What a week of college football. While my two favorite teams won some big games this week, others "less-mainstream" teams also nabbed big wins, making this week one of the more fun weeks of the season. Of course, the BCs championship picture isn't any clearer, as we still have 6 undefeated teams and all could make a case that they are the best. But of course, we'll never know with the system. What we do know is that we still have 3 weeks of great football left and there's still a ton to be figured out. Oh the drama...
THE BIG 10 THINGS I LEARNED THIS WEEK
1. OU - Oh Yeah! - In case you missed it Tuesday (and if you did, what's wrong with you?), the Ohio Bobcats won on national television to move to 7-3 overall and 5-1 in the MAC. And while it wasn't the prettiest win, it was a win and now, the Cats are just two games away from the MAC championship. This team has come a long way from all the preseason expectations too. Many figured a 5th place finish was about right. Others thought that once QB Boo Jackson went down, our offense would struggle. But despite all of that, the Fightin' Frank Solich's have put together quite the season. Now, just two home games from an amazing one.
2. Roses are red... - I'm not the biggest fan of Pat Forde's writing but his article on Jim Tressel had me chucking. That's because yet again, OSU is heading to a BCS bowl game, all while playing the most conservative football known to man. Terrelle Pryor came to OSU has the most athletic QB in the land but yet, he plays like Craig Krenzel, just managing the game and not making mistakes. And while it may not be the most exciting football, for OSU fans like myself, it doesn't matter. It's the winning that matters. And now, we're heading to the Rose Bowl, something that looked like a dream after losing at Purdue. Well done Buckeyes.
3. There's something in the "Gatorade" - I've seen a good amount of college football in person in my life but I've never bigger, stronger players than the Florida Gators. I was standing next to them as they were doing their stretches and let me tell you, I can see why they're so good. Every one of their players, across the board, was bigger (and probably faster) than every player on South Carolina. And that's probably the case for most, if not all, of the teams they play. On TV, Riley Cooper looks rall and fairly skinny but in person, he's 6'3 and solid. As for Tim Tebow, yeah, he's not a small guy. When he wasn't wearing his shoulder pads, it looked like he was. I wasn't the only one mesmerized by their size. All the South Carolina recruits walked over near Florida to watch them warmup instead of watching the Gamecocks. Mad props to Urban Meyer and his staff for truly recruiting the biggest and best players.
4. So how good is Texas? - You know, for all the grief that TCU and Boise State is getting for their weak schedule, it's about time to call out Texas for their schedule. Just check it out. They've only won one game against a current Top 25 team in Oklahoma State. In fact, OKST is the only team they have beaten with more than 6 wins. So while Texas has blown out just about every team, winning by an average margin of 29 pts, take a deeper look at their schedule and it's really not that impressive anymore. They are still my pick to win it all but I honestly have no clue how good they really are.
5. Horned Frogs Statement - Seriously, TCU may be the best team in Texas. I almost want to see a Texas-TCU semifinal and Florida-Alabama semifinal before we play the BCS Championship. If you don't believe TCU is good, you didn't see their game against Utah. They dominated from start to finish, winning 55-28. They ran for 342 yds while their defense didn't even allow 300 yds. And compare their schedule to Texas. TCU has faces 3 teams currently in the Top 25 (Utah, BYU and Clemson) and they won 2 of those games on the road. They also win games by a margin of 26.3. This is a very good team, no matter what conference they are in. They deserve a chance at a title game but you know they won't. Damn shame.
6. Pac-10 fun to be had - That is, if Arizona can beat Oregon. Arizona's loss to Cal was unexpected to me, especially since Jahvid Best was out. But Cal is playing great football now. In fact, playing like the team that we all thought they would from the start. Arizona though fought till the end and shouldn't be discouraged. They can beat Oregon. But the hottest team in the conference now is no doubt Stanford. They have now beaten Oregon and USC in back-to-back weeks and are showing no signs of slowing down. This was supposed to be the tough part of their schedule but instead, they're turning into their statement part. Oh, and Oregon State isn't out of it either. I don't really care which team wins the conference cause they'll prolly beat OSU anyways but it's gonna be fun to see how it all shakes out.
7. What If? - Yeah, I'm doing this again. But think about it for Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh. GT lost a hard fought game to Miami (FL), who now is falling apart. Think if they win that game. Where would they stand in the whole scheme of things right now? Same goes for Pittsburgh. They lost by 7 to NC State, who clearly are not an elite team. But now, Pitt is one and could also be in the title hunt if not for that loss. Of course, they still have Cincy to go but man, how much fun would it be to see those teams play with both being unbeaten?
8. Big 12 North Mess Clearing Up - For a while, it looked like the Big 12 North was going to produce Kansas State as its champ to face mighty Texas in the conference championship. Well, things have seemed to clear up as K-State fell to Mizzou and Nebraska beat Kansas to give them the outright lead. Nebraska is a legit team and actually has a shot of upsetting the Longhorns so this is good news for TCU, Cincy, Boise State and those of us who like a little BCS drama. Thing is, all of that could be ruined if the Huskers don't beat the Wildcats next week.
9. Notre Dame's Struggles - I've heard a lot of talk about ND and Charlie Weis' job security. As usual, I think fans are overreacting. The Irish are not a bad team and all of their losses (except maybe Michigan) and quality losses. But yet, they are calling for Weis' head. Yes, the team is 6-4, well below the expectations of one Lou Holtz, who guessed 11-1. But come on, the schedule that was supposedly easy got tough quick. Pitt was better than expected. Navy has some talent as well. Michigan got off to a fast start and USC is a quality team no matter what. And unfortunately for the Irish, they still have to play an upstart Stanford team. But if the Irish fire Weis, I really think they're making a mistake. This team needs consistency and changing coaches again is not going to bring that.
10. Heisman Watch - Not much to report here. RB Mark Ingram had another solid game but I still feel like his TD totals are not up to par for a Heisman Trophy winner. Tim Tebow had an error-free game and 3 total TD but again, nothing too impressive overall. Colt McCoy was able to pad his stats against a bad Baylor team but as I stated earlier, the schedule Texas has had may hurt his chances now. ND QB Jimmy Clausen has amazing numbers but with 4 losses, I don't see any way he wins. Boise State QB Kellen Moore makes quite the case too, with 32 TD and just 3 INT in 10 games. But don't count out Clemson RB CJ Spiller just yet. Spiller had an amazing game, throwing, running and receiving for a TD and has been the main reason behind the Tigers 5-game win streak.
11. Damn You Tim Tebow - I really want to hate Tim Tebow but I'm starting to think that may not be possible. That's because after watching him in Columbia, I've noticed he is a true class act. Despite being cursed at by the South Carolina student section, Tebow just smiled. He took time to talk to little kids and thanks the members of the Armed Forces for their service. He hyped up his team and got them ready for a pivotal SEC showdown. But what really struck is after the game, he came back from the locker room and shook every (and I mean every) hand of the Gator fans who had made the trek to Columbia to watch their team. I mean, it had to be around 250-500 hands he shook. And he's obviously also a devout Christian and incredibly humble. I hate that I can't hate him. Ugh...
OVER/UNDER
- This week's picks were pretty easy. Clearly, USC is OVERRATED. Don't get me wrong. What the Trojans beat OSU early on, I was convinced they were on their way to another special season. But now, with 3 losses, it's clear they are also in a bit of a rebuilding mode. Matt Barkley is still just a freshman and that defense, which lost quite a few big names, is just not up to stopping the dynamic offenses they see week in and week out in the Pac-10.
- As far as the UNDERRATED team of the week, no doubt that is CLEMSON. The Tigers have just crept under the radar but forget that now. They've won 5 in a row and are one win away from the ACC Championship. But look closer at this team. They have true playmakers in CJ Spiller and Jacoby Ford on offense. On defense, they have some fast and talented bodies. But check this out. Their 3 losses (that includes to TCU and GT) are by a combined 10 points. Yeah, that's it. This team is good.
HE/SHE SAID WHAT?
"The completion all the way out to midfield, to the 53 yard line." - Mark Jones
3 QUESTIONS
1. Will Tate Forcier live up to his promise to carry his team to a bowl game?
2. Will teams like Florida State and Kansas clinch a bowl game this week or go into their final game playing for their postseason lives?
3. Seriously, how long until Jim Harbaugh takes a better job than Stanford?
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