference loss but their first loss of the season. The only drawback of this big victory was that it came at a price. Starting QB Tony Pike took a hit at the very beginning of the second half and left the game with an injury to the same forearm he injured last season. Pike leaves one of the hottest teams in the nation without their senior leader and his return is uncertain. His backup, QB Zach Collaros, immediately made an impact by running for a 75 yard TD after entering the game for Pike. Collaros finished the game 4-7 for 72 yards and a pick while running for 132 yards and 2 TDs. Cincy debuted on the BCS polls today at number 5.

Does Boise St. have a tough game left?

(5) Boise State 28 - Tulsa 21 : This may have been Boise St.'s last true road test of the season. Boise was in control of this one after trailing 14-8 in the first quarter. QB Kellen Moore played his same solid role of mistake-free leader. His stats weren't stellar (22-32 187 yards & 3 TDs) but he didn't make many mistakes. Tulsa added a long TD late but it wasn't enough as the Broncos held on. Boise's run game was steady all evening long as RBs Doug Martin and Jeremy Avery combined for 185 yards on the ground. It should be smooth sailing for the Broncos from here on out. And that's good news for them as they debuted today at number 4 in the BCS rankings.

Red River Shootout

(20) Oklahoma vs. (3) Texas - Well here we go again. Another game that will probably decide who will win the Big 12. The experts have UT as the favorite but you've got to throw all of that out the window for this one. Should UT win? Probably. They boast the best rush D in the nation and have the highest scoring offense in the nation. But no one can ever tell. QB Colt McCoy needs to play better overall and eliminate the early pick he's been throwing in almost every game to this point. I'd be beating a dead horse if I mentioned Texas' porous running game too much. And to make things worse, RB's Vondrell McGee and Tre Newton are questionable with injuries. That means oft-injured RB Fozzy Whittaker will have to step in and give UT some solid carries. Texas has shown they can win with only about 100 yards or so on the ground. But OU isn't like the other defenses they've played. WR Jordan Shipley just needs to keep playing his game. If you haven't been paying attention the 'Horns have a big advantage with their return men. Shipley has taken 2 punts to the house this year and freshman RB D.J. Monroe has taken 2 kickoffs to the house. OU will have to play good, sound coverage.

As for Boomer Sooner they will have to do one thing better than they have all year and that is protect QB Sam Bradford. If he has time he can show his accuracy and downfield vision. But if you pressure him you've got a shot. A good way for OU to get Bradford time would be to get that running game going with Murray and Brown. If those 2 have a big day Texas' defense will struggle. The running game always takes pressure off of the QB and Offensive line. But say Bradford is getting time in the pocket. Who's he going to throw it to? With TE Gresham out for the year and leading WR Ryan Broyles questionable who will step up? Junior WR Brandon Caleb has shown he can make plays but no with Broyles consistency. Will senior WR Adron Tennell finally live up to expectations? We'll see. Because Texas' secondary is good and Bradford is going to need some targets. I might look for OU to use RB DeMarco Murray in many different roles to maximize his touches with their current lack of playmakers (screens, splitting him out wide, etc.)

All I know is this one has been exciting the past few seasons and with the way the BCS worked out last year it will add some intrigue. Two good defenses and two great QB's. Let's do it.

Texas spotted a TD for tomorrow after this was relaeased to youtube

Check this out. This and post-game fights are the downside to rivalry games...Actually, keep the fights. Just make sure no one does this again.