10 Best Games of the Week - 2008

CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Oct 19, 2008


The best games, the biggest moments, and the most memorable battles of the week.


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Ten Best Games of the Week

10.
Virginia 16 … North Carolina 13 OT
Down seven with just over two minutes to play and with 82 yards to go, Virginia QB Marc Verica led the Cavaliers quickly and efficiently down the field leading to a two-yard Cedric Peerman touchdown run with 47 seconds to play to force overtime. In the OT, North Carolina got a 28-yard Casey Barth field goal for the lead, but Virginia answered with 19-yard pass to John Phillips to set up a two-yard Cedric Peerman touchdown run for the win. The Tar Heels scored first on a one-yard Ryan Houston touchdown run, and the defense held tough allowing just a 37-yard field goal until the final few minutes.
Player of the game: Virginia QB Marc Verica completed 24-of-38 passes for 217 yards
Stat Leaders: North Carolina - Passing: Cam Sexton, 16-25, 166 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Shaun Draughn, 30-138. Receiving: Hakeem Nicks, 6-90
Virginia - Passing: Marc Verica, 24-38, 217 yds
Rushing: Cedric Peerman, 17-44, 2 TD. Receiving: Kevin Ogletree, 6-72

9. Texas Tech 43 … Texas A&M 25
Texas Tech opened up a tight game with a strong second half scoring the first 23 points with A&M only able to get on the board with a blocked kick return for a two-point conversion. The Aggies controlled most of the first half with Stephen McGee throwing a three-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Tannehill and Mike Goodson running for a one-yard score, but Tech stayed alive with a 25-yard Michael Crabtree touchdown catch and two scores from Baron Batch. Graham Harrell finished with two short touchdown runs and three touchdown passes. The Red Raiders outgained the Aggies 561 yards to 306.
Player of the game: Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell completed 44-of-56 passes for 450 yards and three touchdowns and two interceptions, and ran for two short scores.
Stat Leaders: Texas A&M - Passing: Jerrod Johnson, 26-39, 283 yds
Rushing: Mike Goodson, 8-18, 1 TD. Receiving: Mike Goodson, 9-62 
Texas Tech - Passing: Graham Harrell, 44-56, 450 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Baron Batch, 13-87, 1 TD. Receiving: Detron Lewis, 9-92

8. Buffalo 27 … Army 24 OT
Buffalo got two Drew Willy touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to force overtime. In the OT, A.J. Principe hit a 34-yard field goal for the Bulls, Army’s Matthew Campbell missed a 51-yard try, and UB pulled off the win. Army got a big day from RB Collin Mooney, who rumbled for 172 yards with touchdown runs from three and 81 yards out in the third quarter. The Knights only completed 4-of-6 passes, but they ran for 320 yards.
Player of the game: Buffalo S Davonte Shannon made 20 tackles with two tackles for loss
Stat Leaders: Army - Passing: Chip Bowden, 4-6, 52 yds
Rushing: Collin Mooney, 16-172, 2 TD. Receiving: Damion Hunter, 2-21
Buffalo - Passing: Drew Willy, 25-35, 279 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Brandon Thermilus 17-59, 1 TD. Receiving: Ernest Jackson, 9-134, 1 TD


7.
UCLA 23 … Stanford 20
Kevin Craft overcame an uneven game with a game-winning seven-yard touchdown pass to Cory Harkey with 10 seconds to play. Craft was sacked seven times, threw an interception and lost a costly early fumble, but he threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Terrence Austin in the third quarter and led the way to an 11-play, 87-yard drive in the final few minutes for the win. Kai Forbath added three field goals for the Bruins. Toby Gerhard ran for two short scores for the Cardinal in the first half, but the offense could only come up with two Aaron Zagory field goals the rest of the way.  The two teams combined for 17 penalties.
Player of the game: UCLA QB Kevin Craft completed 23-of-39 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns with an interception
Stat Leaders: Stanford - Passing: Tavita Pritchard, 5-12, 51 yds
Rushing: Toby Gerhart, 27-138, 2 TD. Receiving: Ryan Whalen, 3-34
UCLA - Passing: Kevin Craft, 23-39, 285 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Kahlil Bell, 11-28. Receiving: Terrence Austin, 5-50, 1 TD

6. Oklahoma 45 … Kansas 31
In a game with 1,165 yards of total offense, Sam Bradford set an Oklahoma record with 468 passing yards with three touchdown passes, and DeMarco Murray ran for two short scores. Kansas WR Dezmon Briscoe caught 12 passes for 269 yards scoring from 69 and 17 yards out, but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep up with the Sooner offensive attack. Up just 31-24 late in the third quarter, OU scored 14 straight points to finally put the game out of reach. Oklahoma converted 7-of-16 third down chances while KU came up with just 2-of-12.
Player of the game: Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford completed 36-of-53 passes for 468 yards and three touchdowns, and in a losing cause, Kansas WR Dezmon Briscoe caught 12 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Kansas - Passing: Todd Reesing, 24-41, 342 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Jake Sharp, 12-103, 1 TD. Receiving: Dezmon Briscoe, 12-269, 2 TD 
Oklahoma - Passing: Sam Bradford, 36-53, 468 yards, 3 TD
Rushing: Chris Brown, 12-92, 1 TD. Receiving: Juaquin Iglesias, 12-191


5. Air Force 29 … UNLV 28
Ryan Harrison hit a 19-yard field goal with 2:36 to play and the UNLV offense stalled on its final drive as Air Force came back for the win. Frank Summers gave the Rebels a 28-20 lead with a 45-yard dash early in the fourth quarter, but Air Force came right back with a 44-yard Kyle Halderman touchdown catch. However, the two-point conversion failed and the Falcons were down two. QB Tim Jefferson completed just 6-of-7 passes, but threw two scoring passes including a 28-yarder to Josh Cousins for a 14-0 lead in the first half. UNLV came up with two Omar Clayton touchdown passes including a 28-yarder to Phillip Payne with 14 seconds to play in the first half and a nine-yarder to Casey Flair. The two teams combined for 912 yards of total offense with Air Force running for 346 yards.
Player of the game: Air Force QB Tim Jefferson completed 6-of-7 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran 13 times for 99 yards
Stat Leaders: UNLV - Passing: Omar Clayton, 19-30, 251 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Frank Summer, 11-69, 1 TD. Receiving: Phillip Payne, 6-124, 1 TD
Air Force - Passing: Tim Jefferson, 6-7, 162 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Todd Newell, 22-134, 1 TD. Receiving: Josh Cousins, 2-35, 1 TD


4. LSU 24 … South Carolina 17
LSU got up 10-3 in the first half on the first of two Charles Scott touchdown runs, but South Carolina came up with a big late run before going into the locker room with a 26-yard Weslye Saunders touchdown catch and following an interception, got a one-yard Mike Davis scoring run with 22 seconds to play. But the second half was all LSU as the defense put the clamps down and while the offense came up with a seven-yard Richard Dickson touchdown catch in the third quarter to tie it and a two-yard Scott run to win. South Carolina had one last shot, but Curtis Taylor picked off a Stephen Garcia and LSU ran out the clock.
Player of the game: LSU RBs Keiland Williams and Charles Scott combined for 133 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries.
Stat Leaders: South Carolina - Passing: Stephen Garcia, 14-26, 215 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Mike Davis, 10-23, 1 TD. Receiving: Jared Cook, 5-74
LSU - Passing: Jarrett Lee, 16-26, 189 yds
Rushing: Keiland Williams, 15-72. Receiving: Brandon LaFell, 4-55


3.
Kentucky 21 … Arkansas 20
Part time quarterback Randall Cobb wore the No. 12 jersey in honor of Dicky Lyons, the star receiver who’s out for the year, and he came through with touchdown catches from 32 and 21 yards out in the final 4:15 to give Kentucky the comeback win. Arkansas star RB Michael Smith dominated with 192 rushing yards with a two-yard touchdown run and a 22-yard catch for a score in the first quarter. UK stayed in the game with a 71-yard Alfonso Smith touchdown catch in the third, but the offense didn’t come to live until late. The Hogs were plagued by a rough day from QB Casey Dick, four turnovers, and 13 penalties, but they still had chances to hold on to the lead late and couldn’t.
Player of the game: Kentucky QB/WR Randall Cobb completed 2-of-3 passes for 45 yards and caught five passes for 73 yards and two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Arkansas - Passing: Casey Dick, 11-29, 94 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Michael Smith, 35-192, 1 TD. Receiving: Michael Smith, 3-33, 1 TD
Kentucky - Passing: Mike Hartline, 17-32, 239 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Moncell Allen, 7-46. Receiving: Alfonso Smith, 5-108, 1 TD

2.
Akron 42 … Eastern Michigan 35
In a wild finish, EMU got the lead on a six-yard Josh LeDuc touchdown catch with just under four minutes to play, and LeDuc appeared to save the one-point lead with a blocked field goal with 39 seconds remaining. However, Akron recovered and got the ball down to the five-yard line leading to a four-yard Dennis Kennedy touchdown run with 14 seconds to play. Kennedy finished with 277 yards rushing with three touchdown runs to offset a big day from EMU QB Andy Schmitt, who threw three touchdown passes to go along with two short Terrence Blevins scoring runs. The two teams combined for 1.017 yards.
Player of the game: Akron RB Dennis Kennedy ran 25 times for 277 yards and three touchdowns and caught a pass or 15 yards
Stat Leaders: Eastern Michigan - Passing: Andy Schmitt, 22-34, 258 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Terrence Blevins, 21-91, 2 TD. Receiving: Jacory Stone, 7-109
Akron - Passing: Chris Jacquemain, 11-19, 208 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Dennis Kennedy, 25-277, 3 TD. Receiving: Andre Jones, 5-114, 2 TD


1. Rice 45 … Southern Miss 40
In a wild shootout with the two teams combining for 905 passing yards, Rice’s Chase Clement threw six touchdown passes including three to Jarett Dillard from 17, 51 and 44 yards out. As good as the Clement-to-Dillard combination was, Southern Miss had a better duo of QB Austin Davis to DeAndre Brown. Brown caught touchdown passes from eight, 16, 42 and 17 yards out, with the last two coming in a wild 4:16 span to pull the Golden Eagles to within five. But Rice recovered the onside kick with 17 seconds to play to hold on.
Player of the game: Rice QB Chase Clement completed 30-of-44 passes for 444 yards and six touchdowns, and he ran eight times for 22 yards
Stat Leaders: Southern Miss - Passing: Austin Davis, 32-61, 461 yds, 4 TD
Rushing: Damion Fletcher, 17-120, 1 TD. Receiving: DeAndre Brown, 12-221, 4 TD
Rice - Passing: Chase Clements, 30-43, 444 yds, 6 TD
Rushing: C.J. Ugokwe, 18-90. Receiving: Jarett Dillard, 7-141, 3 TD


Worst Game of the Weekend

New Mexico 70 … San Diego State 7
Glover Quin picked off a pass leading to a 20-yard Brad Gruner touchdown run, and the rout way on. New Mexico scored the first 56 points of the game helped by four Rodney Ferguson touchdown runs and a 28-yard fumble return for a score from Jaymare Latchison. In all, the Lobos finished with 419 rushing yards and eight touchdown runs. San Diego State’s lone bright spot was a 15-yard Darren Mougey touchdown catch in the third quarter.
Player of the game: New Mexico RB Rodney Ferguson ran 25 times for 149 yards and four touchdowns
Stat Leaders: San Diego State - Passing: Ryan Lindley, 18-37, 156 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Brandon Sullivan, 9-39. Receiving: Darren Mougey, 4-53, 1 TD
New Mexico - Passing: Brad Gruner, 8-11, 92 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Rodney Ferguson, 25-149, 4 TD. Receiving: Roland Bruno, 3-58

 
 



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