College Football Saturday In 500 Words Or Less

A recap of what went down and what you should take away from Saturday's college football games.

Few upsets this week, as only one top 10 team was defeated. We were, however, able to learn more about some teams than we had learned all season. As teams begin to get away from their cupcake schedules at the beginning of the season and enter conference play, that early season mask is pulled away and we get our first glimpses of how teams will fare over the course of the season.

Recapping the day in 500 words or less, this is what Saturday taught us about the season:

-  Iowa needed to prove their win over Penn State was no fluke. Granted Saturday's win came against Arkansas State, the Hawkeyes' offense showed some signs of life. Iowa began the game with two quick scores and came out of the half firing, but if they want to hang in there all season long, they've got to find a way to produce on offense more consistently. Still, I'm about ready to call myself a believer after the 5-0 Hawkeyes' shaky start.

-  Does any team rely on a single player the way Minnesota relies on Eric Decker? Wait, that would be Cal with Jahvid Best. Whereas the Gophers' supporting cast was able to take advantage of the double teams that Decker drew (in a loss), Kevin Riley and the Cal offense could not take advantage of the attention given to Best by Oregon and USC.

-  I've said it almost every week, but UNC's offense is anemic. How do you manage only 3 points against Virginia?

-  On that subject, is there anything less exciting than an ACC matchup? Maybe it's because their games have little implications on the national landscape. Maybe it's because outside of a few programs (notably Miami and FSU—and maybe BC, Clemson and Virginia Tech) there is a lack of longstanding football tradition in the programs.

-  More Tate Forcier. Seriously, this kid doesn't have a give-up bone in his body. Of course, his interception in the end zone didn't help matters, but the Michigan Wolverines have a bright future as long as Forcier is under center.

-  Penn State bounced back after to their poor showing last Saturday night in the loss to Iowa. They got off to a slow start on offense against Illinois (hangover?) but scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to get back on the winning path.

-  Golden Tate's extraordinary confidence began at birth…when his parent's named him Golden. I wonder what that does for a boy's confidence growing up. Golden sure has a quiet arrogance about him (not in a bad way) and he's emerged as the big playmaker on the Notre Dame offense this season.

-  Kyle Rudolph is going to be the next big tight end to come out of college football. The guy's 6-6, has become a favorite target of quarterback Jimmy Clausen and has a basketball background like Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates.

-  Speaking of Notre Dame, their overtime win over Washington was the game of the week. Clausen and Jake Locker are quietly underrated on the national scope. I say 'quietly underrated' because everybody knows they're good, but few consider them among the elite, which is where they belong.

-  Besides looking like he's about to deliver a pizza to a group of co-eds in some dimly lit apartment, Landry Jones showed Oklahoma fans they have reason to cheer about the team's future. Oklahoma's supporting cast just didn't back him up on Saturday. Give credit to the Miami Hurricanes, though.

We're in that really meaty part of the season, where most teams begin, or have begun, conference play and the real season begins to take shape. Florida will get their first big-time test next week when they visit LSU, while Miami will get their first breather when Florida A&M, and their kickass band, comes to town.

Robert Hughes became a New Household Name with his performance in Notre Dame's overtime win against Washington. He filled in for Armando Allen, who was injured in the game, rushing for 70 yards on only 8 carries and scoring a touchdown in which he dragged most of the Huskies defense and Irish offense into the end zone in the process. The 235 pound halfback even broke off a 37 yard run in the win. The Irish should take solace in knowing that they have some depth at running back after Hughes' performance.

This week, Jacory Harris Proved He's Worth The Hype. Harris was able to bounce back after making two poor decisions to start the game, which resulted in interceptions. He would throw for 3 touchdowns and led Miami to a win over 8th ranked Oklahoma, and a 3-1 record in the process.

Next week's big games include top-ranked Florida's trip to LSU to face the fourth ranked Tigers in the prime time headliner. Michigan visits Iowa in another big prime time matchup. In earlier matchups, Georgia visits Tennessee, Alabama visits Mississippi and Oregon visits UCLA. - Danny Hobrock

Danny Hobrock is a sports journalist who primarily covers college football and professional baseball. He is a contributor for several sports related blogs and is the former editor of a political and current events website.

----------

Have a Fantasy Football or Rotisserie baseball question? Want to know who to pick up, who to activate and who the hot prospects are? Ask Dr. Roto. Let Dr. Roto guide your team to a league championship.

Reflections on this week's NCAA poll rankings

In an article last week I commented on the Miami Hurricanes' ascent to the top 10 and lauded voters who were not afraid to break that unwritten poll rankings rule that limits how far a team may climb following a win or how far they may fall following a loss. Miami lost on Saturday and on Sunday were quickly relegated to their previous position in the rankings (17th in the AP and 21st in the Coaches').

And rightfully so! The 'Canes offense looked deflated against the Virginia Tech defense and were a far cry from the offensive juggernaut that downed Florida State and Georgia Tech. Losses on Saturday from both FSU and Georgia Tech did little to help Miami's cause.

Overall, however, Miami did not look like a top 10 team, or even a top 15 team, and voters were more than justified in dropping them in the rankings. It was up to Miami to prove they deserved the 9th spot, just as it's up to Florida, Texas and Alabama to prove every week that they deserve their spot in the top 3. Miami didn't prove it and they were put back in their place for now. Miami gets their first chance to redeem themselves on Saturday night when the 8th ranked Oklahoma Sooners visit.

Miami wasn't the only one taking a plunge. Cal dropped from 6th to 24th in the AP (19th in the Coaches') after getting rocked by Oregon. Penn State fell from 5th to 15th in the AP (13th in the Coaches') after falling to Iowa. Curiously, however, the coaches put Iowa four spots behind Penn State. I know I'm having a hard time believing that Iowa is for real after their shaky start to the season, but they've already turned a few critics after Saturday night's performance and with another solid showing I might be the next one to drink the Hawkeyes Kool-Aid.

Ole Miss was the other big loser this weekend, falling from 4th to the 21st spot in the AP (18th in the Coaches'). Watching Thursday night as South Carolina defeated Mississippi, I could only bow my head in shame after writing an article supporting the Rebels' unusually high ranking. Some may argue that Ole Miss deserves to fall out of the rankings completely, having no quality wins thus far and losing to an unranked, and still unranked, South Carolina team. Stuart Mandel brought up an interesting point in his Mailbag, one that is applicable to this discussion. He writes, "The Rebels have not accomplished a darn thing. But people like me propped them up all offseason as a BCS contender, so clearly it's going to take more than one ugly loss to bump them out."

It's clear that most voters were looking for an excuse to drop them, but because of the lofty preseason hype, and Week 3 hype courtesy of some writers, voters are having a hard time dropping the Rebels out of the top 25, even if they want to. Once again, that nasty unwritten poll ranking rule has been allowed to wreak its havoc. Maybe we should hold off on ranking teams until after the first week. Then we'll have a little basis for how they look. The Rebels play both LSU and Alabama this season, so in a way they control their own destiny as it relates to competing for an SEC title. Their preseason ranking won't help them anymore.

The polls are never an exact science. They present new questions every week and every season. For instance: If Boise State is one of two undefeated teams this season, should they play in the National Championship Game? The Broncos' defense is stout, their offense is explosive and their victory over Oregon is looking pretty good, too, after Oregon's annihilation of Cal on Saturday.

Should Utah have been given a chance to play for the title after going undefeated last season? They beat two top 15 teams in the regular season (TCU and BYU) and were able to handily defeat fourth ranked Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.

The teams that play like the two best teams in the nation should compete for the championship. It's obvious, right? Whether that means sending an undefeated team from the WAC or MWC, or sending a one-loss team from the SEC, Big Ten, Pac-10, ACC or Big 12, equal treatment should be accorded to all teams, television ratings be damned! - Danny Hobrock

Danny Hobrock is a sports journalist who primarily covers college football and professional baseball. He is a contributor for several sports related blogs and is the former editor of a political and current events website.

----------

Have a Fantasy Football or Rotisserie baseball question? Want to know who to pick up, who to activate and who the hot prospects are? Ask Dr. Roto. Let Dr. Roto guide your team to a league championship.

College Football Saturday In 500 Words Or Less

A recap of what went down and what you should take away from Saturday's college football games.

It was the week of the giant killers in college football, as Ole Miss, Penn State and Cal all fell to unranked opponents. In addition to the fourth, fifth and sixth ranked teams, the ninth ranked Miami Hurricanes were downed by 11th ranked Virginia Tech. 40% of the teams in the top ten will be different from the previous week, once again reminding us why they play the games, and why we love college football so much.

Recapping the day in 500 words or less, here's what Saturday taught us about the season:

- O.K. really, the instant replays have gotten out of hand. At one point I was flipping between three channels and all three referees were waiting for word from the replay officials.
- If Wisconsin runs the ball effectively, watch out. Whereas they lost three fumbles last Saturday against Wofford, and fumbled five times total, the Badgers lost only one fumble yesterday. John Clay ran the ball 32 times, opening up the passing game enough for Scott Tolzien to throw 4 touchdown passes.
- Who are you FSU? You play well against Miami, squeak out a victory against FCS Jacksonville State, annihilate BYU and go down to South Florida.
- UNC's lackadaisical offense finally caught up to them. Besides a few big plays here and there, the Tarheels need to figure out a better way to consistently move the ball down the field.
- Fresno State is the best three-loss team in the nation. They've never been out of any game, taking Wisconsin to double overtime, sticking with Boise State's high octane offense up until the very end and playing keep away from Cincinnati all game, allowing the Bearcats to control the ball for just over a quarter. If they had been able to get over the hurtle and stole a win from one of their early opponents, would they have continued to do so? Hawaii is next, and the Bulldogs are looking at a much easier schedule to close out the year.
- Tate Forcier looks like he's the real deal. He's got guts. Down 26 to 21 to Indiana at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Forcier led the Wolverines down the field, diving head first into the end zone to give the Wolverines a three point lead after converting the two point conversion. With five and a half minutes left and trailing once again, Forcier led the Wolverines down the field again to answer the Hoosiers' score. Michigan won the game 36-33.
- The Miami Hurricanes looked absolutely flat against Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech, on the other hand, stepped up their defense after being challenged by the coaching staff and managed to stymie the Hurricanes offense. Funny how the same analysts who were shouting 'Miami's back!' on Saturday morning are now calling such declarations premature.
- You shut down Jahvid Best and you shut down Cal. Oregon looked pretty good to say the least.
- JoPa said he wasn't out for revenge against Iowa. Maybe he should have been. After a 79 yard bomb to begin the game, Darryl Clark managed only 119 yards passing. It was Penn State's only touchdown of the game. Penn State couldn’t manage much offense last year either when Iowa downed the then third ranked Nittany Lions. Maybe Penn State should avoid a top five ranking in seasons they play Iowa.
- Arizona, down star tight end Rob Gronkowski, lost starting tailback Nic Grigsby and backup tailback Keola Antolin to injury, but still managed to beat Oregon State.

Without question, the game of the week was Houston's thrilling victory over Texas Tech. No giants went down in this one, but anybody who stayed up late enough, or stayed in late enough, was rewarded. With a few big boys taking hits on Saturday, a significant shakeup to the top 10 was inevitable.

This week's New Household Name is Arizona quarterback Nick Foles, who replaced Matt Scott as the starting quarterback on Saturday. It was Foles' first career start and he made the best of the opportunity, throwing for 254 yards and three touchdown passes. He probably isn’t a household name per se, but he earned the right to be recognized as the breakout performer of the week.

You might make the argument that Tori Gurley is the new household name based solely on his name and his appearance in primetime on Thursday, but I'm giving it to Foles nonetheless.

This week, Tate Forcier Proved He's Worth The Hype with another breakout performance. This guy is growing up right before our eyes, letting pressure bounce right off of him and leading his Wolverines on game winning drives almost weekly it seems.

Next week's games to watch include Oklahoma's trip to Miami, the always entertaining Michigan/Michigan State matchup, LSU vs. Georgia and Washington vs. Notre Dame. Cal takes on USC in the primetime headliner. - Danny Hobrock

Danny Hobrock is a sports journalist who primarily covers college football and professional baseball. He is a contributor for several sports related blogs and is the former editor of a political and current events website.

----------

Have a Fantasy Football or Rotisserie Baseball question? Want to know who to pick up, who to activate and who the hot prospects are? Ask Dr. Roto. Let Dr. Roto guide your team to a league championship!

College Football Saturday In 500 Words Or Less

A recap of what went down and what you should take away from Saturday's college football games.

This week taught us a lot about the college season; more so than the previous two weeks. It taught us that reputation might play into the polls more than we'd like to think. It revealed which players we should follow as the season progresses. It showed us how important a quarterback is to a team's success and that continuity at the position is a good thing. Week 3 also taught us a few things we already knew or weren't too surprised to see confirmed.

Recapping the day in 500 words or less, here's what Saturday taught us about the season:

- Where to start? Oh! Washington beat USC with three seconds remaining! It really makes you think: How important is the quarterback position!? Matt Barkley, whose ascent to the top of the depth chart was questioned by many, sat out with a shoulder injury. Aaron Corp, whose snubbing at the beginning of the season was questioned by some, got the start. Barkley hasn't been All-World or anything in his two starts, but he's led a couple of two minute drills to close the half and win the game against Ohio State. If Barkley plays, does he let the Trojans lose?

- On the other side of the ball, how big is Jake Locker's return? Washington was 0-12 without him a year ago. With Locker back under center, the Huskies are 2-1 and took down the mighty Trojans. Who would have thought that next week's Washington/Stanford matchup would determine the early leader in the Pac-10?

- Tyrod Taylor is going to have to become more of a passing threat if Virginia Tech hopes to compete for the ACC Championship. I was, however, impressed with his final drive on Saturday to beat Nebraska. His throw to Danny Coale was near perfect and his scramble on third and goal bought him enough time to hit Dyrell Roberts in the end zone to win the game. He'll have to be more consistent with his passing if Virginia Tech hopes to beat Miami next week.

- Eric Decker is tough. In the process of catching his first of two touchdown receptions, Sean Cattouse dealt a crushing blow to Decker's face. Decker was knocked unconscious momentarily, his mouth was bleeding and he couldn't breathe for a moment. The hit was legal, by the way. It was Decker's second catch of the game. He finished with eight.

- Is there any doubt that Jahvid Best is the best back in the nation? I think not.

- Michael Floyd underwent surgery following an attempted touchdown reception that left him with a broken collar bone. Huge blow to Notre Dame, as Armando Allen and Jimmy Clausen must now carry the Irish offense. Equally as crushing was Arizona's loss of Rob Gronkowski for the season. Gronkowski missed the Wildcats' first three games with a strained back and will have season ending surgery this week.

- Was I the only one who noticed the ridiculous amount of instant replays used to confirm or overturn receptions, ball spots, touchdowns, etc.? The NCAA Board of Whatever Panel Commission will soon vote on whether to use instant replay to make sure that players have tied their shoes correctly. I miss the days when a catch was a catch and a touchdown a touchdown.

- Thirty point underdogs, I can't decide if Tennessee should take a partial win out of Gainesville. No, they shouldn't, but at least they didn't give Urban Meyer the chance to run up the score. And Tebow didn't look too hot through the air against Eric Berry and the Volunteers secondary.

The polls have just been released following an interesting week in college football. USC dropped to 12 in the AP and 10 in the Coaches', while Washington climbed to #24 in the AP and remains unranked in the Coaches'. Miami was the week's biggest riser (9th in AP, 13th in Coaches') following another impressive showing.

This week, Jahvid Best Proved He's Worth The Hype. He's had an impressive start to the season, but Saturday's five touchdowns showed why he's considered the best running back, or football player, in the country. Saturday's five scores was roughly one third of his entire scoring production from last season (16 touchdowns). Scary.

The New Household Name for this week is Eric Decker. Decker caught 8 passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns. He became Minnesota's all-time leader in receptions in the process. He even threw a touchdown pass to boot. This all coming on a day where he was knocked out, required stitches and left the game only when he sprained his ankle on Minnesota's final drive.

Some big games await us next weekend. Fourth ranked Ole Miss looks to continue to prove they belong in the top 5 when they take on South Carolina on Thursday night. In Saturday's early games, never-say-die Fresno State takes on 17th ranked Cincinnati and 22nd ranked North Carolina takes on a Georgia Tech team on the rebound. ABC will air a trio of games in the 3:30 P.M. ET slot: #6 Cal at Oregon, #9 Miami at #11 Virginia Tech and Illinois at #13 Ohio State. Top ranked Florida travels to Kentucky at 6 P.M. ET and Arizona State visits 21st ranked Georgia at 7 P.M. ET. Iowa travels to #5 Penn State in the primetime headliner. - Danny Hobrock

Danny Hobrock is a sports journalist who primarily covers college football and professional baseball. He is a contributor for several sports related blogs and is the former editor of a political and current events website.

----------
Have a Fantasy Football or Rotisserie Baseball question? Want to know who to pick up, who to activate and who the hot prospects are? Ask Dr. Roto. Let Dr. Roto guide your team to a league championship!

College Football Saturday In 500 Words Or Less

A recap of what went down and what you should take away from Saturday's college football games.

After months of anticipation, and now that we've had our fill of football, beer and chicken wings, the 2009 college football landscape begins to take shape. There were few outrageous upsets, and the one top five team that did go down, did so against another very good football team and with their Heisman-winning quarterback watching from the sidelines with his arm in a sling. The first Saturday of the season was less of a day for upsets and more of a day for 'almosts', 'what-ifs' and missed opportunities.

Recapping the day in 500 words or less, here's what Saturday taught us about the season:

- Tennessee's freshman class is good. Everybody's talking about Jonathan Crompton, but it was freshman running back Bryce Brown who steamrolled a few Hilltoppers on his way to the end zone and looked good on almost every carry. Miami and Oregon must be kicking themselves for letting this guy slip through their fingers. Freshman receiver Marsalis Teague was the team's leading receiver, while Nu'Keese Richardson looked pretty good as both a punt returner and as a wide receiver. Anybody who says Tennessee's 63-7 shellacking on Saturday is downplayed because it came against Western Kentucky in their first game as members of the FBS is sorely mistaken. UCLA and Florida are next.

- Navy blew it. Who was Ricky Dobbs throwing to in the end zone? An exceptional running play to put the Midshipmen within two overshadowed and forgotten after a terribly blunderous two-point conversion attempt.

- Iowa can't keep relying on their field goal-blocking unit to win them games. It's only the first week and they've done it twice. Iowa is scratching their heads.... Good teams get over the head scratching. Let's see if Iowa is a good team.

- I'm glad Joe Cox wore a cup. Dez Bryant put his money where his mouth is. Despite the loss, the Bulldogs defense looked pretty good. I'd also like to throw out a nickname for Perrish Cox after watching his 74 yard kick return: Crazy Legs Cox.

- With Notre Dame's 35-0 win over Nevada, Lou Holtz has not yet been proven a crazy person. But we know it's coming. Joking aside, Jimmy Clausen looked really good, as did the entire Notre Dame offense. The defense wasn't too bad either. It was against a less-than-stellar Nevada team, but Touchdown Jesus had to have been pleased.

- It took Tennessee an entire quarter to get on the board against Western Kentucky. It took USC a quarter to score against San Jose State. Why was I more worried about USC's slow start? Was it because I expected a jailbreak from the get-go? Or did I think it had something to do with true freshman Matt Barkley getting the start? USC would eventually get their stuff together, winning 56-3 as Barkley threw for 233 yards on 15 for 19 passing. Also notice how nobody can credit Barkley's winning the starting job to his offseason performance. It's always that something is wrong with Aaron Corp or Pete Carroll was rooting for Barkley. I have another theory.

- BYU looked very good. Even before Sam Bradford went down. I wonder if the Sooners will fall further with Bradford out a few weeks. Unlikely. Idaho State and Tulsa are next. They'll have to run the table to be in the discussion for the National Championship, though.

- Cal's Jahvid Best is the best running back in college football. Alabama's Mark Ingram showed that he's not too far behind.

- Florida begins their regular season on September 19 against Tennessee.

Saturday's over, but Sunday and Monday have a few more games to hold us over until Thursday when the NFL kicks off its regular season. Miami and Florida State are both looking to reclaim their spot in college football relevance, while Ole Miss begins their quest to prove they can hang with the big boys of the SEC. - Danny Hobrock

Danny Hobrock is a sports journalist who primarily covers college football and professional baseball. He is a contributor for several sports related blogs and is the former editor of a political and current events website.