The Ole College Try

Welcome to the almost weekly perspective of college football. For those that don't remember, 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.

Heisman Watch

Quarterback Edition

Favorite - Terrelle Pryor - Ohio State - The legitimate front runner for this award after gaining 42,000 total yards in the last two games, or at least, that is what ESPN has led me to believe.

Andrew Luck - Stanford - This is now a two person race, unless Oregon's defense totally decimates Luck this weekend. Luck has taken over the favorite for first draft pick from fellow Pac-10 QB Jake Locker.


Rising - Denard Robinson - Michigan - A tremendous athlete at the QB position. He leads the nation in rushing. The nation. As a QB!!!

Falling - Case Keenum - Houston - No ACL, No Heisman.

Running Back Edition

Favorite - John Clay - Wisconsin - 501 yards and 6TDs. Big test this week as Wisconsin, with the tenth best rushing attack in NCAA, goes against Michigan State, with the tenth best rushing defense in the NCAA. Somethings gotta give.

Sleeper - LaMichael James - Oregon - He made Oregon fans forget about LaGarrette Blount last year, and he is making them care about him this year. A big game against Stanford would vault James into the national spotlight, and Oregon into the national championship hunt.

Rising - Kendall Hunter - Oklahoma State - 8TDs so far this year and 7 yards per carry. He is no Denard Robinson, but then again, who is.

Falling - Trent Richardson - Alabama - Not necessarily because of anything that he has done, but simply because of what Mark Ingram has done. It became fashionable when Ingram was injured for some analysts (myself included) to say that Richardson might even be better than Ingram. He is not.

Defensive Leader - Monte Te'o - Notre Dame - 54 tackles so far this season. Of course, he seems to be the only person tackling anybody for Notre Dame.

Player to Watch

Trey Burton - QB/RB - Florida - 6 TDs last week against Kentucky, including 5 rushing TDs on 5 carries. This guy is a talent, and with Demps being injured, should have more plays called for him against Alabama.

My New Favorite Player

Taylor Martinez - QB - Nebraska - First of all, he's Hispanic. Second of all, he's a QB. 9.4yards per carry, 8 TDs and just shy of 500 yards rushing. Oh yeah, and he is a freshman.

Goat of the Week (Player Edition)

The Georgia CB who allowed Arkansas' receiver to score the go-ahead TD in the last second a couple of weeks ago. He is so unimportant to me, I don't even want to look him up.

Goat of the Week (Coach Edition)

Les Miles - LSU - For coming out and insulting the LSU fans for booing during the games. Les, the fans are not booing your players, they are booing you.

Predicted BCS Championship Game Matchup
Boise State v. Alabama - Alabama looked beatable against Arkansas, and Boise State handled Oregon State, putting them on a crash course for the BCS Champtionship game, depending on what happens in the Oregon - Stanford game, especially if Oregon wins.

Rant(s) of the Week
Why can't any team find helmets that stay on the player's heads during the game? Seriously, now that I have mentioned it, watch how many helmets fly off for no reason.

Congratulations of the Week

Boise State - Again. They didn't make the rules, but they have beaten the only two teams on their scheduled.

Under Performance of the Week

Texas. I mean they haven't had a running game for a while, but boy-oh-boy did they look awful against UCLA.

Offensive Play of the Week

Defensive Plays of the Week

Stanford FB/LB Owen Marecic scores a rushing touchdown, then intercepts the next offensive play for a TD. Two touchdowns on two consecutive plays, one on offense and one on defense You don't get any better than that.

Last Week's Trivia Answer

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

Slingin' Sammy Baugh.

Trivia Question of the Week

Nebraska Freshman QB Taylor Martinez has 532 yards rushing through the first four games. What is the NCAA FBS freshman rushing record, and who holds it?

Matchup(s) to Watch

3. Wisconsin v. Michigan State - As stated above, the tenth best rushing team against the tenth best rushing defense. If Wisconsin wins, they could emerge as the biggest challenger to Ohio State's potential undefeated season, Big Ten championship, and potential BCS championship birth.

2. Florida v. Alabama - Could be a preview of the SEC Championship game. Florida seems to be playing better after routing Kentucky, but Alabama is most likely too strong. The big question is does Florida learn something from this game that they use to beat Alabama in December.

1. Stanford v. Oregon - This could be the most exciting game of the season. Actual potential for 100 points to be scored.