Recap – Week 7 – Upsets, Fisticuffs, Trickeration

Oct 11, 2010

Lets recap the key games from Saturday.  The entire landscape of college football has officially changed.  I expect more turmoil in the coming weeks.  Here we go:

South Carolina 35 – Alabama 21:  I think the pressure has finally caught up to the Crimson Tide.  This was the third consecutive week that they faced a ranked opponent.  The Gamecocks had an extra week to prepare and  the Ole Ball Coach took full advantage.  Steve Spurrier proved once again that he is one of the game’s best.  The Gamecock’s shut down the formidable running game of Alabama, while Stephen Garcia and Marcus Lattimore picked apart the defense.  This was no fluke; South Carolina beat Alabama at its own game; defense and ball control.  When it looked like they might fold under the Alabama pressure, they hung in and drove the ball down the field.  Great win. 

LSU 33 – Florida 29:  Another one I did not see coming.  LSU may be the luckiest team in the USA, but on this Saturday, they simply beat the Gators.  There are no excuses.  Using the two quarterback system, and some gutsy play calling (though it was predictable), LSU was able to get out of the swamp with a huge win.  Not to say that Florida is not very good, but their signature win this year is against Kentucky. They have played 2 ranked teams, and lost to both. 

Michigan State 34 – Michigan 17:  In what everyone in the nation was predicting; shut down Denard Robinson, and the Wolverines are done.  In what will be the blue-print for all the Big Ten schools, the Spartans picked off Robinson 3 times, and limited him to 86 yards on the ground.  The Michigan defense can’t stop anyone, so this was an easy pick.  It may get ugly in Ann Arbor in the next few weeks.

Stanford 37 – USC 35:  Once again, I did not see this game.  I just like writing about another Lane Kiffen loss.

Florida State 45 – Miami 14:  Another shocker.  In what I thought would be a close game, the Seminoles stormed out to an early lead, and this one was over quickly.  In the state of Florida, these teams are both trying to rebuild to their past glory years, but it is obvious which team has the furthest to go.  FSU may well be the best team in the Sunshine State this year.  (I can’t believe I just wrote that).

Wisconsin 41 – Minnesota 23:  The Badgers have beaten the Gophers for 7 straight years.  What makes this memorable is the near fisticuffs between the two head coaches.  Leading by 25 with 6:39 to play, Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema opted to go for a two point conversion.  This did not sit well with Minnesota coach Tim Brewster.  He let his feeling be known to Coach Bleiema and the nation during the press conference after the game.  Bielema’s excuse; “I was just going by what the card says to do in that situation”.  Well Coach, I am hoping the AD and all Wisconsin fans send you a card on when to show sportsmanship and class, because you obviously need some assistance in that department. 

Auburn 37 – Kentucky 34:  Auburn kicked a field goal as time expired to pull out the victory in Lexington.  This game shows that there are no easy road games in the SEC.  Cam Newton continued his Heisman quest in the come from behind victory.  He is the real deal.

Ohio State, Boise, Utah, Oregon, and TCU cruised to easy victories over inferior opponents.  Arizona, previously ranked 9th after a beating Iowa earlier this year, fell to an opportunistic Oregon State team. 

So where does this leave us?  In a fog, I am afraid.  There are currently 13 unbeaten teams in major college football.  These will be whittled down in the coming weeks.  Of the top teams, I do not expect Ohio State to go unbeaten.   Tough road games at Iowa and Wisconsin may spell doom for the Buckeyes.  Oregon has tough games against Oregon State, Arizona, and USC.  I am on the fence about them running the table.  In the Big 12, expect Nebraska to meet up with Oklahoma in the conference title game.  The winner of that game will be undefeated, and a shoe-in for the national title game.  Their opponent is anybody’s guess.  There will be many 1 loss teams from major conferences, but possible undefeated teams include TCU and Boise State.  Are we ready to put either of these teams in ahead of a 1 loss Oregon or Alabama team?  It makes for an interesting finish to the college football season.  Nothing is guaranteed, and there is a lot of football to be played in the next 8 weeks.

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