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After hitting two of the three I gave you (Louisville over South Florida and Georgia over LSU) last week I'm back this week with three more. It's slim pickings as most of the favorites look pretty solid this week. I'm not including Texas Tech over Texas or Georgia over Florida because although they could be upsets, they're games that has to be analyzed on it's own.
- Pitt over Notre Dame: You never know which Pitt team will show up but the Panthers offense has the running game to make this a long day for the Irish. They stand a better chance to win this game if QB Bill Stull can play but even if he doesn't I'm not sure Irish QB Jimmy Clausen isn't due for a stinker.
- Arkansas over Tulsa: If these teams played 10 times, Tulsa would probably win 9 but this one could be close. Arkansas has certainly been blown out a lot but they've been better lately and easily could've won the last two games against Kentucky and Ole Miss, games which they lost by a combined 3 points.
- Kansas State over Kansas: This is normally a pretty big rivalry so you expect an intense game. If Josh Freeman is on, State's offense is potent. On the Kansas side of the ball, QB Todd Reesing was awful last week and the Jayhawks simply can't run the ball.
Some more movement in this weeks Heisman carousel. It might end up being the best player on the best team when the voting's done.
1. Colt McCoy, QB, Texas: He passed for almost 400 yards against a good Oklahoma St team.
2. Graham Harrell, QB, Texas Tech: He dominated against an overmatched Kansas team. He can stake his claim to the trophy by beating Texas this week.
3. Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia: He's back in the hunt and can possibly move ahead of Harrell if he puts up numbers and the Dawgs beat Florida.
4. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida: Just like Moreno he's helped his chances the last couple of weeks. Whoever loses the Georgia-Florida game sees their candidate drop out of contention.
5. Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma: He fell from #2 last week because he only completed 40% of his throws in a game which the Sooners scored 55 first half points.
Out: Penn St QB Daryll Clark got a concussion and Oklahoma St QB Zac Robinson was just mediocre.
Here they are. There are actually more than 3 but these are ones that have a legitimate shot of happening.
- San Jose St over Boise St: Anytime Boise is playing away from their blue field, it's a challenge. SJS has a tremendous defense with quick LB's and a big time pass rush. If Boise continues to be too reliant on the pass, they could get beat.
- Louisville over South Florida: USF looked shaky in losing to Pitt a couple of weeks ago and now they go on the road to face a L-Ville team that suddenly has a running game.
- Georgia over LSU: It won't be easy for the Dawgs down in Death Valley but the LSU defense was exposed against Florida. Georgia RB Knowshon Moreno is finally healthy and Mark Richt's defense will attack the two QB's LSU will play.
There are other games that would classify as "upsets" because of the point spread. Like Ohio St could beat Penn St, Purdue could beat Miinesota and Wisconsin could beat Illinois.
If Tommy Tuberville does step down because of health problems or just gets fired, Leach would certainly get a call. With all the offensive problems Auburn has had the last couple of seasons, they would want someone that could put some points on the board. The question is would Leach be interested? For the right money, absolutely. And although winning in the SEC is difficult, trying to do it in the Big 12 is just as bad and doing it at a place like Tech which can't compete money wise with Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska etc.. is really difficult.
I did this a little bit at the beginning of the season and I figured it was time to crank it up again. Here are your 5 biggest posers in College Football. These will change week to week but once you're labeled a phony chances are you won't be winning a national title.
1. Missouri: Two straight losses have for all intents and purposes ended the Tigers season. It wasn't that they just lost to Texas but they were humilated.
2. BYU: All that talk of a possible national championship was literally just talk. They were so outmanned at TCU that one has to wonder if they won't lose another three games this season.
3. Kansas: The reason 2 out of top 3 teams on this list are in the Big 12 is because of the strength of the league. The Jayhawks loss to USF doesn't look so great no that USF went belly up against Pitt.
4. Florida St: They haven't beaten anyone good and they might win the ACC without having to do that all season.
5. Michigan St: Not that a lot of people were taking them seriously but they were undefeated in the Big 10 before getting bit*# slapped by Ohio St.
More next week as they're always phony teams to expose.
This could go down in history as the most wide open Heisman Trophy race ever. Every week the meter is moving. Here's where we stand on October 20, 2008.
1. Colt McCoy, QB, Texas: Huge game vs Missouri. 29 of 32 for 337 and 4 total TD's. If the Horns stay undefeated, he'll win the award.
2. Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma: 468 yards against Kansas. He needs McCoy to stumble big time but he's having an unreal season.
3. Graham Harrell, QB, Texas Tech: 5 total TD's in win over A&M. If they can somehow upset Texas, he's got a shot.
4. Darryl Clark, QB, Penn St: Had 3 TD's as the Nits smacked Michigan. A big game and a big win at Ohio St could put him in the Top 3.
5. Zac Robinson, QB, Oklahoma St: Same thing as Harrell but he gets his shot at Texas this week. The offense is averaging over 500 yards a game.
Since last weeks meter, the Top 2 remained the same. Harrell moved up this week but BYU QB Max Hall and Mich St RB Javon Ringer moved out. It was only a couple of weeks ago that Missouri QB Chase Daniel was #1. Believe it or not, after being written off both Florida QB Tim Tebow and Ohio St RB Beanie Wells are now somewhat back in the picture. Stay tuned.
My crystal ball is cranking once again and I see a plumber named Joe becoming a world wide celebrity. Oh, wait a minute that was last week. This week I see 3 possible upsets in College Football. What must be known about these three games is that they may not even qualify as upsets because the point spread in all of them is quite low. Here we go.
South Carolina over LSU: It will be a festive Saturday night crowd in Columbia. The Tigers are still smarting from getting smoked in the Swamp last week. Steve Spurrier's offense is improving and it doesn't have to be great to beat an LSU team that's got some QB and injury issues.
Arizona over Cal: The Bears don't even know who will start at QB and may not get RB Jahvid Best back from an injury. The Cats should've won at Stanford last week an that will serve as proper motivation in this game.
Virginia over North Carolina: The Cavs are starting their annual push towards mediocrity and although the Heels are in the Top 25, they'll have to play better than they did in their error filled win over Notre Dame. Not having Brandon Tate kills Carolina's return game and QB Cam Sexton has yet to prove himself on the road.
It's flying under the radar but there's a huge game tonight between undefeated BYU and TCU. Not only is first place in the MWC on the line but BYU's BCS bowl status is in jeopardy. The game is on Versus because ESPN has Florida St-North Carolina which is a far inferior game.
It's the irresistable force vs the immovable object as TCU's best in the country defense tries to stop Max Hall and the BYU offense. The big news though is that TCU QB Andy Dalton might be returning from a knee injury. BYU's defense is pretty good too as they've only allowed about 10 points a game. Should be a good one and I like TCU to pull the upset although in reality since BYU is a 1.5 point favorite, it would be a very minor one.
It has changed so much that the Top 5 is hardly recognizable from a couple of weeks ago.
1. Colt McCoy, QB, Texas: Big game on the biggest stage. It's his to lose now. Texas still has to play Missouri, Texas Tech and Oklahoma so he might be able to distance himself from the other candidates.
2. Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma: He did his part with 5 TD's against the Horns and looked like he was better than McCoy but his team lost and his Heisman might have been lost as well.
3. Javon Ringer, RB, Michigan St: If they can run the table and win the Big 10, he's got a shot especially if he can get over 150 yards against Penn St.
4. Max Hall, QB, BYU: He'll face a tough defense Saturday when his Cougars go to TCU. Still suffering from lack of name recognition and a glut of good QB's in the country.
5. Graham Harrell, QB, Texas Tech: He'll be judged by how he does against the top teams in the Big 12.
This is a fluid situation and it must be mentioned that Oklahoma QB Zac Robinson and last years winner Tim Tebow are still alive. Missouri QB Chase Daniel on the other hand is probably on the outside looking in right now.
*Penn St at Wisconsin: The Badgers offense even at home isn't varied enough to keep Penn St's offense off the field. Wisconsin will try to slow it down but they are sloppy and not the running team they used to be.
PENN ST 26 WISCONSIN 20
*Michigan St at Northwestern: Both teams still control their own destiny to win the Big 10. I like what Northwestern has been able to do with their defensive packages. They're quick to the ball and that's why teams have trouble scoring on them. But, the Spartans are a mauling team and Javon Ringer will be a little too much.
MICHIGAN ST 20 NORTHWESTERN 17
*Oklahoma St at Missouri: The over under will probably be around 73. The Cowboys defense has been better than Missouri's so if they can get a couple of stops, they've got a shot. But, this will be a high scoring game and Jeremy Maclin will make a game changing play.
MISSOURI 41 OKLAHOMA ST 36
- LSU at Florida: The Swamp won't be pleasant for LSU QB Andrew Hatch. Florida has a myriad of injury problems and Les Miles will have his team ready to get after Tim Tebow. Despite that, I wonder if LSU can pull off the type of road emotion you need to beat both Auburn and Florida in the same season.
FLORIDA 20 LSU 13
- Oklahoma vs Texas: I don't know one position that Texas has an advantage at. The one thing they will need to do is win the field position battle. Not easy to do when the other team is always scoring. It might be close for awhile but the Sooners can only lose if they give it away.
OKLAHOMA 37 TEXAS 22
He's getting hit with penalties left and right. The NCAA is supposed to impose more sanctions in a couple of weeks as well. When is enough enough? It'll be a couple of years before the program can get back on it's feet and the guy that did the damage isn't really feeling any heat. He knew what he was getting into when he took the job but he wasn't aware that all of his players were going to bolt Bloomington.
The misplaced loyalty towards Kelvin Sampson by the players who left is amazing. In the end though, Crean will win. The program will be clean and they'll be contending for Big Ten titles within the next five years.
It's still very much up in the air. I think it's safe to say that it'll be a QB that wins it and a couple of the contenders will be eliminated in the next couple of weeks. Starting with Texas-Oklahoma this week. The losing QB could very well drop out of the race.
1. Chase Daniel, QB, Missouri: Went into a place where Mizzou hasn't won in thirty years and laid the smack down. Oh, and he might have gotten spit on as well.
2. Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma: Easy win vs Baylor. He could have piled on the numbers if he was allowed.
3. Max Hall, QB, BYU: His numbers are really good but unless BYU goes unbeaten he doesn't have a shot.
4. Javon Ringer, RB, Michigan St: Sub-par game for him but he's still the most viable RB Heisman candidate out there.
5. Graham Harrell, QB, Texas Tech: The competition for TT will get tougher but by seasons end his numbers will be the best in the country by far.
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