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Mississippi State remain number one

Roar Guru
27th October, 2014
2

If we were going to decide the participants of the College Football Championship Game right now, it could very well be the unbeaten Mississippi State Bulldogs against the unbeaten Florida State Seminoles for that elusive title.

But that’s not how the new playoff system works. Or is it? I’m still stumped. Moving on…

We started Week 9 of the college football season on Thursday in North Carolina, where a fairly boring match-up (on paper) resulted in East Carolina’s fifth-straight win, pushing them to 6-1 overall after their victory over the Connecticut Huskies 31-21.

Shane Carden completed 38 of 64, throwing for 445 yards and two touchdowns. Justin Hardy was his favourite target, grabbing 14 receptions for 186 yards and a score.

Maybe the Huskies should stick to basketball.

On Friday, Marcus Mariota continued to prove why he’s worthy of winning the Heisman, with his Oregon Ducks soundly defeating the Cal Golden Bears 59-41.

The talented quarterback threw for 326 yards and five touchdowns, while Royce Freeman had 22 carries for 112 yards and two touchdowns. Jared Goff played well in the loss, completing 32 of 52 for 360 yards and two touchdowns.

Dak Prescott led his number-one ranked Bulldogs to a win, 45-31 over the Kentucky Wildcats. He only threw for 216 yards, but had 18 carries for 88 yards and two touchdowns. He looks like the eventual Heisman winner each time he’s on the field.

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Patrick Towles tried his best for the ‘Cats, throwing for 390 yards and two touchdowns, but it was Josh Robinson who pushed the ‘Dogs over the top, rushing for just shy of 200 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. They’re still yet to lose a game folks.

Football games can be decided in the dying seconds, as Bo Wallace learned in Baton Rouge on Saturday. With one yard to go and two ticks on the clock, the Ole Miss quarterback was intercepted, giving the Rebels their first loss of the season courtesy of LSU.

Neither team put up spectacular numbers, but the Tigers’ running game stood out. Leonard Fournette, Terrence Magee and Kenny Hilliard carried the ball 47 times for 250 yards between them, but it was their defence that won the game.

Alabama took care of Tennessee 34-20. Blake Sims was 14 of 24 for 286 yards and two touchdowns, with his star wide receiver Amari Cooper putting up 224 yards and two touchdowns on nine receptions, including an 80-yard bomb not even three minutes into the game.

Nick Marshall was largely kept quiet in the air against South Carolina, but his Auburn Tigers managed to scrape out a 42-35 win. Dylan Thompson threw for 402 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions for the Gamecocks in the loss.

Cameron Artis-Payne had 25 carries for 167 yards and a touchdown, Rico Louis had a mere three carries but put up 102 yards and a touchdown while Nick Marshall continued to show his versatility, rushing for 89 yards and three touchdowns.

Michigan State won an intense rivalry game against Michigan 35-11. Connor Cook threw for 227 yards and a touchdown, but Jeremy Langford was the star, rushing for 177 yards and three touchdowns on a monster 35 carries. Ground and pound, MSU.

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TCU also had themselves a bit of a rivalry game against Texas Tech, although I don’t know if you can call it a competition when the score is as lopsided as when this game finished.

TCU defeated the Red Raiders 82-27, the most points in school history. Trevor Boykin also broke a school record, throwing for seven touchdowns in total. He put up 433 yards in total, with Deante’ Gray recording two touchdowns and 165 yards receiving.

Kansas State delivered Texas their first shutout under Charlie Strong, and their first shutout in over a decade, when they defeated the Longhorns 23-0. Jake Waters threw for 224 yards, while Matthew McCrane provided three field goals in the win.

The Ohio State Buckeyes needed double overtime to force a 31-24 win over the Penn State Nittany Lions, moving them to 6-1 on the year and 3-0 in Big Ten play.

JT Barrett wasn’t effective in the pocket, only managing 74 yards with two interceptions, but he looked more comfortable on the ground, adding two touchdowns. Christian Hackenberg completed 31 of 49 for 224 yards, but was also picked off twice.

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