Well, all, said, this past weekend was about as it was supposed to be. There were no monumental upsets, and really not even any small upsets. Sure, Georgia beat Florida, but no team has beaten the Bulldogs three times in a row since Mark Richt has been the coach.
Florida was still looking at going to the SEC Championship Game after defeating upsart Kentucky last weekend, and the emotions of that game almost carried them to another victory. However, the Bulldogs sacked Tim Tebow six times and didn't allow the Gator offense to get rolling.
Penn State was hoping to make things interesting for No. 1 Ohio State as the Buckeyes rolled into Happy Valley, and the largest crowd ever at Beaver Stadium never saw Ohio State's punter. The Buckeyes converted long drive after long drive on a solid Nittany Lion defense, and the crowd was stunned even at the half. Even with College GameDay on hand when many thought the better game would be in Eugene, Oregon where the Ducks were battling (and beating) mighty USC, Penn State wasn't able to make much noise. The crowd was loud and raucous, but even they were unable to stop the Buckeyes as the No. 1 team rolled to a 37-17 victory. Ohio State has not lost a regular season game since 2005.
Nebraska was reeling. And when I say reeling, I go back to 1961 reeling. The Huskers have lost three in a row at home, and they were facing possibly losing four in a row for the first time since '61. Their opponent: Texas, and Longhorn coach Mack Brown looking for his 100th win as Texas head coach. The game wasn't supposed to be much. Texas was favored by three touchdowns. The news must not have gotten to Lincoln, though. Well, at least until the fourth quarter. The Huskers led 17-3 at one point and 17-15 in the fourth quarter before Jamaal Charles found his groove, piling up more than 215 rushing yards in the fourth quarter against a defense that blitzed more often than not and held him below 70 yards the first three quarters. Charles rushed for three scores in the fourth quarter, and the Longhorns were able to recover an onside kick after the Huskers had scored a touchdown and converted a two-point coversion to make the score 28-25 late in the game. The Huskers couldn't stop the Horns on third and long, and the game was over with, handing the Big Red their fourth straight loss.
Things don't get easy for the Nittany Lions, Gators, or Huskers, either. Penn State plays two of their next three games on the road, including a season-ending matchup at Michigan State. Florida's final SEC game is against South Carolina in Columbia, and then they face rival Florida State to end the season in Gainesville. Both Penn State and Florida have gimme games in between, though, as the Nittany Lions play Temple after hosting Purdue next weekend, and the Gators are hosting Florida Atlantic in two weeks. For the Huskers, though, they have no gimme games. Needing to win two of their next three to become bowl-eligible, Nebraska travels to undefeated Kansas next weekend, hosts Kansas State, and travels to Boulder to play Colorado, who has defeated both Oklahoma and Texas Tech this season. All three games are against divisional opponents, and the Huskers will have to play lights-out like they did against Texas to salvage any hope of a bowl berth and possible winning season.
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