College Football 2011 Week 9: Looking Ahead

By Cabrone D. Brewer
The debate over which school has the No. 1 team in college football lost two contenders in grand fashion last weekend, and many of us will witness yet another team get brushed to the side next weekend when No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama face each other in Tuscaloosa.
In the mean time, however, some schools are looking to garner a few votes for the No. 1 position, while some are simply looking to put the pieces back together after devastating outcomes to the previous weekend’s contests.
No. 11 Oklahoma, who recently ended a 39-game home winning streak in Norman at the direction of a surprising Texas Tech squad, takes a field trip to the Little Apple to face No. 10 Kansas State.
After taking the field as the preseason No. 1 in the AP Poll, the eleventh-ranked Sooners look to avoid dropping back-to-back conference games for the first time since 1998 against a resurgent Kansas State team that boasts the top-ranked defense in the Big 12 conference.
Despite last weekend’s hiccup at home, Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones is having a solid season, completing 65.3 percent of his passes for 2,589 yards with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Same story goes for No. 12 Wisconsin.
The Badgers fell victim to a 44-yard Hail Mary pass at the end of last Saturday’s thrilling 37-31 heart-stopper against then-No. 15 Michigan State in East Lansing. And now, for the first time in 12 meetings, No. 12 Wisconsin will face an unranked Ohio State team in order get things back on track within the Big Ten conference.
Wisconsin has lost in their last two trips to Columbus, but the Badgers will be highly focused on reclaiming their piece of the national spotlight when they visit The Horseshoe on Saturday.
No. 4 Stanford is enjoying their current success on the field, but they will face a tough challenge this weekend when the Cardinal takes on No. 20 USC in the Coliseum.
Led by Heisman contender Andrew Luck, Stanford is off to their best start since 1951 and claims the nation’s longest winning streak at 16 games. Luck threw for a season-low 169 yards last weekend, but the Stanford rushing attack complied a school-record 446 yards on the ground against the Washington Huskies.
No. 9 Michigan State is in awe after Kirk Cousins hit Keith Nichol on a 44-yard Hail Mary pass to beat then-No. 4 Wisconsin in the final seconds last weekend, but another battle looms on the horizon as the Spartans face No. 13 Nebraska just one week after their amazing victory over the Badgers.
Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez has run for nine touchdowns this season, but Michigan State enters the game with the nation’s second-ranked defense — allowing only 222.9 total yards per contest.
Check back next week for a review of all the weekend highlights and a preview of LSU-Alabama.

Also Read:
College Football 2011 Recap: Home Wrecked

College Football 2011 Week 8: In Full Swing

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