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.

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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 comeback in college football, especially in the ACC whose members were not shy about mounting thrilling, drama-filled comebacks in overtime or with minutes, or seconds, remaining. North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest, Maryland and Florida State relied on the comeback to beat the likes of Connecticut, Army, Stanford, James Madison and Jacksonville State, respectively. Michigan/Notre Dame, Tennessee/UCLA, Wisconsin/Fresno State and USC/Ohio State were thrillers as well, and that's just naming a few.

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

- Iowa is the worst preseason top 25 team to start the season 2-0 in this history of the game. They showed why they dropped out of the rankings following a win, and did little to help their bid to reclaim their spot in the top 25. The 35-3 score was misleading. It took two and a half quarters for the Hawkeyes to separate from an Iowa State team that closed 2008 with 10 straight losses. And the Cyclones really killed themselves with turnovers. I know it's a rivalry game, but c'mon.

- Connecticut's defense was stout, but if that's all North Carolina's offense can muster, they're in trouble. It took a holding call in the end zone to give UNC the win.

- Two games in and Lou Holtz has been proven mad. Armando Allen said that he wanted to break more big runs for Notre Dame this season. So far, so good. Too bad Tate Forcier decided to steal the show with 11 seconds left. Or was it 9?

- I asked myself three times, "Why is Aaron Eckhart carrying a clipboard on the Tennessee sideline?" before realizing that it was Lane Kiffin. Tennessee fans should take solace in their killer running back combo of senior Montario Hardesty and freshman Bryce Brown. Give credit to UCLA for beating a very good Tennessee team, but three interceptions and a botched exchange from center to quarterback didn't help the Volunteers' effort. If nothing else, the Vols should be happy they've now got a little big game experience to carry into the Swamp next week.

- I'm not worried about Oklahoma State moving forward. Down 24-7 at half, the Cowboys came out of the half with new energy and responded to adversity. The upset was more a testament to how well Houston played rather than how poorly the Cowboys played. If not for a tipped ball in the end zone and Dez Bryant's cramping legs that likely led to a pick-six, the Cowboys could be letting out a sigh of relief instead of lamenting a tough loss to an unranked and unheralded, but underrated and explosive, Houston Cougars team. Don’t be too surprised if Oklahoma State beats Texas or Oklahoma later in the season.

- I can't decide which true freshman starting quarterback impressed me more: Matt Barkley or Tate Forcier. On the one hand, Barkley led an impressive drive to close out the half for the Trojans. He followed that up with a game winning drive to end the game, but that was much on the back of Joe McKnight. Forcier, on the other hand, looked cooler, calmer and more poised than any true freshman quarterback leading a game winning drive in his second college game and one of the biggest games he will ever play. He made some huge throws, too. Yeah, it's Forcier, but with props going out to Barkley for keeping his pants clean while leading the game winning drive. These guys are good.

So in a week that saw more than a few fourth quarter comebacks and dramatic finishes, there aren't any games on Sunday or Monday to hold us over until Thursday's Miami/Georgia Tech showdown. Speaking of the ACC, did any conference need an 8-1 Saturday like the ACC did? Sure, they had to come from behind to defeat some less than spectacular teams, but they'll take it.

Every week a player decides to burst onto the national scene in a big way. This week's New Household Name is Derrick Morgan. The Georgia Tech defensive end was all over Clemson's backfield on Thursday night, finishing with 10 tackles and 3 sacks.

Last week, Dez Bryant Proved He's Worth the Hype. This week, Tennessee defensive back Eric Berry did the same in a losing effort. Berry finished with 10 tackles and was all over the field for the Volunteers defense.

Next week's games to watch come before College Football Saturday even kicks off. Thursday night's Miami/Georgia Tech matchup promises to be a good one, as does Friday's Boise State/Fresno State game. On Saturday, Tennessee travels to Florida, Nebraska visits Virginia Tech, Utah and Oregon go at it and BYU takes on Florida State. Texas plays Texas Tech in the primetime matchup. North Carolina should be on upset alert when East Carolina comes to town, as should Iowa with the Arizona Wildcats visiting. 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.

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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.

USC / Ohio State Already Written

Week One of the 2009 college football season did its part in sorting through the season's contenders and pretenders, and revealed some glaring weaknesses in what many of us thought were solid teams (i.e. Is Joe Cox really 'the man' in Athens?). A top three team fell and lost their Heisman-winning quarterback, a freshman or two came storming onto the national scene, and we witnessed a game for the ages on Labor Day night. But the year's first big-time-uber-mega game with BCS implications has yet to take place. That is, until Saturday when USC and true freshman quarterback Matt Barkley make their way to the 'Shoe to take on an Ohio State team who just barely squeaked out a victory against Navy in the season opener.

Hmm. Somehow I feel like I've already seen the game thanks to the nonstop coverage, speculation and hype surrounding us from all fronts. (It's pretty difficult filing 24 hours of sports news when nobody's being bad. If it weren't for Merriman's and Roethlisberger's accusers, we'd already know the game's final score.) I've heard more about this game from the media than I've heard about the President's back-to-school address to children that has been covered, criticized, defended and brushed off by political pundits and 'analysts' on CNN, FOX News and MSNBC.

The day begins with Barkley stepping off the Trojans bus with his IPod drowning out harassing catcalls and incessant questions from reporters. "How are you feeling?!" they ask. Another shouts, "Nervous, Matt?!" "Buckeye Revenge!!" is screamed from the mouth of an excited student sporting a red and white 'Live Strong' bracelet, khaki cargo shorts and a t-shirt with an ironic slogan printed across the front.

Game time. Barkley and the Trojans take the field to a chorus of boos and more catcalls from amped up and beered up students. Commentators and play-by-play announcers in the booth recall last year's 35-3 Trojans victory. They also discuss the change in the game's location from the Coliseum to the 'Shoe, and wonder if the new Trojans quarterback can handle the pressure of the moment.

Kick off. This is where things get hazy. It's where the streamlined, chronological order of events branches off into two possible scenarios. And the split banks on quarterback play. The winner of this year's USC/Ohio State showdown will come down to which quarterback (OSU's Terrelle Pryor or USC's Barkley) can effectively manage their team and lead their offense down the field. A couple mighty defenses stand in the way of the young quarterbacks.

Advantage Barkley. And it has something to do with Michael Vick. Unbelievably, he's made his way into the USC/Ohio State game having attended neither school nor having ever played against either team in his two years as the Virginia Tech quarterback.

According to some writers, when Pryor paid tribute to Vick via an eye-black patch with 'Vick' inscribed on it, he lost the respect of some loyal members of Buckeye nation. Bill Livingston of the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote, "…Pryor has shown that he might be the Buckeyes' best player. But now he is sure not their leader." Quarterbacks who fail as team leaders rarely win against a team whose quarterback embraces the role.

Not to say that a true freshman can nab the role of team leader after a single blowout of a much lesser opponent. But I'm not sure that Barkley has done anything to so irk his teammates as Pryor may have done. So based on the leadership issue, and if writers like Livingston are correct, Pryor may face a pitfall or two in leading his the Buckeye offense down the field against the Trojans defense.

So it has been written. An epic battle with two possible outcomes that bank on the welfare of the story's main foes. Of course, this could just as easily turn out to be another flop that gives away its ending in the first twenty minutes. - 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.

Barkley Wins Starting Job with Golden California Locks

When Matt Barkley was named the Southern Cal starting quarterback on Thursday, nobody was surprised. Even those who had not witnessed a single snap from USC camp, nor had followed the progress of the three-way quarterback competition between Barkley, Aaron Corp and Mitch Mustain. So why did so many people see this one coming? USC has not only produced some of the finest college quarterbacks this decade. They've produced some of the prettiest as well.

From the moment we first saw Barkley's golden hair and determined, photo shoot stare in those Rivals and Scout photos, we knew. It wasn't even fair.

The Trojans have churned out some outstanding quarterbacks this decade. There are some tough acts to follow in that group and as long as the list continues to grow, their successors will face a progressively steeper mountain to climb. Years of exceptional recruiting has gone into compiling such an impressive list of quarterbacks. What's their secret? USC scouts place extra importance on their quarterbacks' looks. And it's paid off.

The benefits of this system go beyond the raw confidence that these quarterbacks bring to the field. There is the influx of female fans that attend games. Calendars and appearances in GQ bring the program some added exposure. It opens up the window for unique team sponsorship opportunities from companies like Bed Head, Banana Boat and others providing products that make up that essential laidback California look.

I'm sure that Barkley's performance in spring practice and, more notably, in camp had a little something to do with his ascension to the top of the depth chart. I am, after all, a realist. But when you have a system that hasn't failed this decade, then why change suit now?

Carson Palmer got things started in 1998. He would go on to win the Heisman Trophy in 2002 and was selected first-overall in the 2003 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. He gave new life to the Bengals and was featured in an ill-advised hot dog advertisement.

Next up was Matt Leinart, who took over in 2003 as a sophomore. He won the Heisman Trophy in 2004 and was drafted 10th overall in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. He partied with some ASU girls in a hot tub and dated Paris Hilton since his arrival in the NFL.

John David Booty, who many believed would eventually beat out Leinart once he learned the offense, took the reigns as a junior in 2006 after Leinart's departure. He played two seasons as the Trojans starting quarterback, winning two Rose Bowls. While at SC, his last name prompted some women to get creative in their support of the Trojans.

Then came Mark Sanchez, who, like his predecessors, waited patiently for his opportunity. Sanchez started only one season for the Trojans, winning the Rose Bowl before being selected fifth overall by the New York Jets. He posed for GQ in the offseason.

Matt Barkley will be the first Trojan to start the season opener as a true freshman, meaning he's already made Trojans history. There are a few tough acts he has to follow, but Barkley's obvious talent will make him the face of the USC offense. He also seems to have that unflappable football confidence that makes so many quarterbacks great. Expect to see Barkley under center in the Coliseum for the next few years.

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.