Monday, October 26, 2009

Whew!!!...that was a close one/ You mess with the frog, you get the horns

What a day of college football this past Saturday's slate provided. But a common theme that loomed over the country was the performances in potential let down games.

Alabama narrowly escaped against Tennesse, Florida went into a hostile environment and survived Mississippi State, Texas crushed seemingly tough Missouri and Iowa hung on to beat Michigan State on the road.

This week just provided more fuel to the discussion of who the nation’s top team is. I think by now we can narrow the discussion down to those four aforementioned teams, but beyond that I have no idea.

I have argued that Alabama is the most complete team there is in college football, but after the combination of this week and last week’s games, I am not so sure.
The Tide’s offense is speculative, despite the fact that Mark Ingram is the nation’s best player in my opinion.

The defense is great, but as we saw yesterday if you can’t score then you still have a tough time winning not matter who the opponent is.

Florida is about as tough as a bulldog on steroids, but I don’t think they have the athletes they have had in the past and their offensive style isn’t infallible because they have not shown they have big play capabilities.

I know that the Urban Meyer spread is not built to have that big play capability, but I think you need that in order to beat a team like Alabama (I don’t see Tim Tebow running over Terrence Cody any time soon.)

Iowa is still that unknown “litte guy.”

The Hawkeyes have posted somewhat impressive wins, but I still do not believe that team could even tie the cleats of a Florida or Alabama if they were to play in the national championship game.

Which is why I am so surprised to see them in the CompughterRatings.com rankings’ top spot this week.

I wonder how it is possible because they do not have an impressive out-of-conference win and they haven’t played Ohio State yet.

I will still say the win at Penn State is very impressive, so I am interested to see what this team is all about because if nothing else, they are a compelling story.
That is the kind of thing you make a movie about if the Hawkeyes figure out a way to get themselves into the national championship.

Texas is still the wildcard.

To me they still have no impressive win. They beat Oklahoma in an ugly game in which Sam Bradford or Jermaine Grisham did not play.

Saturday they pounded unranked Missouri on the road. I don’t see this as an eye-popping win although it is a good one.

At the same time Texas finds themselves in the perfect situation.

They have played the toughest part of their schedule, with the exception of the game at Oklahoma State. And if the run the table, which they probably will, they will be placed into the title game because they are Texas.

The other major subject from Saturday was TCU’s impressive victory at BYU, where to me they solidified themselves as the best non-BCS team in the country.

Sorry to Boise State fans, but if those two played right now I am taking the Horned Frogs comfortably.

TCU plays exceptional defense and have big-play athletes on offense.

Boise State is cute, as always, with their gadget plays and a ‘run around you not through you’ mentality, but TCU is the real deal because of their defense.

Not to mention the Mountain West is unequivocally the best non-BCS conference well over the WAC or any other that you want throw at me.

TCU, Utah and BYU are better than a lot of BCS teams and all three have the talent to be BCS busters this season.

I hope TCU runs the table, even though they still have to play Utah, because I think they could be a very compelling team in a BCS game.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Suprises and shake-ups continue in excess

Taylor Howsmon

I personally cannot remember a college football season that has had as many surprises or parity from week to week than the 2009 season thus far.

This weekend was no different as we saw the top four teams in the country struggle unexpectedly with one, Virginia Tech, dropping its game.

As the weeks go on it is getting harder and harder to predict what will happen.
One great example of this goofy season is the ACC.

I realize it is not the most talented conference in America, far from it, but even the most knowledgeable college football pundit must be cross-eyed by the way this thing seems to be shaking out.

After starting 0-3, including a home loss to William & Mary to open the season, Virginia now leads the Coastal division and is the only undefeated team left in league play.

Of course I don’t think that will hold up, considering the ‘Hoos have only played two games in conference, one of which was Maryland, but it is definitely surprising.
Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Miami might be the best teams in the conference but unbelievably none control their own destiny at this point.

In the Atlantic, the standings are more confusing than Sylvester Stallone’s decision to make Rocky V.

The crazy thing is that a 4-4 record could win this division, if that even works out mathematically (I became a journalist so I wouldn’t have to do math). It is pathetic, but entertaining.

Moving away from the ACC, the national championship favorite is still a mystery at this point.

I would say Alabama, but they certainly were not impressive against South Carolina at home. The Gamecocks can play defense, but their offense is so much of a joke they should start punting on first down.

The Tide had to hold on to beat them, and score a late touchdown to clinch it. Florida was even less impressive at home against Arkansas, who can score but has been giving up points right and left.

Iowa took a big step toward contention—yes, I said Iowa.

It is crazy to think the team that only beat FCS Northern Iowa by two points to open the season might be in the hunt for a title.

Especially because being the best team in the Big Ten is like being the smartest person on “The Hills”—not too impressive.

But their win at Wisconsin and Ohio State’s embarrassment at Purdue puts the Hawkeyes in the driver’s seat for the conference, and I can’t see them even having a chance to stumble until they play the Buckeyes in a couple weeks.

Texas remains undefeated after the nice win over Oklahoma, but remember Sam Bradford didn’t play and the Sooners still had a shot to win it late.

Plus, besides that three-loss Oklahoma team, the Longhorns haven’t played a team with a pulse, so there is no reason to believe Texas is a favorite.

Of course, what do I know anyway? Last week I gave you three “pretenders” who I thought were out of the BCS picture. Of those three, two had very impressive wins Saturday night with Georgia Tech beating the Hokies and USC dumping Notre Dame in South Bend.

As for my “contenders,” Nebraska got taken behind the woodshed by lowly Texas Tech in Lincoln, so clearly they are not who I thought they were.

This is really what is good about college football. We have absolutely no clue who is going to sneak up and who is going to disappoint from week to week.

As for the Heisman race, I have a new front runner. And although the nation is finally beginning to catch on, I have been saying this name for weeks: Mark Ingram from Alabama, who ran for 246 yards in Saturday’s win.

The tailback is leading the Tide to a great season and is easily the best tailback in the country. Although Bama was not impressive in their game Saturday night, Ingram was and he led the Tide to the win.

However, this observation does not matter because the Heisman is still going to go to a national darling like Tim Tebow or Colt McCoy. In theory, the award should go to the nation’s best player, but we all know that isn’t what really happens.

Instead the award goes to the one with the most exposure and who happens to be on the best team. That might end up being Ingram, but I doubt he wins the award.

We will see you next week for what I am pretty sure will be another week of unexpected wins and losses as well as Disappointments and Statements. It seems to be the theme of the year.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

BCS contenders/pretenders begin to emerge over the weekend

The conference season is beginning to heat up and the contenders are beginning to separate themselves from the pretenders around the world of college football.

This weekend, many teams placed themselves into the two categories and some just delayed the pretender tag that will inevitably meet up with them in the future.

The top team according to the majority of national rankings is Florida, who battled all the questions about their “superman” Tim Tebow's concussion and won at LSU this weekend.

The win was impressive on paper, but to me the jury is still out on Florida being the nation’s top team.

There is no question about the talent Urban Meyer has brought to Gainesville or the fact that Tim Tebow is probably the most respected athlete in college sports. Plus there is the theory that until someone knocks off the national champion they are the king of the mountain.

But with the cream puff competition they have played, and no Alabama on the schedule, how could they be considered America’s best team?

The only time the Gators will be able to prove to anyone that they belong in the top spot will be in the SEC championship game.

Alabama on the other hand has already played and won a neutral site game with Virginia Tech and a road game with Ole Miss. And although the Rebels were massively overrated to begin the year, dominant wins over both are very impressive.

Bama has one of the best defenses I have ever seen and an offense that doesn’t make mistakes while scoring points.

The Tide do not have Tebow, but they made a huge case as the nations’ best team Saturday.

As for Texas, I believe that there is a reason why CompughterRatings.com has them down at number 10.

There are high school teams that have seen better competition than the Longhorns.

I know the slate gets more difficult, but with cupcakes on their schedule such as UTEP, Wyoming and Louisiana-Monroe, and their toughest game so far being a home game against struggling Colorado, Texas has proven nothing.

To me Virginia Tech is the team that is the most interesting.

Everybody knows who the Hokies have been since a national championship run in 1999: a defensive juggernaut who's offense has been as smooth as a drunken frat guy.

But this season has been different since their miraculous win against Nebraska.

All of the sudden the Hokies have found their offensive mojo. With wins against the Cornhuskers and Miami under their belt, the Hokies have nobody else on their schedule that poses much threat.

After their game next Saturday at Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech’s toughest remaining game is a Thursday night match up with North Carolina in Blacksburg.

In other words … I like their chances of running the table.

With the AP and Coaches’ top four out of the way, here are some other contenders and pretenders in the BCS hunt along with their CompughterRatings.com ranking.

Contenders:

Oregon (7) - Despite a disastrous opening weekend, the Ducks have now beaten Utah, Cal and UCLA. They are inching closer to contention for the top spot in the Pac-10.

Iowa (4) - Big wins over Penn State and Michigan have given them a great position in the Big Ten. A win against Ohio State later this season would get the Hawkeyes recognition.

Cincinnati (13) - Tony Pike and Mardy Gilyard are two of the nation’s best players whom you have never heard of and in a less than stellar Big East, the Bearcats will have a chance to run the table.

Nebraska (15) - The Cornhuskers moved into the driver’s seat for the Big 12 north title with a huge win at Missouri last Thursday. Despite the loss at Virginia Tech, they could win the rest of their games with no Texas or Oklahoma State on their schedule.

Pretenders:

USC (9) - The Trojans had the slip up at Washington and although they have a big win at Ohio State on the resume, the freshman quarterback and tough Pac 10 schedule will be too much in my opinion. Remember, they still have to play at Oregon.

Georgia Tech (14) - The Yellow Jackets simply do not have the defense to contend for even an ACC title, or the offense to help them come back in games which they are down. I think this team fades in a major way down the stretch.

Kansas (18) - Sure they are still unbeaten, but the Jayhawks’ schedule is an even bigger joke than Texas’. When Duke is your best opponent so far, it is hard to take them seriously. With Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska still on the schedule, Kansas better prepare to take their lumps.