There is a new Number 1 in College Football and I am sick and tired of Sunday night games. Lets get it rolling.
Game of the Week:Texas vs Texas Tech-As Ron Simmons would say, "DAMN". This was a great game without a doubt. On one end of the spectrum you have Texas who had just beaten Oklahoma, Missouri, and Oklahoma State in consecutive weeks on the other you have a Texas Tech team ready to break on through to the other side. Texas Tech dominated the Longhorns early leading 19-0 but the Horns rallied back to take a 33-32 lead with 1:29 to go. It was a big mistake as the Red Raiders drove down field and with 1 second to spare Graham Harrell hit Michael Crabtree for the game winning touchdown. For the 2nd year in the row Lubbock was a big party. Tech has finally impressed me.
Player of the Week:Oklahoma's offense-Usually this only goes to 1 player but in this case you have to award the entire Sooner offense. Oklahoma came out on Saturday night and scored 28 points in the first 5 minutes of the game. Nebraska was just beaten as OU led 35-0 in the 1st quarter. Truth be told if OU scored like they did in the first five minutes this could've easily been 336-0. Is Bill Callahan still at NU?
Dissapointment of the Week:Georgia Bulldogs-At 3:30pm on Saturday the Georgia Bulldogs came onto the field at Alltell Stadium with the notion that if they win they could head to Atlanta the next month for the SEC Title game and possibly Miami the following month for the National Championship game. By 6:30pm the dream was over as Florida demolished Matt Stafford and Knoshown Mareno en route to a 49-10 beatdown. You'd think after the Bama game they'd hit reality but once again Florida brings them down to earth.
Surprise Team of the Week:Arkansas Razorbacks-Bobby Petrino may have turned a corner with this team as the Hogs beat undefeated Tulsa 30-23 on Saturday. Its not last year when Houston Nutt, Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, and Co. beat LSU in Baton Rouge but it felt like it. Maybe just maybe this team will succeed.
Numbers:
58.8-Colt McCoy's completion percentage in the Longhorn's loss to the Red Raiders on Saturday. His lowest all year.
35-The amount of points Oklahoma scored in the 1st Quarter in their 62-28 beatdown of Nebraska.
5-The amount of games where Graham Harrell has thrown more than 400 passing yards.
1975-The last time that Georgia Tech had beaten Florida State prior to their 31-28 victory over the Noles.
2007-The year most Razorback fans felt it was during their 30-23 win over Tulsa.
23-The amount of points Arkansas gave up against Tulsa. It was the lowest amount of points that the Hurricanes had all year.
440-The amount of total offense by Armanti Edwards in Appalachian State's 70-24 win over the Terriers, who a year earlier beat App State. Think of it this way...Armanti Edwards had more yards alone than South Carolina did as a team when they played Wofford.
The Contenders:
Penn State-The Nittany Lions were off this week but will return next week to play Iowa.
Texas Tech-It took them 2 months but they finally convinced me. Yes the Red Raiders are real. They throw the ball well and have a halfway decent run game being established and their defense has shut down both Colt McCoy and Todd Reesing.
The Deadsetters:
Oklahoma-The Sooners just killed Nebraska. They just flat out killed them. This game was over the minute it started. Oklahoma was up 28-0 with 10 minutes left in the 1st QUARTER. Bo Pelini wishes he was still in Baton Rouge.
USC-Once again the Trojans kill a Pac 10 team this time it was Washington. Fun Fact:USC has beaten both Washington schools by a total of 125-0.
Florida-Wow simply put wow. Florida went out there on Saturday and just beatdown Georgia. Hell UGA didn't score a touchdown until garbage time. This could've been 49-0 easily.
Oklahoma State-The Cowboys keep riding high this time they defeated Iowa State. With Texas falling and Texas Tech and Oklahoma coming up, the Cowboys hope to get back into the Big XII South race and National Title hunt.
The Unknown:
Alabama-Still not seeing it yet. I feel that while Bama has no competition from here til December 6th I think they may slip against LSU if not that then December 6th against(most likely) Florida will end the Tide's run.
Eliminated From Contention:
Georgia-Great Expectations isn't just a novel its the story of the Georgia Bulldogs every season and like in the book theres a sad ending.
Florida State-Gotta hand it to the Noles they fought hard to the bitter end against Georgia Tech but once again they're eliminated. However, keep an eye out for this team in the next few years.
The Heisman Hunt:
My Top 5 Heisman Contenders:
1.Graham Harrell-QB(Texas Tech)
2.Colt McCoy-QB(Texas)
3.Sam Bradford-QB(Oklahoma)
4.Javon Ringer-RB(Michigan State)
5.Michael Crabtree-WR(Texas Tech)
The Mid-Major National Title Update:
Contenders:
Utah Utes(9-0)-The Utes almost slipped to New Mexico on Saturday. If they're not careful then TCU could sneak up on them on Thursday. Just ask BYU.
Boise State Broncos(8-0)-The Broncs took it to the other New Mexico school by knocking off State 49-0.
Ball State Cardinals(8-0)-The Cards have a tough one on Wednesday against Northern Illinois so lets see if the Cards can make it.
Still Alive(At the Moment):
BYU Cougars(8-1)-The Cougs had a war with Colorado State on Saturday and barely got out of it.
TCU Horned Frogs(9-1)-The Frogs came out on Saturday and demolished UNLV. Now on Thursday the Frogs have the opportunity to clinch the Mountain West. But Air Force will be breathing down their neck until November 22nd.
Tulsa Golden Hurricanes(8-1)-Sometimes overconfidence kills. This is the case for Tulsa as Arkansas came ready to play and they beat the Canes. However, they are not out yet.
The Mid-10 Rankings:
1.Utah 9-0(Mountain West)
2.Boise State 8-0(WAC)
3.Ball State 8-0(MAC)
4.TCU 9-1(Mountain West)
5.BYU 8-1(Mountain West)
6.Tulsa 8-1(C-USA)
7.Central Michigan 7-2(MAC)
8.Air Force 7-2(Mountain West)
9.Western Michigan 7-2(MAC)
10.San Jose State 6-3(WAC)
The FCS Championship Hunt:
Background:The FCS(or Football Championship Subdivision or Division I-AA) is the 2nd level of College Football. This is for schools that have an enrollment between 1,000 to 15,000 people. In 1973, the NCAA declared a seperation in divisions due to distance is finances and enrollment thus creating Division I and Division II. By 1978, however, it prooved to not be enough and so I and II were split into I-A, I-AA, II, and III. In 2006, in order to gain more credibility, the NCAA renamed I-AA the FCS(Football Championship Subdivision.
Unlike the FBS(Football Bowl Subdivision or I-A) the FCS has a 16-team playoff. However, most conferences in FCS decline to participate(The Ivy League, the Pioneer Football League, and Northeast Conference) while the SWAC conference isn't allowed(for their championship is played on Thanksgiving weekend). However, all teams remain eligible if they have 7 or more wins. For the SWAC, however, you can not win the conference(or even participate in the championship game) and still make the playoffs. However, the SWAC never usually accepts the bid(the last team from the conference to go to the playoffs was Jackson State in 1997 and the conference is 0-19 all-time in the playoffs.
Also ineligible for the playoffs are teams transitioning from a lower division(Division II or III) into the FCS until they're a member for 2 seasons. The only team that has been highly ranked and excluded was #3 North Dakota State in 2006(who are eligible this year). The list of conferences whose winners are automatically in are:Big Sky, CAA, MEAC, Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley, Patriot League, Southern, and Southland. Other conferences are included by invite only such as the Big South(albeit automatic in 2010), teams that are not sponsored by conference, Great West, Northeast(albeit automatic in 2010), and the Pioneer Football League. Here is the I-AA update.
Big Sky:Weber State has all but clinched the conference as they sit at 6-0 in conference going into Saturday's game with Idaho State. A win over ISU and the Cats will make the playoffs. This team isn't too bad either as they lost to Hawaii on the road and held Utah in check until halftime.
CAA:This is an interesting month in the conference as this week, New Hampshire of the North faces Villanova of the South. In what will be an elimination game, UMass will face Maine. Next week may determine the division winner with UMass facing New Hampshire. In the South, James Madison could clinch the division with a Villanova loss and a win over William & Mary next week.
MEAC:South Carolina State escaped Delaware State to stay undefeated in the division and get a breather against Howard this week. However, next week will be the one to determine the conference when they play Morgan State.
MVC:Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, and South Dakota State are battling for this division at the moment. Head-to-Head, NIU beat SDST but lost to Southern Ill. This week they take on Missouri State. Southern Illinois plays Western Illinois in what will possibly determine if the Siloukis stay alive in the title hunt before facing South Dakota State next week. As for the Jackrabbits they will face Illinois State this week.
Ohio Valley:Tennessee-Martin, Eastern Kentucky, and Tennessee State are battling up top in that conference while Ryan Perrilioux and Jacksonville State look up at them. TSU already beat UTM and EKU. If they can beat Eastern Illinois, Jacksonville State, and Murray State then they will win the conference.
Patriot League:Colgate and Holy Cross are duking it out for the title and will square off on November 22nd. Until then the 'Gate will play Lehigh while Holy Cross gets Fordham and Lafeyette. Lets not forget Lafeyette and Lehigh, however. If these two can beat the Cross and the Gate they will be battling for the conference on the 22nd also. Keep an eye on these four.
Southern Conference:Appalachian State has already taken care of Wofford and now its Chattonoga this week and Elon next week. If Appy State can take care of these two they should win the conference by next week.
Southland Conference:Central Arkansas lost its first game in conference against Nicholls State and now find themselves tied with Northwestern State for first place. Meanwhile McNeese State, Texas State, Stephen F. Austin, and Nicholls State keep breathing down their neck. We'll see how it goes in the next few weeks.
The Ivy League:Brown defeated Pennsylvania to take 1st place in the Conference. This week they get Yale. If they can win out then the Bears will be looking at the championship. Expect Brown to clinch it next week with a win over Dartmouth.
SWAC:Jackson State and Alabama A&M will square off next week in what may be the determining factor in the East. However, they must take on Alabama State and Prairie View A&M respectively. Grambling State has pretty much clinched the West for the only team close to them is Prairie View A&M and they have already demolished them. However, November 29th against Southern will be a tough one and may determine who wins the West.
What 2 Watch 4:
Northern Illinois vs Ball State-NIU is notorious for upsets. In 2003, they beat Maryland, Alabama, and Iowa State. Now with Ball State flying high the Huskies hope to knock off the Cards. Can they do it? Find out Wednesday at 8pm on ESPN2.
TCU vs Utah-This might as well be the Mountain West Championship game. Can Utah stay unbeaten or will TCU defeat another Utah team? Find out Thursday at 8pm on CBS College Sports(Channel 613 on Direct TV).
Maryland vs Virginia Tech-The ACC Atlantic and Coastal divisions are on the line. If Maryland can beat the Hokies they will stay up top of the Atlantic heading into a stretch featuring UNC, Florida State, and BC. For the Hokies a loss means elimination from the Coastal. Who will succeed? Find out Thursday at 7:30pm on ESPN.
Alabama vs LSU-Nick Saban returns to Baton Rouge for the first time since 2004. Can he go back to Death Valley and win? Find out Saturday at 3:30pm on CBS.
Oklahoma State vs Texas Tech-TT beat Texas while OSU nearly beat them. This is the 4th key game of the Big XII South. Can Texas Tech stay unbeaten or will the Cowboys be back in contention for the Big XII South? Find out Saturday at 8pm on ABC(check your local listings).
Penn State vs Iowa-In honor of their electrifying tailback Shaun Greene, Iowa will be hosting a "Greene-Out" on Saturday as they welcome in Joe Pa and the unbeaten Nittany Lions. Penn State is on upset alert. Can the Hawkeyes pull it off? Find out Saturday at 3:30pm on ABC(check your local listings).
Florida vs Vanderbilt-The Commodores have lost 3 in a row but the last time UF went up there they nearly fell to Vandy. Can the Dores pull off the upset and become bowl eligible or will Florida continue their mean streak? Find out Saturday at 8pm on ESPN2.
Cal vs USC-This is a key game in the Pac 10. If the Trojans want to stay alive they must beat Cal. If Cal can pull it off it could be key into possibly winning the Pac 10. Can Cal pull the upset? Find out Saturday at 8pm on ABC.
Ohio State vs Northwestern-If Penn State wins out they will most likely head to the National Title game leaving the spot for the Rose Bowl open for any Big Ten team. The winner here could be heading to the Rose Bowl. Who will win? Find out Saturday at 12pm on ESPN2.
Georgia Tech vs North Carolina-The ACC Coastal Division is on the line as the two front runners square off. Who will take the top spot? Find out Saturday at 12pm(check your local listings).
Cincinnati vs West Virginia-Cincy knocked off USF to get an advantage in the Big East while WVU demolished UCONN. Both teams fought hard last year at Nippert. Could we be in for another classic? Find out Saturday at 7pm on ESPNU.
Illinois vs Western Michigan-This is a game that has been forgotten about. Here we have Juice Williams and the high flying Illini facing off against a very good Mid-Major team in Western Michigan at Ford Field in Detroit. This will be good. You can see it Saturday at 12pm(check your local listings).
Virginia vs Wake Forest-For both teams its about survival. UVA slipped against Miami last week to fall in a tie for 1st for the ACC Coastal Division. Meanwhile Wake Forest after losses to Miami and Maryland hope to regain their spot in the Atlantic. Who will survive? Find out Saturday at 3:30pm on ESPNU.
Notre Dame vs Boston College-In the battle of private catholic schools we find Notre Dame trying to rebound from the heartbreaking loss to Pitt taking on Boston College who is trying to win the ACC Atlantic and head back to the ACC Title Game. Last year the Irish kept it close against Matt Ryan and the Eagles. Before BC pulled away 27-13. Can the Irish exact revenge or will it be yet another lost to Boston College? Find out Saturday at 8pm on ESPN.
