Rivalry Week Index

9:02: In the AM (PST), kick-off for Boise State-San Jose State, the earliest local-time kickoff in NCAA I-A history.
15: Tds in game.
15: Successful PATs. I’d be interested to see the last time two kickers put together such a hefty number.
1: Missed field goals, each.
1: Fumbles and interceptions, each.
3: Offensive drives, each, in the fourth quarter that gained zero or less yards.

20: Seconds into Miami/NC State game that devin Hester took the opening kickoff back for a touchdown. It started what was a long night, and not just for NC State.
2: Hester kick return TDs.
32: Real minutes required to play game’s first 5 minutes.
38: Real minutes required for Miami to take it’s 3rd offensive snap.
10: Real Minutes required for first-half’s final 32 seconds.
121: Real Minutes, kickoff to halftime.

4: Consecutive home wins for Missippippi State over Florida.

Only See It Here Stat of the Week:
9.5: Yards/passing attempt for Utah’s Alex Smith.
8.9: Yards/passing attempt for BSU’s Jared Zabransky.
1, 4: Relative rank, nationally, of those numbers among all Qbs with more than 200 passing attempts.
8.6: Jason White’s Y/A, highest among BCS-conference starters. The only other BCS starter over 8.0 is Florida’s Chris Leak.

Only See It Here Stat II
3, 4: National Rank of BSU and Utah in First downs/game (26.2, 25.4).
7, T-8: National rank, same stat, of Cal, OU and Texas, the highest rank of any BCS conference teams (24.1, T-23.6)
2: Positions above LAST in D-1A, same stat, Ohio State (14.9)(!)

2: Wake Forest (4-5, 1-5) games decided by more than 7 points this year (both wins).
2: Wake Forest overtime losses.
7,3,7: Losing margin in other three losses.
Wake is at Miami this weekend.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Index Introduces… The Quiz
- Passing this week: 4/6-percent.

1. Utah or Boise State?
A) Boise State
a. 1: National rank, points per game.
b. 20: Winning streak, nation’s longest.
c. 24: Home winning streak, nation’s longest.
d. 247: Yards passing needed by Hawaii’s Timmy Chang against BSU for all-time NCAA passing record.
e. 227: Yards Chang gained against BSU.
f. 3: Change interceptions against BSU, putting #1 on THAT NCAA all-time list.
g. 3: Hawaii points, Chang’s career low.
h. 3: Teams BSU has played that were ranked when they met or are ranked now.
i. 19: Winning margin over Oregon State, one week after OSU all-but-beat defending National Champ LSU.
j. 4: Games in which Boise State has scored over 50.
k. 2: Over 60.
B) Utah
a. 30: Winning margin over UNC, the team that went on to hand Miami it’s first loss.
b. 20: Winning margin over Texas A&M, who came within a Jason White-legacy moment of knocking off OU;
c. 67: Total winning margin over 3 BCS-conference teams
d. 3: Games Utah has scored over 50.
e. 2: Over 60.
C) Not Boise State
a. 2: Field goals Boise has lined up against in the last minute that would have beat them (BYU missed and Boise blocked San Jose State’s kick to force OT);
b. 3: games won by 1 point, 3 points and double OT.
D) Not Utah… cuz it’s Boise State.

2. Michigan-Ohio State or USC-UCLA?
A) Michigan-Ohio State
a. 3: Undefeated Ohio State teams in the 1990s that lost to Michigan.
b. 2: Ohio State’s BCS rank last year before losing huge to Michigan (a stat that, though I’m sure painful to Ohio State fans, is mostly reflective of how awful the BCS system is)
c. 3: Major offensive categories in which a Michigan player is either #1 or #2 in the Big 10 – Rushing (Mike Hart, #1, 1300+ yards; receiving, Braylon Edwards, #1, 1049; QB Chad Henne, #2 QB Rating).
d. 1: Ohio State players in the top 10 of any of those categories (receiving yards, Santonio Holmes, #5)
B) USC-UCLA?
a. 31.6: UCLA’s points per game.
b. 6.7: Yards per carry for UCLA’s Maurice Drew, 3rd best average in the country, behind Cal’s JJ Arrington and Bama’s Ray Hudson (both 6.9).
c. 7.4: Yards per attempt for UCLA’s Drew Olsen (comparison: Rodgers 8.5; Jason White 8.6
d. 16: National rank of UCLA, rushing yards per game.
e. 17: National rank, for comparison, of Oklahoma.
f. 0: from the above carefully slanted items, team stats that surpass USC’s own rankings or individual stats that surpass individual stats of previous USC opponents.

3. ‘Bama or Auburn?
A) Bama
a. 2: National rank, total defense, by a lot (‘Bama holds opponents to 229.5 yds game; LSU is next at 249.8).
b. 1: National rank, passing defense, by a lot (105.8 yds/gm; NC State is next at 119.9 – Bama also holds opponents to 8.2 completions per game; nobody else is under 10)
c. 1042: Rushing yards for Alabama sophomore Kenneth Darby.
d. 4: Total starts
e. 71: Darby carries in the last two games.

B) Auburn
a. 1: National rank, scoring defense, by a lot (9.6 points per game – USC is next at 11.6).
b. 4, 5: Rank among SEC rushing leaders of Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown.

4. Texas or A&M?
A) A&M
a. 1: Points by which A&M lost to 1-6 (3-7) Baylor.
b. 35: Points A&M promptly went out and dropped on Oklahoma in a Game of Year Finalist.
c. 2: A&M touchdowns on fake kicks.
d. 8.6: Reggie McNeal’s Yds/attempt, tied with Jason White for #1 in the Big 12 (over 200 attempts)
B) Texas
a. 18: Yards in fourth-down, do-or-die scramble Vincent Young had to make to keep alive a drive to beat 1-6 (3-7) Kansas. Plus the pass interference thing.
b. 49: Unanswered points scored against Ok. State to turn a 35-7 blowout into a 56-35… blowout.
c. 5, 4: Cedric Benson touchdowns in that game and defenders he carried across the line to get the fifth.
d. 1: Benson’s national rank in attempts (270) and touchdowns (18).
e. 3: Rank in Yds/gm (159).

5. Best College Rivalry of All Time?
A) No such thing.
B) Indiana-SC swimming
a. 14: Consecutive years (1964 to 1977) in which either USC or Indiana won the NCAA Swimming Championship.
b. 9: Years in which the other was the runner-up. With the same 2 coaches.
C) There is no C. It’s either the swimming thing, or admit the absurdity of the question.

Did Auburn just peak?
A) No.
a. 57: Minutes Auburn’s defense held UGA scoreless.
b. 1: Auburn interceptions of David Green.
c. 2: Total interceptions thrown by David Green this year.
d. 3: Minutes UGA’s star receiver lay on the groud unconscious after taking a lick coming across Auburn’s middle.
B) Yes.
a. 3: Auburn opponents, to date, with winning records.
b. 3: Consecutive above-.500 opponents Auburn closes with– ‘Bama (see above), Tennessee in a (gasp!) rematch and a bowl.
c. 3: Of the remaining, on the road.
d. 7: Second half points against UGA.
e. Quotes from after UGA:
i. Tuberville: ``One thing I'd say: I'd hate to play us,''
ii. Carnell Williams: “It’s going to be hard not to vote for us.”
iii. Reggie Brown: “We’re for real.”
iv. Tuberville on Williams and Brown: ``Awesome. You can't defense them. You just can't do it.”

ANSWER KEY:
1 - It won’t matter. The BCS will find a way to skip them both.
2 – Neither. Cal, Purdue, Oregon, ASU, Minnesota and, yes, UCLA and Ohio State: Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.
3 – Over/under is 9.5, for both points and dead linemen. You basic purist's dream.
4 - 20: Electoral votes for Ohio, the fates of whom were felt nowhere more viscerally than on the campus’ that hold the Presidential papers of Lyndon Johnson and George H.W. Bush. That’s a small, not entirely fair metaphor, but because of it and a thousand other reasons, I firmly believe that of all the games in the all the land, these two schools hate each other the most.
5 – See C.
6 – Kinda sounds like it, don’t it?

PS – Heisman votes went out this week. It’s still Aaron Rodgers’ ‘til somebody takes it away.