The Ole College Try

Welcome to the weekly installment of the almost weekly perspective of college football.  As a refresher, 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.  Consider this my sarcastic homage to stupid reporting.

Heisman Watch

Quarterback Edition

Favorite - Aaron Murray - Georgia - Only 196 yards passing, but another 53 yards rushing, plus a proverbial "Heisman" play with the last second game tying touchdown pass against Tennessee.

Johnny Manziel - Texas A&M - Still the betting line favorite, and as I stated last  year, unless Murray falters, I will likely keep him here until the LSU game.

Tahj Boyd - Clemson - 1449 yards with 14TDs against only 2 Interceptions to lead the number 3 ranked undefeated Tigers.  With the Seminoles looming, Boyd has a chance to catapult up the board.

Rising - Brett Hundley - UCLA - Only just over 1,000 yards passing, but this sophomore has been giving UCLA fans hope for a phenomenal system.

Dark Horse - Jameis Winston - FSU - 1,441 yards, 17TDs and only 2 Interceptions on the season, including an absolute pasting of the then 25th ranked Terrapins with 393 yards and 5 TDs.

Falling - Keith Price - Washington - Not a bad game against a really tough Stanford defense, but with the abundance of stat-producers in the PAC-12, Price needed the Huskies to beat the Cardinal.

Running Back Edition

No change this week in the major runners - why?  Nobody played anybody this week.  The top 3, are simply the top 3 and that is it.  More discussion in those rising/sleepers.

Favorite - Andre Williams - Boston College - He is now up to third in the NCAA in rushing yards, and has done so against some decent teams.

Melvin Gordon - Wisconsin - Had a tough game against Ohio State a couple of weeks ago, and with last week's bye week has now 6th in the country in rushing yards.

Todd Gurley - Georgia - Still the best back in the country, in my opinion.  Maybe not as fast as Thomas or Seastrunk, but fast enough - and powerful.  He will have to prove it now with Marshall out for the rest of the season.

Rising - David Fluellen - Toledo - Well, as I said last week, he was likely going to move up the rushing charts having already played a tough Florida defense, thus deflating his early season numbers.  He is now second in the in rushing yards with 846 yards after a 220 yard performance against Western Michigan.

Sleeper - Bishop Sankey - Washington - Washington is good, and a large part of that is because of Sankey.  Even in a loss he gained 125 yards against a really tough Stanford defense.  Plus, I again get to reference The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh - the best movie ever about basketball.

Wide Receiver Edition

No change this week, except for the statistics, and I am too lazy to change them on here.

Brandin Cooks - Oregon State - Leads the NCAA in receptions with 52 (next best is 40), yards with 807 (next highest is 691), and receiving touchdowns with 9.  To say that he is Sean Mannion's favorite target is an understatement.

Mike Evans - Texas A & M; - He has 28 catches for 691 yards (24.7 ypc).  Right now he is the best receiver in the SEC, and is projecting as a Top 10 pick.

Jordan Matthews - Vanderbilt - He has 40 catches for 586 yards, and is by far the only offensive weapon that the Commodores have.  Giving Evans a run for best receiver in the SEC.

Rising - Jarvis Landry - LSU - 24 catches, 540 yards and 7 TDs, including one last week against Georgia (as projected here last week).

Falling - Marquise Lee - Quarterback play is killing his chances.  Although he is still a likely top 10 draft pick, and has a respectable 30 receptions and 385 yards, but only 1 Touchdown on the year (he has 26 for his career).

Defensive Edition

3.  Keith Smith - LB - San Jose State - Has 80 total tackles average out to an amazing 17.4 tackles per game.  I don't care what team you play for, and what teams you play - that is a ton!

2.  Vic Beasley - DL - Clemson - He has 8 sacks, the question now is can he get to Winston when they play Florida State.

1.  C.J. Mosley - LB - Alabama - Giving up 3 points to Georgia State can almost get you eliminated from this spot - but then again, they only gave up 3 points.

Falling - Defense - Georgia - I know that Tennessee was a trap game, but there is no way Georgia should have given up that much to Tennessee.

Player to Watch

Keenan Reynolds - RB - Navy - Because the military academies deserved a mention after having to figure out if they could even play given this government shutdown business.  His 126 yards and 3 touchdowns were important in the Midshipmen's defeat of the Falcons.

My New Favorite Player Besides Baker Mayfield - the Walk On Freshman

Marquez North - WR - Tennessee - Because his name sounds like it was from the Key & Peele College Football All-Star sketch.

Players of the Week

5.  Teddy Bridgewater - QB - Louisville - The Cardinals' quarterback went 25-35 for 348 yards and 2 TDs in Louisville's dominating win over Temple.  He sure would look good in a Jaguar uniform.

4.  Ameer Abullah - RB - Nebraska - Rushed for 225 yards and 2 TDs in Nebraska's conference opener win against Illinois.

3.  Marcus Mariota - QB - Oregon - Mariota was 16-27 for 355 yards and 5 TDs passing, and also rushed for 43 more yards and 2 additional touchdowns as the Ducks just torched Colorado 57-16.

2.  Andre Williams - RB - Boston College - The Eagle had 263 yards rushing and 5 TDs in Boston College's defeat of Army.

1.  Jameis Winston - QB - FSU - 23-32 for 393 yards and 5 TDs, with no interceptions, as the Seminoles rolled over then 25th ranked Maryland.

Goat of the Week (Player Edition)

Pig Howard - RB - Tennessee - You hate to fault a guy for effort, but Pig Howard's stretch into the end zone in overtime against Georgia, only to fumble the ball out of bounds in the end zone giving Georgia the ball only needing a field goal, which they kicked after gaining a grand total of zero yards.

Goat of the Week (Coach Edition)

Still Texas Coach Mack Brown - Both Johnny Manziel and Jameis Winston wanted to play at Texas, only to be told that Mack Brown did not think that either would "fit into his system"..

Predicted BCS Championship Game Match Up

Alabama v. Oregon - Still lots of contenders, but at this point, there is nothing I have seen to knock either Alabama or Oregon out of this spot.

Rant(s) of the Week

Still the same rant - and deservedly so - The NCAA has managed to rule on the Penn State situation - twice - before it has made a decision on Miami.  This is ultimately ludicrous, as this has been hanging over the Hurricanes for four years now.  Enough is enough - come down with the penalties and let's move one.  And those penalties should not include a post-season ban because of "time-served".

Interesting Fact of the Week (Even if only to me)

This comes from Sinickal - The latest in a game that Baylor has scored their 35th point is with 2:52 left in the first half.  This season, Baylor has attempted 8 total passes in the second half!

Under Performance of the Week

Texas - The Longhorns needed a couple of poor officiating calls in the same drive in order to defeat Iowa State.  Both of the calls were fumbles, and their was enough evidence to overturn the calls.  Both of them.  Period!

Last Week's Trivia Answer

The ACC record holder for most touchdowns produced is Philip Rivers of North Carolina State, with 112.

Trivia Question of the Week

Entering this week's games, what two FBS conferences have three remaining undefeated teams?

Match up(s) to Watch

4.  Baylor v. Kansas State - Just to see if Baylor can score 35 in the first half again.

3.  Oregon v. Washington - This is Washington's chance to make a big statement after last week's loss to Stanford.

2.  Florida v. LSU - Florida's offense is not very scary, but this is not a typical LSU defense.  With Dominique Easley out, can Hill run through the center of Florida's defense?  Can Mettenberger take advantage of Florida's safeties?  Should be an interesting game.

1. Northwestern v. Wisconsin - Both teams are coming off of close losses to Ohio State.  Which team can bounce back to lay in wait in case Ohio State falls off later in the season?