Obsessing over the statistical anomalies and minutiae of close and closer-than-they-looked games that could have gone the other way.

Iowa State 9, Nebraska 7. No secrets here. Nebraska turned the ball over a stunning eight times -- three interceptions and five lost fumbles, one on the first snap of the game -- and it gets even more ghastly than that: Three of those giveaways occurred inside the ISU five-yard line, and another came inside the Cyclone 20. Rarely has a game ever been given away quite so literally.

There's not much more to say about a performance like that, except that it's a wonder the Cyclones only managed nine points, even without starting quarterback Austen Arnaud and starting running back Alexander Robinson, the engines of an underrated offense through the first half of the season. That's partly a testament to the 'Husker defense, and partly a testament to so few of the turnovers actually resulting in good field position: The only two drives ISU began in 'Husker territory ended with one successful and one missed field. Its only touchdown drive did come off an interception, but it covered 83 yards, more than half of those on one play, a 47-yard touchdown pass from Jerome Tiller to Jake Williams. It was also the only Cyclone drive of the day that began in 'Clone territory and didn't end in a punt.

Bottom line going forward: Nebraska was horrendous, minus-eight in turnover margin, and still had a chance to win at the end.

West Virginia 28, UConn 24. On the heels of the Huskies' last-second loss at Pittsburgh on Oct. 10, the loss in Morgantown dropped UConn to 1-2 in Big East with two heartbreaking losses in the last three weeks, but at least they know they have a downfield passing game for the first time in years.

Sophomore Cody Endres is averaging nine yards per attempt for the season, more than three yards better every time he lets go of the ball than any other Husky quarterback since program icon Dan Orlovsky graduated in 2004. Endres' last four starts have produced three of the four highest single-game passing totals at UConn in the five years since Orlovsky called it a career, including 378 yards Saturday, the Huskies' first 300-yard passing game since Dan-O hung 445 on Syracuse in October '04. Receiver Marcus Easley is beginning to look like the first downfield threat here in well over a decade, at least, with three straight 100-yard receiving games, all featuring a long touchdown catch -- against the Mountaineers, it came on an 88-yard streak that put the Huskies up 24-21 in the fourth quarter.

Where the offense came up short, though, was in turnovers (Endres threw three interceptions, the last a tipped ball that ended UConn's potentially game-winning drive in the final minute) and in missed opportunities: On three of their first four drives in the second half, the Huskies blew chances inside the WVU 35-yard line with two missed field goals and a fumble, respectively. The special teams also broke down out of the gate, allowing a 98-yard touchdown on the opening kickoff that cut the Huskies' margin of error to nil to the rest of the afternoon, and despite the rejuvenated passing game, there were still plenty of errors.