Week 7 Report Card

It was a rather interesting weekend in college football. Here's a look at three teams that stood out and three teams that were a disappointment.

Teams of the Week

Mississippi State — Dan Mullen’s coaching stock continues to rise. His Bulldogs improved to 5–2 overall and 2– SEC with an improbable 10–7 win over Florida in Gainesville. Mississippi State gained only 2 in the245 total yards and completed just four passes, but it was enough to knock off the suddenly mediocre Gators. Mullen is now 4–1 against the SEC East in his one-plus season in Starkville.

Texas — Mack Brown has no doubt had bigger wins during his tenure at Texas, but few games had to be as gratifying as the Longhorns’ 20–13 victory at Nebraska last weekend. The Horns, who limped into Memorial Stadium unranked after losing two straight games, became the first team to slow down Taylor “T-Magic” Martinez, Nebraska’s dynamic redshirt freshman quarterback. Martinez entered the game ranked fourth in the nation in rushing (147.4 ypg) but managed only 34 yards before getting benched.

Missouri — The Tigers stamped themselves as legitimate players in the Big 12 North race with a surprisingly easy 30–9 win at Texas A&M. Missouri, one of three undefeated teams in the Big 12, has now won its two league games (vs. Colorado, at A&M) by a combined score of 56–9. Gary Pinkel’s club has a huge opportunity next week when Oklahoma visits Columbia.

Disappointments of the Week

South Carolina — The Gamecocks missed a tremendous opportunity to take complete control of the SEC East, losing a 31–28 heartbreaker at Kentucky. South Carolina led 28–10 at the half and 28–17 early in the fourth quarter but had no answer for Mike Hartline and the UK offense down the stretch. With a win, South Carolina would have been two games up in the loss column on every team but Vanderbilt (one game back). The Gamecocks still lead the East, but their path to Atlanta still has several hurdles.

Ohio State — The Buckeyes’ national title hopes took a huge — and possibly insurmountable — hit Saturday night at Wisconsin. Ohio State fell behind 14–0 in the first five minutes and trailed 21–3 at the half. The Bucks staged a bit of a rally in the second half, but Wisconsin worked the clock with its running game and protected the lead.

California — This is far from Jeff Tedford’s best team at Cal, but it was still a major shock to see the Bears fall behind USC 42–0 at the half. Just one week after limiting UCLA to 172 yards in a 35–7 win over the Bruins, the Cal defense was ripped apart to the tune of 391 yards passing and 211 yards rushing. USC quarterback Matt Barkley threw five touchdowns, all in the first half, without an interception.