ESPN College Football Nation Blog

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- You knew LSU was going to attempt to get freshman Russell Shepard involved Saturday, hoping to pop him on a big play.

The Alabama defense was laying in wait on his first touch. Shepard lined up as a tailback and took an option pitch, but Alabama cornerback Javier Arenas was on top of him about the time he got the pitch.

The Tigers will surely come back to Shepard in some capacity. They're going to need some big plays to budge this Alabama defense.

Posted by ESPN.com’s David Albright

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Interesting bit of strategy from Jim Tressel.

With a 4th and 11 at the Penn State 29, Tressel opted not to try a 46-yard field goal against a slight breeze. Remember, kicker Aaron Pettrey is out after MCL surgery. Backups Ben Buchanan and Devin Barclay both hit from 47 yards in warmups, but those kicks were in the other direction with the wind at their backs. Makes you wonder if 40 yards will be the outside limit on FG tries for Ohio State.

Instead of trying for three points, Tressel took a delay of game penalty that moved the Buckeyes back to the PSU 34 and then tried to pin the Nittany Lions deep in their own territory. No such luck as punter Jon Thoma kicked it into the end zone for a 14-yard net play.

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- There was some chatter that Alabama was going to come out throwing Saturday, and the Crimson Tide did just that with seven straight pass attempts.

Greg McElroy has looked down the field a couple of different times already for Julio Jones, but the Tigers are doing a nice job in coverage. LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson has been looking forward to this matchup with Jones ever since last season.

The Tigers are chucking the ball down the field, too. A couple of different times, Jordan Jefferson has stepped up in the pocket and tried to go deep. He completed one to Brandon LaFell for 30-plus yards, but it was called back because of an illegal formation.

At this point, it looks like neither team believes it can run on the other.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson

AIR FORCE ACADEMY --- Army is not going away.

Freshman quarterback Trent Steelman just scampered 42 yards to tie the score at 7.

The Army defense has done a good job of containing Air Force’s offense. Other than the punt return for touchdown, the Falcons have been able to do very little on offense. They have just one first down and 13 total yards.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Navy missed a field goal at the end of the first half, but that's about the only thing that's gone right for Notre Dame.

The Irish trail 14-0 at the half, and Navy is burning through the clock with its ground game, having attempted only two passes. Notre Dame has had three trips deep into the red zone and has come away with no points, missing two field goals and failing on a fourth-down pass.

Golden Tate has not been involved much, and the Irish are playing without their top two tailbacks. Armando Allen didn't dress, and Robert Hughes left early in the game with an unspecified injury. Freshman Theo Riddick has become the main ball carrier.

Notre Dame certainly has the offense to come back, but it's not going to get a ton of chances because of Navy's style. A loss would be devastating and would end the team's BCS hopes.

Posted by ESPN.com’s David Albright

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Joe Paterno talked about the kicking game being a big factor in this game and early on that's proving true.

After a pair of three-and-outs by each offense, Ohio State’s Ray Small took a short 37-yard punt from Penn State’s Jeremy Boone and returned it 41 yards to the Nittany Lions 9.

Two plays later it was Ohio State 7-0 as QB Terrelle Pryor used his legs to scramble and find the end zone for the early Buckeyes lead.

If Jim Tressel turns Pryor loose today and lets him create with his legs it could be Ohio State’s best chance against Penn State’s tough defense.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson

BYU assuaged any fears of a possible hangover following the loss to TCU two weeks ago.

The Cougars came into Saturday’s game against Wyoming, their first game since the loss, motivated and have taken out any frustration they might have had on the Cowboys.

Through the third quarter the Cougars lead 38-0.

Quarterback Max Hall has been on fire throughout the game. Into the third quarter, Hall has completed 90 percent of his passes for nearly 300 yards and three scores.

BYU has allowed fewer than 150 yards defensively.

This is the kind of performance the Cougars needed to lead them to a strong finish to end the season. The opportunity for another 10-win season still exists, as does a win over Utah. And a split conference title is still possible if TCU slips up.

Last season, BYU went into an emotional funk after the loss to TCU. It’s good to see that BYU is really the mature team it’s claimed to be all season.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson

AIR FORCE ACADEMY -- Air Force has struck first with a an 88-yard punt return by Anthony Wright Jr.

Wright broke a few tackles after catching the ball headed right and saw nothing but blue jerseys in front of him. He jogged into the end zone.

The punt return was the second-longest in Academy history and the first punt return for a touchdowns since 1998 against New Mexico.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Notre Dame would have a hard time designing a worse possible first quarter than the one that played out against Navy.

After an early Robby Parris fumble, Navy drove down for a touchdown on fourth and goal. The Irish missed a field goal, and then the Midshipmen scored again for a 14-0 lead.

Navy is controlling the clock with its ground game and now gets to play with the lead. That's a good recipe for a potential upset. It's not going to be another easy week for the Irish, who may have to get back to their cardiac kids style.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson

AIR FORCE ACADEMY -- The pageantry is starting here at the Air Force Academy.

The cadets are marching out onto the field and the stands are starting to fill up.

Cars are still coming in and I heard from a couple media folks who cover this team regularly this is the most traffic they’ve seen trek into this stadium in quite some time.

The crowd just held a moment of silence for the victims of the Fort Hood shootings before the national anthem was played.

I'm eagerly awaiting the flyover.

As I pointed out in an earlier post, Air Force has dominated this game over the past 20 years, but this will be a tougher test than the Falcons have faced in the past. Army hasn’t really been blown out this season. While some of the scores have been lopsided, the Black Knights have been in almost every game they’ve played and this one should be no different.

“It means a lot to us especially the seniors,” Army receiver Ali Villanueva said. “We’ve tried for four years now and this is our last chance to get it. They’re a great football team, but we obviously have a chance. We have a chance to beat every single team we play on our schedule. It’s a test, a new season for us right now, so we just need to come out and prove to everybody that we can do this.”

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Cincinnati needed some help to get into position for a BCS title game appearance.

One domino just fell, as Iowa lost to Northwestern. The No. 5 Bearcats should move up at least one spot in the polls and could be behind only Florida, Alabama and Texas in the pecking order.

Provided, of course, that Cincinnati takes care of UConn today. This result could have two effects. The Bearcats could get distracted thinking about how the path to glory has opened up a bit. Or they could realize that any team can be upset if they don't play their best.

I'm guessing Brian Kelly emphasizes that latter point before the game.

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The dream is over for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Northwestern shocked No. 4 Iowa behind a dominant defensive effort and just enough offense. Iowa backup quarterback James Vandenberg couldn't rally his team, which had lost Ricky Stanzi to an ankle injury in the second quarter.

Corey Wootton's sack of Stanzi in the end zone changed the entire game. Iowa's 13-game win streak is over, while Northwestern has won its third straight at Kinnick Stadium and is now bowl eligible.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

Colt McCoy needed to have the kind of game that would make Heisman voters take notice today.

It appears he's doing just that against UCF -- and more.

McCoy has already topped his previous career high as he's passed for 452 yards early in the fourth quarter.

His 88-yard touchdown strike a few minutes ago to Jordan Shipley extended the Longhorns' lead to 28-3. Shipley has already accounted for a Texas record with 272 yards on 11 receptions.

McCoy should get a bounce from this game throughout the day. When Texas' highlights are replayed on football games during the rest of the afternoon and evening.

He couldn't ask for a better performance.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Michael Floyd is officially back.

The star receiver was in the starting lineup for Notre Dame, and on the first play from scrimmage, Jimmy Clausen passed to him for a first down. Floyd got the first hit out of the way as he returned from his broken collarbone.

Great sight for Notre Dame fans.

<em>Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller</em>

STANFORD, Calif. -- It's a spectacular fall day at Stanford Stadium, but the <a title="recent news" href="http://espn.go.com/blog/pac10/post/_/id/4914/stanfords-defense-takes-huge-hit" target="_blank">recent news</a> for the Cardinal hasn't been terribly sunny.

The loss of linebacker Clinton Snyder, a four-year starter, to a season-ending knee injury this week is not good news at any time. And too bad for Snyder who's labored away during down times and now will miss a potential bowl berth.

With Oregon coming to town, fresh off a 47-20 dismantling of USC, a big hole in the middle of the defense -- physically and emotionally -- doesn't bode well for Stanford. The Cardinal are going to need their best to slow <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=381755" target="_new">Jeremiah Masoli</a>, <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=379314" target="_new">LaMichael James</a> and the jet-fueled Ducks offense.

How the heck is Stanford going to stop these guys?

Stanford has struggled this year against fast teams. Oregon is the fastest team it has and will face. Heck, Oregon is probably as fast as any team in the nation.

Maybe Stanford's power-rushing attack plays ball-control keep-away. But can the defense, which will use fullback <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=237161" target="_new">Owen Marecic</a> in Snyder's stead -- yeah, he's going both ways -- force Oregon to make mistakes? The Cardinal has gathered only eight turnovers the entire season.

Oh, and that Cardinal offense is facing the Pac-10's No. 1 defense, one that's forced 20 turnovers this season.

Special teams? Both teams are outstanding on that front. And the Ducks might even be a bit better there, based on kicker Morgan Flint and a better punt return game.

It seems there's no margin for error if Stanford is going to pull the upset.

Still, there are obvious elements for <a title="an upset to take place" href="http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2009/11/04/pac-10-football-10-reasons-stanford-beats-oregon/" target="_blank">an upset to take place</a>.
<ul>
<li>Oregon could be flat after its celebrated, emotional win over USC.</li>
<li>Stanford could off-set Oregon's speed with its power.</li>
<li>Stanford quarterback <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=380470" target="_new">Andrew Luck</a> could have a monster game. Or maybe that could be running back <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=188524" target="_new">Toby Gerhart</a>.</li>
<li>It's hard to go unbeaten in the Pac-10. USC did it in 2004 and 2005. UCLA in 1997-98. Odds are not great Oregon won't slip again before season's end.</li>
<li>And, you know, Stanford has some history in the upset department. The Cardinal ruined the Ducks' perfect season in 2001. They also stunned a 41-point favorite a few years back, you may recall.</li>
</ul>
Still, for those of us who have watched Oregon gradually grow into the juggernaut that dominated USC last weekend, it's hard not to expect to the Ducks to emerge with a victory.