Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors at New Mexico State Aggies
My prediction was Hawai'i wins 45 to 14
Final score: Rainbow Warriors 59, Aggies 24
This game went exactly as I expected it to. Hawai'i is a good team and New Mexico State sucks. That is what happens in such a match up. Quarterback Bryant Moniz only had 315 passing yards for the Rainbow Warriors, which I guess is a bad game for him. Their running back Alex Green went off for 327 rushing yards on 19 carries. That is insane. Next week Hawai'i hosts UNLV on the islands and the Aggies do nothing. Their season is over.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at San Jose State Spartans
My prediction was Louisiana Tech wins 35 to 17
Final score: Bulldogs 45, Spartans 38
Well this bad boy turned into a shoot out, huh? I never would have thought that San Jose State had the personnel, talent, or wits to participate in a shoot out, but obviously I was wrong. Spartan quarterback Jordan La Secla had a career night, exploding for 496 yards through the air on 35 completions. It only took him 65 attempts to do it, too. I think they abandoned the run game...On the other hand, Louisiana Tech went mainly with their bruising running back Lennon Creer to the tune of 252 yards on 30 carries. Holy crap now I am wishing that I watched this game! In the end, the Bulldogs pulled it out and can now look forward to hosting the Nevada Wolfpack, whom they need to beat to become bowl eligible. San Jose State travels up to the dump that is Moscow to take on the Vandals.
Idaho Vandals at Fresno State Bulldogs
My prediction was Fresno State wins 35 to 28
Final score: Bulldogs 23, Vandals 20
The craziest thing about this game was that Fresno State did not score an offensive touchdown until the final minute, which also gave the Bulldogs the win. That means that their offense hadn't found the end zone in almost 8 full quarters before then (they got shut out at Boise State last weekend). It was too good to be true for the Vandals. There was no way that they were going to pull off the win. Better luck next year Idaho. It's nice to see that their quarterback Nathan Enderle is consistent, throwing plenty of interceptions. One went for a touchdown for Fresno State the other way. The Bulldogs finish up the regular season hosting Illinois from the Big Ten. Idaho heads back home and will host the San Jose State Spartans. They will not be bowl eligible this year.
Arizona Wildcats at Oregon Ducks
My prediction was Oregon wins 51 to 35
Final score: Ducks 48, Wildcats 29
Arizona had the lead at halftime, but it just felt like it wasn't going to happen for them. Oregon did what it always does (except against Cal) and pushes the throttle full speed in the second half to turn the game into a blow out. The Ducks' defense is not that good, but opportunistic. Giving up as many points as they do each week is fine if their offense continues to score at will. Oregon has secured the Pac-10's automatic BCS bid with the win and now look to lock up their spot in the National Championship game. They have to travel to Corvallis for the Civil War against the Beavers next Saturday. Arizona will host their rival Arizona State. On a side note, Pac-10 officials are terrible. That is all.
Auburn Tigers at Alabama Crimson Tide
My prediction was Alabama wins in an upset special 35 to 34
Final score: Tigers 28, Crimson Tide 27
This contest was so frustrating to watch, especially in the second half. Alabama jumped out to a 24-0 lead early and subsequently blew it, just as we all were expecting. The Crimson Tide fumbled the ball two separate times as they were going in to score. They should have had at least 41 points. That was what was so frustrating. Also, it didn't help that they couldn't keep Nick Fairley and the rest of the Auburn defensive line out of the back field. In the end, Cam Newton was too much for the Crimson Tide and Auburn's National Championship hopes are still alive. Also, Auburn's T'Sharvan Bell body-slammed Alabama's quarterback Greg McElroy into the turf, concussing him and knocking him out of the game. It was brutal. Auburn now faces South Carolina in the SEC Championship game. That will be a good one. I wonder what will happen if the Tigers lose. Do they still get to the National Championship Game? The Crimson Tide is done for now as they wait to find out where they will go bowling.
Record coming in: 53-14
This week (including Boise State's loss to Nevada): 4-2
Total: 57-16
Ever since last Friday when Boise State got owned in the second half against Nevada, I have had one thing on my mind (and I'm sure many other Boise State fans have as well); the field goal(s). How in the world could Brotzman miss, especially the first one? Let me get one thing straight, I in no way blame Kyle for the loss. He was not the one out there missing tackles, letting Wolfpack receiver Rishard Matthews run free in the secondary, and allowing Dantay Moch terrorize Kellen Moore. Kyle should never have been put in that position if the team would have played like they can. Like I said, Nevada earned the win and they should get all the credit in the world for being resilient, hard-nosed, and relentless.
With that said, I have a huge bone to pick with the WAC and those morons that they use as referees. I have mentioned this before, but that was one of the the worst officiated games I have ever seen in my life. They did not cost the Broncos the game, I don't think, but it sure swung lots of momentum back to Nevada. Read my earlier post here in the "What We Learned" section for more. I don't want to go into details about it here. But let's get back to the field goal that would have won the game for Boise State. Look at the video here, or just look at it below:
Personally, I don't see how that was a miss. He was close enough that even if it was angled, it still would have gone in. I understand that for a Nevada fan, it was clearly a miss. I am not trying to argue that because it is basically impossible to tell on a 2-D television/computer screen. What blows my mind is the fact that the officials under the goal posts don't make any hand signals after it is kicked. They were blocked by the crowd and the stands at the beginning, but walk out with their arms to their side. I am utterly baffled. Like I said, it's difficult to tell from that particular video replay if it was good or not, but don't they normally have cameras under the goal posts as well? I don't know, I'm just frustrated at how the game went and poorly officiated it was. Call me a whiner if you want, but I would like an explanation if there is one out there.
Anyway, congrats to the Wolfpack for earning a share of the WAC title. I look forward to playing them for years to come in the Mountain West. Let's get ready for Utah State and most likely the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. Let's go Broncos!
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