2010 NCAA Football Season, 2nd Leg (weeks 7-10)

Week 7 Notes:

#22 LSU def. #14 Florida 27-24 in OT in Gainesville handing the Gators their first loss.

#18 Auburn def. #9 Arkansas 45-17 at Auburn handing the Razorbacks their first loss as well.

Unranked (3-4) Texas Tech def. #16 Colorado 42-33 in Boulder handing the Buffs their first loss.

#3 Nebraska hands #20 Kansas State its first loss 31-7 in Manhattan, KS.

Unranked Michigan State (4-1) def. #25 Iowa (2-4) at Iowa 55-27.

#21 UCLA def. #23 Arizona 38-28 to remain undefeated.

#2 Penn State def. #17 Michigan 41-15 at the Big House.

Roderick Sherman rushes 13 times for 169 yards and 3 TDs as the #11 Penguins take a 42-0 first half lead on their way to a 42-10 thumping of conference rival North Texas. Backup HB Pennington also contributed 21 carries for 120 yards and a TD in the game. Sherman was named Sun Belt offensive player of the week. He also had 2 catches for 17 yards and a TD.

Penn State QB Tom Richards is injured in the first quarter of the Michigan game and sophomore Brad Green is thrown into the fire. After an INT on his second throw, he would settle in and finish 17-27 for 321 yards and 3 TDs with just the one INT. He got a lot of help from his running game as Marcus Jennings had 27 carries for 147 yards and a TD and Corey Givens had 10 carries for 103 yards. Despite the change at QB, Terence Bozeman’s great senior campaign continued with an 8 catch, 137 yard and 1 TD performance. Senior DE Matthew Nelson added 3 more sacks to his NCAA-leading total of 11. Penn State lost starting OLB Drew Brock for 4 weeks with an ACL sprain. Tom Richards will return next week against Northwestern.

Michigan controlled the game through the first quarter and a half until, leading 7-3, senior QB Sam Wilson threw an interception to sophomore Kenneth Riley that was returned for a TD. Michigan wouldn’t score again until it trailed 31-7. Riley’s INT earned him Big Ten defensive player of the week honors.

Richards fall off the Heisman voting while PSU WR David Patterson enters the list at #2 for the first time. Patterson is leading the Lions with 11 TD receptions (Bozeman has 10) on the year as a junior.

The NCAA is down to 12 unbeatens.

Week 8 Notes:

#2 Penn State def. Northwestern 45-10 at Happy Valley.

#10 Youngstown State def. UL-Lafayette 40-10 in Louisiana.

#17 LSU def. #14 Auburn 46-23 at Auburn.

#21 Michigan State rebounds from a 21-0 first quarter deficit at home to beat unranked Minnesota 47-35.

#8 Notre Dame def. #9 Florida State 37-15 at South Bend.

#13 Texas stuns #3 Nebraska 38-28 at Nebraska. The Huskers had been unbeaten.

In another shocking turn in the Big 12, #25 Colorado stuns #7 Oklahoma 28-14 at Norman. The Sooners had been unbeaten.

Unranked (5-3) Alabama def. #11 Tennessee at Knoxville 28-16.

#24 Oregon State blows a 28-7 lead at Washington but survives 31-28 to remain unbeaten.

Unranked (6-1) Oregon def. #19 UCLA 29-28 in Eugene, handing the Bruins their first loss.

Terence Bozeman finishes with 9 catches for 58 yards and David Patterson finishes with 5 catches for 102 yards, but neither score in the Penn State win over Northwestern. Tom Richard throws for 248 yards on 24-32 with 3 TDs and a pick. RBs Givens and Jennings finish with 93 and 92 yards rushing, respectively. For the first time since week 2, DE Matthew Nelson is held without a sack. 7 PSU players recorded a sack in the game.

Roderick Sherman has another strong showing with 90 yards on just 15 carries, adding 3 TDs on the ground. Otherwise, a very pedestrian day for YSU.

On the recruiting front, Penn State received letters of intent from 4-star recruit WR Joe Johnson of Maryland and 4-star recruit QB Andy Hicks of Mississippi. The Nittany Lions also received a soft verbal commitment from 4-star QB Clint McDougal of Hawaii. Youngstown State received a soft verbal commitment for #1 ranked 5-star CB A.J. Morris of Louisiana last week, but has yet to receive a full commitment.

In the first BCS Rankings, Virginia Tech is #1 followed by Penn State. Youngstown State is #8.

Penn State WR Patterson fell to #3 on the Heisman Watch.

There are 8 unbeatens remaining in Division 1A, and with Penn State visiting Ohio State this coming week, there is guaranteed to be one less.

Week 9 Notes:

#8 Youngstown State def. Florida Atlantic 45-17 in Florida.

#2 Penn State stunned the football world with a dominating 45-0 victory against #5 (then 7-0) Ohio State at the Horseshoe.

#14 Florida State had to score 10 in the fourth to defeat unranked (3-5) Maryland 17-10.

#24 Georgia defeated #16 Florida 42-24 in Jacksonville for the Gators second loss in 3 weeks. Florida led 24-14 before surrendering 28 unanswered in the 3rd and 4th quarters.

#13 Arkansas scores a TD in the 4th to survive a shocker at home against 1-7 Vanderbilt.

Unranked Iowa improves to 4-4 defeating #18 Michigan 45-21 in the Big House.

Unranked South Carolina (6-3) def. #17 Tennessee (6-3) in Columbia, SC, 41-31.

Unranked Arizona improves to 5-2 after defeating #23 Oregon State 41-14 in Tucson. It is the Beavers 1st loss of the year.

In a thrilling shootout, #19 Michigan State scores 28 unanswered in the 4th quarter to defeat unranked Wisconsin 52-38 at home. The Spartans were down by 14 entering the final period.

With Bobby Howard leaving the game early, backup QB Maurice Adams enters the game and goes 11-16 for 159 yards and 3 TDs with 1 INT. Howard finished 8-11 for 157 and 1 TD. Starting RB Roderick Sherman was suspended for the game due to academic issues, so backup David Pennington ran the ball 21 times for 126 yards and 2 TD. WR Kenneth Webb came up huge with 9 catches for 153 yards and 3 TDs. Defensively, CB Travis Brunner added his team-leading 6th INT on the year. Pennington earned Sun Belt offensive player of the week honors for his performance.

Penn State QB Tom Richard had another run-of-the-mill day going 18-27 for 290 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INT against the Buckeyes. The Lions star of the game was RB Marcus Jennings who finished with 22 carries for 139 yards and 3 TDs. Sophomore WR Nick Campbell, measuring in at 6’6”, led the Lions with 6 receptions for 111 yards and 2 TDs. For the second straight week, WRs Bozeman and Patterson were shut out of the endzone. DE Matthew Nelson got back on track with 2 sacks (bringing his total to a nation-leading 13) and senior MLB Alvin Mills scored a TD on one of PSU’s 3 fumble recoveries.

QB Clint McDougal (4-star recruit out of Hawaii and the #1 QB in the in-season class) signed with Penn State following the blowout victory. CB A.J. Morris (5-star recruit and #1 player at his position) signed with Youngstown State following their win in Florida. Morris was clocked at a 4.16 second 40-yard dash.

Penn State moved to #1 in the BCS, while YSU stayed at #8. PSU also takes over #1 in the Coaches’ Poll for the first time all year. QB Richard makes his triumphant return to the Heisman Watch (#        2) while his two wideouts are no longer mentioned.

Undefeated tally is down to seven, all of whom are ranked in the top 15 in the Coaches’ Poll.

Week 10 Notes:

#2 Penn State def. unranked (2-7) Illinois 50-15 at Happy Valley.

#7 Youngstown State has a bye.

#16 Michigan State def. #25 Michigan 24-21 in OT at Michigan.

#11 Ohio State bounces back to def. unranked (4-5) Minnesota on the road 45-3.

#13 Arkansas scored the go-ahead TD with 4:15 left in the game to survive, 26-22, an upset scare at unranked (6-4) South Carolina.

#15 TCU (9-0) scores a TD and fails on the PAT with 0:56 remaining to def. unranked (5-4) Colorado State 41-35 in Fort Collins.

In the game of the week, #4 Texas A&M kicks a FG with 1:56 remaining to down #12 Oklahoma 20-18 in College Station. The Aggies are 10-0, while the Sooners fall to 8-2.

#18 Kansas State def. #20 Colorado 21-9 in Boulder.

In a slow day for the Heisman candidate, Tom Richard was only 13-19 for 139 yards and 3 TDs with 0 INT in the win. RB Marcus Jennings had just 7 carries for 59 yards and 2 TDs before being replaced by Corey Givens who finished with 13 carries for 139 yards and a TD. In a slow day, WR David Patterson had 5 catches for 49 yards and 3 TDs, while Terence Bozeman had just 3 catches for 30 yards. LB C.J. Webster led the D with 6 tackles, a sack and an INT while Matthew Nelson added his 14th sack of the year. Freshman SS B. Oliver had his second pick six of the year, taking an INT to the house in the third quarter for PSU’s final score.

OLB 4-star recruit Demetrius Rogers out of Ohio (YSU’s home state) signed with the Penguins after a visit on their bye week. DE Brandon Harrison (4-star recruit out of Ohio) signed with Penn State after a visit to the Illinois game. Harrison was the final target of the Lions this season.

Virginia Tech retook #1 in the BCS, dropping Penn State to #2. Youngstown State climbed to #7 on the bye.

David Patterson climbed to #1 on the Heisman Watch with his 3 TD performance against Illinois. Richard and Bozeman are still outside looking in.

The Awards Semifinalists were announced this week. Tom Richard (PSU) is #12 on the Maxwell, Matthew Nelson (PSU) is #2 on the Bednarik, Richard is #6 on Best QB, Bobby Howard (YSU) is #10 on Best QB, David Patterson is #1 on Best WR, Terence Bozeman is #4 on Best WR, Brent Booth (PSU) is #4 on Best OL, Robert Bass (PSU) is #6 on Best OL, Joseph Young (PSU) is #8 on Best OL, Clint Gutierrez (PSU) is #9 on Best OL, Robert Bass is #1 on Rimington, Nelson is #1 on Lombardi, T.J. Coley (PSU) is #5 on Thorpe, Travis Brunner (YSU) is #7 on Thorpe, David Willis (PSU) is #1 on Groza, Coley is #4 on Best RET. The awards will be explained further when they are given out after the Conference Championship weekend.

Undefeated tally is still at seven. Only TCU is outside of the top 9 in the Coaches’ Poll.