DCist’s (hardly) comprehensive recap of the Saturday that was in college football, across the country and in our own backyard.
Opening Kickoff: As any of you who live along Georgia Avenue or were near the campus yesterday can attest – it’s Howard’s homecoming weekend. 7,000 fans at Greene Stadium went home unhappy, though; a missed PAT in the second overtime handed MEAC rivals Morgan State a 31-30 double-overtime victory. Howard fell to 1-5 on the season.
The Big Game: So how far can the #1 Texas Longhorns go on a hustle-and-throw offense? As they say in the Old West: Have Colt, Will Travel. With Saturday night’s 56-31 victory over #11 Missouri, Texas made it clear that they’re enjoying the view from the top. The victory’s author, quarterback Colt McCoy, may be looking even further. With another stellar win against a highly-ranked Big XII side – in which MyBoy threw for 337 yards and 2 TDs, posted a school-record 17 consecutive completions, and earned an astonishing 90.6 percent completion rate – the Texas junior’s name should top Heisman Trophy contender lists.
Texas’s defense shut out prolific Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel in the first half and limited him in the second. He connected with tight end Chase Coffman on 12 passes for 140 yards and gave the senior his 204th pass, for a Mizzou record. A close friend of McCoy’s and another frequent mention in this year’s Heisman race, quarterback Daniel put up 2 TDs on 318 yards overall, about half of them earned in the first half. But those first-half gains were matched by just 4 yards rushing, and Daniel scrambled for negative yards against the Longhorn D.
Texas didn’t stroll to victory, but they also didn’t run. With backs Chris Ogbonnaya and Vondrell McGee posting just 65 and 58 yards respectively, the Longhorns have yet to establish the running game. Upcoming Big XII conference battles against #7 Texas Tech and #16 Kansas will tell whether Texas is good enough without one.
Closer To Home: Virginia quarterback Marc Verica showed off an impressive two-minute drill; and Cedric Peerman’s touchdown runs with less than a minute left in regulation and in overtime led the Cavaliers to a 16-13 victory over #18 North Carolina, their third win in a row. Kevin Ogletree, still underplayed, had 6 receptions for 72 yards. With the victory, UVA (4-3, 2-1) moves into the top half of the ACC Coastal Division standings.
Did Maryland shut out #21 Wake Forest? Wait – did Maryland shut out Wake Forest and beat Clemson and Cal, but lose against Virginia and, ahem, Middle Tennessee State? Maryland’s wildly inconsistent side is obviously the poster boy for the conference’s erratic play this season – next week’s Top 25 polls may not see a single ACC team. Regardless, the most unpredictable team in the area is but one win away from bowl eligibility at 5-2, and is right in the thick of things in a four-way tie atop the ACC Atlantic Division.
