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| Week Five |
| Upset of the Week |
| REVISITED |
| Final Score (2 OT): 31 - Alabama 34 - #9 Arkansas |
| The Penn State Preview Staff almost called it, but after rallying back from a 31-10 deficit, Arkansas upset the Staff and beat Alabama 34-31 in overtime. The Staff missed the first half of the game because the Junior Interns were hungry for dinner and the restaurant that we went to refused to show the game. Nothing is worse than planning on spending your whole Saturday enjoying College Football the way that God intended during the Fall, only to realize that unbeknownst to you, there are people out there that don�t follow the sport. But we digress� The Staff caught up to the game in the midst of the third quarter when Alabama was sitting on a comfortable 31-10 lead. Now, the Staff doesn�t normally allow things like this to go to their heads, but we must admit, it feels good to call an upset. Yes, we got a little cocky thinking that this game was in hand. Next think you know, Alabama fumbles on their own 30 and Arkansas scores. The score is 31-24. What the Bleep??? Now it gets interesting. Alabama gets the ball back with 8:30 remaining in the 4th Quarter. �Run, run, run and hold on to the ball� shouts the Staff. Evidently the Offensive Coordinator did not hear the play calling from the Staff. Rather there were only 2 running plays compared with 4 passing attempts. Facing 4th down and Alabama is force to punt with just under 6 minutes remaining. Nice way to whittle 90 seconds off the clock. Arkansas gets the ball on their own 29. The Razorbacks put together an impressive drive and score to tie the game at 31 a piece with 27 seconds remaining. The Tide returns the kickoff to the 15-yard line and takes a knee. Overtime, baby!! The Tide wins the coin toss and elects to go on Defense. Facing 4th down and 25 yards to go, Razorbacks QB Matt Jones is picked off in the end zone. The Staff breathes a sigh of relief. Phew! That was a close one. Now, the Tide just needs a FG to win the game. Wait, what�s that yellow hanky on the field? Un-sportsmanlike Conduct on the Tide? There was no taunting of the Razorbacks, no helmets flying, just a joyous celebration in the end zone. �Bleep!!� yells the Senior Staff Upset Expert. 15-yard penalty means that Alabama would start their drive on the 40-yard line rather than the 25. The Tide pick up a first down on the 29 and after a few rushing attempts, face a 4th down with the ball on the 21. Bring out the FG team. The Staff closed their eyes, but according to the announcers the kick was no good. I guess we just have to take their word for it. Alabama gets the ball to start the 2nd OT. Obviously they�ve kind of had the wind knocked out of their sails, but the Staff is confident. Confident until the first play of the 2nd OT when Jimarr Gallon intercepted Alabama QB Brodie Croyle�s pass. As best the Staff could tell, Croyle forgot that it was a home game and thought his team was wearing the white unis. Easy mistake. Arkansas gets the ball on the 25 and after picking up a 1st and goal from the 10-yard line, the Razorbacks were able to get within the 2 yard line. Arkansas Chris Balseiro�s 20 yard FG kick is good to win the game. All in all, it was a wonderful game. Exactly the kind of game that you want to watch when you plan on spending your whole Saturday enjoying College Football the way that God intended during the Fall. Highlight performers were Arkansas RB Cedric Cobbs (#4, pictured above) who rushed 36 times for 198 yards and 1 TD and Alabama RB Shaud Williams who carried the ball 19 times for 135 yards and a TD. The Staff just hopes that the 82,818 people in attendance stayed in their seats during the 4th Quarter. There�s nothing worse than walking to your car with a comfortable lead in the 4th only to hear on the radio that the game ended in a thrilling OT. Week 5 Top 25 Upsets: #3 USC California #21 Washington State #10 Oregon Michigan State #13 Iowa PSU Preview Record: 2-3 |
| 31 34 (3 OT) 55 16 20 10 |
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