Nebraska 56, Washington 21: What a dominating second half from the Huskers on both sides of the ball. They limited
Jake Locker and forced him into a pick-six that gave them a four-touchdown lead. And we can probably count on
seeing Taylor Martinez channel more T-Magic throughout the rest of the season. Washington's defense isn't anything to be scared of, but he still looked like a guy the Huskies had no hope of covering. Nebraska's offensive line helped pave the way for
three 100-yard rushers on the day, led by
Martinez with 137 yards. If Nebraska's offense keeps playing like this, it's bad news for the rest of the Big 12. The defense hasn't looked dominant, but to win a Big 12 title, they won't have to be if the Huskers keep running the ball like this. Tonight they're gonna party like it's 1999. Sorry, Bill Callahan.
Colorado 31, Hawaii 13: A good win for Colorado on Saturday, and a much-needed one. Like I mentioned earlier, it's a good sign that the Buffaloes eliminated the big mistakes that led to them getting romped in California, but two other big things pop out:
Negative momentum has caused the Buffaloes plenty of pain in the past two seasons, but they fell behind 10-0 early in this one. They rebounded to outscore the Warriors 31-3. We haven't seen that from Colorado in awhile. Also,
Toney Clemons showed off some of the talent that made him the Preseason Newcomer of the Year in the Big 12, catching a 73-yard score from
Tyler Hansen, who didn't have an interception on the day after throwing three last week. Clemons' first touchdown was a big one. All good things for the Buffaloes to build on before they get two weeks to prepare for Georgia.
Oklahoma 27, Air Force 24: Is this how it's going to be for Oklahoma? Air Force is a good team and a unique defensive challenge, so who knows exactly what to take away from this, but Oklahoma let Air Force into the game late with two sustained drives.
Landry Jones looked very pedestrian against a better defense (26-of-42, 254 yards, TD), but he played well enough to win. If Oklahoma
bounces back like they did after nearly losing to Utah State, look out Cincinnati, who hosts Oklahoma next week after getting beaten soundly by NC State on Thursday night.
Ryan Broyles continues to be quietly outstanding, catching 10 balls for 116 yards, but was held without a touchdown.
TCU 45, Baylor 10: This one's not final, but clearly, the Bears have a long way to go. I still like their chances for a bowl, but they can expect more blowouts like this if they play to a similar level against Oklahoma, Texas or other teams in the Big 12 South. TCU completely dominated this game, and there's not many positives to take away for the Bears. They let
Ed Wesley run all over them for over 160 yards and
Andy Dalton took anything he wanted from the secondary, completing 21-of-23 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns. Not a good showing, and maybe that 21-point line Vegas set for the game really was crazy. Just
not like I thought.
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