By Mark Walters
Some quick coverage this week. The BCS picture is still far too blurry to make any sense out of it, so I’ll leave it alone for at least another week or so.
Reflecting on last week, Penn State finally beat Ohio State in Columbus as a member of the Big Ten. It was a defensive showcase, but Terrelle coughed up the ball in the fourth quarter, setting up what resulted in the Nittany Lions’ game-winning, 38-yard drive capped off by backup quarterback Pat Devlin’s one-yard run.
The Longhorns handled Oklahoma State 28-24 as Colt McCoy threw for 391 yards and two touchdowns in hooking up with eight different receivers. Cowboys QB Zac Robinson had a meager 199 yards in the air, which shows why the Big XII is such an offensive juggernaut of a conference. How many quarterbacks are there that can throw for 199 yards in a losing effort?
Georgia trounced LSU 52-38, and half of my Virginia upset prediction was right as Virginia upset No. 18 Georgia Tech, but Virginia Tech couldn’t do the same against No. 25 Florida State. Alabama kept pace in the BCS standings with a 20-point win at Tennessee, but Penn State inched closer in the ratings with its win.
Who saw Rutgers beating Pittsburgh? Not me, but I do see Wannstedt’s team heading into South Bend and beating Notre Dame, which does not have any bearing on Pitt’s Big East conference standing, which is anyone’s at this point, except Syracuse.
Now for this week’s platter, really only two big ones.
After a gauntlet of a schedule that pitted the Longhorns against then-No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 11 Missouri, and No. 6 Oklahoma State in successive weeks, the Horns now head west to Lubbock to take on undefeated and No. 7 Texas Tech.
The Red Raiders seem up to the challenge having just steamrolled No. 23 Kansas 63-21. They have likely been waiting all season for this Lone Star State showdown, one that will be a pinball game of a shootout.
Front-running Heisman favorite Colt McCoy should expect a challenge in facing perhaps the best secondary in the Big XII. Red Raider senior safeties Darcel McBath (5) and Daniel Charbonnet (4) lead the conference in interceptions. The statistic that surprised me the most though is that McCoy is not even in the top 5 of the Big XII in passing yards. He does, however, lead the conference with his 186.46 QB rating. Who leads the Big XII in passing yards? Of course it would have to be Tech’s Graham Harrell with 3,147.
Proof positive that come hell or high water, the ball is going to be in the west Texas air Sunday evening. This is easily the game of the week, with conference and national title implications tattooed all over it. Minimal punting, and the last team to score wins. I like the Horns.
What else to watch this week? How about the World’s Largest Cocktail Party down in Jacksonville? For you softcore college football fans, that’s the Georgia-Florida game, and even though the universities don’t want it called that anymore because of its reference to alcohol consumption, I’m calling it that in the name of tradition.
The loser of this game has got to figure to be completely out of the BCS title hunt, while the winner will likely be representing the SEC East in the conference championship against Alabama.
Remember when these teams met last year? Looking for a spark out of his squad, Georgia head coach Mark Richt told his team that if the Bulldogs didn’t get a personal foul pennalty after their first touchdown, they would be running extra the next week in practice. After Georgia got six on a simple run play, the entire team cleared the sideline and danced wildly in the end zone. Knowshon Moreno ran for 188 yards in that game, a number he’ll need to flirt with in order to beat No. 8 Florida.
Gator coach Urben Meyer won’t let his players talk to the media about last year’s gaudy celebration put on by Georgia. I like his stoicism and focus, and I like the Gators to chomp on the Dawgs and get its 38th win in this storied rivalry’s 85-game history.
Better if it were basketball: Duke at Wake Forest and Wisconsin at Michigan State.
Other banter, several mid-major teams still undefeated: No. 10 Utah, No. 11 Boise State, No. 16 Ball State, and No. 18 Tulsa. BCS-busters anyone? Take your pick. Tulsa faces a BCS opponent this week, Arkansas, but Utah has the toughest road of the four, still having to face No. 13 TCU next week and No. 20 BYU to finish its season. Boise State has Nevada and Fresno State yet, but they should run the table. Could there be two BCS busters this year? Will Penn State, Alabama and Texas all win out? Or will the computer be left with a mess of one-loss teams to choose from?
I love college football, and I can’t wait to find out.