Chapter 66

Labor Day, September 3rd

I made it back to campus around four pm, in plenty of time to make the team dinner Labor Day evening. Coach Burton had offensive and defensive meetings after dinner to review our performance against Temple. The offensive meeting was very positive. The coaches had to stretch to find things to chew us out about. The entire team assembled in the auditorium when the reviews were done.

Coach Burton launched into a preview of our next opponent – The University of Kentucky. The press was going to have a field day with this game. Coach Galen Hall, the previous Penn State offensive coordinator before Coach Burton, had resurrected Kentucky to football respectability. He retired last fall and turned his program over to his offensive coordinator, Jay Paterno. This was going to be Jay's first game in Beaver Stadium since he left seven years ago to become the head coach at Brown. Kentucky had lured him back to the FBS to become the offensive coordinator and heir-apparent to Galen Hall three years ago.

Coach Jay and Coach Hall had heavily recruited ex-Penn Staters for their coaching staff. Shane Conlan was his defensive coordinator. Zach Mills, a PSU QB from a dozen years ago, handled quarterbacks. Tony Hunt handled running backs. Ryan Reynolds, who I worked with closely my first two seasons when he was a grad assistant with us, coached their tight ends. Joe Jurevicius, newly retired from the NFL, was coaching their wide receivers. Mike Zordich coached their defensive backs.

Coach Burton warned us that playing the Wildcats was going to be like looking in a mirror. Their offensive and defensive systems were similar to ours. Our talent and will to win would be the difference in the game. We weren't going to surprise them with anything we did.

I finally got to catch up on the rest of the Saturday's games after the team meeting on Monday night. There weren't many surprises. #1 Texas took out Wyoming, #2 Florida beat Bowling Green 48-10. Ed Fritz had an excellent three quarters before his red shirt freshman backup came in to finish the game. #3 Oklahoma beat North Texas. #4 Alabama beat San Jose State. The Crimson Tide won, but needed a fourth quarter drive to win 35-29. #5 USC easily handled Hawaii.

Boise State, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan won handily, keeping their spots in the polls behind our team. Jeremy North had a dozen tackles and a sack helping the Fighting Irish to beat Boston College. Rutgers rolled over Norfolk State. Hal Long kicked three PATs and two field goals in the win. Mike Johanson had an interception in Texas' victory. Drew McCormick's West Virginia fought a tough game against Florida State. Drew carried the ball twenty-two times for 112 yards and a touchdown. Drew's contribution wasn't enough. The Mountaineers lost 24-21 to the Seminoles.

I was pleased with how my last friend's team did. Jake Kring won the dubious honor of quarterbacking the Syracuse Orangemen. Jake's team managed to beat Toledo 31-27. Jake threw two touchdowns but also threw two interceptions. For once I could send off congratulations to my buddy.

The news from the NFL was interesting too. Tyler Madden made the Giants squad. No surprise there for a second round draft pick. Mehmed Marsic was put on the Falcons' practice squad. Andrew Perkins beat out the 49er's current kicker. That was unusual but excellent news for my friend. Salim Rogers, Ben Walker and Vlad Lazlo were all cut by their teams. Evan Foster won the starting tight end job for the Saints over aging Jeremy Shockey. Shockey had too many injuries in the past two years to play at the pro-bowl level like when he was younger. There was one more surprise from the Saints. They put Max Rosen on their team – not practice squad, but on their active roster.

--oooOooo--

The week's practices went well. The coaches, Damian, Trevor and I kept the focus on preparing for Kentucky. Chip, Christian, Brian, Bob Smith, Damian and I put in extra time in the evenings studying Kentucky's defense to make sure we were prepared for Saturday. Coach Burton was right. Kentucky's defense did look like ours.

The Wildcats used a Cover 3 zone defense as their base defense. Christian, Brian and I would see three defenders in deep zones through most of the game. Chip was going to need to hit us in the seams between the zones if we wanted any deep balls. He also would need protection so he had enough time to complete the balls. They wouldn't be easy throws, but we knew Chip had the arm to put the ball on the spot if our offensive line gave him time.

I noticed last season that Kentucky used an extra d-back to shadow Eric Peters when Florida played them. It complicated getting completions to Eric. The Gators' other receivers picked up the slack. Christian and Brian would do the same if they managed to slow me down. All of us were confident we would be able to beat the Wildcats.

I gave Ed Fritz a call Wednesday night. We had a long talk about his observations playing the Wildcats. Ed's team played them every year. Ed put Eric Peters on the phone with me too. Eric had a few suggestions for me specifically. Gators fans would be happy to see our team take down an SEC Eastern Division opponent.

Trevor, Damian, Dave McCall and I met Thursday after dinner to discuss who would chair our Thon effort this year. Our discussion focused on Brian Henson, Jeff Knox, Marco Cuchiella and Jon Stafford. I championed Brian but the others preferred to have Jon run the Thon.

"Don't forget, Coach," Trevor added as we were breaking up at the end of the meeting. "You're dancing this year. There's no debate. You're dancing."

"I don't know if that's possible," I replied. "I will be teaching in Philly next winter. Anyway, who will I dance with? Penny isn't a student here. I doubt they would allow a non-student to dance."

"I'll find out, Coach," Dave offered. "I'm sure with your record of support for Thon, they will let you dance with whoever you want."

"You don't need to make a special effort for me," I countered.

"It's no problem, Coach," Dave answered. "I'm happy to do it."

Whether I liked it or not, my friends were going to get me out on the dance floor next February. I knew Dave was right. Even if the Thon rules said non-students couldn't dance, they would make an exception for me and Penny. I needed to have a talk with my lover when she got to campus next month.

--oooOooo--

The week flew by before the Kentucky game, filled with classes, homework, practices and video sessions and meetings. I talked with Dad Thursday evening. He and Liz were attending my game that weekend. They planned to take me out to dinner after the game. I agreed to the Boalsburg Steak House. Dad made reservations for us. Kelly wished me good luck at the game when I saw her at class. She promised to cheer for me.

I did some video study after dinner Friday night with Brian, Chip, Christian and Bob. We met the blue buses outside the Lasch Building at eight o'clock for the short trip over to Toftrees. The night was uncharacteristically cool for the 7th of September. The day had been overcast with a high of 70 degrees.

Our wakeup call was at 6:30 Saturday morning. I watched the weather while Trevor showered. They predicted steady 20-25 mile an hour winds coming from the northwest through most of the day. We would have scattered clouds and the temperature wasn't expected to go over sixty-six degrees. This was probably a blessing. State College could hit eighty-five or ninety degrees in early September and make conditions hell on the football field for us players.

We went through our normal preparations when we returned to the Lasch Building. We dressed and boarded the buses for the stadium. The usual big friendly crowd cheered us as we debarked on Curtin Avenue and marched into the locker room. We went outside to warm up after arriving at Beaver Stadium.

I spotted my friend and mentor Ryan Reynolds across the field as I finished my preparations. I jogged over to say hi.

"Hey, Kyle. It's good to see you," Ryan said as we shook hands. "How's stardom treating you?"

"I'm managing," I replied. "I'm learning to deal with the fans and press. How about you? Do you still like coaching?"

"I love it, Kyle," Ryan answered. We talked for a couple minutes. Anders Voight saw us and joined the confab. Ryan and Anders had been friends when Ryan was a grad assistant with us. We talked for a few more minutes.

"Hey, Kyle, I should introduce you to Joe, our wide receivers coach," Ryan said as we wound up our talk. "You two have a lot in common."

"Sure, that's cool, Ryan," I agreed.

"Hey Joe, come here a second," Ryan yelled down the line to the tall, ex-wide receiver. Joe walked gingerly up the field to our group. "Hey Joe, I thought you should meet Kyle Martin. You two have a lot in common."

"Kyle, it's good to put a face to the voice I've talked with on the phone before," Joe Jurevicius replied as we shook hands. I noticed Joe was maybe half an inch taller than me. It looked like he was carrying a few more pounds than me too. Still, both of us had height and size to dominate defensive backs.

"Thanks Joe, it's good to actually meet you," I agreed. "I appreciate all the advice you gave me when I was starting out."

"You've certainly used it well," Joe replied. "I think you found some more things out on your own. I spotted you doing some things while I was watching film from last week's game and from last year that I know Bobby and I never did."

"Thanks, I appreciate the compliment," I responded. "How do you like coaching? It's certainly a change from playing."

"It was time to quit playing," Joe said. "I've got way too many miles on these creaky knees. I had to choose between coaching and broadcasting. Jay offered me a spot, so here I am."

"Good luck today," I said as we parted. " ... but not too much luck."

"You too," Joe agreed. "Don't abuse our DBs too much."

"I'll let them survive," I agreed as I headed across the field. Turning, I called back to Joe, "I'm going to call you in the winter for Thon. We still need your contribution."

"I can probably help out," Joe called back. "I doubt anyone in Kentucky will disown me if I contribute to a Penn State charity since it is to help with cancer."

I headed inside after warm-ups. We had a light lunch before doing our final preparations. We lined up in the tunnel and waited until the Blue Band struck up our fight song to charge onto the field. Trevor, Damian, Coach Burton and I led the way.

We got settled on the sideline as the Kentucky Wildcats took the field. Coach Burton gave Damian, Trevor and me our final instructions before we trotted out to midfield to meet the referee and the Wildcat captains. It was Trevor's turn to be our spokesman.

Kentucky called heads on the coin toss. It was tails. Trevor called for us to receive the kickoff. Kentucky chose to defend the western end zone so they would have wind in their favor to start the game.

The twenty mile an hour wind aided Kentucky's kicker. The ball sailed into the end zone where Tanner was forced to down the ball. Our offense assembled at our 20 yard line.

We found out pretty quickly that our offensive line could give Chip time to throw but had trouble moving the Wildcat linemen off the line of scrimmage. It was going to be a long day for Damian and our other runners. The good news was that Chip had time to work our passing game.

Kentucky shadowed me with an extra d-back while putting everyone else in their base Cover 3 zone defense. That was no surprise. The whole college football world knew how dangerous I was. Kentucky did their research. They assigned a guy to Brian more often than not, too. Four runs and seven passes took us down the field. Chip fired the ball to Christian in stride in the seam between the short and deep zone. Brian and I blocked our guys out of the way while Christian bolted for the end zone.

The wind forced Jared Gray's kickoff down around Kentucky's 5 yard line. Their return man carried the ball out to their 27. The Wildcats' offense did remind me of ours. They played with three wide outs, a tight end and a tailback. Their offensive line protected their redshirt freshman quarterback well.

Coach Jay Paterno used rollouts, a screen play and a couple option plays to slow Trevor, Bill and the rest of our pass rush. The Wildcats moved the ball down the field much too easily for our tastes. Their QB rolled out and scooted into the end zone to even the score to 7-7 each.

Both offenses continued moving the ball through the first half, almost at will. We traded scores. Christian got loose for another TD. They scored a field goal. Christian's success forced the Wildcats to back off Brian and me. I got the next touchdown. The Wildcats got the ball back with a couple minutes left. They drove the length of the field but didn't have enough time to score a TD. They settled for a field goal. We led by an uncomfortable 24-20 margin when we went into the locker room at halftime.

Coach Adams and Coach C collected their players in separate meetings when we got into the locker room. Coach Adams preached to our offense to keep working the way we had been doing. It was critical that we keep scoring on every possession to take the pressure off our defense. Coach outlined a few wrinkles we would add in the second half but we wouldn't make any major changes.

Coach Burton spoke briefly to the whole team before turning the floor over to Trevor.

"I'd like to thank the offense for saving our asses in the first half," Trevor began. "Defense, it's time to step up and be counted. We have got to get STOPS on these guys. Who's going to stand up and show this SOBs who we are?"

"I thought I spotted something on the film last week," Shawn said as he stood in response to Trevor's challenge. "I confirmed the tell as I watched these guys operate in the first half. I GUARANTEE the next ball coming my way will be a pick. Count on it!"

"The best teams play big when things are tough," I barked. "Who are we?"

"WE ARE ... PENN STATE!" the team responded as one.

"WHERE ARE WE GOING?" I demanded.

"ON TO PHOENIX!"

"KICK ASS IN THE SECOND HALF!" Damian shouted as we headed for the field again.

Kentucky took possession of the ball to start the second half. Coach C added a wrinkle to our defense to confuse the Wildcats. We lined up in a 3-4 defense instead of our standard 4-3. Trevor stood up and took half a step back from the line like a linebacker instead of lining up with his hand on the ground the way Mike Pollard, Jerry Whitfield and Bill Daugherty did.

Coach C used Trevor as a wild card, shifting him along the line until the snap. Kentucky knew Trevor would rush the passer, but they didn't know where he'd come from. They weren't able to double team him anymore.

The extra pressure on their quarterback helped but the Wildcats still moved the ball down the field on us. Six shallow passing plays moved them down to our 42 yard line. On the seventh play Trevor lined up a half yard off the line of scrimmage on Josh Bruno's right.

At the snap Trevor took half a step back like he was dropping into coverage. Bill Daugherty rushed around the left tackle drawing him outside. Mike Pollard bullrushed forward, drawing the left guard's attention. Trevor dashed into the opening between the guard and tackle. The Wildcat tailback tried for a cut block, but Trevor hurdled him and dashed for the QB. The kid did well, getting the ball away a split second before Trevor leveled him.

The poorly thrown ball fluttered down the field. G. J. DeLuca alertly snagged it before a Wildcat could touch it. He picked up about five yards before he was tackled. It was our ball on our 28 yard line.

Our offense didn't fool around. We moved the ball crisply down the field with short to medium passes. On the sixth play the Wildcats had me double covered. The cornerback slipped as he started his backpedal. Chip spotted the error and fired the ball to me even though I wasn't the primary receiver on the play. I boxed the free safety out with my body, making a clean catch.

I spun away as the safety tried to tackle me. He didn't wrap me up properly, so I broke loose and sprinted down the field. Another d-back shoved me out of bounds at the Wildcat 6 yard line.

Coach Burton sent out Tanner Riggs to join Christian, Brian and me. We lined up with trips right (three wide receivers on the right side) and me alone on the left. We hoped the three receivers would leave me single covered. Kentucky didn't do that. I ended up double covered in the back of the end zone.

Chip spotted Bob Smith coming over the middle on a curl a couple yards short of the end zone. He fired the ball to our young tight end. Bob was hit immediately by an outside linebacker. Bob managed to use his 235 pounds to bull his way into the end zone anyway. Touchdown! Jared Gray completed the PAT. Score: Penn State 31, Kentucky 20

Our better defensive pressure forced Kentucky to be more conservative with their passes. We limited them to a field goal on their next possession. Tanner Riggs almost broke the kick return on our next possession. We took possession of the ball on our 47 yard line.

Coach Burton called for our wildcat immediately. The play was a simple end around the right. Chip blocked the backside pursuit. Bob and Brian sealed the front side to get me to the corner. Kentucky's players were disciplined and knew I could throw the ball. The cornerback on Christian kept him covered, so I tucked the ball in and ran around the end of the line. I picked up ten yards before I was shoved out of bounds.

We went deep the next play. Christian and I drew double coverage, so Chip threw the ball to Brian down the middle. Chip was under heavy pressure and floated it too much. The nickel back snagged the ball. Brian couldn't tackle him. Chip slid wide to my side of the field. I was able to run the d-back down as Chip slowed him and penned him against the sideline. Kentucky had the ball on our 42 yard line.

We couldn't hold them. The Wildcats needed seven plays, but they pushed their way into the end zone for a touchdown. Score: Penn State-31, Kentucky-30.

The wind aided Kentucky's kicker, pushing the kickoff deep into the end zone. Tanner took the touchback to give us possession on our 20 yard line. Five plays, two runs to keep the defense honest and three passes – 12 yards to Christian, an incomplete and 8 yards to Bob moved us near midfield.

Coach Burton called for another end around option play. Greg Nowicki snapped the ball to me. Brian Henson, in the slot on the weak side, occupied the outside linebacker as I sprinted across the field for the corner. Kentucky's well disciplined d-back kept Jared Cantrell covered. I tucked the ball under my left arm and sprinted down the sideline. Jared blocked his guy out of the way as I sprinted by.

The free safety made a desperate tackle at the 5 yard line, catching my heel. I tumbled and rolled to the ground in the end zone. The ref marked me down at the 2 yard line.

Coach Burton called a fade route to the corner of the end zone on the next play. I out jumped and out muscled two defenders to catch the touchdown. Jared made the PAT to give us a more comfortable 38-30 lead.

Shawn Byrd got the chance to make good on his promise on Kentucky's next possession. On the fifth play of the drive they ran a repeat of the play he had diagnosed earlier. Shawn cut in front of the receiver, snagged the ball, and sprinted down field for the end zone. Kentucky's QB caught Shawn and shoved him out of bounds at Kentucky's 34 yard line.

Coach Burton called a tailback screen first to slow down Kentucky's rush on Chip. Damian picked up a dozen yards. Chip hit me for a slant for another eight yards the next play. Brian caught a touchdown on the following play. Jared drilled the PAT through the uprights. Score: Penn State-45, Kentucky-30

Now that it was the fourth quarter, the wind drove Jared's kickoff deep into the end zone. Kentucky was forced to go eighty yards to score. Our defense gave up any pretense of playing the run. We blitzed to add to their confusion. Kentucky still managed to move the ball spasmodically down the field. Our defense forced them to accept a field goal instead of a TD. Score: Penn State-45, Kentucky-33.

Coach Burton used quick outs to the wide receivers and dump offs to Damian in the flat to burn time off the clock. Damian barreling out of the backfield with a full head of steam is a daunting sight for a 180 pound d-back. We used twelve plays to move the ball down the field. Kentucky forced us to try a field goal. The snap was bad and Jon Stafford, our holder, was forced to try to scramble and try to carry the ball for a first down. He didn't make it.

Kentucky took over with three minutes left at their 14 yard line. Trevor and our defense kept enough pressure on the Wildcats to make sure their time and timeouts ran out before they got into position for a score.

We celebrated our 45-33 victory over JoePa's son's team to the cheers of 107,000 fans. Coach Paterno normally watched our games from the coaches' box and gave our staff suggestions as he observed the action. This game, he came down to the field for the first time since his retirement as we finished our last offensive drive.

JoePa waited beside Coach Burton until the game ended and then accompanied his successor across the field to meet Coach Jay. The media swarmed around the three men as they met and talked at the end of the contest. Coach Jay and Coach Burton shared long ties to Penn State.

Jay had been a raw freshman during Coach Burton's red-shirt senior year in 1989. They continued their association while my coach worked as a grad assistant and later wide receivers coach while Jay was a member of the team and later was a grad assistant. Their association continued until Coach Burton left to be the offensive coordinator at Lehigh in 1996. My coach returned to Penn State when Jay left to coach Brown University in 2005. The three men talked much longer than the perfunctory greetings normally exchanged at midfield.

I did my interviews with local and national media before leaving the field. I praised everyone involved in our victory. Chip had thrown for over 400 yards, completing almost 70% of his passes and made six TDs. Christian's stats were best among the wide receivers. He had caught eight passes for 152 yards and two TDs. I caught seven passes for 120 yards and two TDs. I also ran for 57 yards on two carries. Brian had six passes for 102 yards and a TD. Bob Smith had five catches, as did Damian.

Hopefully our offense would play as well next week when we went out to Lincoln to play Nebraska's Cornhuskers. Our defense had better improve too. If it didn't, we would find ourselves on the wrong end of the score.

I gave Dad and Liz a call when I got in the locker room. We arranged a time to meet after I showered, changed and did my duty at the post-game press conference. I met Dad and Liz outside the Lasch Building a little after five o'clock. Dad had moved the car over to the Lasch Building parking area. We took off for Boalsburg and a nice steak dinner.

We were a little early for our six o'clock reservations. We hung out in the bar while we waited for dinner. I enjoyed a beer. Dad and Liz stuck to sodas. Half a dozen patrons came over to congratulate me on my game while we waited for our table.

Dad and I both ordered the generous cut of prime rib for dinner. Liz was satisfied with a New York strip. I caught up on some of the happenings at home since last weekend. Liz reported that our high school team went down to Drumore Friday night and walloped them 50-13.

Dad reported twenty-seven agents had returned questionnaires. Five more agents' actions had put them on my 'do not consider' list. Dad planned to start checking references in the next few weeks.

Liz revealed some information on her love life. She and Wyatt had a big fight at school on Wednesday. By Friday they had split up. As usual, details were lacking in her story. I wasn't surprised at the news.

I enjoyed the dinner. Liz seemed more mature than I was used to at home. That was a good thing. She was shopping for colleges now and would be on her own in a year. She had Penn, Princeton, Columbia, Bucknell and Dickinson on her list. Poor Dad, he was going to have to spend fortune for Liz the same as he did for Will. Luckily for him, Andy and I took care of our own college expenses.

We enjoyed dessert at the steakhouse before we departed. I had delicious Bailey's cheese cake. Dad and Liz had the chocolate mousse torte. Dad drove me back to campus. He wasn't in any hurry to leave State College. He wanted the football game traffic to clear before he headed for home. Dad let me know that he and Mom would be attending my home game against Kent State in two weeks. Andy's team was on the road at Richmond that weekend.

Trevor, Damian and Chip had everything set up for the party when I got back to the apartment. Amanda was Chip's date again this weekend. I talked with Steph during the party. She reported that this was the third weekend in a row that Amanda had been with Chip. The two hadn't announced they were a couple, but signs certainly pointed that direction.

Ashley Burton came again with the Davis twins and a few other freshmen friends. She was at the party last weekend when I was down at the shore. I guess if something bad was going to happen, Trevor, Damian, Chip and I would have been called into Coach Burton's office and read the riot act by now.

Kevin Peachey came to the party too. No surprise. If an eighteen year old freshman gets laid his first weekend on campus, he's going to tend to frequent the place it happened again, hoping for a repeat. Kevin attempted to talk up Ashley, but she wasn't interested at all. Kevin gave up after awhile and went in search of other female companionship.

I bumped into him later that evening in the kitchen as we both went for more beer.

"That Ashley is one cold fish," Kevin commented.

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"Two weeks ago we had a good time in bed," Kevin explained. "Last weekend and tonight she won't even give me the time of day. Oh well, I guess that's OK. She was a sweet piece of ass that one time."

" ... and you're wondering why she isn't interested in you?" I added.

"Yeah," Kevin agreed, nodding his head.

"Maybe your attitude has something to do with it," I said. "You're talking about her like she's a piece of meat. You had fun in bed with her. Did she?"

"Have fun?" Kevin asked, clearly perplexed. "We screwed. Of course it was fun."

"You had fun, did she?" I repeated. "Did she cum?"

"Umm ... I don't know..."Kevin replied. "I guess ... maybe?"

"Clearly not," I responded. "Thank God I had a bigger brother to teach me things." After chuckling I added, " ... and a then-his-girlfriend, now wife to set my sexist brain straight about the facts of life a long time ago."

"Making babies and things?" Kevin said. "I know about that, Coach."

"No, I mean how to pleasure a woman you're with," I explained. "You know ... foreplay, oral..."

"Blow jobs?" Kevin interjected. "Yeah, they're cool."

"No, licking her pussy," I replied. Kevin crinkled his nose and brow. "Don't even say it. Yes, I mean it. Give her pussy a good licking. I hope you weren't one of those guys that kiss her a bit, stick it in, rut around a little and explode."

Kevin blushed as stared the floor briefly before looking back into my eyes. "I didn't know any better."

"Don't feel too bad," I replied. "I'm lucky to have an older brother to set me straight."

I took about five minutes discuss my philosophy of pleasing women. Kevin listened closely. He shook his head when I finished.

"Damn, Coach, I wish I had someone talk to me like this when I was growing up," Kevin said. "It all makes sense. I'm going to have to have a talk with Allen."

"Allen?" I queried.

"You know, my brother..."

"Oh, yeah," I responded. "He's a running back on the middle school team." I remembered Kevin's fourteen year old kid brother who played for Jeremy in the end of school scrimmage last June.

"Actually Allen is JV now," Kevin explained. "He and I are going to have to a long talk when I get home again."

"Urgent talk?" I asked.

"No, probably not," Kevin responded. "He has a girlfriend but I don't think they've gotten much past holding hands and good night kisses. Thanks for the advice, Coach. Maybe I'll give Ashley another shot and make it up to her."

"Or maybe just move on," I suggested. "Let the other girls talk about how much they enjoyed spending a night with you."

Kevin headed off to try his luck with one of the other freshmen that evening. I never noticed if he was successful. The party started to break up around a quarter to one that evening. We cleaned up and headed to bed.

--oooOooo--

Sunday morning I picked up breakfast at the Mix and grabbed my copy of the Philadelphia Inquirer. I flipped immediately to the sports section to see how other teams fared yesterday.

Nothing dramatic happened with the five teams above us in the polls. #1 Texas beat UCLA handily. #2 Florida trounced the University of Central Florida 48-10. Ed played into the third quarter before handing his team over to his second string. #3 Oklahoma went to Baylor and won 34-21. #4 Alabama destroyed West Carolina 41-7.