2015-10-19 19:24

Arbeitsunfall. (accident at work)

No game had that attention as the Michigan State vs Michigan game.

As you may know, the winner of that game does get the Paul Bunyan Trophy, named after that fairy tale lumberjack, who did form many landmarks of the unite states (he got help by his giant blue ox).

Well, it's save to say that this seasons version of the rival game became an accident at work in the woods (sorry, the big house), which will be a story to tell forever.
More to that in my game review below.

One thing is sure this weekend, some teams did get wins and losses, which had massive impact on the season.

So far no additional fired coaches, but this might change over the week.
Some teams did really suck the last few weeks, or since season opener and there is not much wait-until-it's-over-mentality anymore.
Team do kick their coaches right at at point where ADs think it's time for a change.

Now let's have a look at the BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 7

Thurs. Oct. 15 - 10:30 pm ET
#18 UCLA @ #15 Stanford
That was my Thursday-Special and it was special, at least for Stanford.
UCLA did play good, but were unable to stop the next big Stanford running back, who had 243 yards and 4 TDs in that game.
It's not that the Bruins were unable to move the ball, they were just stopped at the right time to get the ball in the endzone to stay in the game.
After the 3rd quarter were Stanford up front 56-20.
UCLA did score another 15 points in garbage time, which was more or less the whole 4th quarter, but that did not matter much.
For Stanford this is another win for the division title race and to stay in national playoff talk, but UCLA just got hit out of all conversations until Utah starts losing, better more than once.
UCLA 35 - Stanford 56 -> Jacks Score: 17-8

Sat. Oct. 17 - 12:00 pm ET
#17 Iowa @ #20 Northwestern
Wow, it looks like Northwesterns Cinderella story just got hit twice to knock them off for good.
The Iowa backup RB did power his way through the so called tough defense of Northwestern for 204 yards and 4 TDs.
Northwestern did lose that game after the half, unable to score, trailing by 6 they did let the Hawkeyes score 24 points to seal the deal.
Iowa now a big front runner for the division title, Northwestern dropped cold and will very likely vanish from the AP ranks also.
Iowa 40 - Northwestern 10 -> Jacks Score: 18-8

Sat. Oct. 17 - 3:30 pm ET
#7 Michigan State @ #12 Michigan
And now the BIG game this weekend, in the BIG HOUSE!
111740 official visitors, most of them in blue and maize yellow.
The 1st quarter was scoreless, then did Michigan start the scoring with a TD and XP.
Spartans did answer on their own after a series of 3-and-out on both sides. They did tie the game at 7.
The Wolverines were able to kick a FG right after that dive and went into the half with that 3 point lead.
After the break were Michigan unable to score in the 1st drive, Michigan State did had their drive, but gambled on 4th down and were stopped on a fake punt, which gave the Wolverines really good field position.
Both team did score TDs after that play and the Spartans were still down by 3.
Michigan were able to score another FG, extending the lead to 6, but after that it was defense for a long time.
Michigan State did gamble again during that time and had a miss 4th down pass on Wolverines 32 yard line.
Already in the 4th did Michigan again score a FG, but MSU did answer with a TD, fueled by a LONG pass play of 74 yards.
Lots of field position battles during the game and when the clock had less than 5 minutes to run, the Spartans charged for the last big drive.
They started on their own 28 and walked down the field, eating away more than 3 minutes and were stopped at 4th down on the Michigan 45.
End of the game?
Not so fast.
Michigan did play 1, 2 and 3, trying to run down the clock and get a 1st down.
At 4th down and 10 ticks on the clock, they decided to punt on MSUs 47 yard line.
The snap was OK, but not perfect, the punter dropped the ball out of his hands and lifted it from the ground, tried to kick it and that made it even worse.
A wall of white Spartans did try to gangtackle him, while he attempted the kick.
One Spartan got the ball and ran for the victory, while time ran out.
A spectator had a heartattack during the play and that's understandable.
The Wolverine were 10 seconds from a great victory away and the mood did swing from YEAH! to OH NO!.



For the Spartans, that was a BIG win, not only in the rivalry, but also on national stage, for Michigan, that was a setback at the worst circumstances.
The division is NOT lost, since MSU has to play Ohio State and other teams, and Michigan has also to play Ohio State end of regular season.
But that loss did put them into a MUST-WIN-situation knowing a second loss is the end of might-be-dreams of an incredible season.
The Spartans will rise from this, at least for a short time.
I don't think they will jump Ohio State, since they did win big also, this weekend.
Michigan State 27 - Michigan 23 -> Jacks Score: 19-8

Sat. Oct. 17 - 3:30 pm ET
#10 Alabama @ #9 Texas A&M
It did not end as instant classic.
Alabama did win big against a sloppy A&M team, which did throw 3 pick-6.
The Crimson Tide did lead at the half 28-13, with already 2 of the 3 pick-6 in the books.
The only highlight for A&M was a punt return TD.
After the half it got a bit more even, with Texas shorten the Alabama lead, but they missed a FG and after the 3rd quarter they were forced to make plays, which resulted in another pick-6.
Alabama does stay in the hunt for the division, Texas A&M did get a 1st blow, but are still in the mix.
All does depend on both teams performance against LSU the next few weeks.
Alabama 41 - Texas A&M 23 -> Jacks Score: 20-8

Sat. Oct. 17 - 7:00 pm ET
#8 Florida @ #6 LSU
I expected a downer by Florida, but they did play quite good.
LSU did help them in the beginning with a fumbled punt return, setting up a TD drive after that.
But LSU did bounce back and did score 3 unanswered TDs for a 21-7 lead until Florida was able to score on their own.
The Tigers answered on their drive also with a TD and sealed the 28-14 halftime lead.
The 3rd quarter did belong all to Florida, scoring a TD by the offense and a TD on a punt return.
Tied game!
The next drive started in the 3rd quarter, but ended in the 4th on a fake field goal attempt on Floridas 16 yard line.
The Kicker ran left after the snap, caught the ball thrown to the sideline and went 16 yards for lead.
After that play did Florida trail by 7 but had still 10 min. to play and were at some points in scoring range, but decided to punt of to play for it, than kicking a FG from the 35 yard line.
Not trusting the kicker?
What ever the decision did motivate, at the end did Florida lose in Death Valley by those 7 points.
LSU now in prime position in the SEC west, while Florida is still in the hunt for the SEC East, but got knocked down once.
Florida 28 - LSU 35 -> Jacks Score: 21-8

Wow, I picked a perfect 5 of 5. Hehe.

More interesting results:
Auburn did beat Kentucky 30-27 for their 1st SEC win this season.
Utah State did crush Boise State 52-26 and the Broncos had 8!!! turnovers. No team can win this way.
Ohio State won against Penn State 38-10 and did eventually silent a few non believers. Well, I wait until the Michigan teams did show up against the Buckeyes.
Utah did handle Arizona State 34-18 and is now in a very comforting position in the PAC12 South.
Florida State did silent Louisville 41-21 and is now on paper the only team to stop Clemson.
The upset of the week is Memphis win over Ole Miss. 37-24. Ole Miss was ranked #13 before the game. Fore sure they won't be after that performance.
Notre Dame won against the interims coached USC 41-31. I'm still not buying any national playoffs claims of the Irish, they will need a lot more than that win to get a ticket.
Oklahoma did punish Kansas State 55-0 after their embarrassing loss against Texas. Won't help them too much, but a bit.
Western Michigan beats Ohio 49-10. The Broncos are now the best behind Toledo in their division.
Pittsburgh did win against Georgia Tech 31-28 and is now in good position to play for the division crown.
Colorado State did hand Air Force their 1st loss, winning 38-23.
Miami (Fla.) did win against Virginia Tech 30-20. That HC just manages to survive on a weekend basis.
Virginia did beat Syracuse 44-38 in 3 OTs. That was the 1st ACC win for Virginia.
A huge 4th quarter did lift Rutgers over Indiana 55-52. Indiana so far zero wins in the BIG10, just many close games.
Nebraska got their 1st win the BIG10 against Minnesota, winning 48-25.
The now interims coaches South Carolina did win against Vanderbilt 19-10.
Washington State did win against Oregon State 52-31. Wazzu still in the hunt for the PAC12 North.
Big upset by Wyoming against Nevada. 28-21.
Georgia did beat Missouri in a FG driven game 9-6.

'Til next time
Jack6 on BLOCK OF GRANITE

Tags: Block of Granite