College Football Recap, Week 7
The shakeups continued in Week 7, and all of a sudden it looks like the most action going forward will come from the Big 12, where a shocking five teams are still alive for a shot at the national championship halfway through the season. Here’s a brief recap of last weekend’s action before I take a much needed hiatus to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!
– The two teams I expected to see in the Big 12 Championship Game both took a backseat over the weekend, and will need to win out now to have any chance at the BCS Championship. Colt McCoy has been spectacular all season, and was no less so in leading a Texas team that I figured would finish 8-4 at best over a strong Oklahoma defense. If you’d told me that Oklahoma was going to score 35 in this game, I would have told you they’d win easily, but the Longhorn offense was really clicking and put up a shocking 45 points on the Sooners. Later, my #1 team, Missouri, lost at home to the most unlikely of suspects, the Oklahoma State Cowboys. I definitely didn’t see that one coming. Chase Daniel threw for 390 yards, but three interceptions proved costly in this devastating loss. Meanwhile, Texas Tech escaped against an improving Nebraska team, and finds itself undefeated and right in the thick of things. Suffice to say that the action in the Big 12 for the next month and a half will be quite interesting.
– On to the SEC. Alabama had the week off but still has the most impressive win of the year in my opinion at Georgia, so you’ll find them at the top of my list this week. The highlight of the day featured the past two national champions for the first time since 1990, as LSU and Florida went head to head in The Swamp. Boy, were those Gators angry about not being undefeated for this historic matchup. I’ll have to check the books, but I can’t remember the last time anybody put up 51 points on LSU. I was pretty confident that Florida’s offense would bounce back in this one, but this was an absolute explosion on the offensive end. It is tough to explain how Ole Miss managed to go in there and beat the Gators if you ask me. Georgia squeaked one out against a Tennessee squad that can’t get a break, and the World’s Greatest Outdoor Cocktail party gained back a great deal of its luster.
– After Michigan lost at home to Toledo and Illinois went down at home against the Golden Gophers, one thing was immediately clear: Penn State was going to murder Wisconsin. It was a mortal lock. And, make no mistake, even if the Badgers are a bit down this year, going into Camp Randall at night and winning 48-7 is a major statement. Penn State heads into Columbus in two weeks for a huge showdown against the Buckeyes, and if they can win that one, I’d hate to see them left out of the national title, because they’re playing as well as anyone. And I’m still reeling that they didn’t have a chance to play for the title in 1994, when the undefeated Nittany Lions would have destroyed Tommy Frazier and his Nebraska Cornhuskers. Every time someone complains about the BCS struture, I remind them that at least we don’t have to worry about a travesty such as that ever happening again. Why does no one remember this but me?
THE TOP 25 OF THE MATTY
- Alabama (6-0)
- Penn State (7-0)
- Texas (6-0)
- Texas Tech (6-0)
- USC (4-1)
- Florida (6-1)
- Georgia (5-1)
- Oklahoma State (6-0)
- Missouri (5-1)
- Oklahoma (5-1)
- Ohio State (6-1)
- BYU (6-0)
- LSU (4-1)
- Utah (7-0)
- Boise State (5-0)
- South Florida (5-1)
- Kansas (5-1)
- Wake Forest (4-1)
- Virginia Tech (5-1)
- South Carolina (5-2)
- Vanderbilt (5-1)
- Florida State (4-1)
- California (4-1)
- Michigan State (6-1)
- TCU (6-1)
HEISMAN WATCH
- Colt McCoy, Texas
- Sam Bradford, Oklahoma
- Chase Daniel, Missouri
- Javon Ringer, Michigan State
- Darryl Clark, Penn State
GAMES TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND:
#21 Vanderbilt at #7 Georgia, 11:30 CST: The Commodores have been one of the biggest overachievers so far this season, but they’ll have their hands full on the road with a Georgia squad who may just now be getting into gear.
#11 Ohio State at #24 Michigan State, ABC, 2:30 CST: Surprisingly, this appears to be a play in game for second place in the Big Ten. Ohio State needs a lot to happen to get back into the national title hunt, but at this point they’ve still got every opportunity to win the conference. This is a must win game for Ohio State, and they’ll need to play their best game of the season to win it.
#17 Kansas at #10 Oklahoma, ABC, 2:30 CST: With all of this ballyhoo regarding the strength of the Big 12, everyone seems to be overlooking the Jayhawks, who are a tough road loss away from being undefeated as well. This situation doesn’t bode well for them though, as an angry Sooner squad on the road isn’t exactly what the doctor ordered.
#9 Missouri at #3 Texas, ABC, 7:00 CST: This is the first of three straight tough tests for the Longhorns. Missouri has had troubles on defense, and if that continues, this could be a very high-scoring affair. This will be a tough one for Missouri, but I have a sneaky feeling that Chase Daniel and company will be lights out offensively and will find a way to pull the upset.
#13 LSU at #20 South Carolina, ESPN, 7:00 CST: LSU had better not overlook this one, or they’ll find themselves in a very unfamiliar 4-2 position halfway through their season. South Carolina is probably the most underrated team in the country at this point, with both of their narrow losses coming against strong competition (at Vanderbilt and against Georgia). Additionally, my opinion on SEC night games is well documented. Beware the Gamecock!!
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