College Football Recap: Week 10 - College Football News, Tips And Picks

College Football Recap: Week 10
By Tom Hansonl
Posted: 5:00 am PDT 2006-11-06

Did you hear the collective sigh of relief in Columbus and Ann Arbor?

For the first time this season, Ohio State and Michigan. the No. 1 and No 2 teams, received scares on the same week. And it presents a few questions.

Did their struggles open the BCS door for Louisville, which beat West Virginia in one of the best college football games of the season? Or did the Buckeyes and Wolverines look less than spectacular because maybe they are saving themselves for their game on Nov. 18?

Ohio State finally faltered. OK, the Buckeyes didn't lose. But they are no longer undefeated against the spread.

After nine straight weeks of dominance, covering large spread after large spread, Ohio State showed the bettors that it's human after all.

A 27-point WagerWeb.com favorite, the Buckeyes jumped out to a 17-0 lead but had to hang on to a late onside kick for the slim touchdown victory over Illinois.

"I don't know what (being the) overwhelming favorite does for us. It doesn't spot us any points, or get us any first downs," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said

But this isn't bad news for Ohio State. In fact, it might be a good omen. Remember 2002, Buckeye fans? Oh, that's right, you'll never forget going 14-0 and winning the national title (I won't mention the ridiculous penalty against Miami). And in the third to last game of that season, Ohio State needed overtime to be a lowly Illinois team, 23-16.

Tressel found the good in another tight win.

"Every time you're tested and every time you're bruised and battered, it's always good for you," Tressel said. "In life or in football you learn more in your suffering than you do in your wonderful moments."

The Wolverines' close call won't hurt their national title chances. They stopped Ball State on fourth-and-goal late in the fourth quarter when the Cardinals could have possibly tied it.

Wolverines QB Chad Henne even admitted that his team might be too caught up in getting ready for the Big Ten showdown that will decide who is No. 1.

"That's a lot of the reason why we weren't focused," Henne said. "People were reading too many press clippings."

WE ARE WORTHY: Louisville's win over West Virginia strengthens the argument that the first poll of the season shouldn't come out until the middle of October.

The Cardinals started the season ranked 13th. West Virginia started out No. 5. After Louisville's convincing 44-34 win, it's easy to say the so-called experts didn't have a clue.

I think Louisville, especially since it has overcome losing its top running back for the season (Michael Bush) and its starting quarterback for three weeks (Brian Brohm), deserves to play for a national title if the Cards win out. Brohm agrees.

"If we win out, I think we deserve to (play for national championship) but it is out of our hands," Brohm said. "We have to keep on going and play hard because it's out of our hands. We can't afford to have a hangover or get too emotional. We've got one day to celebrate and then get back to work to beat Rutgers. Everyone is going to love practice because we have something to work for."

Louisville, which should jump up to No. 3 in the rankings, has another chance to argue its case against Rutgers on Thursday night.

And there is one argument for those who say the Big East is an undeserving conference. The Big East has the best non-conference record against other BCS conferences.

HEISMAN HIT: Ohio State QB Troy Smith also had his streak stopped. For the first time this season, Smith failed to throw a TD pass. Give some credit to Illinois' defense, which sacked Smith three times and forced him to hurry six other throws.

'There were times where I really had to dig down deep,' said Smith, who was for 13-for-23 for 108 yards and one interception, 'and understand that I'm going to have to take some of these hits to continue to play this game.'

Don't look for Smith's Heisman's hopes to take a hit. Everyone has one off game.

Notre Dame's Brady Quinn did have an impressive game -- 23-for-35 passing for 346 yards and four TDs. But that was against North Carolina.

The Heisman may come down to two games. If Ohio State beats Michigan, Smith is a lock. If Notre Dame can beat USC on the road, Quinn has a chance for the upset.

GATOR GONE: Florida beat Vanderbilt, but lost a cog on defense.

The Gators kicked defensive tackle Marcus Thomas off the team before Saturday's game against the Commodores. The school released a statement during the fourth quarter announcing the move.

"Marcus did not meet his responsibilities and obligations to remain on the team," Coach Urban Meyer said in the statement.

Thomas had been suspended indefinitely in September for a second violation of the school's substance-abuse policy, but was reinstated in October and played against LSU, Auburn and Georgia.

In his shortened season, Thomas recorded four sacks and 26 tackles.

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