Another great week!!
1. Oregon are right back in the mix for a PAC-10 championship and a berth in the Rose Bowl Game on New Year's Day in Pasadena. Their team looks something like they did at the end of last season when they beat Oklahoma State in the Holiday Bowl. Masoli came good and the running game is back. Sure, they had a shaky few weeks, but their only loss has come against a non-conference opponent (Boise State). Oregon are in a better situation than USC and Cal, both of whom lost their opening PAC-10 games.
2. Speaking of Cal...ugh, were they terrible or what on Saturday? The 42-3 loss was about as bad as it looked. The Oregon defense was sensational. Best and Vereen didn't total 100 yards between them. Best was very quiet. Unlike last week and his 5 TD effort vs. Minnesota. I'd say his Heisman Trophy chances are done. Cal deserved to drop to #24 in the new rankings. They were terrible.
3. The Big Ten continues to stink. Penn State were embarassed at home by Iowa. Maybe it wasn't such a shock, as the Hawkeyes seem to make a habit of knocking off Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions. They have serious issues and need to get the running game untracked and going. So much for being the prime time feature on Saturday night. Yawn.
4. The real feature game should've been Texas Tech and Houston. Wildly entertaining stuff. Taylor Potts and Case Keenum, QBs for the Tech and Houston respectively are seriously good gunslingers and both might be in the running for a Heisman Trophy next year. They have good teams around them, too. Don't sleep on Texas Tech in the Big 12.
5. Shame on you, Miami. You made us think that you were back. Just like BYU, they were not as good as they seemed. Va Tech sorted them out. If you're ever in any doubt as to who rules the ACC, the Hokies stepped up to show us all on Saturday. They dominated every facet of the game, from start to finish. A comprehensive win.
6. USC needs to get the run game going. The talent is there, both at RB and on the offensive line, but it hasn't amped up as yet. They should have killed Washington State early and often, but instead struggled to put them away. Also, the turnovers and dropped passes need to stop. Let's all stop singularly blaming Aaron Corp for the loss last week. He wasn't on the field for most of Saturday night and they still had problems. They need to come up for Cal next week in Berkeley. Of course, Pete Carroll has a good history of getting his team ready for the big games. Reference the last four Rose Bowl Games and early-season tilts vs. Ohio State.
7. A week of upsets. Miami fall. Florida State fall after causing BYU to do the same a week before. North Carolina go back to being a basketball school. Most shocking loss of all: Ole Miss going down to South Carolina. I got to see Steve Spurrier smile!!
8. Anyone who doesn't believe Boise State deserves their new spot at #5 is kidding themselves. I must say, as a USC fan, I thought they rose a damned long way after not a massively inspiring performance against Wazzou.
Player of the Week:
It's Dan LeFevour, a senior quarterback from the Central Michigan Chippewas of the MAC. His week four performance: a lazy 23/31 for 197 yards and 4 TDs, plus 140 yards rushing on 19 carries for another 2 TDs. His season performance: 725 yards, 7 TDs, 3 INTs, a completion percentage of 70.0 and a QB rating of 94.6. Combine that with what he does on the ground, and you've got one of the nation's most talented duel-threat throwers.
That gets him my vote for Player of the Week.
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