The Long Snapper – Week 6
The week that was college football showed us exactly what the ups and downs of a typical season can be. The nation’s top team folded. An unlikely undefeated remained so. And if the BCS standings came out today, the country’s new top team would likely be #5. You know, just your typical college football season. And we love it, every single moment of it.
The biggest news comes out of Columbia where South Carolina upset #1 Alabama. It was bound to happen. The Crimson Tide looked good in their win over Florida the previous week, but appeared to be vulnerable in an earlier victory over Arkansas. The Gamecocks exposed Bama and rightfully take their place among the nation’s top teams now. With only a loss to Auburn on the books, things are looking up for Steve Spurrier and South Carolina. It doesn’t hurt that they’re also in first place in the SEC East. The Gamecocks have started strong before, but have had trouble finishing. Something feels different about this season though. This team didn’t just beat the Tide, but it was also only down to them at one point, 3-0.
On that, we’d all like to thank South Carolina. Because of their win, we no longer have to hear about Greg McElroy not losing since the eighth grade. Thank you Gamecocks. THANK YOU!
With the Gamecocks’ rise comes to Tide’s fall. Bama’s win over the Razorbacks still looks good on paper, but the victory over the Gators might not. With both Tigers – Auburn and LSU – still on the schedule, there’s a chance the Tide drop another game during the regular season. Be glad you only penciled in the Tide in as the West representative in the SEC Championship Game and keep your eraser handy. It looks like we could have a new national champion this season.
Further into the season the question of who would you rather have at quarterback has been answered. Remove everything but on-field performance from your thought process and you’re picking Cameron Newton over John Brantley 10 times out of 10. If you’re a Gator fan, supporting Brantley is a no brainer, but you have to wonder what the offense might look like with Newton taking snaps. Of course Steve Addazio would still be the offensive coordinator so it would probably still stutter. One player doesn’t change everything.
Speaking of Newton, the Tigers may have a real shot at making a run. They hold the upper hand in the SEC West at the moment. Auburn wins close games, looks better than LSU (the other undefeated) on paper, and already beat the East leader. We all knew the Tigers would take a step forward in 2010, we just didn’t know halfway through the season they would control their own destiny in terms of a path to the national championship. That’s right, they really do.
We make fun of Les Miles, A LOT, but how bad can he really be? LSU is the definition of overachiever this season. The Tigers shouldn’t have beaten half of the teams they’ve played, but still keep coming out with victories. And that’s all that counts in the end. If you go undefeated in the SEC, you go to the national title game. Even if you lose one game in the SEC, you have a great shot at playing for the championship. All Miles has done is lead LSU to 6-0 (4-0). The big As – Alabama, Arkansas, and Auburn – are still ahead on the schedule, but even with odd decisions and awful clock management, Miles has his team believing they can win them all. They won’t, the wackiness of their season will catch up to them, but they believe they can.
The new #1 might not really be the new #1. Although Ohio State holds the top spot in both major polls, experts say that if the BCS standings were out this week, the Buckeyes would find themselves in fifth. The little team that could – Boise State – and the Pac-10 leader – Oregon – would be battling it out for the national championship. There’s plenty of season left, but that doesn’t bode well for Ohio State. Even at #1 in the polls, the Buckeyes have some ground to make up in the BCS.
Ohio State might not have to do anything but win out to make up those spots though. As the season continues, the Broncos could be penalized, while teams from the major conferences will earn more respect as they continue to win. The best team right now could be any of the remaining undefeated squads, but let’s put our money on the Ducks at the moment. Oregon scores and scores and scores, but they may have a tougher path than many think. Only two teams on the Ducks’ remaining schedule are ranked (and neither higher than #17), but one of their opponents could pull off the upset. The first team that can hold the Ducks under 30 points may stand a chance. But holding them that low could prove impossible.
Nebraska and Oklahoma don’t face each other during the regular season, but we can dream of a Big 12 Championship Game matchup. The Cornhuskers have looked to be the real thing all season with only a brief hiccup against South Dakota State. The Sooners, on the other hand, are among the undefeated with question marks. Oklahoma has only won one game by double-digits – an impressive victory over FSU – and still has to face two other undefeated teams this season in Missouri and Oklahoma State.
Michigan State came as close to slowing down Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson as anyone can hope. Shoelace still managed 301 total yards of offense, but three interceptions did him in. Robinson is up to 991 rushing yards on the season and went over 2,000 total yards in the loss to the Spartans. He still is the Wolverine’s offense and Michigan State proved if you slow him (no one can really stop him), you stand a good chance of beating Michigan. With Iowa, Penn State, Wisconsin, and Ohio State still on the schedule, it’s too early to say the Wolverine’s season has been a success.
Virginia Tech has quietly won four in a row after starting the season 0-2. The Hokies have won the past four by an average of 19 points per and have put themselves in first place of the ACC Coastal. With not a single ranked opponent left, VT could easily climb back up the rankings. Don’t put them in the top 15 just yet, but the Hokies could find themselves there by the end of the regular season. The Hokies are still a good team.
Pittsburgh lost its third game of the season and suddenly the Big East favorite is fighting to get to the top half of the conference. The Panthers have an uphill battle the rest of the way, but this is the Big East we’re talking about, the same conference currently led by Syracuse. Hold on to hope USF fans, it’s far from being out of reach for anyone.
Heading into week seven, we get to experience the first schools to be knocked out of bowl contention. Among those that could end their bowl dreams as early as next week are Akron and Eastern Michigan. Thankfully for those of us that love the sport, the two MAC teams don’t play each other this season.
After back-to-back games in which he rushed for 47 and 41 yards, it’s all but guaranteed that Alabama’s Mark Ingram won’t win a second consecutive Heisman Trophy. Ingram made his season debut in the Tide’s third game of the season and looked to be one of the favorites after rushing for 308 yards in his first two appearances. Since then, Ingram hasn’t gone over 100 combined in the last two and rushed for under four yards per carry in both. Third straight year we’ve had a chance to see a repeat winner. Third straight year we won’t see one.
Stat of the Week: There are four quarterbacks among the nation’s top 15 rushers. Michigan’s Robinson leads the country in rushing yards, Auburn’s Newton leads the SEC, and Nebraska’s Taylor Martinez leads the Big 12. It clearly is the year of the running QB. Last season, only one quarterback – UAB’s Joe Webb – finished in the top 26.
Upcoming Game of the Week: #12 Arkansas @ #7 Auburn. In a game of star quarterbacks, the Tigers look to stay at the top of the SEC West standings. Auburn has only beaten Arkansas once in the past four seasons – a 9-7 thriller in 2007. Didn’t think this would be a top-12 matchup did you.
Upset Watch: #18 Wisconsin over #1 Ohio State. Terrelle Pryor went down two weeks ago against Illinois, but the Buckeyes held on to win. He rebounded through the air against Indiana, but didn’t do anything on the ground. The Badgers running game is going strong and could cause Ohio State problems. Two weeks ago this might not be considered an upset, but after Wisconsin lost to Michigan State, they fell to the bottom half of the top 25. This game could go either way and there’s a chance #1 could fall two weeks in a row.
On the Web: Where else should you be directed but FireSteveAddazio.com? The FireCoachName.coms have been popular in recent years and most are just a hate fest, but this one brings up interesting and valid points and is worth the read if you’re a Florida fan and even if you’re not.