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College Football 2007

An examination of this week’s college football scores revealed that no less than 20 games had combined scores of 70 or more. Twenty games resulted in 1,560 points scored, an average of 78 per game. Good grief, whatever happened to defense?

Sixteen of these 20 games were not noteworthy despite the score:

Oklahoma State at home outlasted Texas Tech 49-45, you choose whether these are two great offensive or two really lousy defensive teams (94 total points).

Navy at home beat Duke 46-43 (89).

No. 13 Oregon (in the AP Top 25) traveled to Stanford and won 55-31 (86), we expected as much. The Ducks are now 4-0.

No. 4 Oklahoma traveled to Tulsa and won 62-21 (83).

Bowling Green at home beat Temple 48-35 (83).

Troy traveled to LA-Lafayette and won 48-31 (79).

Northern Illinois traveled to Idaho and won 42-35 (77).

Purdue traveled to Minnesota and won 45-31 (76). The Boilermakers are now 4-0.

Arizona State at home beat Oregon State 44-32 (76). The Sun Devils are now 4-0.

UCF (the University of Central Florida) at home beat Memphis 56-20 (76).

Auburn at home beat New Mexico State 55-20 (75).

Tennessee at home beat Arkansas State 48-27 (75).

UCLA at home beat Washington 44-31 (75).

No. 6 California at home beat Arizona 45-27 (72). The Bears are now 4-0.

No. 7 Texas at home beat Rice 58-14 (72). The Longhorns are now 4-0.

Toledo at home beat Iowa State 36-35.

Four of these 20 games were noteworthy beyond the 70-plus combined score:

No. 21 Kentucky traveled to Arkansas and won 42-29 (71). The Wildcats are now 4-0.

I still think Kentucky is not as good as its record. They are going to have to beat better competition to convince me.

Syracuse (an 0-3 team) traveled to No. 18 Louisville and upset the Cardinals 38-35 (73). Syracuse led 31-14 after the 3rd quarter. I have been saying for three weeks that Louisville has no defense worth talking about. The Washington Huskies traveled to Syracuse in their opener and beat The Orangemen 42-12.

No. 19 Hawaii at home beat AA Charleston Southern 66-10 (76). The Warriors are now 4-0 after another cupcake opponent.

No. 24 Nebraska at home beat Ball State, yes, THAT Midwestern powerhouse, 41-40 (81).

The bottom line: Would the sportswriters who vote in the AP Top 25 Poll get over it and move Louisville, Hawaii and Nebraska right out the poll. All three teams deserve to be booted out.

The 4th week saw two other upsets: Miami (FL) at home easily handled No. 20 Texas A&M, and Michigan at home held off No. 10 Penn State 14-9. Michigan was favored in the game, but I think Penn State should have been a visiting favorite if the Nittany Lions are truly the No. 10 team in the country.

Along with Louisville, Hawaii and Nebraska, Texas A&M should be voted out of the Top 25 to make room for better teams.

No. 1 USC easily slammed Washington State 47-14, No. 2 LSU beat No. 12 South Carolina 28-16, No. 22 Georgia traveled to No. 16 Alabama and won with a perfect touchdown pass and catch on the last play 26-23, No. 3 Florida slid by a weak Mississippi team 30-24, and No. 9 Wisconsin managed to beat a weak Iowa team 17-13 with a last quarter touchdown.

No. 5 West Virginia, No. 8 Ohio State, No. 14 Boston College, No. 15 Clemson, No. 17 Virginia Tech, No. 23 South Florida and No. 25 Missouri all won.

The bottom line: USC, LSU, Florida, West Virginia, Ohio State, Boston College, Missouri, Clemson, South Florida and Wisconsin all remain unbeaten.

I still think Wisconsin is not the 9th best team in college football. Reality finally hit Indiana as it lost its first game to Illinois.

Among the unranked and still unbeaten, Kansas at home beat Florida International 55-3, Michigan State traveled to Notre Dame and won 31-14, Connecticut traveled to Pittsburgh and won 34-14, and Cincinnati at home beat Marshall 40-14.

Among new coaches, Mark Dantonio of Michigan State is 4-0, Dennis Erickson at Arizona State is 4-0 and Nick Saban at Alabama lost his first game with the Crimson Tide and is now 3-1.

In Articles

Affidavits implicate ex-Marshall coach (AP)

Sworn affidavits in a federal lawsuit implicate former Marshall football coach Bob Pruett in an academic scandal and a jobs program for athletes that drew NCAA violations. The NCAA sanctioned Marshall in 2001 but did not name Pruett. Marshall was placed on four years' probation and lost football and basketball scholarships for violating NCAA rules.

Georgia adjusts after losing Sturdivant (AP)

Top-ranked Georgia is working with a new mix of starters on its offensive line after losing left tackle Trinton Sturdivant to a season-ending knee injury. Another returning starter, guard Clint Boling, was suspended by coach Mark Richt for the Aug. 30 opener against Georgia Southern following an alcohol-related arrest in the spring.

Washington QB Locker back at practice (AP)

Much to his relief, Jake Locker no longer has to be a spectator. Washington's star sophomore quarterback returned to practice this week after missing 11 days with a hamstring strain that had many fans concerned about his availability for the Huskies opener on Aug. 30 at Oregon. "I don't expect to be anything less" than 100 percent, Locker told reporters on Tuesday.

NCAA clears TE Warren to play for Vols (AP)

Tight end Brandon Warren made his first appearance as an official member of Tennessee's football team on Tuesday looking relaxed and sporting a big grin on his face. Earlier in the day, the NCAA informed the Volunteers that Warren, who caught 27 passes for 301 yards as a freshman at Florida State in 2006, would be cleared to play for No.

Purdue RB Taylor to miss 2008 season (AP)

Purdue running back Jaycen Taylor will miss the 2008 season because of a torn knee ligament. Taylor had an MRI on Tuesday to determine the extent of damage to his injured right knee, Purdue spokesman Tom Schott said. He will have surgery and miss the season but will return for his fifth year of eligibility in 2009.

Louisville QB Simms suspended 4 games (AP)

Louisville quarterback Matt Simms was suspended for the team's first four games of the season by coach Steve Kragthorpe on Tuesday for breaking team rules. Simms, a redshirt freshman, was competing with Tyler Wolfe for the backup spot behind starter Hunter Cantwell. Simms is the son of former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms and the brother of Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Chris Simms.