2010 - week 6

We're halfway through the season, and it's been a good one so far. Don't worry, I'm not going to give you my half-season awards like every other person. After all, this is a weekly blog, not a cumulative one.

Before I get started, be sure to catch me on the College Football Extreme podcast next week, where I'll be a guest analyst, or commentator, or whatever I am. You can listen to them each week, even if I'm not on it! It's good stuff, four guys(my Dad being one of them) who know way more than I do. Link is at the top of the page.

Ok now let's get to it.

Dang.

Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez is really fast. Thanks to the Thursday night game, it was my first time to see this kid play that I had been hearing a lot about. I am impressed. He is just a redshirt freshman, and he runs the Huskers' offense very well. He is not a polished passer by any means, but he is effective. But he really hurts you with his feet. He is the white man's Denard Robinson. I know it was against Kansas State, who isn't terrible, but not great. His stats are to the right in the player of the week section. But overall he is a great athlete and will run circles around the Big 10 for a couple more years. Nebraska's defense isn't hurting much either after they lost a couple of key players from last year's dominating defense. They are clearly the best team in the Big 12 North. Final score 48-13, Nebraska.

Hard to watch.

Some people may think that A&M played a good game against Arkansas at Cowboys Stadium, but I will COMPLETELY disagree! It was one of the most frustrating games I've ever watched. Arkansas' offense committed so many penalties on first downs that the refs should have just gone ahead and made them start at first and 15 every time. Overall the Hogs committed 13 penalties, and all seemed to be at the worst time. The Arkansas defense held A&M to way under their season averages on offense, harassed QB Jerrod Johnson all day, and forced four turnovers. Johnson was 15-40 for 212 yards, with a lot of those yards coming at the end when Arkansas played conservative keeping everything in front of them. I will give a little credit to A&M's defense, they got pressure on Mallett more than anyone else has this season. But I still think a good amount of points were left out on the field due to Arkansas' mistakes. I'm sorry, but A&M fans probably think they played a great game and almost pulled the upset, but if not for all the Arkansas' miscues, it would have been a blowout. The fact that the Aggies were even in the game and throwing a last second hail mary that was intercepted, was a joke. Final score 24-17, Arkansas.

Didn't see that one.

For the first time in what seems like 5 years, Alabama lost. South Carolina looked improved this year, but their only conference win was over a 1-4 Georgia team, so I still was not impressed. But the Gamecocks came out on fire from the start, and never let up. They took a 21-9 lead into halftime, and Bama was looking to make some serious adjustments. SC completely took away the best one-two running back punch in the nation, holding them to just 64 yards on 15 carries combined. That is clearly the way to beat the Tide, because even QB Greg McElroy threw for 315 yards and two td's, and it wasn't enough. SC QB Stephen Garcia played the game of his career, going 17-20 with three touchdowns. But the man of the game, and I really mean man because he was a beast, was SC receiver Alshon Jeffrey. He is 6'4 and about 230 lbs, and runs well. He had 7 catches for 127 yards and two td's. One of them a one handed, over the shoulder, staying in bounds, spinning, break a tackle, and race down the sideline for the td catch. Yes, it happened. It was South Carolina's first win EVER over a #1 ranked opponent, and it gave them the clear edge right now in the SEC East. Final score 35-21, South Carolina.

Speaking of where did they come from.

After a complete no show against Oklahoma, Florida State is now 5-1 and looking good. A rivalry game "renewed" at Miami (I don't know why the media kept saying renewed, it never went away) could solidify Jimbo Fisher as taking over the reigns. Miami was coming off a couple of nice wins on the road over Pitt and Clemson, so this should have been a good game. But it wasn't, not even close. Fla State came out blazing and never gave the Canes a chance, there was no wide right this time. The Noles had 298 yards rushing on what was supposed to be a good defense. And QB Christian Ponder looked good throwing a couple of touchdowns. Miami QB Jacory Harris is doing his best Jerrod Johnson impression, throwing nine interceptions in just his last four games. The Florida State-Miami game used to be a HUGE rivalry, but it has lost some luster, and that's too bad. But if it means Florida State wins, I'll take that. Final score 45-17, Florida State.

A slight step back.

After being the clear early favorite for the Heisman, Denard Robinson didn't exactly drive it home this week. Michigan and Michigan State were both undefeated going into a nice rivalry game. Michigan State has been playing good football, inspired by their head coach who had a heart attack three weeks ago. And I said last week that I was anxious to see Robinson go up against better defenses in conference play. As usual, the defense prevailed. Michigan State held Robinson to just 86 yards rushing, and intercepted him three times. Spartan linebacker Greg Jones may the best in the country, he is a sure fire first round NFL draft pick. Michigan State is now 6-0, and they don't play Ohio State. Their toughest game on paper will be a road trip to Iowa. Keep an eye out for the Spartans. Final score 34-17. Michigan State.

Just keep plugging away.

Once again Oregon put up over 500 yards of offense, even with their starting QB Darron Thomas going down with an injury in the second quarter. Backup Nate Costa did just fine, although it wasn't the offensive onslaught many were expecting over a horrific Washington State team. Ducks running back LaMichael James continues to be possibly the most explosive player in the country. He rushed for 136 yards and two scores, and caught an 84 yard touchdown pass. Oregon is a team we all need to pay attention to. Final score 43-23, Oregon.

Speaking of just keeping it up.

LSU coach Les Miles has been criticized, ridiculed, and questioned more than any other coach of an undefeated SEC squad should be. But it is somewhat understandable when the LSU offense has been downright horrible the first few games, and the clock management issue CONTINUOUSLY is a problem. That is inexcusable, and he seems to do it on purpose just to make it more interesting. Surely against Florida it wouldn't come down to that again, would it? Yep, it sure did. A good back and forth contest for most of the game, with both teams making good plays. An Andre Debose 88 yard kickoff return got Florida right back in the game in third quarter, down 26-21. Then went down the field and scored again, with a two point conversion to make it 29-26 Florida. So with just over three minutes left, LSU gets the ball back with a chance to tie or win the game. And of course, almost every second was used on the final drive. LSU switched between quarterbacks all game long, and both did their part. But here it came on fourth down with 35 seconds left on Florida's 35 yard line. LSU seemed to be lining up for a filed goal to try to tie it up. But no! A fake! The LSU holder threw a no look toss over his shoulder to kicker Josh Jasper, who either misplayed it or it was a bad toss, because the ball hit the ground and was picked up by Jasper for the first down! WHAT?! Again?! How does this guy always pull it off?! The play was reviewed to see if it was a forward pass, which it wasn't. Two plays later QB Jarret Lee found Terrence Toliver in the end zone with six seconds left. Good Lord Les Miles, it is never boring. Florida looking for answers sitting at 4-2. Final score 33-29, LSU.

Terrelle Pryor was 24-30 for 334 yards and three touchdowns, no interceptions in a blowout win over Indiana. I think I predicted a Heisman win for him before he left Ohio State, it may be this year.

This will now be the Boise State and TCU blip section. Because frankly they just belong together. They SHOULD both win every game for the rest of the season, and both will always be blowouts every week. This week it was Boise State over Toledo 57-14, and TCU over Wyoming 45-0.

Again.

For the second week in a row, USC gets ousted on the final play of the game. This week it was another field goal at Stanford. It's amazing how under the radar USC QB Matt Barkley is. He is only a sophomore, and passed for 390 yards and three touchdowns, no picks. What more can the guy do? Where is the USC defense? They gave up 478 yards of offense, and 37 points. Stanford QB Andrew Luck continues to play very well also, passing for 285 and three scores. It still seems weird not hearing much about USC these days. After almost ten years of constant media bias and coverage. But hey, maybe the Trojans shouldn't have been paying their players and they wouldn't have lost so many scholarships, and would be allowed to play in a bowl game. I'm just saying. Final score 37-35, Stanford.

Speaking of offense.

I haven't seen a lot of defense this year with anyone quite frankly. But if not for QB Cam Newton, Auburn would be a different story. Newton again went for crazy offensive numbers, passing for 210 and rushing for 198 with 4 td's. It seems Auburn needs every bit of those yards and scores to win. In all but two of their games, they have needed Newton to score, or drive them down to score in the final minutes to win, or in one case send it to overtime, then win. But they are still 6-0, and that's all that matters. And the latest last minute victim was Kentucky. Wide receiver Randall Cobb and the Wildcats played as well as they could, and almost pulled the upset. Cobb is one of the most underrated players in the country. He scored three touchdowns, two rushing, and one receiving. The SEC West is shaping up to be the most interesting and exciting divisional race in the country. Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, and LSU all still have to play each other down the stretch. This week starts with the Hogs going to Auburn. Final score 37-34, Auburn.

Good to see Georgia receiver AJ Green back. He is the best receiver in the country, and is already putting up huge numbers in only two games back. He has 13 catches for 215 yards and three touchdowns. Also good to see Georgia back on the winning track, beating Tennessee, who are looking for a lot of answers, 41-14.

Not sure.

Either Texas Tech is not not nearly as good as they would like to be, or Baylor is much improved. Tech had to put up 635 yards of offense, and 45 points, just to win by 7. Normally in recent years, if you put up that many yards and points, you beat Baylor by at least 35. But maybe Baylor is better. QB Robert Griffin is a stud, and will probably keep Baylor in a few games. They are already 4-2, and could possibly get to a bowl for the first time in 80 years. OK its not that long, but its a pretty long time since they've been to a bowl game. Tech QB Taylor Potts had his best game this year, throwing for 462 yards and 4 td's. Although I still think new head coach Tommy Tuberville should get rid of the Air Raid offense and go to his style of coaching, which is defense and an effective passing game to complement the run game. You don't keep a style of offense just to please the fans. But I'm not the head coach am I? And to be honest, I don't really care what Tech does. Final score 45-38.

Blowout of the week - Louisville over Memphis, 56-0.


Until next week.

Nance