2009 College Football - Week 6 Recap

I had so much hope for this week. I was hoping for monumental upsets. I was hoping for a huge shake-up in the national title picture. I was hoping some conference races would be thrown for a loop. But I got none of that. And for that, I'm not a happy college football fan. But that can all change this next week with such a great slate of games. But before I look ahead at Week 7, time to take a look back at Week 6.

THE BIG 10 THINGS I LEARNED FROM THIS WEEK

1. UF more than Tebow - If you read my preview post, I didn't think Tim Tebow would play. Obviously, I was wrong. But after watching that game, it almost felt like he didn't play. He wasn't really an impact in the game. Instead of dominating the game like he does in most games, he just managed the game a la Craig Krenzel, Matt Flynn, Chris Leak, and other QBs who were BCS champs but not spectacular. The Florida defense impressed me a ton with how they shut down the Tiger offense. Also, the Gator running game was great, allowing Tebow to hand the ball off 80-85% of the game while controlling the clock. If I was a Gator fan, I'd feel really good about the team after that performance.

2. What if? - This is strictly for an OSU fan like myself. What if the Buckeyes would have beaten USC? What if Matt Barkley's final drive would have ended with no score? Think about it. First off, one has to think that OSU would be ranked in the top 5, probably 4th after UF, UT and Bama. They also would have the opportunity to get quality wins over the likes of Iowa and PSU, two top-15 teams, and a Michigan squad that is slowly gaining respect. Of course, getting to the title game would still take a loss by one of the big 3 ahead but to at least be in that conversation would be fun. Eh well....

3. Welcome to the 2009 season - It was a shot of reality to Missouri and Auburn this week. For Mizzou, the shot came from Nebraska. For 3 quarters, Mizou looked to be a legit unbeaten that could hang with the likes of Nebraska. But then Zac Lee and the Huskers took over and exposed Mizzou as a team that just had a fortunate schedule. The same may be said of Auburn, who also has had a favorable schedule to begin the season. Against an unranked Arkansas team, the Tigers never were in sync offensively or defensively. Maybe it was just a bad game for the Tigers but even so, the games only get harder with the likes of Ole Miss, LSU and Alabama still to come.

4. MAC Race is on - Look out Owls, the Bobcats are coming. Last week, I talked about how I wished OU would get some respect among the MAC East. After two road wins against MAC opponents, I think that's happening. The Cats have 4 of the last 6 games at home, including against Temple, also undefeated in the MAC East. That game on November 27th could determine the division. Glad to see the Cats even back in this discussion. Myabe Frankie Solich isn't a bad coach after all.

5. Pac-10 Race is on - Right when it looked like Stanford was going to stay perfect until they faced the best of the best, the Cardinal fell to Oregon State. Meanwhile, Washington shocked Arizona on a freak play. USC of course has already lost to the Huskies and needs to Oregon to lose at some point. But the Ducks have already beaten Cal and UCLA and are the only team perfect in the conference. There's a lot to be figured out still, though it could easily be settled if Oregon beats USC and keeps on winning. But something tells me that's not the case.

6. Big East battles - I am convinced that just about Big East game is going to be close. There are a lot of mediocre teams this season except for Cincinnati, which makes for a lot of close contests. The thing is, these mediocre are capable of great performances, including one that could take down Cincy. Every game is going to be a battle for every team and the favored team better be ready.

7. ACC Atlantic Awfulness - All the sudden, the ACC Atlantic is turning into the Big 12 North. Just like the North has struggled to keep up with the great play of the South, the Atlantic is falling way behind the Coastal. The ACC right now is being held up by the play of VT, Miami (FL) and GT. All of them play in the Coastal while disappointments like Clemson, FSU and Maryland play in the Atlantic. These kinds of things are always cyclical so things will change soon enough but for now, the winner of the Atlantic shouldn't be proud. They should just be fortunate they aren't in the Coastal.

8. Teams Falling Apart? - It's the halfway point for many teams and for some, it's also time to look in the mirror and wonder what's going wrong. Georgia began the year 3-1 against one of the tougher schedules in the nation. But after a heartbreaking loss against LSU, the Dawgs laid an egg against Tennessee, in what may have been the worst played game by UGA in the Mark Richt era. Meanwhile, the Ron Zook era may be coming to a close as long as Illinois keep struggling. The Illini are 1-4 and showing no signs of recovering from their sluggish start. They benched Juice Williams and that didn't work. So what will? Finally, don't look now but Michigan has lost 2 in a row and QB Tate Forcier was rocked in their loss to Iowa. Can the Wolverines recover or will they fall apart? Time will tell.

9. National Title Race clearing up - Here's what I can decipher. It's fairly safe to say the winner of the SEC title game will be in the BCS title game, provided they have just one loss. As far as the other team, it's going to be either Texas, VT, USC, or Cincy. That's it and that's all. OSU is out with USC beating them. Iowa needs some help as well from the aforementioned 4 teams. Kansas would have to beat Texas in the Big 12 title game. Boise State or TCU needs to be the only undefeated team among 2-loss teams. And Oregon is pretty much done for sure but a convincing win over USC could help them a ton.

10. Heisman Watch - Colt McCoy was strong yet again and keep his hold on the top spot in my book. Tebow didn't play his best game but considering the circumstances and the media's love affair with him, the fact that he played is probably worth the award alone. Other top contenders like Tony Pike and Jimmy Clausen were off this week so not too much to report on here. For now, these 4 seem to be the only real contenders but there's still time for others to show up.

11. A Look Ahead - As great as the matchup were last week, this week may be better. Just look at some the great Top 25 matchups. Cincy-USF on Thursday, Oklahoma-Texas, USC-ND, GT-VT and S. Car-Bama. And other potential upsets such as Boise St-Tulsa, Iowa-Wisc, and Mizzou-OKST. It should be an amazing weekend of games. And I didn't even mention Miami (OH)-OU. Oh the humanity!

OVER/UNDER
- Tough decision here but I'm gonna say that NEBRASKA is my UNDERRATED team of the week. Don't forget, the Huskers are just one Tyrod Taylor TD pass with 11 seconds left from not only being undefeated but also in the BCS championship discussion. What the Huskers did to Mizzou just shows what kind of team they are. Yeha, they were down on the road playing in awful conditions. But they didn't use that as an excuse. Instead, they scored 27 points in the final quarter, proving they are the more superior team. Bo Pelini has this team on the right track.
- As far as the OVERRATED team, I'm going with AUBURN. Their record made everyone believe they were ready for national recognition and a top-20 ranking. But the Tigers choked and now must work their way back. There is talent on this team but to think they would win 9-10 games was ridiculous. Getting to 8 wins would be a great accomplishment for this team and event I'm not sure that's gonna happen with the teams they have left.

HE/SHE SAID WHAT?
"I can't root for Jimmie Johnson to win the Nextel Cup b/c of all of his Super Bowl wins."- Matt Millen

3 QUESTIONS

1. After Arkansas great performance against Auburn, can they give Florida a run for their money?

2. Now that FSU is 2-4, is it safe to say the 'Noles need to make a coaching change?

3. Will Boise State be able to stay at #5 or will they be jumped because of their weak schedule?