On The Triple-Dub I wrote that it was “a pretty dreadful slate of games” for the weekend but it ended up being a great weekend of college football. On top of that, if there’s one thing I’ve learned the last two weeks it’s that you can never trust a kicker!

Iowa State Cyclones 37, #2 Oklahoma State Cowboys 31 – Double Overtime

To be honest, I watched this on and off for most of the night but did see the Cyclones’ second half comeback and Oklahoma State’s missed field goal with 1:17 remaining that would have (presumably) won the game.  I feel terrible for the Oklahoma State community dealing with the tragic loss of Women’s Basketball coaches Kurt Budke and Miranda Serna and then the heartbreaking defeat on the football field. That said, the Cowboys five turnovers (3 ints, 2 fumbles) is what cost them the game but congratulations to the Cyclones.

#10 Boise State Broncos 52, San Diego State Aztecs 35

After last week’s debacle on The Blue, the Broncos surprisingly played a nearly flawless first half (other than SDSU’s long touchdown run). The Defense looked entirely different to start the game – Billy Winn was back and there was actually a pass rush, the corners weren’t getting burned deep and they were forcing turnovers. Kellen and the offense looked good (as usual) and the Broncos lead 42-14 at the half. The second half didn’t go quite as well but give the Aztecs some credit for fighting back (they are a second half team) to make it a respectable 52-35 final score. Kellen Moore (28/40, 366 yds, 4 TDs & 1 Int), Doug Martin (36 carries, 129 yards & 2 TDs) and Tyler Shoemaker (10 rec, 130 yds, 3 TDs) carried the load for Boise State. San Diego State quarterback Ryan Lindley threw for 350, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception – I’m sure glad he didn’t have any wide receivers as good as TCU’s or the Broncos could have been in some trouble. Overall, I was pretty happy with the result.

#18 USC Trojans 38, #4 Oregon Ducks 35

Never Trust A Kicker

Photo via oregonlive.com

This was easily the game of the weekend. The Trojans looked like they were about to blow the Ducks out (in Autzen) when Matt Barkley hit tight end Randall Telfer for a touchdown to take a 38-14 lead with 3:28 left in the third quarter. Of course Oregon started scoring like they can and just like that it was 38-35 with 7:05 left in the 4th quarter. Barkley had USC driving for the put-away touchdown but Marc Tyler botched the handoff exchange and the Ducks recovered. Oregon had 3:18 (a couple timeouts I believe) and needed 86 yards for a touchdown against an exhausted USC defense, easy right? I have no idea what Chip Kelly was doing – didn’t he see Boise State last week and Oklahoma State the night before?? – but he seemed to get conservative on the drive and settled to attempt a game-tying field goal. Whoops! Of course Alejandro Maldonado missed the kick and USC won the game. I have to mention USC’s ballin wide receivers Marquise Lee and Robert Woods who have played outstanding this year and did so again on Saturday night. Lee caught 8 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown while Woods – who was reportedly questionable to play – hauled in 7 catches for 53 yards and 2 touchdowns. If Barkley comes back next year, the Pac-12 and the rest of the country better look out!

#22 Baylor Bears 45, #5 Oklahoma Sooners 38

Fortunately ABC showed the USC-Oregon game here and that ended before this one so I got to see the end of this game too! Oklahoma’s 245 pound freshman quarterback Blake Bell rushed for his 4th touchdown of the game with 51 seconds remaining cutting Baylor’s lead to 38-37. Instead of kicking the extra point, Stoops sent Bell back out to go for the two-point conversion and the win. Unfortunately, the Sonners were called for a false start and had to settle for the extra point tying the game 38-38. Baylor got the ball back with 51 seconds and ran on their first play seemingly content to play for overtime. The Sooners still had three timeouts so they took one – which seemed like a reasonable thing to do – with 46 seconds left to try and get the ball back. The seemingly good plan suddenly backfired – Baylor was going to try and win it in regulation. RG3 hit Terrance Williams for a 34 yard touchdown pass to win the game 45-38. It was good to see a team get rewarded by going for the touchdown instead of relying on your kicker like Boise State, Oklahoma State and Oregon did.

Other thoughts:

- I didn’t watch the game but apparently Florida State lost to Virginia 14-13 after Dustin Hopkins missed a potential game winning field goal. Weird.

Heisman Top 5:

1. Houston QB Case Keenum – 73.4%, 4,269 yds, 38 TDs, 3 Ints, 54 yds rushing, 3 TDs
2. Alabama RB Trent Richardson – 236 carries, 1,380 yds, 20 TDs, 26 rec, 322 yds, 2 TDs
3. Boise State QB Kellen Moore – 73.6%, 2,915 yds, 35 TDs, 6 Ints
4. Stanford QB Andrew Luck – 70.3%, 2,937 yds, 31 TDs, 8 Ints, 133 yds rushing, 2 TDs
5. Baylor QB Robert Griffin – 72,9%, 3,572 yds, 33 TDs, 5 Ints, 505 yds rushing, 5 TDs

Others considered: USC QB Matt Barkley, Virginia Tech RB David Wilson, USC WR Robert Woods,

The Upset Top 20 Ballot:

1. LSU (11-0)
2. Alabama (10-1)
3. Arkansas (10-1)
4. Oklahoma State (10-1)
5. Boise State (9-1)
6. Stanford (10-1)
7. Virginia Tech (10-1)
8. Houston (11-0)
9. USC (9-2)
10. Georgia (9-2)
11. Oregon (9-2)
12. Oklahoma (8-2)
13. Michigan State (9-2)
14. South Carolina (9-2)
15. Kansas State (9-2)
16. Wisconsin (9-2)
17. Clemson (9-2)
18. Michigan (9-2)
19. Baylor (8-3)
20. TCU (9-2)

Any thoughts on the the games this weekend, my Heisman Top 5 or my Upset Top 20 Ballot?