Ohio State, Clemson pull off great escapes, BC wins, Kentucky stays undefeated
paulkenney
On beautiful fall Saturday afternoons, millions of Americans take to the roads for long leisurely, and relaxing drives.
Yesterday in Death Valley, and Happy Valley, the drives were also of longish variety, but leisurely and stress-free they were not, but in the view of their faithful, were as lovely as Vermont's Route 89 during foliage season. Or if you prefer, with apologies to Steve McQueen; a pair of gridiron "Great Escapes."
We'll begin with the marquee matchup between Big Ten heavyweights and playoff contenders; the Buckeyes of Ohio State, and the Nittany Lions of Penn State, who traded punches like Hagler and Hearns.
But with 8:00 left in the fourth quarter the Bucks were the ones staggering trailing 26-14, making it seem inevitable that the Nits victory lead by its leather-toughened leader QB Trace McSorley was simply a foregone conclusion. Then like a Scarlet and Grey lightning bolt a miraculous 47-yard catch and run by wideout Binjimen Victor, cut it to 5, which was followed by a drive for the ages.
Buckeyes QB Dwayne Haskins AP photo
The "Sons of Woody" backed up on its own 4-yard line, stormed down the field, taking the lead on a 24-yard TD pass by the "Cool Hand Luke" of Columbus QB Dwayne Haskins to wideout K.J. Hill, stunning the record Beaver Stadium "White Out" crowd of more than 110,000.
The stupefying victory improved Urban Meyer's Big Ten record to an eye-popping 48-3, and once again leaves the Buckeyes with a penthouse view for a coveted playoff invite. WOW!!
The other stress inducing drive took place in Death Valley, where the Tigers of Clemson found themselves in a pickle, down 10 early in the fourth quarter against a feisty bunch of Syracuse Orangemen (4-1), before it pulled off its Houdini in another scintillating escape: 27-23.
Backup QB Chase Brice AP photo
In addition to being outplayed in the first half, Clemson was forced to go with its third string QB Chase Brice, when its newly installed freshman QB Trevor Lawrence went out in the second quarter with a concussion.
Ordinarily for a team like Tigers, who are as well stocked as the Boston Food Bank, that wouldn't be a problem.
But earlier in the week when Coach Dabo Swinney informed his starter Kelly Bryant that he was making a switch, Bryant caught Swinney totally off guard when the QB promptly left the program leaving the Tigers with virtually zero experience at the position.
But in what used to only happen in fairy tales, QB Chase Brice, who began the season third on the depth chart walked off the field not only victorious, but now has his name safely secured with a spot in Clemson football lore as he lead the Tigers on a game clinching 94-yard drive highlighted by a clutch fourth and six pass completion. Another Wow!!
And like the Buckeyes, the improbable victory also keeps Clemson with a penthouse view of a playoff spot.
"I'll never forget this one," said an emotional Swinney. "Some might say it's just the fifth game of the year, but it's more than that. I saw a team that didn't quit."
ND QB Ian Book ignites the Irish AP photo
From there we'll shift to South Bend, and the Fighting Irish on Notre Dame, who in dominating fashion, behind its offensive igniter QB Ian Book, who tossed 4 TDs, and the return of "Prodigal Son" tailback Dexter Williams (167-yards, 7.7 yds. a carry) after a four game suspension, knocked off the previously undefeated Cardinal of Stanford; 38-17.
The victory firmly establishes the Irish as a legitimate playoff contender, and the Domers will find themselves favored in every game for the rest of its schedule.
BC headman Steve Addazio AP photo
On the local front the Eagles of Boston College, despite a performance that won't be going into to any football time capsule – penalties, dropped passes, shaky defense- defeated the Owls of Temple 45-35 to climb to 4-1 for the first time since Barak Obama was getting started 2009 and are only two-victories from earning a bowl invitation. Good for them. (Although its All-America tailback AJ Dillon turned an ankle, and was forced to leave the game.)
On the dark side of the local ledger, the fighting "Belles of Amherst," aka the UMass Minutemen (2-4) fell to the Ohio Bobcats 58-42 in another disheartening loss.
The performance makes Coach Mark Whipple's goal of a bowl invitation seemingly Prudential-tall, as the "Sons of Greg Landry" must win 4 of its final 6. OUCH!
Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops AP photo
Cruising through the nation, one of our favs Coach Ed Orgeron and his Tigers of LSU find themselves 5-0 after handily taking care of business against the Rebels of Mississippi: 45-16, while Kentucky football, yes football, is 5-0 for the first time since 2007, and 3-0 in the SEC for the first time since the Carter Administration – 1977.
If this thoroughbred run continues, Wildcat's headman Mark Stoops is definitely a worthy candidate for Coach of the Year honors.
Central Florida wins 17th in row chasing down Pitt AP photo
In the "Little Engine that could," department: Central Florida won its nation's best 17th in-a-row after destroying a disappointing bunch of Pittsburg Panthers; 45-14.
The other undefeated team from Ohio, the Luke Fickell's Bearcats of Cincinnati smoked the Huskies of UConn 49-7 to climb to 5-0, and in our opinion, Coach Fickell would be a nice fit to take over the woeful Illini program of Illinois.
In Evanston, Michigan climbed out of a 17-0 hole on the road that was almost as deep as the Big Dig, and fought back for a: 20-17 victory against Northwestern.
It was the third largest comeback in the long and proud history of Wolverine football, as d-coordinator and chess-master Don Brown's D once again dialed it up in the second half, as Blue has surrendered a jaw-dropping total of just 53-points in the last four-and-a-half games after halftime.
Purdue sends Nebraska to its 8th consecutive loss AP Photo
We move to the "Sad Sacks" of Lincoln, where the once proud and mighty Huskers of Nebraska lost its 8 consecutive game, embarrassed by the Boilermakers of Purdue 42-24.
It is the longest Huskers winless streak by the "Sons of Bob Devaney" since the Eisenhower Administration – 1957. YIKES! But those were the days – peace and prosperity.
The Boilers had some added incentive in this game when Nebraska's coach Scott Frost proclaimed last week that; "we have an upcoming game that we can win."
And when that didn't go as planned Frost said in his post-game presser; "They (Nebraska players) look they love losing." Double Yikes! Where's Bo Pelini when you need him?
Former KU coach and "fixer" Charlie Weis AP photo
Finally, as always, we leave with the woeful Jayhawks of Kansas, the last team our bloviating pal Charlie Weis "fixed," who lost to the Cowboys of Oklahoma State: 48-28 to slide to 2-3. Sorry Charlie.
That's it from cyber-space. We'll be up and running with our analysis of week 6 Wednesday night. Until then, Peace and listen to the music. PK