Monday Morning QB- Games That Shaped A Season

It's easy to get up for big games on network television against a prime rival, but what about the sleepy start times or the late, out-of-the-way kickoffs that are viewed on niche cable outlets and pay-per-view channels? It is said that the mark of a virtuous person is the ability to behave well when no one else is looking. A similar truth exists for the nation's FBS programs.

By Matthew Zemek
 
Mr. Zemek's e-mail: [e-mail]

Follow Mr. Zemek's CFN coverage on Twitter: twitter.com/MattZemek_CFN

Monday Morning Quarterback Special: The Games That Shaped A Season

This is the fifth annual edition of a feature that began in 2005. When looking back on a full fall of football - and that process of retrospection is beginning in earnest; the Big Ten's conference season is entirely done and dusted - it's easy to identify the sexy showdowns and ballyhooed battles, those decisive moments when one team announced its prowess to the rest of the college football community. It's much harder to point to the occasions when teams either let down their guard or turned a low-profile contest into the scene of a substantial statement.

If you want to understand the ins and outs of college football, you need to unearth the transformative events that unfolded in front of Todd Harris, and not Brent Musburger; before the eyes of Steve Physioc and Ron Thulin, not Verne Lundquist or Brad Nessler. Without further ado, the Monday Morning Quarterback-Weekly Affirmation axis of football columns presents the 2009 version of a late-November staple.

WEEK ONE: Minnesota 23, Syracuse 20, OT; Iowa 17, Northern Iowa 16 (we all found out just how pivotal that tone-setter was, didn't we?); Baylor 24, Wake Forest 21; Marshall 31, Southern Illinois 28; William and Mary 26, Virginia 14; Wisconsin 28, Northern Illinois 20; Army 27, Eastern Michigan 14; Buffalo 23, UTEP 17; Colorado State 23, Colorado 17.

WEEK TWO: Central Michigan 29, Michigan State 27; Wisconsin 34, Fresno State 31, OT; Houston 45, Oklahoma State 35; Southern Methodist 35, UAB 33; Ohio 31, North Texas 30, 2OT; Louisiana-Lafayette 17, Kansas State 15; Middle Tennessee State 31, Memphis 14; Oregon 38, Purdue 36; Oregon State 23, UNLV 21.

WEEK THREE: Kentucky 31, Louisville 27; Northern Illinois 28, Purdue 21; Middle Tennessee State 32, Maryland 31; Iowa 27, Arizona 17; Connecticut 30, Baylor 22; Pittsburgh 27, Navy 14; Mississippi State 15, Vanderbilt 3; UCF 23, Buffalo 17.

WEEK FOUR: Cincinnati 28, Fresno State 20; East Carolina 19, UCF 14; North Carolina State 38, Pittsburgh 31; TCU 14, Clemson 10; Idaho 34, Northern Illinois 31; Louisiana-Monroe 27, Florida Atlantic 25; Troy 30, Arkansas State 27.

WEEK FIVE: UAB 30, Southern Miss 17; Wisconsin 31, Minnesota 28; Virginia 16, North Carolina 3; East Carolina 21, Marshall 17; Northwestern 27, Purdue 21; Kansas State 24, Iowa State 23; Wake Forest 30, North Carolina State 24; Boston College 28, Florida State 21; Navy 16, Air Force 13, OT; Oregon State 28, Arizona State 17; UTEP 58, Houston 41; Idaho 31, Colorado State 29.

WEEK SIX: Troy 31, Middle Tennessee State 7; Army 16, Vanderbilt 13, OT; Michigan State 24, Illinois 14; Pittsburgh 24, Connecticut 21; Louisiana-Lafayette 38, North Texas 34; TCU 20, Air Force 17; Idaho 29, San Jose State 25; Southern Methodist 28, East Carolina 21; Washington 36, Arizona 33.

WEEK SEVEN: Boise State 28, Tulsa 21; Pittsburgh 24, Rutgers 17; Iowa 20, Wisconsin 10; Temple 27, Army 13; Nevada 35, Utah State 32; Kentucky 21, Auburn 14; Arizona 43, Stanford 38; Navy 38, Southern Methodist 35, OT; Arizona State 24, Washington 17.

WEEK EIGHT: UTEP 28, Tulsa 24; Northwestern 29, Indiana 28; Iowa State 9, Nebraska 7; Kansas State 20, Colorado 6; Duke 17, Maryland 13; Clemson 40, Miami (FL) 37, OT; Navy 13, Wake Forest 10; Utah 23, Air Force 16, OT.

WEEK NINE: South Florida 30, West Virginia 19; Rutgers 28, Connecticut 24; Florida State 45, North Carolina State 42; Auburn 33, Ole Miss 20; Southern Methodist 27, Tulsa 13; UAB 38, UTEP 33; Cal 23, Arizona State 21; Miami (FL) 28, Wake Forest 27; Illinois 38, Michigan 13; Temple 27, Navy 24; Middle Tennessee State 27, Florida Atlantic 20; Idaho 35, Louisiana Tech 34; Minnesota 42, Michigan State 34; UCF 21, Marshall 20.

WEEK TEN: Arkansas 33, South Carolina 16; Colorado 35, Texas A&M 34; Baylor 40, Missouri 32; UCLA 24, Washington 23; Louisiana-Lafayette 21, Arkansas State 18; Oregon State 31, Cal 14; Clemson 40, Florida State 24.

WEEK ELEVEN: Ohio 27, Buffalo 24; Louisville 10, Syracuse 9; Ole Miss 42, Tennessee 17; Northwestern 21, Illinois 16; Army 22, VMI 17; Iowa State 17, Colorado 10; Southern Methodist 35, UTEP 31; Nebraska 31, Kansas 17; Southern Miss 27, Marshall 20; North Carolina 33, Miami (FL) 24; Cal 24, Arizona 16.

WEEK TWELVE: Florida State 29, Maryland 26; Ohio 38, Northern Illinois 31; Northwestern 33, Wisconsin 31; UCLA 23, Arizona State 13; Army 17, North Texas 13; Marshall 34, Southern Methodist 31; Fresno State 30, Louisiana Tech 28; Cal 34, Stanford 28; Southern Miss 44, Tulsa 34; Kentucky 34, Georgia 27.