Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Clemson and Oklahoma State are two teams currently on the opposite end of the college football spectrum. In fact they have been on the opposite end of the spectrum for the entire season. Let’s start out with the good. How bout them Cowboys? The Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-0) have raced out to a great start and are currently ranked eighth in the latest associated press poll. This has been unexpected as the Cowboys were unranked coming into the season. Their latest jump in the polls came after an upset of then the third ranked Missouri Tigers in Columbia. Oklahoma State went into Missouri and dominated the Tigers, as they were able to get pressure on Heisman candidate Chase Daniel all night and force him into throwing three interceptions. An amazing fact was that Chase Daniel threw 13 incompletions in the game against Oklahoma State and in the two previous games he threw a combined 12 incompletions. The key to Oklahoma State’s success all year has been their offense led by junior quarterback Zac Robinson. The Cowboys are averaging an unprecedented 8.97 yards per snap, tops in Division 1-A. Remember the man who proclaimed “Come after me. I’m a man. I’m 40!,” he has his team sure playing like men.

On the other side of the spectrum the Clemson Tigers have fell well below expectations. The preseason ranked number nine Tigers are setting at 3-3 and currently unranked. The favorites in the ACC look like a team that is just competing to get to a bowl game and make it out of the season. Clemson’s coach Tommy Bowden resigned on Monday after failing to live up to expectations and deliver an ACC title to the Tigers during his tenure as head coach. Some players took it hard, like James Davis who started crying when being asked about the resignation of his head coach. I guess we will never know how much of a role a coach plays in a young man’s life. Amongst this controversy star running back C.J. Spiller is out with a hamstring injury and senior quarterback Cullen Harper will undergo shoulder surgery.

Hook Em' Horns

The Red River Rivalry was what everybody expected it to be and so much more. The Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners battled it out in the trenches for the 103^rd time this past Saturday. The formerly known Red River Shootout was exactly as described. The two teams put up a combined 80 points respectively. That number was the highest combined total between both teams in the history of the rivalry. Too bad it couldn’t have ended up 40 to 40, but somebody had to win. The Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners traveled to the Cotton Bowl and played a classic.

 

The Longhorns and Sooners battled back and fourth all day. Early in the game Oklahoma blew out to an eleven-point lead provided by Sam Bradford’s two touchdowns. Soon after that Texas made the play of the game and the possible game-changer. Texas wide receiver Jordan Shipley fielded the ball deep in their territory and returned a kick-off for 96 yards and a Texas touchdown. Oklahoma went on to take a one-point lead at halftime, but when they returned for the second half, everything suddenly changed. Texas took off and capitalized on Oklahoma’s mistakes taking a lead into the fourth quarter and never looking back. Despite a great game from Sam Bradford (28 of 39 passing, 387 yards, 5 TDs), the Longhorns went on to upset the favored Oklahoma Sooners 45-35. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy was extremely efficient (28 of 35 passing) and never made huge mistakes that cost his team. It was a great performance by both, but Texas got the better of the Sooners and rose from number five to number one in the latest AP poll. Texas’ number one ranking is a first in the regular season since 1984. Can Texas run the table and win a second national title in the past four seasons? It will be a tough road as they play four ranked opponents in the next five games, but only time will tell.

The Red River Rivalry

   It’s that time of year again and the Texas State Fair is going on. Your probably asking yourself what does that have to do with anything? The second weekend of October and the Texas State Fair hold home to the Red River Rivalry, formerly known as the Red River Shootout. Texas and Oklahoma meet for the 103^rd time in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. This game could very well end up being a shootout. The number one ranked Oklahoma Sooners bring the fourth ranked scoring offense with them and the fifth ranked Longhorns bring the sixth ranked scoring offense along. This is the highest ranking between both teams in this matchup since 2004. This year’s matchup has BCS complications as well. Whoever wins this matchup is likely to win the Big 12 South and play for the Big 12 Championship. The question is which team is going to step and shutdown Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy, two of the best quarterbacks in the country?

            The Sooners and Longhorns not only have great offenses, but they have some pretty impressive defenses as well. The Sooners defense was supposed to be their downfall this season, especially after there were only six starters returning on defense.  You could also say the same for Texas who returned only four starters on defense. Through the first six weeks of the college football season Oklahoma leads the first Big 12 in total defense and is second in scoring defense to you guessed it, Texas. Looks like the winner of this game is going to come down to who plays better on the “other” side of the ball. 

Hail Hail to Harrell

   Lubbock, Texas is far from heaven for many, but it sure seems like heaven for Texas Tech wide receivers. Texas Tech has the best wide receiver in the nation in Michael Crabtree, a true physical specimen and future NFL pro.  The Red Raiders boast one of the most prolific offenses in the nation. The seventh ranked Red Raiders are fifth in the nation in scoring, averaging 48.2 points per game and have only trailed for a total of 2 minutes and 40 seconds through their first five games. The scary part is that I haven’t even mentioned their quarterback.

            Graham Harrell is the leader of this high-powered machine. Harrell, a senior at Texas Tech, leads the nation in passing yards with 2,027. He is on pace to pass for 4,865 yards and by the end of the year he could end being number two in NCAA career passing yardage behind Ty Detmer, and he didn’t even hardly get any playing time as a freshman. It seems to me that Harrell seems to get zero respect even after putting up these ridiculous numbers. That lack of respect comes from where he plays, Texas Tech, because it‘s program is said to have a system for quarterbacks. I don’t care, system or not, he is the leader of the seventh ranked team in the country and whatever he is doing seems to be working pretty well. Last weekend at Kansas State, Harrell completed 38 of 51 passes for 454 yards and six touchdowns earning him the O’Brien Quarterback of the week award.  If Harrell can lead the Red Raiders to an undefeated season and not be in New York shaking hands and being congratulated on winning the Heisman, that will be a tragedy itself.

The Ohio State University!

They’re done. The season is a failure. No National Title this Year. They’ll be lucky to win the Big Ten. These are phrases that the Ohio State University isn’t used to hearing. Rather they’re used to hearing the exact opposite. These phrases rang from critics’ mouths and fans alike, after their humiliating loss to USC in the Coliseum.

All is not lost though. The Buckeyes continue to crawl their way back into the picture, at least the Big Ten picture. Ohio State is the defending champion in the Big Ten, and they still look like a strong contender for the title this year. The Buckeyes bounced back to defeat Troy and Minnesota convincingly. Neither of these wins was as impressive as their win this past Saturday over Wisconsin. The Buckeyes walked into Camp Randle Stadium, as an underdog, and defeated the Wisconsin Badgers, ending the Badgers 16 game home winning streak. With that win the Buckeyes have solidified themselves as a contender, along the Penn State Nittany Lions, who are thinking Big Ten Title and National Title.

The key to Ohio State’s current winning streak has been the stellar play of super-freshman Terrelle Pryor. Pryor was handed the reigns to the Ohio State machine after the USC loss. Since then he has led the Buckeyes to three straight wins. Pryor may technically be a freshman, but his game is much older than that. In their win over Wisconsin, Pryor at times made freshman mistakes, but win it mattered most he was able to play at a higher level. The freshman drove the Buckeyes 80 yards and managed to cap off the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run with just over a minute to play. This put the Buckeyes in front 20 to 17 and an interception by Ohio State’s Malcolm Jenkins sealed the victory. It is amazing the way the freshman is playing now, but wait till he actually gets comfortable. That seems like a very scary thought for not only the Big Ten, but the country as well.

Vanderbilt: A Place Where Football is King?

This upcoming weekend is full of intriguing, bowl affecting games. The USC Trojans try to avoid being upset for the second straight week as they battle the Oregon Ducks. USC’s loss doesn’t look as bad since three other teams in the top 10 were upset last weekend as well. The number one ranked Oklahoma Sooners travel to play the Baylor Bears, where they shouldn’t have any trouble. Staying in the Big 12, the Missouri Tigers travel to Nebraska to battle it out against the Cornhuskers, a place where the Tigers haven’t won since 1978. Another big game involves the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Wisconsin Badgers. Ohio State travels to Madison, where the Badgers are nearly unbeatable at Camp Randle.

The most intriguing game of the weekend has to be between Auburn and, hold your breath, the VANDERBILT COMMODORES. Yes, Vanderbilt is undefeated and setting at the top of the SEC East. The 19^th ranked are 4 and 0 and have a chance to go to 5 and 0, with an upset of Auburn in Nashville. The Commodores are known more for their GPA not for their football prowess. The Tigers have never played a ranked Vanderbilt team and if Vanderbilt wins it will be the first time they have gone 5 and 0 since the Eisenhower administration. The keys to Vanderbilt’s success have been sound quarterback play from quarterback Chris Nickson (three touchdowns to no interceptions) and a defense that leads the nation in turnover margin. This is a great story and best of luck to the Vanderbilt Commodores.

The Penn State Nittany Lions in HD!

The Penn State Nittany Lions are a team that no one can really seem to figure out. Penn State was ranked 22^nd in the preseason college football associated press poll and was a team with many question marks. Who was going to step and play quarterback with the absence of Anthony Morelli? How would the defense respond?                                      

So far five weeks into the season these questions have been answered. Darryl Clark has stepped up and done an unbelievable job at quarterback for the Nittany Lions. Clark is completing 63 percent of his passes and has nine touchdowns compared to only one interception. The defense has been stellar thus far, only giving up an average of 12.8 points per game. The defense doesn’t have to be great though when they are scoring an average of 49.8 points per game. Granted they haven’t played great competition, other than Illinois, Penn State and their new spread “HD” offense still looks pretty impressive. The tests are sure to come as the Nittany Lions get into the heart of their Big Ten Schedule. The sixth ranked Nittany Lions start a stretch of four road games in six weeks as they head to West Lafayette to battle the Purdue Boilermakers in the “blackout game.” I would expect nothing other than a great game, as Purdue always seems to play better at home. Penn State’s real test will come when they go to Columbus, Ohio to battle the Ohio State Buckeyes on 25^th of November. I don’t know about you but this team looks eerie similar to the 2005 team that finished 11-1 and beat Florida State in the Orange Bowl. If they continue their winning ways we may be comparing this team to another sometime down the road.