Real Kato Blog: College Football Recap: Week 10

Michigan loses to Iowa; N.C. State shuts out UNC.

Michigan 16, Iowa 24. There comes a point in most Michigan football seasons where we, as fans, resign ourselves to the fact that this will not be a championship year after all, that mediocrity is our fate, and that our likely bowl destination is something named for a web site or auto repair shop. This is that point.

If the Michigan State loss wasn't enough of a reality check for the most optimistic fans, this loss should have been. In this game we saw a number of flaws exposed: linebackers who are unable to flow quickly enough to fill run gaps; receivers who are unable to get separation downfield; Al Borges and his sometimes erratic play-calling; Denard Robinson's lack of polish as a drop-back passer.

It would be very easy to fault the referees for their poor officiating at the end of the game, but this is a game Michigan did not deserve to win anyway. Turnovers, a lack of quarterback pressure, and a dismal offensive effort until the last ten minutes of the game: that will not get you far against a quality opponent.

The Illinois game is shaping up as a must-win. Nebraska and Ohio State are still winnable games, but not with efforts like this.

Grades: Offense D, Defense B. On offense, I am starting to tire of what seems to be a random mishmash of plays that don't complement each other. We are seeing exactly what we feared before the season: an offensive system that has taken a Heisman candidate and made him into one of the least effective quarterbacks in the conference.

I thought the defense played reasonably well, though I do wish we had blitzed more against a quarterback who has previously looked shaky under pressure. There are some obvious holes on the defense (lack of linebacker speed, soft cornerback play, lack penetration by the defensive ends) but Michigan still held Iowa to just 302 yards. If the offense had managed to hold onto the ball, I think the defensive effort would have been enough to get us the win.

N.C. State 13, UNC 0. Wow, what on earth? How does UNC go from putting up 49 on Wake Forest to being completely shut out against State's suspect defense? I suppose it helps that UNC's starting quarterback Bryn Renner was beaten up early and knocked out the game in the third quarter, but the real story is that N.C. State utterly stuffed UNC's running game. I'm not sure if this was State really stepping up or UNC utterly folding, but regardless, it's a potentially season-saving win for the Wolfpack and maybe a career-saving win for Tom O'Brien.

Other Notable Games:

#1 LSU beat #2 Alabama 9-6 in overtime in the Oversigning Bowl. LSU's defense is frighteningly good, and there's still a possibility we'll see these teams rematched in the national title game.

#3 Oklahoma State beat #14 Kansas State 52-45, in what seems like the polar opposite of the LSU-Alabama game. The teams combined for 1082 yards of offense.

#6 Oklahoma kept its title hopes alive, beating a pretty good Texas A&M team 45-21.

#7 Arkansas beat #9 South Carolina 44-28. Arkansas is not out of the SEC race just yet; if they manage to pull off a season-ending stunner against LSU, we could end up with a three-way tie in the SEC West.

#8 Oregon beat Washington 34-17. Oregon is quietly hanging around too, waiting for the undefeated teams ahead of them to slip.

Northwestern shocked #10 Nebraska 28-25, even though Dan Persa was knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury for the second half. I've always thought Northwestern was a better team than their record indicated. I didn't expect them to beat Nebraska, though, and I'm starting to wonder about Nebraska's lack of consistency.

#17 Michigan State needed a fourth quarter rally to beat Minnesota 31-24. Minnesota seems like they're in the midst of a miraculous turnaround; the remaining game are not easy (Wisconsin, Northwestern, Illinois) but it's possible they might score an upset somewhere along the line, they way they've been playing.

UCLA upset #19 Arizona State 29-28.

#20 Wisconsin got back to form, demolishing Purdue 62-17.

Ohio State was tied at the half against hapless Indiana, but pulled away in the second half and won 34-20. Ohio State had 55 yards passing; on the year they're 118th in the country in passing yards. I don't know why teams don't just put eight or nine guys in the box against the run against these guys.

Notre Dame fell behind to Wake Forest but shut them out in the second half and escaped with a 24-17 win. The Irish are salvaging a respectable season after an 0-2 start.

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