The Ole College Try

Once again, I will attempt to do a weekly wrap-up of the college football season, told from a couple of days distance simply to let some of the stories simmer a bit and to gain a bit of perspective. Generally this column will come out on Wednesday. Although you may have a different take on the past weekend, I can only truly comment on games that I have seen, and this is my perspective.

Also, I write this column as if every player is a Heisman Trophy candidate. Why? Because it is ridiculously ludicrous that the networks, including the World Wide Leader, nay, especially the World Wide Leader, emphasize the Heisman Trophy race this early in the season. After all, who knew who Mark Ingram was at this time last year. Regular readers will remember, or at least can go look up, my initial column last year where I accurately predicted the third straight sophomore Heisman winner (so what if it wasn't Jacory Harris?) Consider this my sarcastic homage to stupid reporting.

The only thing is we have no "Big 3 Edition" this season, since Bradford, McCoy and Tebow all defected to the riches of the NFL.

Heisman Watch

Quarterback Edition

Favorite - Kellen Moore - Boise State - Only 23-38 for 215 yards, but 3 TDs, including the last minute, prime time Labor Day evening game winner over Virginia Tech.

Tyler Yates - North Carolina - 412 yards, 3 TDs, no INTs against LSU. North Carolina's defense was undermanned this game (perhaps the season), so they needed every single one of Yates' yards to even compete.

Sleeper - Nick Foles - Arizona - 32-37 for 360 yards. Only 5 incompletions. Did have 1 interception, though.

Rising - Andrew Luck - Stanford - With his old backfield mate now on the Vikings (that's Toby Gerhart), this is Luck's team. Could be in contention for a PAC-10 title.

Falling - Nobody - yet.

And yes, I suspect this is the only time Yates and Foles merit mention in this column.

Running Back Edition

Favorite - Demarco Murray - Oklahoma - 208 yards and 2 TDs. This team is now definitely back to being a running team, and Murray is the lead horse.

John Clay - Wisconsin - Only 123 yards, but on 17 carries. Will have a much heavier workload in tougher games.

Sleeper - Davin Meggett - Maryland - 105 yards, but on only 8 carries. I don't expect him to keep up this pace, but the Terps need something to work on offense for them to be good this year.

Rising - Nobody is rising after only one week.

Falling - Same.

Defensive Leader - Lance Mitchell S - Oregon State - 18 tackles! Not sure OSU wants its safety to have this many tackles, but he deserves to be on top for this week.

Co-Leader - Janoris Jenkins - CB - Florida - When the Gators so desperately needed a play, it was Jenkins, and not any of the members of the vaunted offense, that stepped up.

Player to Watch

Jacory Harris - QB - Miami - I am going with him for the second straight year after week 1. The fact that the Canes need him to play extremely well going into the Horseshoe is understating the facts.

My New Favorite Player

Kyle Padron - QB - Southern Methodist - Simply because of his name

Goat of the Week (Player Edition)

Mike Pouncey - C (former C) - Florida - He is not his brother Maurkice. Must have had 300 bad snaps during the game. Almost cost them the game against Miami (OH). One of the ESPN announcers stated that the Gators should bench Brantley and promote a shortstop.

Goat of the Week (Coach Edition)

Ken Niumatalolo - Navy - I understand going for it when your team is the underdog, tired, and becoming less and less competitve. When you have the better and stronger team? Go for the tie, prolong the game and outlast the weaker opponent. Even Niumatalolo admitted this mistake. You were rushing at will against Maryland, did you think that wasn't going to last in overtime?

Predicted BCS Championship Game Matchup
Boise State v. Alabama - Boise State has one big matchup left, against Oregon State. Alabama, until someone knocks them off is on top. Still way too early to tell.

Rant(s) of the Week
Florida State wide reciever/punt returner Greg Reid goes down with what looks to be a leg cramp, but could be more serious. The team gets him to the sidelines, and right in front of the cameras someone gives him a pill, puts something in his water bottle and has him drink. Now, I am sure it was a potassium pill or something similar, but for crying out loud, in this day and age of PEDs, at least have someone tell the audience what it was that he took.

Congratulations of the Week

Boise State - For the first time in their history, they looked like an actual great (potentially) team, rather than just a plucky good story with a good system.

Under Performance of the Week

Florida - Just awful. They got outplayed. Lucky to have won.

Offensive Play of the Week

Touchdown Catch by Boise State TE Tommy Gallarda. Magnificent diving catch in the endzone, holding onto the ball while hitting the ground with his elbow.

Co-Defensive Plays of the Week

Maryland Safety Kenny Tate stopping Navy QB Ricky Dobbs at the goal line with :34 left was important, but it paled in comparison to teammate Adrian Moten jumping over the line of scrimmage at the snap and simultaneously sacking Dobbs and causing a fumble. Roy Williams-like in athleticism.

Trivia Question of the Week

TCU QB Andy Dalton is tied with the most wins in school history. With who is he tied?

Matchup(s) to Watch

3. USF v. Florida - Could Florida really be that bad? South Florida QB B.J. Daniels is a handful - if you don't believe me, ask Florida State fans.

2. Florida State v. Oklahoma - Florida State's offense can compete with anyone, now we will see if the Seminoles defense can stop somebody good. Demarco Murray and Ryan Broyles give Landry Jones two phenomenal weapons to use.

1. Miami v. Ohio State - Need you ask?