Final pre-rivalry week

National Overview

It was a strange week for the unbeatens. Oregon, Auburn and TCU all stumbled, but not quite enough to go down. Boise State would have been primed to make a big jump in my rankings, but unfortunately for the Broncos, they played Idaho. No style points there.

Other than the top teams in peril, there wasn’t a whole lot more intrigue on Saturday. Sure, South Carolina smashed Florida to win the SEC East, but that whole division is a joke anyway. The most significant results of the day actually came from South Bend and Corvallis, where Utah and Oregon State were upset by Notre Dame and Washington State, respectively. I’ll get to the WSU win later (way to get that conference win, Cougs!), as it’s the Utah loss that will really impact the BCS.

Obviously, TCU’s credibility is in tatters now. The Horned Frogs’ huge marquee victory has been rendered meaningless, and their only other win of note came against Oregon State, who Boise beat by a larger margin. The Broncos have already passed TCU in the polls and will likely move ahead of the Horned Frogs in the BCS if they get past Nevada.

Meanwhile, the insane Big 10 race keeps chugging right along toward what appears to be a crazy conclusion. It’s very possible the conference could see three teams (Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Michigan State) finish 7-1 in league play. MSU beat Wisconsin, the Badgers beat the Buckeyes, and OSU and MSU don’t play each other. Iowa’s loss to Northwestern this past week helped clear things up a lot, but there’s still room for a lot of confusion if one (or more) of the top three teams stumbles.

And yes, the ACC and Big East are still terrible.

Top 25

As I said before, Boise would have moved even higher had they not played Idaho. But that’s the breaks you get when you play a horrible schedule. The good news for the Broncos is that they’ve only played nine games and should move up with more wins. Oregon would have fallen in the rankings, but Auburn also struggled to pull away from Georgia and TCU only won by five.

1) Oregon

An ugly first half against Washington was followed by an ugly full game against Cal. Say what you want about the Bear defense; the truth is that Oregon is not clicking as they did earlier in the year. The Ducks are still undefeated, but they have two eminently losable games left and can’t afford to keep playing like this.

2) Auburn

Same old story for the Tigers – defensive issues, explosive offense. This time they actually let their opposition take a significant lead before running away from them, but like Oregon, you’ve got to wonder if they can continue to play like that and get away with it. Big-time receivers have scorched this secondary, and Julio Jones of Alabama is up next.

3) Boise State

No doubt about it now – Boise is the best non-BCS team. They’ll have a chance to pad their resume a bit in the coming weeks, but the best scenario they can hope for still involves either Auburn or Oregon losing. If that happens, I have no qualms about putting the Broncos in the title game.

4) TCU

It was a bad, bad week for the Horned Frogs. Their on-field performance didn’t do them any favors (despite the fact that San Diego State is pretty good), and they took a double shot when Utah and Oregon State got blown out. They now have no wins that support the idea that they’re an elite team.

5) Stanford

Survive and advance must have been the theme in the Pac-10 this week. The Cardinal were lucky to escape from the desert with a win over Arizona State, but they did what they had to do. Stanford is still in a tenuous position as far as the BCS goes, but with so much football left to be played, all they can do is focus on finishing with just one loss.

6) Wisconsin

83 points is never justified, I’m sorry. You don’t get any credit for running up the score. That being said, Wisconsin is a very good team, and if they win out they deserve a BCS bid. The Big 10 has been tough enough this year to actually warrant multiple BCS berths, which hasn’t been the case in the past.

7) Nebraska

Could the Cornhuskers really ride a freshman to the Big 12 title? If so, it would be an indictment of two things: one, the quality of the rest of the players Nebraska now has on the roster; and two, the drop in quality of about half the conference’s teams. It sounds harsh, but the Big 12 isn’t scaring anyone these days.

8) LSU

Oh, look. Another SEC team playing a mid-major in November. What, McNeese State three weeks ago wasn’t enough of a challenge? It’s ridiculous that the computers still love the Tigers so much despite the fact that they have just a single good win (Alabama), but you do have to admire their perseverance in getting to this point in the season with only one loss.

9) Ohio State

Ah, Ohio State. The forgotten power. It’s still very possible that the Buckeyes could get another BCS bid, but I truly hope we don’t see that scenario. That’s not really because I think OSU is bad, because they’re not. They just haven’t done anything on the field to make themselves worthy. The single great team they played beat them.

10) Oklahoma State

Okie State is still hanging around, and with that defense, I don’t know how. I can’t tell if the Cowboys have just taken advantage of the weakened Big 12 South or if they’re really a contender. If they keep up their winning ways, though, we’ll find out: first against Oklahoma in the Bedlam Game, then perhaps in a rematch with Nebraska for the conference championship.

11) Arkansas

Arkansas is another team kind of biding their time. The SEC title is out of reach, but fortunately for the Razorbacks the SEC’s bowl tie-ins are so good they’ll likely end up in a New Year’s Day bowl anyway. Right now, the biggest thing killing this team is their division alignment; they’d be kings if they were in the East.

12) Michigan State

MSU’s lucky that Iowa went down again, which clears the path for them. The road is now simple: win out and win the Big 10. I’d kind of like to see a new team win the league, so I’ll be rooting for the Spartans. They realistically should not lose again.

13) Alabama

‘Bama seemed to get some of its mojo back with that spanking of Mississippi State. Can they take down Auburn and ruin their rival’s dreams? I feel as if it’s very possible, though it’ll take as focused an effort as we saw this week to pull it off.

14) USC

It is possible that Lane Kiffin is a… gulp… good coach? I don’t know how you can not be impressed by what he’s done this year with the Trojans. 7-3, with a good shot at 10-3 (USC plays 13 games in the regular season this year) is really good, considering that this team has essentially been playing against the whole world this year.

15) Virginia Tech

Hmmm. Eight straight wins. But even if the Hokies finish 10-2, they won’t have beaten anyone in the top 25. This team is either very good or a product of the awful ACC. My ranking hints at which way I’m leaning. They have to really knock Miami (FL) around this week to impress me.

16) Missouri

It looks like this team will finish with only two losses, but it’s hard to get excited about a team that was exposed so quickly once the national spotlight was on them before. The Tigers are good, yes, but hardly great. There’s a reason they were down 24-0 in the first quarter versus Nebraska.

17) Arizona

‘Zona is no longer looked at very favorably, but I think that given their injury issues you have to cut them some slack. Losing to USC by three is nothing to be ashamed of. I expect them to give Oregon a good game next week. They just can’t quite seem to get over the hump from good to great.

18) Iowa

Northwestern is pretty good, but Iowa is definitely more talented. The Hawkeyes shouldn’t lose to the Wildcats, ever. The bad version of Ricky Stanzi has reemerged late in the year, which is exactly what Iowa didn’t need. Will they finish the year with pride now that the Big 10 title is out of reach?

19) Nevada

I haven’t been particularly kind to Nevada this year. Their win over Fresno State this week made me reevaluate them a little. No, they’re still not great, but they showed a lot of resolve in coming back and them holding off the Bulldogs. I hope they can give Boise a better game than last year.

20) Oklahoma

The Sooners are… odd. I feel as if they should be better than they are. They’ve undoubtedly been disappointing this season. However, they can still win both the division and conference if they win out, so it’s probably not smart to write them off just yet.

21) South Carolina

OK, South Carolina, you can hang around in the rankings for a while. The Gamecocks domination of Florida was good enough for them to earn their way back into my top 25, but I don’t anyone is really fooled about these guys. They’re a very flawed team, and the rematch with Auburn in the SEC championship will likely be a disaster.

22) Northwestern

It figures that as soon as Northwestern gets a little glory, their quarterback goes down. Sorry, Dan Persa. I moved the Wildcats into my rankings for now because, by all rights, they should be here at the end of the season. Unfortunately, Persa’s injury will probably prevent that.

23) Florida State

I don’t really think FSU is that good. There just aren’t a whole lot of other teams that deserve to be ranked. To be fair, the Seminoles are probably the second-best team in the conference. Of course, that conference is the ACC, so that doesn’t count for much. But 7-3 isn’t terrible.

24) San Diego State

Even with a loss, I think the Aztecs deserve a spot in the top 25. Do you realize how good TCU’s defense was before last week? SDSU put up 35 on the nation’s best defense, and they’re still 7-3 with the loss. This is actually a quality team, though not really quality enough to help out the Horned Frogs.

25) Northern Illinois

A MAC team? In the top 25? Hey, why not? As I said, there aren’t a lot of worthy teams out there, and NIU is decent. The Huskies could very easily finish the year with two 1,000-yard rushers, and they’ve appropriately run roughshod through their conference, winning each game by at least a touchdown.

Pac-10 Thoughts

Wow. Who would have thought that the team WSU would finally get a win against would be a Mike Riley team? A fundamentally sound, smart, well-coached Riley team? Really? There’s no one thing wrong with the Beavers – their offensive line is getting them killed, they desperately need another playmaker in the absence of James Rodgers, and their defense is porous – but I’m still shocked that they went down to the Cougars.

It’s hard not to be happy for WSU, though. That team has suffered enough the past few years and deserved to beat somebody. I’m glad that my prediction that they wouldn’t go winless came true, too. It’s a mark of how bad they’ve been that they were still a 23-point underdog to the slumping Beavers last week. Paul Wulff has visibly improved the program, even if it was just one win.

Heisman Watch

Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford

Luck wasn’t at his best against ASU. No matter. He still went 33-41 for 292 yards and calmly led the game-winning drive. I don’t know how people can argue that he’s not the best QB in the country. He’s certainly the most NFL-ready, and he looks like a pro right now out there against college defenses.

Cam Newton, QB, Auburn

Newton was excellent against Georgia. I wish I could say that he’s deserving of the Heisman. But the truth is that, regardless of his off-field actions, he’s not the best player at his position. And it’s always easier to run from the QB position. I believe Luck is a better player.

Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State

Moore continued his flawless command of the Boise offense against Idaho. Once again, though, his competition just kills him. If he played better defenses (and opposing offenses that could score and put his team in a tough situation) he’d be a shoo-in.

LaMichael James, RB, Oregon

It’s a good sign that 91 yards on a gimpy ankle is disappointing, but the Oregon offense has actually underperformed for a couple of games in a row. James’ stats have been a victim of this, and he’s slowly slipping from “Heisman contender” to just “Heisman finalist.” The latter is still an honor, but it’s not where Oregon fans want him to be.

Random Thoughts and Observations

I have to apologize to Central Florida. Last week I said the Golden Knights could win out, so of course they promptly went out and lost their next game. The same thing happened when I said Oregon State would finish strong a week earlier. It’s hardly the Sports Illustrated cover jinx, but still…

Speaking of that particular curse, I thought it was interesting when SI picked players from TCU, Oregon, and Auburn for the cover of their most recent issue and ignored also-undefeated Boise State. However, the Broncos are probably all right with the lack of respect; the Ducks, Tigers, and Horned Frogs all played close games this weekend, while Boise rolled yet again.

I’m glad to see the media picked up the Jim McMahon story so readily, but unfortunately concussion problems are still way too covered up. In case you didn’t see, McMahon, a longtime pro QB, said that has frequent blackout and memory loss periods relating to the numerous concussions he suffered during his playing days.

McMahon’s story is indicative of the attitude that has long plagued football regarding head injuries. There have long been tales of players from the 50’s and 60’s who experienced symptoms similar to McMahon’s. It’s sickening that the NFL hasn’t done anything to take care of its former players who gave so much to the game. Because the league has failed so miserably on concussions, though, the role of college coaches is ever more important.

I mentioned in an earlier post that college coaches are responsible for making sure they remove players from the field to prevent them from hurting themselves. Some coaches, like Oregon’s Chip Kelly and Oregon State’s Mike Riley, have done this. I applauded Riley for holding James Rodgers out of the remainder of the Boise State game when Rodgers took a hard hit, and Kelly held Kenjon Barner out for an entire month after the nasty blow he took against WSU.

Both coaches said they were just following the trainers’ recommendations, but that’s what’s so critical about it: most coaches don’t do that. In the instant-gratification sports era we live in, if a coach isn’t doing everything he can to win, he gets crucified. Coaches know that their reputations, their salaries, even their jobs can swing on a couple of plays. Consequently, most of them play guys who shouldn’t be out on the field. It’s ruthless, but can you blame them when their jobs are potentially on the line and they need every advantage they can get? That’s why coaches like Kelly and Riley are important to single out for their decisions that take their players’ well-being into account.

I’ve kept my mouth shut on the Cam Newton saga as long as I can, but I just can’t do it anymore. In short, yes, I’m sure something dirty went down during Newton’s recruiting. A bigger question is whether anything is provable. I’m sorry, but people aren’t idiots. If there was one allegation, it would be easier to dismiss the charges as bogus, but we’re looking at multiple serious attacks on Newton’s character.

From the laptop incident to the cheating at Florida to the money-for-hire nature of his recruitment, it’s clear that something is up. These aren’t related incidents; they’re separate situations that all cast doubt onto the man.

I’ve read a lot of Alabama news and fan comments in the past few weeks, and the near-unanimous position from Auburn fans is that the whole thing is just a big character assassination plot. To hear AU fans tell it, the list of shady conspirators is long, and possibly includes a bitter Florida (mad that Newton left), possibly includes a frustrated Alabama (disgusted with their in-state rival’s success), and possibly includes a jealous Oregon (using its Nike connections to slam an UnderArmour school and player), but definitely includes jilted Mississippi State (who almost signed Newton).

I mean, come on. Look at what I just wrote. This would be the most absurd sports story of all time if it were true. What’s more likely, that a player broke the rules, like so many players before him… or that he’s somehow the victim of a sinister conspiracy designed to keep him from winning the Heisman at all costs, and potentially stretches from coast to coast? Use some common sense.

I say this not because I want Newton to be guilty. That’s not true at all. But we’ve seen this kind of situation before. Look at the Reggie Bush situation. Bush, USC and Pete Carroll denied any wrongdoing endlessly. Trojan fans badmouthed anyone who thought Bush was guilty, calling them “haters” and accusing them of being jealous of the USC dynasty. That turned out well.

I’m actually more qualified than most fans to talk about this kind of thing. Um, does anyone remember Jeremiah Masoli and LaptopGate? (What is it with QB’s and laptops, anyway?) Do you think Oregon fans wanted to believe he was guilty? Of course not! The majority of Oregon fans defended Masoli for months, even though he wasn’t even charged by the Eugene Police for some time after the incident took place (everyone knew the “suspect” was Masoli due to shady reporting tactics used by The Oregonian to get his name. But that’s a topic for another time).

The fact is that Duck fans behaved much in the same way USC fans did before them, just as Auburn fans are doing now. Every time something like this happens to a star player, fans seem to forget how they attacked other teams’ guys and furiously defend their own man, whom they claim is just a victim. Tigers, do you think you’re the first group of fans to act this way?

All you have to do is look at how those other incidents turned out. And it’s truly a shame, because Newton is having a marvelous season that should be celebrated, not disgraced. If the charges against him are true, he deserves everything he gets. Nothing has been proved yet, but I don’t know how a rational person who isn’t a completely blind homer can look at this whole situation and not just sense that a sad conclusion is coming.