It’s still weird for me to see cross-country conference games in the Big Ten, and yesterday we were reminded that those that are going West to East are already handicapped. The two Los Angeles schools both ventured into the state of Illinois and they didn’t fare all that well–not that anyone expected much from UCLA anyway, but USC losing to an Illini squad that was coming off a humiliating 63-10 conquest of geographic and Monopoly meld neighbor Indiana was disheartening, especially since they allowed more than 500 yards of offense in a 34-32 decision that was the Trojans’ first loss of the season.
But my real nervousness was saved for the Oregon Ducks, who dropped into State College for a battle under the lights with the #3 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions. But they had the benefit of a night game to at least allow their body clocks to adjust. And they were able to provide a large NBC audience with yet another example of why they are arguably now the best travel squad in the conference.
Per THE MORNING CALL’s Rich Scarcella:
Drew Allar led Penn State’s fourth-quarter comeback before he threw an interception in the second overtime, enabling sixth-ranked Oregon to beat the third-ranked Nittany Lions 30-24 Saturday night at Beaver Stadium.
Dante Moore eluded Dani Dennis-Sutton and fired a 25-yard touchdown pass to Gary Bryant Jr. to give the Ducks (2-0 Big Ten, 5-0) a 30-24 lead in the second overtime. Dennis-Sutton intercepted Moore’s conversion pass to keep it a six-point game.
“We didn’t win the game,” Allar said. “We made a comeback. Obviously we have to take care of the ball at the end of the game.
“I tried to get it over the guy’s head. He jumped up and caught the ball.”
Allar’s miscue came eight months after his fourth-quarter interception led to the Nittany Lions’ 27-24 loss to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, a College Football Playoff semifinal. He also threw a fourth-quarter pick against Oregon in the Big Ten title game last year, a 45-37 Penn State loss.
It turned out to become an instant classic despite being a lackluster game for the first three quarters and change:
Oregon and Penn State combined for 82 points and 984 total yards in the Big Ten title game last year. Saturday night’s game was vastly different. The Lions had mustered only 109 total yards when Jordan Davison scored for Oregon on an 8-yard run to make it 17-3 with 12:25 to go. They finished with 276 yards. Penn State limited Oregon to 17 points and 374 yards in regulation, far below the Ducks’ season averages of 50.8 points and 523.8 yards. Linebacker Amare Campbell made 15 tackles and safety Zakee Wheatley had 10, but the Lions had just one stop for loss.
But this wasn’t the only overtime thriller of the weekend, nor was it the only loss of a Top 5 ranked team. Friday night saw a pretty compelling outcome of its own, as the ASSOCIATED PRESS recapped:
When Tommy Castellanos’ last-ditch heave into the corner of the end zone was intercepted, his intended receiver, Squirrel White, lay on the turf. Instantly, Virginia fans standing just off the field, at the base of Scott Stadium’s grass hill, rushed the field, swarming and trampling White and each other.
The play sealed Virginia’s 46-38 double-overtime victory over No. 8 Florida State on Friday night. Seminoles coach Mike Norvell said he believed all of his players were unharmed.
And the thrills continued into Saturday afternoon, per SATURDAY DOWN SOUTH’s Derek Peterson:
It took overtime to get the result, but No. 15 Tennessee escaped Mississippi State with a victory.
Despite trailing by a score in the second quarter, by 4 points in the third, and then by 7 in the fourth, the Vols (4-1, 1-1 SEC) were the last team standing in Starkville. Tailback DeSean Bishop scored from 25 yards out on the first play of overtime for Tennessee, then the Vols’ defense stuffed Mississippi State on fourth-and-goal from the 4 to secure a 41-34 victory.
And in Athens, head-to-head with the proceedings in Happy Valley, a reminder that every Dawg doesn’t necessarily have its day, or so sayeth ESPN:
Ty Simpson passed for 276 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score as No. 17 Alabama held on late to beat No. 5 Georgia 24-21 on Saturday night to hand the Bulldogs their first home loss in six years.
Alabama (3-1, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) has won three straight after opening the season with a 31-17 loss at Florida State.
Georgia (3-1, 1-1) fell behind 17-7 in the first half and never led. The Bulldogs fell to 1-7 against Alabama under coach Kirby Smart, the Crimson Tide’s former defensive coordinator.
Alabama ended Georgia’s home winning streak at 33. It was the longest active streak among FBS schools and included 10 wins against Top 25 teams.
All in all, not a bad week to close out September, and a virtual assurance that there will be a lot of movement before the first games of October and we get to do it all again.
That alone should make any of us Happy.
Courage…