What a great college football day. Lots of good games, lots of meaningful games.
We learned a couple of things about Ohio State, even though I wouldn't consider this a real test. First, we learned that the defense is more vulnerable than some thought. There were times in the game where Wisconsin moved it pretty easily. Second, we learned that they're capable of bouncing back after some adversity. After the 3 and out following Wisconsin's go ahead TD, I was seeing 1998 Michigan State all over again. Boy was I wrong. They completely took over the game with theri O and D lines and dominated a decent Wisconsin team from there on out.
Folks, LSU is not THAT good. I'm not suggesting they're a bad team or that there are a lot of teams better, but they're not the juggernaut many thought they would be. They're incredibly undisciplined as a team and Les Miles is, well, just insane. Seriously! I think the guy is whacko. They're capable of beating anyone in the country with the talent they have, but they're also capable of losing to a lot of teams they should beat. I don't think they're well coached and they've been INCREDIBLY lucky to squeak out a few of their victories (see incredibly boneheaded play by Albama QB to ive them the ball on the 3 yard line). I wouldn't at all be surprised to see them falter at some point to a team they should easily beat (like UK). I just don't have any faith in their coaching.
And I know I've said this before, but it bears repeating. University of Michigan - run fast away from Miles. You want not part of that psycho. There's a reason why he's not very popular in Baton Rouge. I think he's exposed himself this year, so I don't see them making a run at him. But if they do, it's going to be a long few years in Ann Arbor.
I don't think anyone can stop Oregon's offense. They're just too good. Now, the defense isn't very good, so it's possible to outscore them. But if you want to play with them, you better be ready for a shootout. They're that good.
Dennis Dixon is the Heisman winner. Period. It shouldn't even be a close vote. There's no one else I can think of worth voting for.
It's nice to see Michigan State is still Michigan State, even with D'Antonio. Once again, they lose a game they had well in hand. That team should never play with a lead. There's must be something in the water there in East Lansing that makes them fold once they have a game in hand.
Michael Hart is a special football player and, in my mind, is a great representation of all what college football is about. The guys plays with such a passion that's rare. And his balance is off the charts unreal. The play of the game today that allowed Michigan to sustain their final drive was a play where Mallett fumbled and he picked it up, completely dodged Spartan defender and wound up with a first down. It's was an amazing play, and I doubt Michigan wins the game had they lost that fumble; or even if they hadn't gotten that first down.
As always, Oklahoma is the most over-rated team in the nation.
I'm officially tired of the whining about the east coast bias. I was watching the Oregon-ASU game and the announcer was going on and on about how unfair it was for players on the west coast never getting the exposure they need to get a fair shot at the Heisman. Last time I checked, 3 of the last 6 Heisman winners were from the Pac-10. Stop crying about bias. And it looks like this year will be 4 out of 7.
What a train wreck in Nebraska. Callahan is also a little nuts. Actually, he's a LOT nuts. Goes to show that getting to one Super Bowl doesn't make you a great coach. It also shows that getting an NFL coach doesn't always work (see Pitt for exhibit B, Georgia Tech for Exhibit C, Virginia for D). It's too bad because there are no better college football fans than in Lincoln, Nebraska. They deserve better.
For all the talk about weak schedules in the Big 10, SEC powerhouses played Tenesse Tech and Troy today. And Georgia struggled a bit against them. Troy gained 485 yards of offense and scored 34 points. I thought this didn't happen in the SEC. I thought they had so much speed, no one else was supposed to be able to play with them.
What if Kansas goes undefeated? It's really not that much of a stretch. They have to play Oklahoma State and Missouri, but they could win both of those game. Then they'll likely play Oklahoma in the conference championship game. And we all know that Oklahoma is more than capable of losing in big games. I still don't think it will happen, but it wouldn't be shocking if it did. But if they do, I don't see how they don't play for the National championship. Other than the Buckeyes playing for the title, there's nothing I'd rather see more than a Kansas - BC national title game. Looks like BC won't make it through the night, but a guy can hope.
This is the year the Wolverines beat OSU. Mark it down. There's no way Mike Hart loses 4 times to the Buckeyes. It's in Ann Arobr. Manningham is finally looking like Manningham and OSU is vulnerable to the run. My prediction is a close game, but Hart will put on a clinic of how to take over a game as a tailback. He'll go down as one of the greatest Michigan RBs in their storied history.
How can Notre Dame be THIS bad? I'm not kidding. I think everyone knew it would be a down year. I have a lot of ND fan friends and they all knew it as well. I figured they'd be a game or two under .500, but for the love of all that is holy, how could this ever happen at ND. The general consensus among Irish faithful is that this is the residue of just how bad at recruiting Willingham was. The ND junior and senior class is almost completely devoid of talent. How much of the blame falls on Weis? I've always been of the mind that Weis was a really good coach and I don't understand how he could have forgotten how to coach in the off season. So I'm inclined to give him the benfit of the doubt simply because the last two years they looked like a well coached team. But is the talent really THIS bad? He's put himself in a situation where he MUST show some serous improvement next year, or he's going to have to go. But apparently, they continue to sign blue chip recruits. This is supposedly one of the top recruiting classes ND has had in a long time. It's also the #1 recruting class in the country. We'll see.
I don't like Nick Saban one bit. But he's going to have Alabama back as a big time contender REAL soon. I hope I'm wrong, but the guy can coach.
Speaking of recruiting, how can Michigan's class be rated ahead of Ohio State's pretty much every year, yet OSU continues to have the better teams? That also begs the question, there are certain teams that seem to have top 5 recruting classes every year, but rarely are they top tier teams. How does that happen?
And finally, boy do I love college football.