The Ole College Try

Welcome to the return of 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 all season.  Consider this my sarcastic homage to stupid reporting.

Heisman Watch

Quarterback Edition

Favorite - Marcus Mariota - Oregon - Added 329 yards passing with 5 touchdowns this week against Washington State, and the Ducks needed everyone of them.  Also showed the capacity for the big play, throwing for 1 TD of 80 yards and another for 57.  Did nothing to slide from the favorite position.

Kenny Hill - Texas A and M - In a blowout in which he did not have to play the entire game, he threw for 265 and added 57 yards rushing.  Kenny Football anyone?.

Dark Horse - Connor Halliday - Washington State - Matched Mariota play for play throwing for 436 yards and 4 Touchdowns with no interceptions.  He has 1901 yards for the season - which leads the FBS - and 16 TDs.  Will not win because the team is so bad.

Falling - Jameis Winston - Florida State University - Team won a close game against a good opponent with him on the bench due to his much publicized suspension for saying "an obscene phrase".

Running Back Edition

Favorite - Todd Gurley -Georgia - A ho-hum game for Gurley because the Bulldogs blew out Troy 66-0.  Still finished with 73 yards on only 6 carries, and he still has not had more than 20 carries in a game.

Rising - Ameer Abdullah - Nebraska - He had 229 yards and 2 touchdowns as Abdullah, and the Cornhusker offensive line, totally dominated their win against Miami.  He has 625 yards rushing for the year - second in the FBS, despite being the only true offensive threat for Nebraska.

Sleeper -Tevin Coleman - Indiana - Third in the FBS in rushing yards having gained 569 yards, on 26 less carries than Abdullah and 44 less carries that Pittsburgh's James Conner (699 yards).

Wide Receiver Edition

Amari Cooper - Alabama - Leads the FBS in receptions (43) and yards (655) yards, including torching Florida and the supposedly All-American candidate Vernon Hargreaves III for 201 this past week.  Easily the best wide receiver in the country.

Kevin White - West Virginia - .Second to Cooper with 42 receptions and 633 yards.

Nobody else is even worth mentioning.

Defensive Edition

3. Danny Shelton - DT - Washington - Leads the FBS in sacks with 7.

2.  Gerod Holliman - S - Louisville - His FBS leading 5 interceptions mean that the Cardinals defense does not miss first round pick Calvin Pryor all that much..

1.  Shane Ray - DE - Missouri - Tied for the FBS lead with the aforementioned Danny Shelton with 9 1/2 tackles for loss

Although, truth be told, I am still waiting for a defender to really put his individual mark on this season.

Player to Watch

Melvin Gordon - RB - Wisconsin - He had 253 yards rushing and 5 Touchdowns, on only 13 carries against an easily overmatched Bowling Green.  Still, the Badgers are finally using Gordon when they need him, instead of overlooking him like they did in the fourth quarter of the LSU game.

My New Favorite Player

Dak Prescott - QB - Mississippi State - Prescott was absolutely outstanding in the Bulldogs victory AT LSU.  He threw for for 268 yards with 2 TDs and 0 Interceptions, and also rushed for 105 yards a touchdown, putting the SEC West on notice for the rest of the season.

Players of the Week

This section will be more week specific as the season goes forward, but for the first week, it is hard to differentiate the players of the week from the players of the season, as the season has only lasted 1 week.

5.  Anu Soloman - Arizona - The freshman quarterback threw for 520 yards with 5 TDs, albeit with 2 interceptions, in Arizona's 49-45 victory over Cal.  Arizona quietly sits at 4-0, and although not likely to challenge for the conference title, could very well determine who does win by beating a favorite or two.

4.  Samaje Perine - Oklahoma - The freshman rushed for 242 yards and 4 touchdowns on 34 carries in the Sooners victory over West Virginia.  His career total before this game was 32 carries and 1 touchdown.

3.  Melvin Gordon - Wisconsin - Thoroughly dominated Bowling Green.  Also see Abdullah, Ameer.

2.  Amari Cooper - Alabama - It was as if the Florida secondary was standing still.

1.  Dak Prescott - Mississippi State - Really good stats, but more importantly, played great in a tough game, against a great opponent, in one of the hardest stadiums in which to play.

Goat of the Week (Player Edition)

Ammon Lakip - K - Clemson - Missed two field goals that would have won the game for the Tigers in Tallahassee.  One was from short range.

Goat of the Week (Coach Edition)

Will Muschamp - Florida - How this team manages to keep Jeff Driskel as the starting quarterback is absolutely astonishing to me.

Predicted Playoffs/Championship Match Ups

Oregon (1) v. Michigan State (4)/Alabama (3) v. Oklahoma (2)
Oregon (1) v. Oklahoma (2)
That is right - no Florida State.  As some of the undefeateds fall - and they have to as a bunch of them play each other - Michigan State bounces back into the Top 4 in  a weak Big 10.

Rant(s) of the Week

My real rant is going to be about Jameis Winston.  Not ranting about him, but ranting about how the college suspending him was utterly ridiculous and more conceived out of a lack of understanding among generations and races.  But that, right now, is bouncing around my head as a possible entire new column.

So for now, my rant of the week is as a fan, and not a columnist.  How on earth can everyone in the entire stadium, and everyone in the entire television viewing audience know that all Nebraska is going to do is to give the ball to Abdullah (which they did 35 times), and yet the defensive coordinator and other coaches fail to see that and try to do something about it?  The coaches can say that it wasn't the scheme, but guess what?  IT WAS THE SCHEME!!!!

Under Performance of the Week

Missouri - Losing to Indiana at home 31-27 is never good, much less for an SEC that claims that top to bottom it is better than every other conference.  It might be at the top, but the bottom of the SEC is not too spectacular this year.

Last Week's Trivia Answer

Clint Trickett threw for 511 yards in the game against Maryland.  Which West Virginia QB holds the record for most passing yards in a game, and which Mountaineer Quarterback holds the record for career passing efficiency?

Yards - Geno Smith, 656 yards, against Baylor, 2012
Passing Efficiency - Pat White 150.08

Trivia Question of the Week

This week is a total two-for.  (1) Ameer Abullah set the Nebraska total yardage record in the game against Miami.  Whose record did he break? (2) Blake Sims of Alabama had 484 yards of total offense against Florida.  Whose record did he break?

Match up(s) to Watch

4.  UCLA v. Arizona State - It's time for both of these teams to show us if they are for real or not.  But, this game is on at 10:00 EDT, and it is competing with an NFL game?  Never mind.

4.  Florida State v. North Carolina State - This is a very weak slate of games this week, so the fact that I want to see how the Seminoles respond to the return of Jameis Winston and playing an upstart NC State team.  Remember, Florida State has historically had some trouble in Carter-Finley Stadium.

3. Cincinnati v. Ohio State - Cincinnati has not beaten the Buckeyes since 1897, and Tommy Tuberville might be their best chance since Tim Murphy.  Ohio State is beatable, as we have seen, and the Bearcats have a lot going for them early this season.

2. Tennessee v. Georgia - Tennessee has recruited well the past few seasons, so they definitely have some athletes.  Georgia needs to play with a desperation to avoid falling to 0-2 in conference play.

1. Stanford v. Washington - The Huskies host the Cardinal while sporting a 4-0 record.  This is one of those games that could turn a major conference upside-down.