Week in and week out, you find “the good” in college football anywhere: the great performances, the Heisman breakouts and everything in between.
Every week, I bring you not the good, and not even the bad; I bring you the ugly.
On to the ugly of Week 10.
Kansas State-Oklahoma State: No Defense Required
When Kansas State was 7-0 and about to get destroyed by the Oklahoma Sooners, the Wildcats had 29th-ranked defense in the country. Well, fast forward two weeks and following two losses, Kansas State has fallen to 78th. In two weeks, Kansas State has fallen 49 spots and given up 1,265 total yards in two losses. Quite the remarkable feat.
What Oklahoma State has going for them is that the Cowboys actually have a potent offense to go alongside their terrible defense. Even after Week One, when Oklahoma State defeated Louisiana-Lafayette, you knew this was not going to be a very good defense.The Pokes were ranked 46th in total defense after that and have been in a steep decline since. I always said I would give credit where credit is due, and Oklahoma State did rise in the total defense category for four straight weeks. Of course, the Pokes now reside at 110th in total defense.
So, these two putrid defenses meet, and what happens? What happened is 1,082 total yards combined.
Just ugly.
Arizona State-UCLA: Erickson’d?
Remember two weeks ago when UCLA was destroyed by Arizona 48-12 and the Bruins head coach Rick Neuheisel’s firing looked imminent? Well, guess who is tied for first place in the Pac-12 South? You guessed it, UCLA, courtesy of the model of inconsistency that is Arizona State under Dennis Erickson.
Arizona State did not commit one turnover and outgained UCLA by 49 yards, but all that matters is the final score: UCLA 29, Arizona State 28.
In the fourth quarter, Arizona State took a 28-23 lead with 7:48 to go in the game. On the ensuing kickoff, UCLA turned the ball over. Time for a Dennis Erickson Special. Instead of going for a touchdown to put the game away, ASU ran the ball three times and missed a field goal, giving UCLA new life.
UCLA then drove down the field to take the lead. Arizona State did get the ball back once more, but the Sun Devils could only manage to get into range for a 46-yard field goal attempt by kicker Alex Garoutte that seemed destined to be missed.
Michigan-Iowa: The Art Of Ugly Passes
Michigan was 7-1 coming in versus Iowa thanks in large part to the athleticism of one Denard Robinson. He may be the fastest player in the country, regardless of position. That does not help him throw a forward pass, though.
A year ago Denard completed 62.5 percent of his passes in the spread option under Rich Rodriguez. This year, under coordinator Al Borges, Denard is completing just 52 percent of his passes and has one more interception (12) than he did all of last year.
Time after time on Saturday, Robinson had good looks at receivers. Time after time, he missed those receivers horribly. In total, Robinson threw 20 incomplete passes as the Wolverines went down in defeat to the Hawkeyes, 24-16.
Northern Illinois-Toledo: Basketball Season Has Arrived
Went to a football game, and a basketball game broke out. Fun.
I do not call this a basketball game just by the final score of 63-60 in the favor of NIU. I call it that because both teams were up and down the field – literally just like a basketball game.
1,121 total yards, fourteen penalties for 135 yards more makes it 1256 yards of yardage.
Ugly Hitters:
- North Carolina had to be feeling confident coming into a game versus North Carolina State, which was just shutout by Florida State. Especially considering UNC head coach Everett Withers’ comments about the rivalry game. Neither team appeared all that motivated, but UNC looked worse. The Tar Heels were shutout 13-0 and only produced 165 total yards.
- UAB was the latest victim of Case Keenum. Keenum was 39 of 44 attempts for 407 yards and 2 touchdowns.
- Georgia State, a Division I-AA member (yes, I still call it that), dropped a game to NAIA member St. Francis (IL), 30-27.
- Akron is a damn good futbol school. Just not a good football school. The Zips fell to 1-8 overall and 0-5 in the MAC after losing to Miami (OH) 35-3. For the game, the Zips had 201 total yards and their two quarterbacks were a combined 7 for 32 with 90 yards passing. Lovely.
- Houston Nutt. (Yes, that is all.)
- Paul Wulff.
The Bottom Five
The Five Ugliest Offenses In America:
116: UNLV – 283 yards per game
117: Kentucky – 280 yards per game
118: Memphis – 272 yards per game
119: Florida Atlantic – 228 yards per game
120: Kent State – 222 yards per game
The Five Ugliest Defenses In America:
116: Ball State – 490 yards per game
117: Memphis – 495 yards per game
118: UAB – 500 yards per game
119: New Mexico – 507 yards per game
120: Kansas – 541 yards per game
