http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwuXzK5Mehs
Week nine of the college football season was filled with plenty of intriguing matchups. Undefeated Stanford and quarterback sensation Andrew Luck faced off in the game of the week against USC. Oklahoma, fresh off their defeat against Texas Tech travelled to Manhattan to play Kansas State, and Michigan State went up against Nebraska, just a week removed from their dramatic thrilling victory against Wisconsin.
On Thursday night, however, Case Keenum and Houston completely obliterated Rice by a score of 73-34. Keenum threw for a whopping nine touchdowns, while breaking the FBS record for touchdown passes in a career with 139.
USC and Stanford faced off in Los Angeles in what might go down as the game of the year. Behind quarterback Andrew Luck, who threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns, the Cardinal was able to hold off the Trojans in 3 OT. Stanford kept their 16-game winning streak intact and look to be a legitimate national title contender.
Oklahoma looked to rebound after a devastating and quite shocking victory at the hands of Texas Tech in Norman as they travelled to face Kansas State. The Sooners completely dismantled the Wildcats in what proved to be a complete mismatch. Led by quarterback Landry Jones and his 505 passing yards and five touchdowns passes, OU won by an impressive score of 58-17 in Manhattan.
After Kirk Cousins hit Keith Nichol in what was certainly the Play of the Year to date, many wondered if that would lead to Michigan State making an appearance in this year’s Rose Bowl. The Spartans, off of an emotional high, travelled to Lincoln to play Nebraska in a huge Big Ten affair. Michigan State seemed completely overmatched against Nebraska, as the Cornhuskers relied heavily on the running game behind Rex Burkhead, who rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns on the way to a dominant 24-3 victory.
My Top 5:
1) LSU (8-0)
2) Alabama (8-0)
3) Stanford (8-0)
4) Oklahoma State (8-0)
5) Boise State (7-0)
Biggest Surprise: Michigan State completely overmatched against Nebraska
Fresh off of their thrilling victory against Wisconsin in East Lansing, many sports analysts believed that would be the lift the Spartans needed to make a serious run to Pasadena. “Not so fast my friend!” said the Cornhuskers. Nebraska, led by Rex Burkhead and a dominating performance by the defense defeated Michigan State 24-3.
Biggest Disappointment: Kansas State gets blown out at home
The Wildcats had quietly made their way to the top-10 in the BCS, but they quickly proved to be a fluke team. They had an opportunity to make a huge statement to voters but Oklahoma proved to be a huge mismatch for them as they fell by a score of 58-17 in front of a disappointed home crowd in Manhattan.
Offensive Player of the Week: Case Keenum, Houston
Is there any question about this? Case Keenum threw for 534 yards and nine, yes, nine touchdowns as Houston annihilated Rice 73-34 at Robertson Stadium.
Defensive Player of the Week: Nebraska
Actually, I’m going to award this to an entire defensive. Nebraska impressively held Michigan State – who had scored 37 just one-week prior against Wisconsin – to just 3 points.
Play of the Week: Wisconsin falls again in last seconds
Just a week after giving up a Hail Mary touchdown pass to Michigan State as time expired, Wisconsin, once again, was somehow on the wrong side of another miraculous pass. Braxton Miller connected with Devin Smith on a 40-yard bomb with just 20 ticks left on the way to a 33-29 victory for Ohio State.