And we have our first major stumble of the season

It was has long since become a trend, USC has gone on the road and stumbled in conference to a vastly inferior team. USC was outplayed, out hustled, and over matched last night by a struggling Oregon State team. Pete Carroll continues to be one of the best big game coaches in college football but his lack of ability to keep USC focused throughout the entire season is a problem. College's post-season system doesn't allow for slip ups and you don't play in the big games unless you win the small ones.

The team lacked fire from the get go falling behind 21 - 0 during the first half. The offense was tentative and the line play on both sides of the ball was a disappointment. It wasn't until they were down by 3 touchdowns that USC began to stretch OSU down the field. USC appeared ready to tie the game when they got the ball back early in the 4th quarter, but a resiliant OSU defense was able to keep them out of the endzone. Oregon State controlled field position and kept USC pinned down deep in their own end. A late USC touchdown gave them the opportunity to win the game if they recovered the onside kick but it wasn't in the cards last night.

So what happens now? UGA has lost ground in the Top 25 polls a couple times this year after winning games. Ohio State dropped to #14 after their loss 2 weeks ago to USC. In my opinion, USC has to drop out of the Top 10. A loss to an unranked team that got embarrassed by Penn State must carry some weight. We'll see how the media responds to this one. USC is regarded as one of the media darlings and that will definitely help them after this one. With some powerhouses in the SEC and Big 12 this year, USC's National title hopes look to be all but gone. Despite this loss, USC should still win the Pac 10 and be headed back to the Rose Bowl again.

Big game in the SEC this week

CBS has to be kicking itself for passing on the Georgia vs Alabama game this week and letting their rivals have the game after choosing to go with Tennessee and Auburn. Alabama and Georgia both enter this game with something to prove. Alabama has for years been trying to become an elite program again and a win over the Bulldogs would go a long way to letting everyone in college football know that Alabama was back. Georgia, despite their recent success, is still fighting the image that they are not truly one of CFB's top programs. In recent seasons setbacks against WVU and Tennessee have gone a long way to establishing that reputation.

To be completely honest, this looks like a trap game for Georgia. The program has everything to lose and not a ton to gain in this one which is generally a bad place for Georgia. Over the years Mark Richt has found ways to lose these games and keep Georgia from being firmly entrenched in the national title discussion. A win would help the program but Alabama is still ahead of schedule and one year removed from a rough season. A loss on the other hand knocks them out of the national title hunt and cements the Richt legacy of struggling in big games.

Alabama has been playing lights out this year. Their offensive line has been dominating games and providing Wilson the time he needs to pick defenses apart. Saban always focuses on defense and the Tide appear to be greatly improved on defense this season. The Georgia offense has not been running on all cylinders yet this season and if UGA is going to win they need the offense to step up.

Georgia will look to control the clock and dictate the tempo of this game. Stafford must protect the football and not give Alabama any easy touchdowns. Like his coach, Stafford has had mixed success on the big stages. You can't argue his arm strength but his decision making still gets him in trouble. In the end, I like Bama to pull off the upset in this one. It will be close and it will be a punishing game but Bama should come out on top.

Final Score: Alabama 17 Georgia 14

Week 5 Top 25 Poll

1. Southern Cal (9)
2. Oklahoma (3)
3. Missouri
4. LSU
5. Georgia
6. Florida
6. Penn State
8. Texas
9. Alabama
10. Wisconsin
11. BYU
12. Wake Forest
13. South Florida
14. Texas Tech
15. Boise State
16. Auburn
17. Utah
18. Colorado
19. Ohio State
20. TCU
21. Vanderbilt
22. Nebraska
23. Oklahoma State
24. Ball State
25. Clemson

Others receiving votes: East Carolina 24, Kansas 19, Connecticut 16, Oregon 16, Tulsa 16, Illinois 15, Kentucky 4, Miami 4, Michigan State 1

Week 4 Sunday Morning Thoughts

All right, I got my lamenting out of the way.  On to the week that was....

1) LSU makes a statement this week by going on the road and winning a big game over Auburn.  In a game that had much more offense than I expected it would (which I will be paying for this week by the way) LSU proved it can win a big road game with a young QB.  As this team continues to mature, watch out.  They still have some big games on the schedule and the SEC title game in Atlanta is always an extra hurdle but LSU established themselves as a team deserving of being in the national title hunt.  

2) Missouri struggled some this weekend and coach Pinkel is hoping it's due to Missouri looking ahead to Big 12 play.  The sloppy play let Buffalo hang around but Chase Daniel continued adding to his Heisman resume with another amazing performance.  In what appears to be a competitive Big 12, Missouri will need to make sure they don't perform like this against more talented competition or the end result might be a little different. 

3) The Pac 1 + 9 rears it's ugly head for the second week in a row.  With USC having the week off, the remaining PAC 10 teams were in full display this weekend.  ASU falls to Georgia in a game that was never competitive and Boise State knocked off Oregon in Eugene.  Throw in a 21 point loss by UCLA to Arizona and Stanford having to rally to beat San Jose State and it was another rough week for the PAC 10.  No other team appears to be even be on the same continent as USC right now and it could impact the Trojans national title chances.  At this point, there are teams in the SEC and the Big 12 who could go undefeated with tougher schedules.  The BCS formula will again cause a huge mess if that is the case.  

4) The Mid-Major BSC effort took a stumble this week as East Carolina lost to a banged up NC State team.  The previous wins over WVU and VT had already taken a hit with both schools struggling but the signs were on the wall last week when ECU struggled to beat Tulane.  Boise State and Utah both seem to be the two best candidates and a late season matchup between those two is looming large at this point.  

It's a Sad Day for a UT alum

I have to apologize if I seem out of this week as for the second consecutive year I've had to watch my beloved Vols get embarrassed on national TV by Florida.  With Auburn next week and Georgia and Alabama looming on the horizon it won't get any easier in Knoxville.  Barring a miracle and UT discovering some sense of offensive stability this might be Fulmer's last year in Knoxville.  Ten years removed from a national title is a long time in college football and as each day passes UT becomes less relevant in the SEC and nationally.  I've been saying for years that the writing was on the wall with this program.  UT has won the SEC East three times since 2000 yet not won the SEC since 1998.  In UT's defense they were only favored in one of those 3 games yet Tennessee fans don't view an SEC East title as the goal for a season.  Even when UT has won the East it has generally been because of other teams knocking off Florida or UGA.  Those SEC East titles have gotten Fulmer an extension through 2014 and have put everyone in an awkward position.  Fulmer is an alum of the school and did lead the program to a national title.  You can't question his passion for UT.  The biggest question about the coaching change at the program is who will be the new coach.  Looking around the college football landscape I don't see any coach that jumps out at me that I would like to coach UT who would actually leave their program to do it.  My ideal candidate would be Jim Grobe but I don't see him going anywhere.  The luster has come off Skip Holtz after struggling to beat Tulane and falling to NC State yesterday.  The rest of the season will be interesting as UT will likely struggle to break .500 for the second time in the last 4 seasons.  Wow, there's something I never thought I would be typing.  

Poll #1

Here's our first poll of the season. We haven't polled since the pre-season because we like to wait a few weeks, and see what teams are made of. It can be argued the out of conference schedules of most teams still don't tell us much, but at least holding our poll back a few weeks allows us to see the teams play.

I missed you guys last week as this little thing called Hurricane Ike swept through my home. All is well, and I'll be back on the scene with picks and insight this Thursday.

1. Southern Cal
2. Oklahoma
3. Missouri
4. LSU
5. Florida
6. Georgia
7. Penn State
8. Texas
9. Wisconsin
10. BYU
11. East Carolina
11. Alabama
13. Oregon
13. South Florida
15. Texas Tech
16. Ohio State
17. Auburn
18. Wake Forest
19. Utah
20. Kansas
21. Oklahoma State
22. Vanderbilt
23. TCU
24. Florida State
25. North Carolina

Others receiving votes: Nebraska 23, Boise State 23, Illinois 20, West Virginia 18, Air Force 18, Connecticut 13, Kentucky 3, Iowa 3, Indiana 2

Week 3 Sunday Morning Thoughts

Wow, is USC that good or OSU that bad?  The Trojans started a little slow but quickly turned up the volume as they cruised to an easy win.  Tressel once known as one of the best big game coaches in the land is now treading dangerously close to Bob Stoops territory.  For the third consecutive time, OSU has looked completely unprepared and overmatched in a big game.  Beanie Wells playing changes the game some but he wasn't good for 33 points so that turned out to be a non-factor.  Boeckman is not the answer at QB and Tressel would be best to look long term and go with Pryor.  OSU can still win the Big 10 with him at QB and the experience he would gain this year would serve him and the program well.  

As for USC, they appear to be running on all cylinders.  At this point, I see no major cracks in them on either side of the ball and as long as they stay focused (an annual issue for USC) then they will be playing for the Crystal ball come January.  

Oklahoma and Missouri appear to be the two most likely candidates to be joining them in the National Title game.  Both teams offenses are nothing short of remarkable and while OU has a better defense, both have the offensive firepower to outscore anyone.  

Georgia is a fraud and I still think the same about Florida.  Both are solid teams but the grind of their schedules will wear on them and keep them from playing in the big game.  The SEC's best chance for a National Title contender is the team no one is talking about, the LSU Tigers.  Outside of quarterback, LSU is on the same level of talent as USC.  With all those playmakers, the QB (whoever it ends up being) will just need to let others make plays and manage the game.  The LSU defense is phenomenal and will keep every game close.  

Your Top 4 teams to this point are USC, Oklahoma, Missouri, and LSU.  At this point, I don't see anyone making a serious run at those teams but they will all be playing with targets on their backs.  Should make for some great games in the coming weeks as everyone moves into their conference schedules.  

Week 2 Sunday Thoughts

This past weekend's slate of games looked dull but Saturday turned out to be an exciting day.  Washington and BYU, Ole Miss and Wake Forest, ECU and WVU, and Miami and Florida.  

Since I've already talked about the Wash/BYU game, I want to start with Ole Miss and Wake Forest.  Jim Grobe is one of the best, if not the best coaches in America but he came very close to costing Wake the game about midway through the 4th quarter.  Down by 1, Wake Forest scored a TD to go up by 5 points.  Grobe chose to kick the PAT instead of going for 2 and putting his team up by 7.  You have to go for 2 at this point as being up by 5 or 6 does you no good.  A touchdown by Ole Miss still beats you and you have to kick a FG to win either way.  Sure enough, Ole Miss drove down the field and scored a TD with 1:02 left on the clock.  Riley Skinner led Wake down the field and talented kicker Sam Swank drilled a 47 yarder to win it, but he should have kicking for the win or OT instead of a win or a loss.  Grobe did realize his mistake and acknowledged after the game, "I was really down, my heart kind of sunk."  As for the game, Wake appears to be the clear cut team to beat in the ACC and Ole Miss is headed the right direction under the leadership of Houston Nutt.

East Carolina continues their winning ways and they didn't need any drama to get it done this time.  This game was never really in doubt and it appears that Bill Russell is in way over his head at WVU.  ECU controlled the clock and shut down Pat White and the WVU offense.  People are already wondering how much longer Skip Holtz will remain in Greenville.  His dad was known as a job hopper and if it runs in the family then this might be Skip's last year at ECU.  

In what has been a rough start to the year for the ACC, they did have a few bright spots this weekend.  Wake held serve at home and Miami did the same as well.  The final score of 26 - 3 is misleading as the game was much closer than that.  Randy Shannon's defense did a great job of containing the potent UF offense, but they just don't have the horses to run with Florida for a full game yet.  If Miami continues to play defense like that and the young QB's develop, Miami might start getting re-established in the conference.  

The officials are not to blame for Washington's loss

First and foremost let's go ahead and talk about the end of the BYU and Washington game.  Washington surprised me and hung with BYU eventually scoring what should have been the tying touchdown with 2 second left.  Locker turned towards his teammates, threw the ball in the air, and celebrated.  Nothing he did was to taunt BYU, he simply wanted to celebrate a huge play in the game.  Locker's problem is that the NCAA rule book specifically addresses what he did.  Rule 9, Section 2, Article 1 clearly prohibits throwing the ball into the air after a touchdown.  My problem is with the rule, not the officials.  These officials, who were PAC 10 by the way in a non-conference game, interpreted the rule correctly and should not face ridicule.  However, this is a ridiculous rule and should be changed.  Every year the NCAA seems to try and take a little bit more fun out of the game.  Any intelligent person can see the difference in celebration and taunting/rubbing it in.  College football officials are being paid good money and it's a problem if the NCAA does not think they are capable of making this judgement decision.

Let's jump back to the game.  Even after the penalty, Washington was moved back to the 17 yard line which sets up the kicker for a 34 yard kick.  Obviously a kick from 19 is easier but college kickers not named Daniel Lincoln are generally good from that distance.  Washington's ensuing PAT chance was blocked by what looked like 3 or 4 players from BYU and that happens whether it's a 19 or a 34 yard kick.  If he pulled it and it would have been good from closer than Washington would be sitting on better ground to contest this, but that was not the case.  The Washington offensive line collapsed on the kick and that is why they lost the game by one.  This game was decided on the field, not by the officials. 

Is it time for Spurrier to hang it up?

Last night Steve Spurrier and his Gamecocks fell to Vanderbilt for the second year in a row. After an impressive win to start the season, this was not what the Old Ball Coach was expecting out of his team as they started conference play. Since taking over in Columbia, Spurrier is 22 - 17 which is not what the school was expecting when they brought him back to the college ranks. His Fun'N'Gun offense has never materialized at South Carolina because he has not been able to recruit the kind of players to fit his system. Everyone knew that Spurrier would have some work ahead of him to make South Carolina relevant in the SEC, however most experts were expecting more by this point. Despite Tennessee being down, South Carolina has yet to finish in the top 3 in the SEC East and the early season loss to Vanderbilt will make that difficult this year.

The magic just isn't there this time around and I wonder how long he will try to force it. Spurrier is an avid golfer and one of the reasons he chose South Carolina was the proximity to great golf courses. At this point in his career money is not an issue as he has always been one of the game's highest paid coaches. Each day that passes jeopardizes the legacy he established for himself at Duke and Florida. His track record of rebuilding teams has historically been strong but the pieces have yet to come together at South Carolina. It is important to note that while Spurrier was trying his hand at the NFL, the conference changed. Georgia, LSU, and Auburn all made strides while Spurrier was gone and Meyer has led the Gators to a National title since Spurrier has been back. Defense are quicker and the passing game has changed as well. Spurrier has tried to run the ball more but it's not who he is. It has gotten so bad that Spurrier actually reliquenshed control of the offense to his son, something I never thought I would see. When you watch him during a game now, it sometimes feels like he is mailing it in. The passion and expression that were Spurrier trademarks just aren't there anymore. Spurrier is ultra competitive and extremely arrogant so deep down he probably doesn't want to walk away from this until he turns South Carolina around.

Spurrier and the school are both in a tough position. Spurrier's ego makes it hard for him to resign and how in the world could South Carolina justify to its fans the firing of Spurrier. Unless South Carolina bounces back and makes some major strides this year, it might be time for Spurrier to meet with school officials and find some way to make a transition work for everyone. As a Tennessee fan, I've always had mixed feelings about Spurrier. He has always been the guy you love to hate, but the day he left Florida the rivalry just didn't feel the same anymore. As scared I was of the day he took over a part of me was excited about what he would bring back to the conference. At this point it's been a disappointment and Spurrier and South Carolina continue to be an afterthought in a crowded SEC hierarchy. Stay tuned as this story will probably continue to develop as the season progresses.

Week 2 Games of the Week

Week 1 is in the books. 3-5 against the spread ain't gonna buy momma new shoes. But these things happen. It was a good week 1 of college football. We saw some of the same: Dave Wannstedt and Tommy Bowden still can't coach, Tennessee is content with 10 years of futility, USC raped an out of conference opponent. We were welcomed to the Rick Neuheisel era at UCLA, saw "the process" at Alabama come to fruition, and got to watch a lot of BCS powers feast on I-AA opponents. Week 2 will see more of that last part, but I digress. On to the games that wet my week 2 pallet.

Miami (+21.5) at Florida: Not even a little Gator bulletin board material will help the Canes. The Miami D will try to keep the Canes in it, but the O will provide little to no support. Expect Urban, Tebow, and company to lay the wood to their rival. Gators 48, Canes 17.

Cincinnati at Oklahoma (-21.5): Cincy comes into Norman with an experienced defense (9 returning starters) and a spread attack similar to the West Virginia attack that gave the Sooners fits in the Fiesta Bowl. Still coming to Norman is no easy task for visiting teams, as the Stoops Troops are 56-2 in Norman under Stoops, including a streak of 21 in a row. I am taking the Bearcats, but barely. I think the line is just about right here so I see this game going a point or two either way, but the outcome the same: A comfortable Sooner victory. OU 41, Cincy 23.

Ole Miss at Wake Forest (-8) : ACC versus SEC, again. But this time the ACC will win one for the conference. Expect Riley Skinner and the Deacons to protect home field against Ole Miss. Side note: Wake Forest is the only ranked ACC team, the first time in the conferences history it only has one team ranked in the poll. Wake 35, Ole Miss 23.

BYU at Washington (+9.5): My gut feeling says take the 9.5 point home dog. But after getting embarrassed in Oregon last week it's tough to like Huskies. With that said quarterback Jake Locker is a stud and the Huskies should be motivated to prove they aren't the same old Huskies. BYU is looking to play BCS buster and a win here keeps that dream alive. BYU 31, Washington 27.

Houston (+16) at Oklahoma State: My upset alert for week. The Cougars aren't afraid of playing BCS opponents and have been very competitive more times than not. Head coach Kevin Sumlin comes to UH from Oklahoma, so I expect he'll have his team especially psyched to go against OSU. Plus, UH just may be the best team in C-USA once it's all said and done. Mike "I'm a man" Gundy had his Cowboys looking good at Washington State last week. Quarterback Zac Robinson will lead a high powered offense but it is yet to be seen if the defense can stop anybody (Washington State does not qualify as "anybody"). Houston 31, Oklahoma State 27.