CFB Carousel

When will this ride ever stop? Hopefully never....

If you happened to catch the Rutgers/South Florida game then you were in for a treat - South Florida is the latest top 10 (hell, top 5 team) to go down. Here's a stat for you - Rutgers turned the ball over 3 times (2 on muffed punt returns) and had a huge delay of game penalty in the last minute that had them punting out of their own end zone with a 3 point lead...and they still won. USF did have a turnover, but not until the last play of the game on a hail mary. Ray Rice had 180 yards. Finally, USF was 2 of 14 on third downs - that's criminal. Several great trick plays in this game....great ones.

What a season this has turned out to be. You all know I'm one of those die-hard CFB fans, but if you can't get into this season than I don't know what to tell you - I mean, does the word underdog have any meaning at all this year? I think not.

So I could blow all of your minds with my insightful analysis of the big UT/Baylor matchup, but let's be honest - Baylor hasn't been relevant since the mid '90s when one Zach "Dragon" Butler was dominating the linebacker position in Waco. But since that's not the case anymore, we'll just call it this:

Texas - 66
Baylor - 12

Fun Longhorn Fact for the week - when Colt McCoy completes 20+ passes in a game, they're 5-0. In both losses this year, he completed 19. OUCH!

Texas Tech at Missouri:
This is a tough game for Tech and if this were any other year, I would literally take the deed to my house and put it on the Tigers 10 times over - especially coming off that ass whoopin' over the aggies. But not this year. No, I feel like these Red Raiders may surprise some folks and actually challenge those Sooners for the Big 12 south. We shall see, but with Harrell kicking it up a notch and young Crabtree blowing the doors off the record books, I just think they may be ready to break out of the Holiday/Texas/Independence/who knows what other bowl they usually settle for.

Missouri is tough and you know they're thinking what may have been last week - they were in the lead heading into the fourth quarter, but had 2 4th quarter turnovers that killed them. Of course, that's precisely why I'm picking Tech. Missouri's defense has improved over the past few weeks, but Tech's offense is a whole other story. And, the Tigers will be without their starting running back.

More on the big game of the weekend: http://fannation.com/blogs/post/69145

Texas Tech - 53
Missouri - 24

Michigan State at Ohio State:
9 times out of ten, I would pick OSU by a long shot. And you know what, they probably will win this game, but this starts the Buckeyes' stretch of real games. In case you haven't been paying attention, they have played NO ONE! And, I have the inside scoop from a bona fide Buckeyes fan that he guarantees the Buckeyes will lose at least one game this year - in particular their trip next week to Happy Valley. Following that they get Wisconsin and Illinois at home followed by the annual trip the Big House. Don't rule out the Wolverines in that one this year - Lloyd needs a swan song.

Look for OSU to come out and struggle early before pulling ahead to win a closer-than-it-should-be game.

Ohio State - 27
Michigan State - 20

Auburn at LSU:
The thing is, if this were any other year, LSU would be practically out of the title race - not this year...not by a long shot. With South Florida's loss tonight, LSU is primed to climb right back up into the top 2. A convincing win over Auburn would just about secure that. I do think Auburn will put up quite a fight, but LSU is just too good and they have to motivated knowing they're still in this thing.

I'm taking LSU in a big bounce-back win and ultimately climbing back into the top 2 or 3.

LSU - 32
Auburn - 19

Florida at Kentucky:
If there was ever a let-down game for Kentucky, this is it. You gotta remember that Kentucky isn't used to this kind of success on the gridiron - this isn't basketball. Florida has had a week to think about their tough loss to LSU and get ready to get back on track. Much like LSU, Florida can still climb back into this hunt - they may need a bit more help, but that doesn't seem to be a problem these days.

Keep an eye on Andre Woodson in this one - if he can lead the Wildcats to another big victory, he should propel himself to the top of the heisman race (more on this below). This should be a hell of a game, make sure you don't miss this one - or Tech fans make sure you tape it. I'm going with Florida here - Meyer will have these guys ready to play.

Florida - 28
Kentucky - 24

Texas A&M at Nebraska:
Rrrriiiiight. Here's a prediction for you sports fans. Let's just assume that one of these teams whips the you-know-what out of the other one. Should that happen, I'm betting the losing coach is gone within 72 hours.

What has happened in this conference where Nebraska (yea, Nebraska) and the Aggies are that bad??? The Aggies I can understand....they're aggies. But Nebraska? I just don't get it. Both of these programs have quite a long way to go to get back to prominence. I'm so curious to see what direction they go in heading into next year.

I think that Osbourne coming back to Nebraska (as interim AD) will help - I just can't imagine the Huskers losing ANOTHER home game, especially after getting embarrassed last weekend with the '97 championship team on hand to watch. I'm going with the home team here to win a big game.

Nebraska - 27
Texas A&M - 16

More College Football:

• Upset Special: Look out for Oregon traveling to Washington. The Huskies got a lot of early hype and may have the toughest schedule this year outside of the SEC. Don't be surprised to see them knock off the ducks this weekend.
  
• I'm still sticking with OU and LSU playing for the national title
• Look out for USC visiting Notre Dame this weekend - I can't wait to not watch that game
• Kansas visits Colorado this weekend....the winner will have the outright lead in the Big 12 North division - what the hell is going on in this conference?
  
• If I'm the Texas A&M AD, I'm aiming VERY high for my next coach and I'm sure as hell keeping ALL options open - didn't believe they passed on Kubiak then and really can't believe it now. What a missed opportunity.
  
• Franchione on the other hand...I'll be very interested to see where this guy goes.
  
• How about this for some pub for the Crabtree fellow: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/13/sports/ncaafootball/13tech.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin

Heisman Time:
Well hell, I guess it's time to start talking about this again. Those of you who know me and have read my musings over time know how I feel about this award - it has become one of the biggest joke of an award there is in any sport at any level. Specifically, it's a beauty contest....period. Nothing more and nothing less.

With that said, you can't get into the heart of the CFB season without it coming up once, twice or a thousand times. So with that, I'm giving my picks for the top players so far this year.

Graham Harrell - I mean, are you kidding me with his numbers? Averaging over 400 yards/game and completing a sick 74% of his passes with 31 touchdowns to just 3 INTs. In all honesty, there isn't a player who comes close to touching this guy in terms of performance...and he's only a junior.

Michael Crabtree - Well, maybe this guy could be touching Harrell in terms of performance. This guy is on his way to shattering single-season records this year...as a freshman and if they can keep him around for 2 more years, he'll blow career records out of the water too. Class rules be damned - send this kid to New York or the powers that be will have officially ruined any last ounce of legitimacy this award may have.

Glenn Dorsey - This guy is ridiculous good. I know it's not cool to look at defensive players for the award, but this guy can single-handily dominate any offensive line. Even the games where he is held in check for 3+ quarters (Florida game), he still finds a way to make a big impact down the stretch. Without question the single best interior defensive player in the country...without question.

Tim Tebow - Dare I utter these words. This guy may be as good or as or even better than Vince Young when all is said and done. He needs a better running back to take the pressure off (and he'll get it next year in the USC transfer). Love him or hate him, he's very good.

Andre Woodson - His performance in the win over LSU put him up here. Another win over Florida this weekend and he'll climb this list by at least one. He's uber talented and a winner.

NFL Notes:

• Speaking of Vince Young - he's had a couple of rough outings (3 INTs, 1 fumble and no TDs in past two games) including an injury last game. GASP, could it be the Madden curse? Doubt it. He goes to Houston this weekend where I suspect he will do what he does best - put a team on his back and win.
  
• I know Griese has thrown about the same number of INTs as Grossman, but he's moving the ball better and certainly gaining more yards. I think they made the right move, but at some point, that organization needs to pull the trigger on a franchise QB - they do not have one right now.
  
• I think the 5 or 6 best teams in the league are in the AFC. I suspect the Cowboys are probably the best team in the NFC, but they could play the Patriots 5 times and I don't think they would win any of them.
  
• Let's please chill out on the "will the patriots go undefeated" talk - it's WAAAY too early for that. I mean, 5 games into the season the talking heads are harping on this. We're 2 weeks away from the halfway point and the Patriots still travel to Indy, Baltimore and NY (for the Giants). When they're 11 or 12-0 then we can talk. Additionally, you look at that division right now and they'll clinch the division title within 3 weeks which makes you wonder if they may start holding back, especially in the last few games. They close out the year at the Meadowlands against the Giants and you can be damned sure that they will rest their stars in that cold weather. And you can also count on that game meaning something for the Giants. I predict a 14-2 season for those Patriots.
  
• Game of the week this week - Indy at Jacksonville. Good test with the Colts coming off a bye week where they should be back to full strength.
  
• Don't count out the Giants...I'm just saying.
  

MLB:
That's right, another rare coverage of this year's baseball playoffs.

• I'm not a huge baseball fan, but you have to get excited about what the Rockies are doing - I mean, 21 of 22 games? That's crazy. I wonder how this layoff will affect them though.
  
• With the series going back to Boston, I'm going with the Sox to pull this one out.
  
• You know, a lot of folks really don't like the Yankees. I mean, really don't like them. After what the organization did with the Torre situation, I can finally get it. I've primarily been of the opinion of "who cares", but that more has to do with ESPN's constant coverage of a story that just wasn't there yet. But this, this is just a half-assed way of trying to look like you didn't fire the greatest manager of this generation. How do people like this get jobs like this? It's the same with Isiah Thomas - a true legend as a player, but completely and utterly incompetent as a general manager. I need that gig - you can have hundreds of thousands of dollars per year with no real accountability. And hey, if you don't do your job well, we'll fire you, but you get some wicked buy out. Shameful behavior by the Yankee organization - if I'm A-Rod I'm bolting faster than you can say Cubs.
  

College Basketball:
That's right folks, college basketball. Bet you didn't see that one coming. Actually, I was sitting in an airport the other day watching ESPN News and they were covering Big 12 media day. Good stuff - here's a few highlights and look ahead to the upcoming season.

• Tough position for Kansas State's new coach (Frank Martin I believe) - following Huggins is tough anywhere much less following him a year after he turned the program around. They were right at or just below/above .500 for the past 5-7 years and they broke out last year and ended 4th in Big 12. They were able to keep their star recruit Beasley so they should have a solid lineup coming back. Gotta route for this guy in this very tough situation - his window of opportunity will be short.
  
• Oklahoma State was really decimated by departures - I'm betting they struggle quite a bit this year.
  
• So yes, I know, Kevin Durant has moved to the Pacific North West, but let's try and get past that folks. Seriously, if you look at this Texas team and, for just one second, forget that Durant was ever here - this team is stacked. The whole team will have to collectively step up to make up for KD's impact. We all know what DJ Augustine is capable of, but he went to the tank for the conference and national tournament last year - we can't have that. But the opportunity isn't larger for any returning player than Damion James. He was overshadowed by the big 3 last year (Durant, Augustine and Abrams), but if you remember, he showed flashes of greatness. I think he'll really step up big time this year - I'm hoping he'll be the player that we all hoped Mike Williams was going to be. I look for Texas to compete for the Big 12, but ultimately I'm going with Kansas.
  
• 2 of the most fascinating teams I'm looking forward to seeing: Kentucky and A&M. Specifically, how will that stacked Aggie team do with a new coach and how will Gillespie deal with the Kentucky pressure.
  
• My Big 5 for next season: Kansas, UCLA, Memphis (returning all starters), Tennessee (I just love Pearl) and UNC (like I'm not putting them in here somewhere).
  

That's what I got folks. I'll do a recap before next week, but I'll be on hiatus for next week's games as I'll be kicking it in the British Virgin Islands for a week.

Strange Days in CFB

Wow! Are you kidding me - what a crazy and fantastic year for college football as a whole. Will be very interesting to see what the first BCS polls look like in a couple of hours. I'm betting Ohio State is at the top with a melting pot of various "who?" programs. I'm most interested to see where Oklahoma falls - early projections had them at #13, but that was before the Mizzou game.

I hope Mack keeps the film from that Iowa State game for next year so he can show it to his players and remind them that the first 4 games of a season count - play like this. I know Iowa State is pretty bad and don't have anywhere near the same level of talent, but the Horns still executed well. They looked so much more relaxed and it was nice to see Davis not force the running issue - they just lined it up and threw it. Granted, Texas did end up with over 200 yards rushing, but half of that came from Chiles and McCoy. The nice thing is it was spread across 6 runners total (including QBs).

Most important, they did not turn the ball over AND they forced 3 turnovers - of course the last one came on the last play of the game. Special teams did give up some yardage (150 yards), but Texas was kicking off all over the place. And very nice to see John Chiles in there with his wrinkle - however, I'm not so sure this guy can pass worth a crap. I say that because he only attempted 1 yesterday and I think he's only attempted about 5 or 6 total passes connecting on maybe 2. I'd like to see them open it a bit with him and let him get involved early - especially if you can throw a 2 or 3 TD lead up early. Let's see his arm.

Don't want to make too much of this given the competition level, but it's good for them to continue to improve - they'll be entering a hellacious part of the schedule after the Baylor game next weekend and if they can play like they did yesterday, they could very well run the table. I'm not saying they will, it's just nice to see some semblance of energy and "loose-ness", they really looked relaxed. I expect to see a lot of the same next weekend in Waco.

Tech over Aggies:
I'll tell you, when the aggies marched right down the field to score on that opening drive I had a bad feeling about that game for Tech. But man-o-man, kudos to Tech for making adjustments and completely shutting them out after that. Very impressive win for Tech and I'll tell you this, these guys should be in the top 20 in the AP and Coach's polls. Harrell is continuing to raise his completion percentage (81% yesterday) and yet again throws no picks. As impressive as Tech has been, they travel to Columbia next week to play the Tigers. I don't think they need to win this game to maintain and even pick up more national respect, but they have to play well and really compete. I do think they will give Missouri's defense fits (what else is new), but I think they will have a very hard time containing the Chase Daniel offense. We shall see, but impressive win for the Raiders.

And how about those Aggies? I think we may see them go on a free fall here to close out the year - their schedule is brutal and they just don't look like a very good football team at all. If they get blown out over 2 or 3 straight weeks, don't be surprised to see them give Fran the heave-ho before season's end. He's clearly not effectively communicating or motivating these guys - at times, they look as if they have no idea what they're doing. And you absolutely can't be one dimensional. You have to be able to throw for more than 130 yards per game with no TDs (it's something like that). I'm not sure where these guys go from here, but I predict things getting worse in Aggie land before they start getting better. And perhaps Mr. Lane should refrain from making any more bold predictions. Yes, we know you can score from the one every time - carrying a team takes more than that though.

More on the Red Raiders: http://fannation.com/blogs/post/67721

Kentucky over LSU:
And here's where it all came crashing down. I'm heartbroken I missed this game (had to go to wedding), but I cannot believe that the Tigers lost. As you know, I really thought these guys are above it all and playing at a whole other level. Don't under estimate that regular season - not anymore.

I can only imagine how furious those Tigers fans may be - I know a couple of die hard fans and I imagine they are pissed..I've seen it before. But the good news for Tiger fans is this: unlike many of the past years, having a single loss, on the road to a top 20 team by no means keeps you out of the hunt for title contention. USC is clearly far more inferior than anyone ever expected; Cal lost to a far worse team; South Florida still has a tough schedule ahead and you've already beaten South Carolina. The teams to most watch out for, I believe, are Oklahoma and Ohio State. The good news is that LSU plays a tougher schedule than both of those teams going out. Oklahoma has Tech and that's the only real significant opponent. Ohio State has Michigan to close out the year, but given the death penalty that the media has seemingly imposed on these guys (which is clear now was way to severe), not sure how much that will help the SOS cause. LSU still has Auburn and Arkansas, not to mention the probable SEC championship game. Besides, LSU's schedule up to this point has been far more brutal than Ohio State's or Oklahoma's. And I still believe that South Florida and Boston College have a loss looming - and the later you lose, the worse off you are. I'm still sticking with the Tigers in the title game - against Oklahoma.

Oregon State over Cal:
OUCH! Man, what a kick in the crotch - Cal had #1 sealed up by a mile...even with a last-second win here. Reminds me of the year when Tennessee had been beaten late, in the SEC championship game, which ensured Texas a spot in the National Title game if they beat a very under-matched (and previously dominated) Colorado team. Enter Simms and you know the rest of the story.

Anyway, sorry Bears, but that stuff can happen with a backup QB in a game like that. And yet another perfect example of how turnovers can kill you. The Bears led the Beavers in all major categories...except turnovers and time of possession. Just can't do that and win games, especially close games.

Other College Football Notes:

• You've heard me harp on how overrated Colt Brennan is (I'm not suggesting, nor have I ever, that he's not a talented QB, he's just not so talented as to draw the attention he gets), but I think Friday's game proves it. Granted, he did bring his team back in OT to win, but he also put his team in a position to have to - he had 4 picks. I think that if you get him away from Hawaii, he's an average QB at best. I'll say it again, he's not doing anything that's any better (not close actually) than what Graham Harrell is doing at Tech.
• Speaking of Tech, assuming everything stays constant, there's no reason why Crabtree's name shouldn't be included in the heisman discussion. Given he's a freshman (which shouldn't matter), you probably won't hear it much.
• One note on the USC game - Arizona put the ball on the carpet 5 times and lost 3 of those fumbles....and USC needed every bit of that to knock off a very bad Wildcat team.
• I'm shocked at what Oklahoma State did to Nebraska...in Lincoln this past Saturday.
  
• "Fire Warning" - Next week the Aggies visit Lincoln, Nebraska to take on the train wreck that is the Nebraska Football team. Why is this significant you ask? If this game is a blowout for either team, look for the strong possibility that the losing coach gets fired after the game. The way both Fran and Callahan have fared this season, another big-time loss would be devastating. Either way I think both coaches are done after this season with their respective schools. Still can't get over how bad the Huskers are.
• Who in the world is going to win the Pac 10???
• For those of you wondering - Boston College is off next week and then they still go to Virginia Tech, get FSU at home, go to Clemson and Maryland and get Miami at home. Still a fairly formidable schedule there...look for them to suffer a loss before it's all said and done.
  

BCS Extravaganza:
Just saw the first BCS rankings and here are my initial reactions:

• Initial feeling is that I agree with the top 5 - you could put them in any order really (OSU and BC definitely at top), but I think it's fair and accurate.
• I'm always skeptical of teams being ranked higher than teams that, literally, just beat them. So is the case with LSU being 3 spots ahead of Kentucky - I gotta think the wins over Virginia Tech and Florida are the differences there. An even worse example is the fact that Tennessee put a beat down on Georgia and they are behind them by one spot. That's not right.
• One small surprise in the conference representation: SEC has most teams in BCS top 25 with 7, followed by.....the Big 12 with five. More on this below...
• Don't know anything about Virginia this year, but surprised to see them there.
• Florida is still in this thing, but they really need a big win this weekend at Kentucky.

The Great Conference Debate:
So every year we hear more and more about debate about who's conference is better - even I get sucked into this discussion on a annual basis. So which is the best conference...this year? First and foremost, let's all agree that this is cyclical topic - it changes every year...or every few years. Remember when the Big 12 boasted the dreaded Nebraska Cornhuskers (as opposed to today's pushover Cornhuskers), Bill Snyder's Kansas State Wildcats, the usual suspects in OU and Texas and back then, A&M was a solid program that could beat just about anyone on any given Saturday.

Then you have the Pac 10 with it's revolving door of up-and-coming teams, that is until USC started it's reign of dominance a handful of years ago - no one can argue with the Trojans. But, in all of Cal's good years, they can never seem to beat USC (yes, I know they did it like 4 years ago, but it's time to let that go) and they always lose a game they're not supposed to - ALWAYS. Every few years Oregon goes on a nice run and winds up 10-2 or 9-3 and playing in the Holiday bowl. Other than that....

The Big 10, which proved both last year and this year to be a pretty big fraud of a conference, yet again finds itself on the top of the BCS rankings. Sidebar here - do you wonder if Tressel has sat back lately and looked at this poll and said, "how the hell did this happen?"

Anyway, Big 10 is definitely down - Wisconsin was a fraud and we all knew it from day one, Michigan isn't near as bad as the media would like them to be, but they still lost at home to a D2 school. And then there's everyone else - that conference is riddled with mediocrity and inconsistency this year...except those Buckeyes.

The Big 12 is quite the enigma this year. Of course you've got Texas on a down swing this year and A&M is quickly approaching rock bottom. OU continues it's dominance - and let's be honest, OU has played great with exception to 1 quarter of football (4th quarter against Colorado). And, they've played a pretty decent schedule thus far beating both Texas and Missouri in tough games. Remember, Missouri led going into the 4th quarter on Saturday before a fumble returned for a TD changed the game for good.

But outside of the big names, let's look at the rest of the guys - you've got Colorado and Kansas at top of the Big 12 north (they square off this weekend) with Kansas an impressive 6-0 this year thus far. Nebraska, like the aggies, is on it's way to rock bottom and a coaching change, but Kansas State is looking to turn that program around as well. I'm not ready to concede that Tech has taken the next step because they simply haven't done anything thing they don't normally do - I'm looking for them to get a big win against either OU or Texas and then win out on the games they're supposed to (they ALWAYS blow a game that they're not supposed to towards the end of the year).

ACC and Big East are very similar in that there are a bunch of chumps in the conference, but when you look at the top 5 or 6, no one wants to play those guys on any given week. Would be nice to see Boston College make some noise late into the season...but I still think they have one more loss in them at least. And the Big East just keeps beating each other out of contention. South Florida still goes to Rutgers and to Pittsburgh and gets Cincy and Louisville at home. Could very easily lose any one of those games.

And then you have the SEC - top to bottom, I really believe, the best conference out there. LSU and Florida in the same conference...surrounded by the likes of South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas and now Kentucky. Who in the world wants to play those teams year in and year out?

I'm not saying it's always like this, but for now, the SEC has the crow in terms of conference talent programs.

NFL Notes:

• Ugh, VY has yet another horrible game - 1 INT, 1 fumble and no TDs...against Tampa Bay. C'mon Titans, don't crumble this early. They travel to Houston next week so hopefully he'll break out in front of HIS home crowd.
  
• Memo to Cowboys - you may want to actually show up in the 1st and 4th quarters...especially when you're playing the Patriots. Nice game, but New England is just too good and exposed the Cowboy secondary.
  
• 2 straight losses for the Cowboys...they need a big win to snap this streak.
  
• Did anyone see what Peterson did against the Bears' mighty defense yesterday? WOW! We always knew this guy was a stud - especially when he ran 220 yards against Texas as a freshman. He'll be the premier back in the league in less than 4 years. By a mile.
  
• So much for the Texans turning it around this year...man did they get pounded.
• You know the NFC is bad when, at least as of right now, the Cowboys and Packers are the two best teams by a long shot. If you're the Cowboys you have to be thinking home field advantage assuming it plays out like this - you do not want to play Green Bay in Wisconsin in January.
  
• How about those Saints?
  
• I've really never liked Tom Brady (this is based on nothing really), but this guy is just putting up unreal numbers this year...5 TDs yesterday against the class of the NFC.
  
• Romo is so far away from being in the same league as Brady and Manning it's not even funny. But, he can get there if he continues to improve like he has.
  
• I'm going out on a limb - Rams go 2-14 this year.
  
• Who in the world scheduled this Monday night game - Giants at Falcons!!???