The Sports Bar Review: That Was a Close One Michigan!

Word of the day at Michigan Stadium Saturday afternoon? Relief, as Michigan escaped with a 28-24 win over the Akron Zips. 

     Devin Gardner totaled 351 yards, (103 yards rushing), and 3 touchdowns in the win. That's the good news, the bad news? 4 total turnovers including 2 in the red zone (Michigan red zone conversion streak ended at 46, longest in the country),  and an interception returned for a touchdown when it seemed Michigan was taking the game back into their own hands. Akron controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, out played, out hit. and out hustled The Wolverines all game. Two opportunities inside the Michigan 5 yard line fell short in the final seconds as Michigan somehow found a way to win the game. Akron walks away from this game thinking they should have won, and unfortunately for them, they're right. Michigan nation, before you spend the week chastising this team remember this: A win is a win, there is still a zero in the loss column, and this coaching staff will do everything in their power to make sure this doesn't happen again. Michigan plays at Connecticut Saturday at 8pm. 

    A lot of people were thinking Alabama at Texas A&M was the premiere game of this entire 2013 season just 3 weeks in. It may be a little early to give any game that title, regardless, both teams lived up to the billing as The Crimson Tide beat the Aggies in College Station 49-42. Led by Quarterback AJ McCarron ( 20/29 - 334 yards - 4 touchdowns ), and tailback TJ Yeldon ( 25 carries - 149 yards - 1 touchdown ), The Tide rolled to 35 unanswered points after being down 14-0 early in the first quarter. Heisman trophy winner Johnny Manziel totaled 562 yards and 5 touchdowns, but his 2 interceptions ( 1 in the red zone - and 1 returned for a touchdown ) turned out to be the difference in the game. Texas A&M wide receiver Mike Evans led Aggie receivers with 7 receptions for 279 yards, including a 95 yard touchdown catch. The score of this game is slightly misleading considering that Alabama was up 21 points two different times during the game. A costly fumble by Yeldon at the Tide 1 yard line swung the momentum, but wasn't enough as Alabama hung on for the 7 point win. Alabama hosts Colorado State this weekend, while Texas A&M hosts SMU at Kyle Field.

    Michigan State rolled over Youngstown State 55-17. It looks like the Spartans have found some offense under Quarterback Connor Cook ( 15-22 - 202 yards - 4 touchdowns ). Defense was great as usual ( 8 total first downs - 172 total yards - 2 turnovers ). We'll see if the offense can keep it up this weekend in South Bend.

    The Big Ten and The PAC 12 held a 4 game set this weekend with the Pac 12 taking 3 of the 4 games. The lone Big Ten victory, a 52-34 win at Cal with Braxton Miller on the shelf with a sprained knee. Quarterback Kenny Guiton stepped in and won Big Ten offensive player of the week honors ( 368 total yards - 4 touchdown passes ), Jordan Hall rushed for 168 yards and 3 scores, while Devin Smith caught 3 balls for 149 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jared Goff led the way for the Golden Bears ( 31/52 - 371 yards - 3 touchdowns - 1 interception ), receiver Chris Harper caught 6 of those balls for 115 yards and 1 touchdown. The OSU offense was just too much for Cal, totaling 608 yards.

    It looked like Nebraska was going to cruise to an easy win with a 21-3 lead mid way through the second quarter. Think again, Husker fans left shell shocked as UCLA ripped off 38 unanswered points ( 28 points in the 3rd quarter ) en route to a 41-21 win in Lincoln. Brett Hundley totaled 355 yards and 3 touchdowns, and the Bruin defense locked in, shutting out Nebraska for the final 37 minutes of game time. The Nebraska defense was a huge issue again, giving up 504 total yards. Going 3/14 on third down conversions did not help either. Nebraska looks to get back on track against South Dakota State this weekend.

    Washington out lasted Illinois 34-24 in a neutral site game played at Soldier Field. Keith Price ( 28-35 - 342 yards - 2 touchdowns ) and Bishop Sankey ( 35 carries - 208 yards - 1 touchdown ) led the way for the Huskies.

    It looked like the Big Ten was going to walk away from this set with a split when Wisconsin, down 32-30, put together a drive that put them inside their own 20 yard line with 18 seconds left. The following chain of events were controversial to say the least. Quarterback Joel Stave went to center the ball and took a knee, dropped the ball on the ground and attempted to get the offense on the ball to spike it, having no timeouts left. A Sun Devil defensive player covered the ball thinking ( or acting like ) it was a fumble, and did so for about 6-8 seconds with the officials just standing there. By the time the officials set the ball, the clock ran out, preventing the Badgers from spiking it and getting their field goal team in the game. The officials were reprimanded by the Pac 12 on Monday, unfortunately for Wisconsin, that won't replace the sting of a game they easily could, and probably should have won.

Don't forget to check out The Sports Bar Westside each and every weekend for great college and pro football viewing. Hang out with us while the Tigers get closer to that division title and a repeat trip to the World Series. 

Our Sunday happy hour goes from open to close with $3.50/$4.50 23 oz. beers and $3.25/$4.25 wine specials. 

We provide the NFL ticket so whatever game you would like to watch, we can provide. We hope to serve you soon!!

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