Oregon State deflects a 2-pt conversion to win, 33-31

Oregon State is giving USC the scare of a lifetime.

3rd Quarter, Beavers lead 30-10.

An interesting day for the Big 10.

Michigan looked efficient against Northwestern, 17-3. Defense the obvious story here, but Mike Hart has another quiet, yet impressive, day getting 126 yards on the ground. The Wolverines are now 8-0. No in conference win is small as Michigan goes to 5-0 in the Big Ten.

Penn State, Indiana, Iowa without Tate also score solid wins. Penn State’s shut out of Purdue, the first time the Boilermakers have been shut out since 1996. Indiana’s pasting of the Michigan State Spartans, 46-21 with time to go, must be setting some records too.

Without Matt Ryan, Boston College is burying Buffalo, 41-0. They just may be the big cheese in the ACC. By the way, the weather is two steps under atrocious on Chestnut Hill, as the rain is coming down in sheets.

Notre Dame solved Navy, 38-14. The Irish took control in the second half for the win. Navy certainly can run the ball, but the Irish mixed their offense and as they got ahead, they stopped the passing game. Navy, a good team, won’t beat anybody in the air. Notre Dame fans will be watching the BCS numbers.

Oklahoma gets a big confidence boost, they go in to Missouri for a test without all-world Adrian Peterson and stun Missouri, 26-10. A huge win for the Big 12 South’s second place team.

Wisconsin was down 24-10 to Illinois at the half, but a huge second half for John Stacco’s boys puts 20 points on the board in the second half to win 30-24. It will be an interesting race between Wisconsin and Penn State on who goes to Orlando for the Capital One Bowl.

Auburn survives Ole Miss, 23-17. Yet another game for the Tigers played with the intensity of a Friday walkthrough.

I’ll be back after the World’s Largest Dr Pepper party for a deeper look at the day.

With no ABC Saturday Night game, there are some quality noon starts as ABC and CBS are running doubleheaders. It’s weird,but this feels more like a football Saturday than weeks past, must be the daylight.

Navy and Notre Dame are in a duel. Brady Quinn has had a good day, Notre Dame has ran the ball well, but they are powerless against the Navy option. The Midshipman have 191 yards in the first half. 17-14, ND.

Happy thoughts from my friend near Pittsburgh, Penn State shutting out Purdue, 3-0.

Wisconsin is in a world of hurt at home, Illinois up 21-10.

Seeming redemption for Oklahoma, they are pounding Missouri, 16-3.

Brady Quinn just hit a 33-yarder, 24-14. Quinn has been impressive and will make a mark on the Heisman voters today. Now he just needs his defense to stop anything.

More later.

So, its rare that Gameday comes to the Palmetto, unless you count last week, which I don’t. Since I told my bro-in-law to take a “Corso loves Cocks” sign, this has the potential to be the best signage in quite some time.

10:05 - Fans boo Corso
10:07 - First good sign “ESPN went from Agriculture to Culture in 1 Week”
10:09 - Fans Boo Corso
10:11 - Nomination for sign of the week: “Got Hip Pain?…www.jimmysnewhip.com” You go Jimmy Connors, you go.
10:15 - Chuck Weiss complains that cheeseburger eating team passes Notre Dame, plans to eat more cheeseburgers.
10:16 - Corso talks, fans boo… this could get fun
10:17 - First sight of a “Corso wears a Merkin” sign… you stay classy Carolina.
10:22 - A shot of West Virginia fans… it is hunting season. Is anyone else weirded out by the trend recently of random teams fans being in the crowds of gameday? I think they were at Auburn a few weeks ago and there was a large contingent of like Wisconsin fans. Why? Am I the only one who thinks that ESPN plants them? Someone should look into this.
10:25 - Click clack… Click clack… How is that not the dumbest commercial known to man?
10:29 - ESPN does a story on Notre Dame tackle Ryan Harris. Congrats, you’re like 4 years too late. MTV had him on their True Life series for something about body issues… or something like that.
10:34 - Desmond Howard says style points count… no they don’t.
10:35 - Corso talks, fans boo. A picture of Corso with a dress stapled on it is shown behind him.
10:38 - A commercial pops up for Nacho Libre, the “funniest movie of the year.” No, no it wasn’t. I could make through about 20 minutes, then I felt the need to turn it off, lest I hate Jack Black for the rest of my life. Just an absolutely horrible movie that deserves to be listed alongside Napoleon Dynamite.
10:41 - Chris Fowler introduces Lou Holtz - a chorus of Lou or Boos ring out, probably both. Contrary to popular belief, he is not well-liked in this state.
10:45 - I’m disappointed by the lack of “I saw BORAT with Fowler” signs or maybe a “What do you think Herbstreit?” sign. Come on, this is what college is about, making random signs.
10:48 - First “Overrated” Tennessee chants.
10:59 - Urban Meyer hearts Bill Belicheck. Man, this Gameday has not lived up to its potential.
11:01 - Two decent signs, one of which I’ve been monitoring for its extreme verbage:
“I dated a girl from Tennessee, she left me for her brother”. Tried and true, though a bit wordy… and the girl I dated from Tennessee did not leave me for her brother, she was just promiscuous.
“Fulmer is a Stupid Fatty”. Indeed… indeed.
11:09 - So I did a little research on the “Vote Virginia Norton” signs. Seems she is running for the Duval County Court Judge in Jacksonville, FL. She looks to be 34, a blond, kinda cute. I’d let her be my judge. www.vote-virginia.com
11:40 - Extremely boring second half. Fowler worked in a “Herbstreit”, but otherwise nothing of note. Random signs: “I hate Ohio State”, “Corso is a Game Cock”
11:45 - A story of Carolina QB Syvelle Newton. If anyone can find the mp3 of his song, let me know, it sounded outstanding. Also, a plug for my alma mater Furman. Syvelle’s brother Cam wasa staring safety for FU while I was there, now he’s a backup safety on the Falcons. In an unrelated note, former Furman wide receiver Bear Rineheart is the lead singer in the band needtobreathe. Damn good CD, go get it.
11:56 - STONER!!!! MLS PLUG!!!! PLUG IT!!!!
11:57 - Oh shhhhh, Fowler dropped another “Herbstreit” These two really hate each other.
12:00 - And here are the picks:
Kirk - USC
Corso - Tennessee
And so ends another gameday. Far less eventful than it should have been. Still… go out and get your merkins kids.

There aren’t any national marquee matchups this week in the Big Ten, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still analyze them. As it sits right now the Big Ten, along with the entire nation, is eagerly awaiting November 18th when Ohio State and Michigan play, but the games in between now and then will go a long way in determining who goes to a New Years Day Bowl. Ohio State and Michigan and headed for a BCS bowl, so that leaves 4 teams (Wisconsin, Penn State, Purdue, and Indiana) for the New Years’ Day Bowls (Capital One & Outback).

Illinois @ Wisconsin - The Illini are no longer the whipping boys of the Big Ten. They have beat Michigan State and put a pretty big scare into Penn State last week. True freshman quarterback Juice Williams will be a star in the future, but right now he still plays like a green freshman. The Badgers may be one of the most underrated teams in all of college football. Freshman PJ Hill is making a name for himself behind their stud offensive line. John Stocco (who seems to have been here for 10 years) does nothing flashy, but does get the job done. Madison is a tough place to play, especially for a young team. I think Illinois will have trouble mounting any kind of offense against the Badgers and PJ Hill will run for over 150 yards. Wisconsin 34-9.

Penn State @ Purdue - The winner of this game will be in the drivers seat for at least one of the two New Years Day bowls. The Boilermakers are coming off being beat up by Wisconsin (who ironically is PSU’s next opponent) and Penn State is coming off a game where the defense and special teams outscored the offense in their win against Illinois. This year Penn State has played their worst games on the road, always seeming to come out of the gate flat. They can’t do that against this against Purdue because they can build a big lead with their passing game that the PSU offense might not be able to catch. Good thing for the Nittany Lions’ offense is that Purdue is ranked dead last in team defense. I think Penn State’s defense once again rises to the occasion to win this one. Penn State 27-13.

Northwestern @ Michigan - I really don’t think much has to be said about this game. Northwestern blew a huge lead in the fourth quarter to Michigan State last week. How much does Tyrell Sutton miss a productive passing game? Sutton who was the Big Ten freshman of the year last year, is struggling to find running room. The Wolverines are focused and ready to not let anything stand in their way to ruin their National Title hopes. Michigan will build a big early lead then pull their starters so no one gets hurt. Hart will rush for over 125 yards and Henne will have a 200 plus yard performance. Michigan 42-10.

Michigan State @ Indiana - This is a very interesting matchup. Of course though, we never know which Michigan State team will show up. Indiana has been playing some inspired football as they took out Iowa two weeks ago. They got up early on Ohio State last week but then surrendered 41 straight points in a loss. I am going to make an educated guess and say that we will not see the Michigan State team we saw play Illinois and in the first 3 quarters of the Northwestern game. Drew Stanton has his team focused and hungry for a bowl game which they haven’t been to in a few years. Michigan State 30-21.

Minnesota @ Ohio State - Much like their rival, Ohio State just needs to stay focused on the task at hand. Let’s be honest though, the Buckeye’s could probably bring their C game and beat Minnesota. The Gophers have a good passing attack with Brian Cupito and Matt Spaeth with Amir Pinnix running the ball. I just don’t think they have the horses on the lines to compete with Ohio State. Troy Smith will continue to put his mark on his Heisman campaign in this game and I also believe Antiono Pittman will run for over 100 yards. Ohio State 36-13.

Friday:

UTEP at Tulsa, 8:00 PM - G5-14s (ESPN 2)

Saturday:

Illinois at Wisconsin, 12:00 PM - G5-14s (ESPN 2)
Northern Illinois at Iowa, 12:00 PM - ESPN U
Northwestern at Michigan, 12:00 PM - G5-9s (ESPN)
Penn State at Purdue, 12:00 PM - ABC, DSS
Michigan State at Indiana, 12:00 PM - ESPN Plus, DSS
NC State at Virginia, 12:00 PM - Lincoln Financial, DSS
Syracuse at Cincinnati, 12:00 PM - ESPN Plus, MSG, DSS
Oklahoma at Missouri, 12:00 PM - ABC, DSS
Brown at Penn, 12:00 PM - CSTV
Columbia at Yale, 12:00 PM - YES
Notre Dame vs. Navy (at Baltimore), 12:00 PM - CBS
Central Connecticut State at Monmouth, 12:00 PM - FOX-New York
Auburn at Ole Miss, 12:30 PM - Lincoln Financial, DSS
Buffalo at Boston College, 1:00 PM - ESPN 360
Bowling Green at Temple, 1:00 PM - CN 8 (Philadelphia)
Ohio U at Kent State, 2:00 PM - FOX-Cincinnati, Ohio
BYU at Air Force, 3:00 PM - VERSUS
FIU at Alabama, 3:00 PM - Pay-per-view, DSS
Florida vs. Georgia (at Jacksonville), 3:30 PM - CBS
Wake Forest at North Carolina, 3:30 PM - ESPN U
Miami-Florida at Georgia Tech, 3:30 PM - ABC, DSS
Minnesota at Ohio State, 3:30 PM - ABC, DSS
Nebraska at Oklahoma State, 3:30 PM - ABC, DSS
Eastern Michigan at Western Michigan, 3:30 PM - Comcast (Local)
Weber State at Montana State, 3:30 PM - Altitude
USC at Oregon State, 3:30 PM - FOX-Bay, Detroit, Arizona, Comcast (Chicago)
UCF at Houston, 3:30 PM - CSTV
Furman at Appalachian State, 3:30 PM - TurnerSouth
UNLV at Utah, 4:00 PM - The Mountain
New Mexico State at Nevada, 4:00 PM - ESPN Plus, DSS
Florida State at Maryland, 7:00 PM - G5-14s (ESPN 2)
Texas at Texas Tech, 7:00 PM - G5-6s (TBS)
Washington State at UCLA, 7:00 PM - ABC, DSS
UL Monroe at Arkansas, 7:00 PM - ESPN U
Portland State at Oregon, 7:00 PM - Oregon Sports Network, DSS
Arizona State at Washington, 7:00 PM - FOX-Arizona, Northwest
Wyoming at TCU, 7:30 PM - The Mountain
East Carolina at Southern Miss, 7:30 PM - CSTV
Youngstown State at Illinois State, 7:30 PM - FOX-Midwest
Tennessee at South Carolina, 7:45 PM - G5-9s (ESPN)
Stephen F. Austin State at Southeastern Louisiana, 8:30 PM - FOX-Southwest
Idaho at Hawaii, 12:00 AM - Oceanic Pay-per-view, ESPN Plus, DSS

Sunday:

Connecticut at Rutgers, 8:00 PM - G5-9s (ESPN)

Virginia Tech uses tough defense to force Clemson to at least 7 3-and-outs and Branden Ore has a 200 yard game to stun the #10 ranked team in the nation 24-7. The Hokies used their week off to regroup and refocus and it showed as they controled the game from start into finish. Clemson looked like it had a little bit of a hang over from their big victory last Saturday against Georgia Tech. With this win Boston College is really in the driver’s seat for the ACC Championship game.

No, I don’t mean massive outbreaks of the clap. It’s the new Helmet mp3 at the aptly named helmetmp3.com. The title of the site is about as descriptive as it needs to be, because you’re getting what you pay for. It’s a mini helmet with an mp3 player inside… and a fugly mp3 player at that.

To show they’re serious, their FAQs are serious:
“Q: Why don’t you have my favorite team?
A: We are working on adding more teams. But please, fill out the request form and let us know what team you would like to add.”

That’s it… no other questions are frequently being asked. It’s 1 gig and handles a couple of WMA DRM schemes, but I have no idea it will actually work with anything useful. But you can be the bell of the ball at your college. Imagine the women you’ll pick up at a drunken tailgate. Just put it on your belt and tell them to put their ears to your helmet.

At the site, make sure to look at the high res pics. They’re a massive amount of pixels, for something that can’t be more than like 3 inches big.

Here is a list a schools that are available (and yes, Boston College is popular enough to be listed twice):
Air Force Falcons
Alabama Crimson Tide
Arizona Wildcats
Arizona State Sun Devils
Arkansas Razorbacks
Army Black Knights
Auburn Tigers
Boston College Eagles
Boston College Eagles
BYU Cougars
Cincinnati Bearcats
Colorado Buffaloes
Colorado State Rams
Duke Blue Devils
East Carolina Pirates
Florida Gators
Florida State Seminoles
Fresno State Bulldogs
Georgia Bulldogs
Illinois Fighting Illini
Kansas Jayhawks
Kansas State Wildcats
Kentucky Wildcats
Louisville Cardinals
LSU Tigers
Michigan Wolverines
Michigan State Spartans
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Missouri Tigers
Navy Midshipmen
Nebraska Cornhuskers
North Carolina Tar Heels
Northwestern Wildcats
Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma State Cowboys
Ole Miss Rebels
Oregon State Beavers
Penn State Nitany Lions
Pitt Panthers
Purdue Boilermakers
South Carolina Gamecocks
TCU Horned Toads
Tennessee Volunteers
Texas Longhorns
Texas A&M Aggies
Texas Tech Red Raiders
UCLA Bruins
Washington Huskies

This week’s edition of the In The Bleachers Podcast previewing the Week 9 action is up and ready to go. Charlie, Chris, John, and Brian speak about who is in the running to win the conferences along with which coaches could be gone soon. John from Mountainlair joins us this week on the podcast. The games of the week this week are Georgia vs Florida, Notre Dame @ Navy, Tennessee @ South Carolina, Miami (Fla) @ Georgia Tech, and Oklahoma @ Missouri.

Make sure you check your subscriptions for the podcast. If you want the podcast you must subscribe to the Feedbuner but if you want to subscribe to the blog please use the RSS feed. This is for iTunes to be able to archive the shows. Enjoy this week’s episode of In The Bleachers and if you have any questions or comments to the show please email them to inthebleachers AT gmail DOT com.