My thoughts and observations from week six:
Oregon took a while to get going vs. California in Eugene on Thursday night, trailing at the half, but once they got moving, they looked like they've looked for 99% of their football in the past year: unstoppable. The big thing was the injury to RB LaMichael James. Sure, the Ducks have a cache of great runners, but your guy who leads the nation in rushing, and has run for more than 200 yards in three consecutive games, is going to be a big loss, and hard to replace. X-rays showed the dislocated right elbow wasn't broken, but James' status for Oregon's next game vs. Arizona State is uncertain. Ducks fans everywhere will be hoping he makes the start.
Another week, another dominating Boise State performance, a 57-7 win vs. Fresno State. They've scored 50+ points in two consecutive games vs. Fresno State, giving up only the sole touchdown last night, after a shut-out in Boise last year. Kellen Moore just keeps putting up big numbers. The problem? As many points as BSU are piling on, their strength of schedule is amongst the worst in the nation, hence why they continue to drop spots in the AP Top 25 each week.
Speaking of dominating, the Oklahoma Sooners went into Dallas and opened a can on the Texas Longhorns in the Red River Rivalry, which was more like a beating than a rivalry. If it wasn't QB Landry Jones or RB Dominique Whaley beating you, it was the Sooner defense, who had three scores of their own, helping to drag the 'Horns through the dirt with a 55-17 domination at the State Fair of Texas.
Despite the lopsided win, there's no better college football experience than OU vs. UT in the Cotton Bowl at the State Fair of Texas. A 50/50 split in a stadium holding more than 90,000 guarantees noise on every play, and the long history of this contest, where so many players broke out to become superstars, sits alone in terms of football spectacle. Sure, Ohio State vs. Michigan, Notre Dame vs. USC and Kansas vs. Missouri are big-time match-ups in the annals of college football, but the Red River Rivalry (Shootout) is right there at the top, the gold standard for rivalry games. I also love how you can just about get anything fried that you want, at what is surely the coronary capital of the known world!
What started as a season with so much promise for Florida State is quickly falling apart. The 'Noles lost 35-30 to Wake Forest today, and, previously ranked at 23, seem poised to fall out of the AP Top 25 poll all together. Seems a long time since that huge match-up against Oklahoma in Tallahassee, where FSU were seen as a legitimate contender to knock off the Sooners and challenge for the ACC crown. A long way back now for the Seminoles, especially with Georgia Tech and Clemson playing so well.
Rolling along nicely, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, who had 56 points and more than 400 yards of offense before half time against a hapless Kansas Jayhawks team. The Cowboys are a scoring machine. It seems like the combination of QB Brandon Weeden and WR Justin Blackmon just can't be stopped. No matter what defenses do, Blackmon will get his catches and Weeden will get his video game-like numbers. You can slow them down, but stopping them seems to be impossible. For the record, the final score was 70-28.
Two best teams in the ACC? Georgia Tech and Clemson. Still, Virginia Tech is lurking, surviving vs. Miami 38-35 in one of the games of the season at Lane Stadium. I'm still uncertain about the Hokies - as are many pundits - but there's no doubt that there's a deep talent gap beyond Va Tech, who aren't quite on the same level as the Yellowjackets and Tigers. Nice to see the ACC as an enthralling conference once again.
Houston's Case Keenum continues to put up Heisman-worthy numbers. The Cougars destroyed East Carolina 56-3, racking up 572 yards in the process. Keenum was 30-37 for 304 yards and 3 TDs, and sat most of the last quarter. Keenum just keeps on keeping on. And Houston might just be the best team in Conference USA.
After a week of criticism, Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez ran for a score and passed for two more, dragging the Cornuskers back from 21 points behind on Homecoming in Lincoln, getting over the top of Ohio State 34-27. It was the biggest comeback in school history. Just what the 'Huskers needed after being soundly beaten by Wisconsin last Saturday night.
Must be a bit of a nightmare down in Gainesville, Florida, where the Gators are in the middle of a horror 3-game stretch. Last week it was Alabama, this week LSU and next week Auburn. The Gators will be hoping for a win vs. the defending National Champions after being well and truly outplayed by both the Gators and Tide.
Watch out, Michigan might be the real thing. There were questions to be answered by the Wolverines heading into their tilt with Northwestern, and I believe they were answered solidly and impressively after a slow start, storming back for a 42-24 win, scoring 28 unanswered in the second half, and keeping Northwestern scoreless during that time, too. Denard Robinson was 17-26 for 338 yards, 2 TDs and 3 INTs plus 113 yards and 2 TDs on 25 carries. Not a bad night out!
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