Former Foes: Week 6

It's Week 6 of the season which means things are half in the books.  Conference races are starting to heat up as the natural flow of things settles into place.  Penn State won a meaningful game in a manner that felt like a win and made most of Nittany Nation a little less, shall we say....  suicidal?  You know what else makes a fan base feel good about their team?  When the teams you already played are doing well.  That's why we give you Former Foes, a look back at past opponents. 

So, did Eastern Michigan avenge Temple’s loss to Toledo?

That would be a ‘no’.

Eastern Michigan (3-3)

Lost to Toledo 54-16 

Toledo is becoming a thorn in the side of Penn State’s former foes.  A week after pounding Temple, the Rockets beat down Eastern Michigan by 38 points.  Toledo blew open a 23-9 halftime lead with four straight unanswered scores (3 TD’s & 1 FG).  The Rockets used a two-headed monster at quarterback (where have I seen that before) with Ausitn Dantin and Terrance Owens each tossing 2 TD passes and combining for 203 yards.  The Eagles came into the game leading the MAC in rushing but where held to 89 yards as Toledo outgained Eastern 542-227.

Next up: Central Michigan 

Indiana State (4-2)

Lost to Northern Iowa 23-9 

Midway through the fourth quarter, Indiana State trailed Northern Iowa 13-9.  ISU managed to drive to the Panthers’ 28-yard line but someone named George Cheeseborough* fumbled and Northern Iowa recovered.  Panthers QB Tirrell Rennie, who was an effective 10 of 14 passing for 142 yards, put together an ensuing scoring drive ending with his 36-yard TD toss to Terrell Sinkfield.  The 20-9 deficit was too much for ISU to overcome.  Shakir Bell was his usual self rushing for 145 yards on 14 carries. 

Next up: Western Illinois

#3 Alabama (6-0)

Beat Vanderbilt 34-0 

Alabama slept through the first half and didn’t put the hammer down until they opened up the second half with three straight scoring drives.  It didn’t matter though because Vanderbilt couldn’t muster much offense against the nation’s best scoring defense, getting only 190 total yards and only 8 first downs.  Vandy was 1 for 10 on 3^rd down and managed only 48 yards total in the second half.  Tide QB AJ McCarron had a career day throwing for a personal-best 237 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Trent Richardson chipped in 107 yards and a touchdown to extend his streak of 100-yard games to 5 in a row.                

Next up: Ole Miss 

Temple (4-2)

Beat Ball State 42-0

Temple scored twice in each of the first two quarters to take a 28-0 halftime lead and never looked back.  Bernard Pierce became Temple’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns when he scored his second of three in the second quarter.  Pierce ran for 121 yards and fellow Owl running back Matt Brown added 114 yards on 15 carries and a TD.  Temple QB Chester Stewart put in a workmanlike performance completing 10 of his 13 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown. 

Next up: Buffalo 

Indiana (1-5)

Lost to Illinois 41-20 

Hey, Indiana actually had a 10-0 first quarter lead, but then Illinois scored 4 TD’s in the first and second quarters to take a 27-13 halftime lead and cruised from there.  Illinois WR A.J. Jenkins caught 6 passes for 182 yards and 2 long touchdowns (77 and 67 yards).  QB Nathan Scheelhaase combined for 298 yards of offense and 4 touchdowns.  The lone bright spot for Indiana was Hoosier freshman Shane Wynn who took the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown.  The only other touchdown was by true freshman QB Tre Roberson who had a 2-yard scoring run in garbage time.

Next up: #4 Wisconsin

*congratulations, there’s your dairy related municipality reference of the day