Oh Neaux!

What was Les Miles thinking? With a chance to win the game, he let his team down. QB Jordan Jefferson was sacked with 17 seconds left in the game to create a 4th and 26 and Miles let eight seconds run off the clock before using his last timeout. Boy would those eight seconds have come in handy. On 4th and 26, Jefferson completed a deep pass to WR Terrance Tolliver that would have setup a field goal to win the game. Instead with only one second left on the clock, the field goal team was not ready to run on the field and Jefferson spiked the ball to stop the clock. As it turns out, spiking the ball with no time left on the clock doesn't help much. Had Miles called his timeout properly after the 3rd down play, LSU would have had plenty of time to spike the ball and kick the field goal. Had he had his field goal team prepared, they could have at least tried to get the last play off as a field goal attempt. Unfortunately for the Tigers, he did neither. You can chalk this loss up to the coaching staff.

A Look Back at Saturday's Games

The Iowa Hawkeyes luck finally ran out, taking them out of BCS title contention. They have trailed at the half in every game this season, but had come back to win them all before yesterday. They now will have to win at Ohio State to give themselves a shot at the Rose Bowl. Hard to imagine anybody being surprised to see them lose.

Florida and Texas both kept their undefeated records intact by beating Vanderbilt and Central Florida respectively. We really do not learn anything from either game against obviously inferior opponents. Florida had no choice as it was a conference game, but Texas picked this game. That wraps up their grueling non-conference schedule featuring games against powerhouses like Louisiana Monroe, Wyoming, UTEP and now Central Florida. It would have been nice to see them schedule at least one legitimate non-conference game. When the BCS standings are released this afternoon, we will likely see the Longhorns back in the third spot behind Alabama.

Alabama kept a zero in the loss column with a win over LSU. The game was a bit sloppy and I am still not convinced that the Alabama offense will be able to do enough to win against a team with a top defense. They look very inconsistent and have to settle for field goals way too often. We again saw a terrible call by SEC replay officials play a significant role in the outcome of this game. Officials upheld an incomplete pass call on an LSU interception late in the game despite replays clearly showing Patrick Peterson getting his foot down inside the line. The call allowed Alabama to kick a field goal and go up by two scores with only 3 minutes left, rather than the Tigers having the ball with a chance to win. It has not been a good year for SEC officiating, to put it mildly. Alabama now clinches a spot in the SEC title game against Florida.

I would say that Oregon fell trap to the "letdown" game against Stanford, but that would be selling Stanford short. Stanford and running back Toby Gerhart ran all over the Oregon and dominated the Duck defense. Oregon's offense gave it their best shot, but Stanford was just too much to handle.

Quick Hits:
USC gets back in the win column, but looks very pedestrian in doing so.

Notre Dame loses to Navy again. Charlie Weiss has got to be getting nervous.

McCoy to Shipley is the best QB/WR combo and it is not even close.

Iowa and Penn State losing has got to help Boise State's chances of a BCS berth.

What Do They Watch In There?

SEC replay officials again leave you wondering what they are watching in there. It certainly does not appear they are watching the game, but maybe reruns of the Jeff Foxworthy show instead. In the fourth quarter of today's game at Alabama, LSU corner Patrick Peterson intercepted a Greg McElroy pass to give the Tigers the ball trailing by six with a chance to win the game. The ruling on the field was incomplete, out of bounds. Replays showed Peterson's left foot in the field of play near the sideline. It was close to the sideline, but it was clearly in. Still shots of the replay show the ball in his hands with his foot down, but replay officials apparently did not find it to be conclusive enough to overturn the incorrect call. It is understandable that they do not want to continually reverse close possession calls, but boundary rulings are cut and dry. You are either in or out, and he was clearly just inside the line. As far as I know the rule book only says you have to be inside the line, not a yard inside the line. Alabama instead was able to maintain possession and kick a field goal to put the game away. Who know if LSU would have scored to take the lead, but they at least earned the opportunity to try. Patrick Peterson played a great game and made a game changing play only to have it taken away by inept review officials. The SEC will again spend their week discussing poor officiating. The photo below shows the divot created by Peterson's foot and gives you an idea of how far in he was.

Oregon Getting Pounded, Alabama Trailing at the Half

The Stanford Cardinal are running all over the Oregon Ducks as they have taken a 31-14 lead into halftime. Toby Gerhart is demoralizing the Duck defense with 23 carries and 110 yards through the first 2 quarters. If they are not running with Gerhart, the Cardinal are gashing Oregon through the air behind superstar freshman QB Andrew Luck. Stanford has already put 316 yards of offense on the board and has Oregon completely out of sorts. It looks like the famous letdown game may have jumped up to bite the Oregon Ducks. If they want any chance at a comeback, they better tighten their chin straps and find the will to stop Gerhart in the second half.

In Tuscaloosa, the LSU Tigers have taken a 10-7 halftime lead into the locker room. Alabama's inability to mount any sort of offense in the red zone is killing them again. QB Greg McElroy missed a wide open Julio Jones in the end zone on one drive, which ended in a field goal, and McElroy ended the first half throwing an ugly interception near the goal line. Alabama was able to get away with settling for field goals against the Vols, but LSU has far too many athletes to get away with it today. LSU corner Patrick Peterson has been dominant, virtually shutting down Julio Jones. It looks like Alabama may join Iowa in the loss column today.

College Football Preview

This weekends slate of games does not feature many matchups of top teams, but there are a few games of note.

LSU at Alabama: The ninth ranked LSU Tigers travel to Tuscaloosa to take on number three Alabama. Alabama is coming off of a bye week following a down to the wire game against Tennessee. Alabama will have to be better than they were against the Volunteers. While not looking as impressive as they did at the start of the season, the Crimson Tide has still managed to come out on top in every game they have played. They were fortunate against Tennessee to have Lane Kiffin's special teams be a complete mess. LSU will not afford them the same luxury. LSU is a good team with only one loss, but I do not think they get it done against an Alabama team that has had two weeks to prepare. Do not be surprised if we have a close contest, however, because LSU certainly has enough athletes to make some plays. An upset would not be shocking, but I see Alabama winning the game by two scores.

Ohio State at Penn State: The Buckeyes go into Happy Valley looking to put a solid win on their resume. To this point, they really have only played one top team, USC at home, and lost. Their next three games at Penn State, home against Iowa and at Michigan give them a chance to finish strong. It will be a tough task this weekend against a Penn State team that seems to have found its stride. They field a very solid defense that should be able to contain Terrelle Pryor on the ground and turn him into a passer, which greatly reduces his effectiveness. On the offensive side of the ball, QB Daryll Clark and RB Evan Royster lead an explosive attack that can put points up in a hurry. Look for Ohio State to leave town with a third loss on the board.

USC at Arizona State: Most years, we would simply be discussing how many points the Trojans will win by. This year is a bit of a different story. For the first time in recent history, USC will be coming off of a big loss in which they were completely dominated on both sides of the ball. How will they react? They clearly do not have the same amount of experience as last year's team, but some would argue they have as much, if not more, talent. We have not seen it yet this year, and I don't know that we will. Arizona State, however, is definitely in a down year. Look for the Trojans to come out playing angry, inspired football and get themselves back in the win column. I do not see this game being close.

A couple of other games to keep an eye on are Oregon at Stanford and Northwestern at Iowa. If Oregon comes out with any sort of let down after last weeks big win, Stanford has the talent to beat them. On the flip side, Iowa has to avoid looking ahead to its last big game next week at Ohio State. Northwestern hung tough with Penn State into the second half last week and will not be a walk over.