College football news: Miami survives UNC, Oregon wearing pink helmets
Two fourth-quarter touchdowns and the fortune of an incomplete Hail Mary help No. 10 Miami avoid a disastrous road loss.
After trailing most of the evening, Miami used a 90-yard touchdown drive to take its first lead of the second half with 16 seconds left, then hung on for dear life as UNC drove inside the Miami 30 for one last Hail Mary that bounced off wide receiver Quinshad Davis' hands as time expired. Tar Heels TE Eric Ebron was the man of the match with eight catches for a UNC record 199 yards, and he made the play of the day with this one-handed grab in the third quarter.
But even with four interceptions to his name and his two top playmakers out to injury, Stephen Morris led the game-winning drive with 3-3 passing on the final drive (and, um, 10 handoffs; Al Golden's no fool). Miami will likely stay in the Top 10 after this win, while UNC falls to an astonishing 1-5.
Todd Gurley out another week
Georgia's vaunted rushing attack was stunted last week without its top two tailbacks, and it looks like they'll both be out of action against Vanderbilt as well as Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt said he was preparing to play Vandy without the services of Todd Gurley. Fellow back Keith Marshall remains out with a serious leg injury, as the last anyone saw of him he was being carted off the field at Tennessee. Freshman J.J. Green will continue to receive most of the carries for Georgia.
New species of pink-headed Ducks sighted in Eugene, OR area
Oregon’s busting out pink helmets and socks for its game against Washington State this Saturday. It’s not (just) a fashion statement; Oregon’s auctioning off 25 of the uniforms to support the Kay Yow Foundation, an organization dedicated to fighting women’s cancers. Yow is a former head coach of the NC State women’s basketball team.
Check out the entire gallery of uniform photos here.
Florida-Michigan? At a neutral location? It’s more likely than you think
As Alligator Army notes, one of the big takeaways from the Big Ten’s accidentally leaked future schedule was a 2017 date between Florida and Michigan at an ostensibly neutral location, as it’s noted with a “vs.” Florida’s SID didn’t issue a particularly convincing denial, saying nothing was finalized without the SEC schedule. Either way, we’ll absolutely take a Florida-Michigan game in Atlanta, Dallas or wherever anyone would like to play the game. Oh gosh, what about Columbus?
Penn State lands tight end recruit
Bill O’Brien’s tight end-heavy offense picked up another weapon for the future as Penn State secured a verbal commitment from 3-star NJ prospect Mike Gesicki. Gesicki, who hails from the same high school as current PSU LB Glenn Carson, visited PSU for the Michigan game and that evidently sealed the deal. Making the commitment even more special was Penn State’s competition, as Ohio State was another finalist for his services. Star ratings be damned, beating Ohio State for any recruit is big news; doubly so if you’re a conference rival.
Stephon Tuitt may or may not be going to the NFL
Notre Dame’s massive defensive end walked back reports in a student newspaper in which he was quoted as saying he was coming back for the 2014 season.
Straight from Stephon Tuitt himself. Via Twitter, at least. RT @DOCnation_7: Can't Believe everything you read. Goodnight
— Irish Illustrated (@NDatRivals) October 17, 2013
The only thing Tuitt and his mother will commit to is the idea that he’ll finish his degree at Notre Dame at some point, which is a very, very wise thing to do.
Wisconsin LB Chris Borland is now a long-range kicker
One glaring weakness of Wisconsin’s special teams thus far this season is a lack of reliability in the field goal game, and there’s really not much leg strength there. Well, at least not with the guys who populate the two-deeps at kicker; Wisconsin does have a long-range kicker, and um, it’s All-Big Ten linebacker Chris Borland. Borland kicked extra points as a freshman, presumably out of boredom, and head coach Gary Andersen noted Borland hasn’t missed a kick in practice yet. So there’s that.
