Rosenbaum's Rousers: College Football Week #5

In my opinion, nothing can match the passion, tradition, and pageantry of college football. There are always particular games, plays and players that "rouse" us for various reasons. It may be a shocking upset. You might have seen a play that you've never witnessed before. Or it could be that you saw an individual performance that captivated your attention. Whatever the case may be, you have to love the uncertainty and exhilarating thrill of college football. This is unless of course you're on the losing end of one of these major upsets or great games, OR perhaps were victimized by a particular unorthodox play or outstanding individual performance, OR had a major speed bump thrown in your team's path by a severe injury to a key player.

Each week, I will note a few of the things that "roused" me and demanded my attention from the previous weekend's action.

INSPIRATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK:

Rice remembers Dale Lloyd, blows out Army 48-14

The Rice football program suffered the tragic loss of one of its members on Monday morning. Dale Lloyd, a freshman defensive back, became ill on Sunday evening following the team’s light workout and was admitted to Memorial Hermann hospital in the Texas Medical Center. Lloyd had seen action in the Owls’ opener against Houston and was on the Rice travel roster, but the Rice staff had decided to save his year of eligibility by redshirting him. Not only was Lloyd a tremendous athlete, but also as Rice coach Todd Graham attested, he was a more amazing person.

"Dale Lloyd loved his Lord, life, his family, and Rice University," head coach Todd Graham said. "His life has taught each of us to renew our faith and to live our lives better every day that we have on this earth. The football team is dedicating the rest of this season to honor Dale and the work ethic and tenacity with which he exemplified on and off the field."

On Saturday, Rice traveled to Army’s Michie Stadium to face the Black Knights. They took with them the No. 39 jersey of Lloyd and hung it in their locker room. The Owls also put a No. 39 decal on their helmets above their mascot’s head and between its outstretched wings.

They have dedicated their season to their departed teammate and are going to carry his jersey with them throughout the remainder of the season. At the conclusion of the year, they will present it to Lloyd’s parents.

Rice’s inspired performance on Saturday included quarterback Chase Clement completing 29 of 39 passes for 299 yards and five touchdowns, a Rice record. Jarett Dillard caught 11 passes for 171 yards.

Following the win, the Owls returned to Houston to prepare to celebrate the life of Dale Lloyd on Sunday.

Fabulous freshman: USM’s Damion Fletcher posts third straight 100-yard game

Southern Miss has had some excellent running backs over the years and it appears they have another in current true freshman running back Damion Fletcher. The 5-10, 176-pounder has rushed for 491 yards on 86 carries through four games, good for an average of 122.8 yards per contest. He has scored five touchdowns, while also averaging an impressive 5.7 yards per carry. Fletcher’s best game to date was against North Carolina State. He ripped the Wolfpack for 177 yards on 28 carries, which included three scores. His lone game less than 100 yards was in the opener at “The Swamp”, but he still had an impressive initial outing in the black and gold, rushing for 89 yards on only 18 carries.

This week, Fletcher helped USM win their Conference USA opener at UCF, 19-14, rushing for 109 yards on 23 carries.

BALL CONTROL: #2 Auburn dominates third quarter, survives South Carolina

No. 2 Auburn used a dominating third quarter performance to propel it to a win at Williams-Brice Stadium on Thursday night.

They led South Carolina, 14-10, at halftime. The Gamecocks had the momentum following a touchdown pass from Syvelle Newton to Kenny McKinley with 46 seconds left in the half. USC dominated the time of possession in the first half, holding an 18:48 to 11:12 advantage.

Tommy Tuberville could not have scripted a better third quarter for his highly ranked Tigers in this key, nationally televised SEC road match-up. That’s unless of course he wants to get greedy over his Tigers only getting a field goal following an 85-yard, 17-play drive. All Auburn did was keep the football for the entire quarter. That’s right; South Carolina didn’t run a single offensive play, folks. Brandon Cox, Kenny Irons and company ran 30 plays to ZERO for USC! The Tigers had 137 yards and ten points in the period, while quarterback Brandon Cox went 9 of 13 for 125 yards.

In the fourth quarter, the Gamecocks turned the tables and made it a game again. They had the ball for 11:32 in the final period. Led by the running and passing of Syvelle Newton, USC closed to within 24-17. They had a chance to tie the game with only a few seconds left, but failed to convert a fourth and goal play from the Auburn five-yard line. They had driven 75 yards in 18 plays over the final five minutes to put themselves in that position.

Despite not having a possession in the third quarter, USC had the ball slightly longer than Auburn for the game, holding a slight 30:20-29:40 edge in time of possession.

STREAK BREAKERS: BYU put an end to two 13-game streaks at #15 TCU

The Cougars broke the nation’s longest winning streak (13) with their 31-17 victory over the 15 th ranked Horned Frogs on Thursday night at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth. Not only did they break TCU’s winning streak, but they also put an end to a streak of their own. The Cougars had lost 13 consecutive games to ranked opponents before tonight’s win. BYU was led by the passing performance of John Beck. Beck completed 23 of 37 attempts for 321 yards and three touchdowns. Cougar head coach Bronco Mendenhall stated that his team had about everything go its way.

RICE AND RUTGERS KEEP COOKIN’: #23 Scarlet Knights win 22-20 at USF

No. 23 Rutgers pulled out a 22-20 win over USF in Tampa on Friday night, improving to 5-0 for the first time since 1976. They were led by Heisman Trophy candidate running back Ray Rice. Rice, who rushed for 202 yards on 35 carries in the game, scored two touchdowns for the Scarlet Knights.

INSTANT CLASSIC: Red Raiders gig Aggies in the final minute in College Station

Texas Tech went into one of the nation’s most hostile environments in Kyle Field and pulled out a thrilling 31-27 win. The Red Raiders, who trailed 27-24 following an A&M field goal with 2:12 remaining, drove 80 yards in eight plays for the win. Quarterback Graham Harrell, who completed 32 of 45 passes for 392 yards and four touchdowns, hooked up with Robert Johnson for the 37-yard game winner on a first down play.

Johnson hauled in four Harrell passes for 69 yards and three scores on the day. Joel Filani had a huge day for the Red Raiders, catching ten passes for 156 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown went for 54 yards and included a very good run after the catch.

Red Raiders’ running back Shannon Woods did not have a good day running the football, but he did a commendable job picking up the blitz and pass blocking for Graham Harrell.

JOHN L. AND SPARTANS GET ‘ZOOK’ED: Illini get first Big Ten win since ‘04

Illinois had not won a Big Ten game since the 2004 season, but that changed on Saturday when Jason Reda hit a 39-yard field goal with six seconds remaining to lift the Illini past Michigan State in Spartan Stadium.

The win snapped a 10-game conference losing streak, while also spoiling the Spartans’ homecoming.

Michigan State entered the game as 26-point favorites, but was unable to rebound from last week’s heartbreaking loss to Notre Dame in East Lansing.

The rushing performances of Pierre Thomas (110 yards on 18 carries) and quarterback Isiah “Juice” Williams (103 yards on 17 carries) sparked the Illini.

Purdue’s Selwyn Lymon posts record-setting day in loss at #12 Notre Dame

The Purdue Boilermakers fell to the No.12 Irish in South Bend on Saturday, but they posted some impressive offensive numbers in their 35-21 loss. Sophomore Selwyn Lymon caught eight balls for 238 yards, which was good for the second best single-game performance at Purdue and the best ever by an Irish opponent.

Boilermaker quarterback Curtis Painter finished the day 23 of 46 for 398 yards, while leading the Purdue offense to 490 total yards.

PURDUE’S POUROUS DEFENSE: Quinn, Walker lead No. 12 Fighting Irish

The Notre Dame defense couldn’t do much to slow down the Purdue offense, but the opposite was also true as Heisman Candidate Brady Quinn had a great day for the “Golden Domers”. Quinn completed 29 of 38 passes for 316 yards and two touchdowns, while not throwing an interception. The running of Darius Walker, who finished the day with 146 yards, complemented him.

#24 Georgia Tech stings #11 Hokies in Blacksburg

The Yellow Jackets used a 21-point first quarter to propel them to a big, 38-27, road win at #11 Virginia Tech. With the win, Georgia Tech improves to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the ACC’s Coastal Division, while Virginia Tech falls to 4-1 and 2-1 in ACC Coastal Division.

Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson caught six balls for 115 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Jackets.

The Hokies were led by the passing performance of Sean Glennon, who threw for 339 yards in the loss. He completed 27 of his school-record tying 53 attempts.

Virginia Tech was forced to throw the ball an uncharacteristically large number of times due to the 21-0 and 38-13 holes they dug themselves.

Steve Smith stars in Jarrett’s absence as #3 Trojans survive in Pullman

No. 3 Southern California traveled to Washington State to face the Cougars without star wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett, but senior Steve Smith filled in beautifully. Smith, who often gets overlooked due to playing behind Jarrett, came through with a career day for the Trojans. He caught 11 passes for 186 yards and two huge second-half touchdowns that helped USC avoid a WSU upset. It literally came down to the final play as USC intercepted Washington State’s last gasp, a heave toward the end zone from the Trojan 39.

Michael Bumpus also had 11 receptions in the loss for Washington State. He finished with 112 yards in the game.

A “Wolfe” leads the Northern Illinois Huskies

Northern Illinois’ Garrett Wolfe, the nation’s leading rusher, rushed for 353 yards on Saturday in the Huskies 40-28 win over Ball State. While breaking his own single-game NIU rushing mark, Wolfe also set other records, which included becoming NIU’s career touchdown leader. The most impressive record that the 5-7, 177-pound senior broke was the NCAA mark for the most rushing yards through five games. Wolfe has already rushed for 1,181 yards, but may not receive the Heisman consideration that he deserves due to not playing for a BCS-program. For his sake, as well as Northern Illinois’, I hope that isn’t the case.

ANCHORS AWEIGH: Navy’s rushing attack rips Huskies

Navy improved to 4-1 on Saturday with their impressive 41-17 win at Connecticut. Quarterback Brian Hampton, who posted 323 all-purpose yards in the victory, led the Midshipmen. Hampton ran for 182 yards and three touchdowns, while also throwing for 141 and another score.

Reggie Campbell also rushed for 100 yards, finishing with 101 on only five attempts. He scored on Navy’s first offensive play of each half.

Fullback Adam Ballard finished with 88 yards, 81 of which came on one play.

Navy had 605 yards in the game, including 464 on the ground.

#25 Mizzou moves to 5-0 for first time since 1981 with 28-13 win over Colorado

The Tigers are off to their best start in a quarter century after their 28-13 win at home on Saturday over Dan Hawkins’ struggling Colorado Buffaloes.

Chase Daniel threw four touchdown passes, and finished the day 23 of 35 for 251 yards.

The Buffaloes, who were averaging only 223.5 yards on offense entering the game, outgained Missouri, 373-353. However, they were only able to muster 13 points on a touchdown and two Mason Crosby field goals.

The difference was largely seen in the third down conversions, as Mizzou converted 11 of 18 while Colorado could only manage to convert 3 of 12.

Bombarded on the Bayou: LSU’s Russell has career day against Mississippi State

Les Miles and the offensive coaching staff for No. 9 LSU detected weaknesses in the Mississippi State pass defense. The game plan called for quarterback JaMarcus Russell to exploit these weaknesses, and I would say that he faired pretty well. All Russell did was complete 18 of his 20 attempts for 327 yards and three touchdowns.

The Bayou Bengals whipped the Bulldogs, 48-17, and scored touchdowns on their first five possessions.

Jayhawks come back to force OT in Lincoln, but #21 Huskers pull it out

No. 21 Nebraska took advantage of four first half Kansas turnovers and led 24-10 at the break. The Huskers, who had led 17-0 after a quarter, didn’t play well offensively after building their 24-7 lead.

After getting off to a very rocky start, which included three first half interceptions and a fumble, Kansas quarterback Adam Barmann responded to throw for 405 yards. Barmann, who completed 27 of 54 attempts, started his second straight game in place of the injured Kerry Meier.

The Jayhawks forced overtime when Barmann hooked up with Brian Murph with 46 seconds left to tie the game at 32.

The Huskers Zac Taylor threw for 395 yards and four touchdowns despite only completing 15 of his 33 attempts.

Iowa State uses big second half to survive I-AA Northern Iowa, 28-27

Northern Iowa, the I-AA national runner-up in 2005, went into Ames and gave the Cyclones all they wanted. The Panthers led 21-7 at the half and clung to a 27-21 lead with less than two minutes remaining. With 1:18 left, Jon Davis hauled in a 16-yard touchdown pass from Bret Meyer to give the Cyclones the lead that they would not relinquish.

INTERSTATE 10 SHOOTOUT: UTEP slips past Mumme’s NMSU Aggies, 44-38

UTEP and quarterback Jordan Palmer fired the first few shots in this shootout, taking a 17-0 lead into the second quarter. However, like any good competitor would, New Mexico State responded firing plenty shots of their own before UTEP was able to prevail on Saturday night in the Sun Bowl in El Paso.

The Miners led the Aggies 31-20 at the half, but by the end of the third quarter, New Mexico State had knotted the game at 31.

UTEP was able to pull out the win despite running 43 fewer plays than NMSU.

This shootout featured a combined 82 points, 149 plays, 1110 total yards, 920 passing yards, 99 passing attempts and seven passing touchdowns.

New Mexico State’s Chase Holbrook went 48 of 73 for 506 yards with four touchdowns. His lone blemish was when he was intercepted on the Aggies’ final drive with 20 seconds remaining.

UTEP’s Jordan Palmer was 18 of 26 for 414 yards and three touchdowns, but he did throw two interceptions. Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. was his leading target, catching seven passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns. This included a 71-yarder in the first quarter.

Big day for Big Orange’s Ainge and Meachem

No. 15 Tennessee rolled over in-state rival Memphis, 41-7, on Saturday at the Liberty Bowl. The Vols offense continued their resurgence, as quarterback Erik Ainge was nearly perfect, completing 23 of his 27 attempts for 324 yards and four touchdowns in slightly over three quarters of work.

Robert Meachem caught four passes for 185 yards, including an 84-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter.

#6 Wolverines use “Hart” (and Henne) to reclaim Little Brown Jug, get to 5-0

Michigan was out to reclaim the Little Brown Jug after Minnesota came into the “Big House” and took it from them last season. They accomplished their mission, defeating the Golden Gophers in the Metrodome by a score of 28-14 on Saturday night.

Mike Hart ran for 195 yards on 31 carries, including 54 on his final carry of the game. Chad Henne also posted another solid effort, finishing 17 of 24 for 284 yards and three touchdowns without throwing an interception.

Mario Manningham continues to be a surprise player around the nation; hauling in five Henne passes for 131 yards and a touchdown. On the year, he now has 21 receptions for 452 yards and seven touchdowns.

HOME SWEET DOME: Tulane plays first game in Superdome since December ‘04

On Saturday when Tulane took on SMU in New Orleans, it was the Green Wave’s first actual home game since December 4, 2004.

Tulane trailed SMU 17-0 at halftime, but responded with a furious rally in the second half. Just like their city and state, the Green Wave had no quit in them. They took a 21-20 lead about halfway through the fourth quarter, but SMU took the lead for good when they returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards to regain the lead at 26-21.

The Mustangs added another scored and then held off another Green Wave rally to win this emotional battle, 33-28.

Lester Ricard threw for 396 yards for Tulane in the loss.