The "We Couldn't Have Done It Without You" Player of the Week: Week No. 4

Tim Tebow has given those who doubted his ability to be an all downs QB many reasons to wash away that doubt. He leads the SEC in passing yards and is second in most points scored. He also has the second highest Division I-A QB rating. And against Tennessee, Tebow put up astounding numbers.

Games To Watch: Week No. 4

GEORGIA v. ALABAMA
Here’s Saban first true test. Georgia can make ‘Bama’s return to the AP Top 25 short-lived. The Dawgs' defense will be a test for John Parker Wilson, and if they want to win ‘Bama’s offensive line can’t tire as quickly as they did against Arkansas because Georgia will make them pay for it.
PICKS—Randall Alabama Chris: Alabama


PENN STATE v. MICHIGAN
The Wolverines have won the last nine, and if the Nittany Lion’s want to win this one their defense will have to stop Mike Hart who basically is the offense for Michigan. But that’s not what’s key in this game. What’s key here is Penn State’s offense; if Anthony Morelli has a good day then the Lions win easily. If not, Michigan gets a key win against the No. 10 ranked Nittany Lions. And trust me, they are hungry for this win and won’t be giving anything to Penn State.
PICKS—Randall: Penn State Chris: Penn State


MICHIGAN STATE v. NOTRE DAME
Charlie Weis says that after last week’s performance against Michigan his team is “starting the season over,” whatever that means. Just last season the Spartans lost by three against ND when Charlie had a good team. How does 0-4 sound, Charlie? He may consider ending the season after this one
PICKS—Randall: Michigan State Chris: Michigan State


SOUTH CAROLINA v. LSU
Defense is the key word. LSU has allowed but one touchdown. Spurrier’s boys rank No. 8 in scoring defense. Spurrier would like nothing more than to knock off the No. 2 team in the country. Expect the Ol’ Ball Coach to pull out his bag of tricks.
PICKS—Randall: LSU Chris: LSU


WASHINGTON v. UCLA
A rare occasion in NCAA college football: two black coaches go head-to-head. Washington gave Ohio State hell in the first half of last week’s game. Not so much in the second half. Utah gave UCLA hell all game. The Bruins average more offensive yards each game; the Huskies score more points. It should be close.
PICKS—Randall: Washington Chris: Washington

OUT OF CHOICES: GT Can't Handle BC

The best quarterback in the nation may not be at USC, or Florida, or on the field during the Louisville-Kentucky matchup.

And no, I am not talking about Colt Brennan.

It may just be Matt Ryan of Boston College.

The young man has a big arm and perfect mechanics and turned in a huge performance in a huge game over Georgia Tech last Saturday. How huge? Try 435 passing yards against one of the best defenses in the nation. We saw Notre Dame get humiliated on the first Saturday of the season, and saw Samford run into a brick wall the next week.

And then Ryan went out and threw for 435 yards against the same Georgia Tech defense.
In a conference where quarterbacks are usually filed under “inconsistent” or “incompetent,” Ryan’s brilliance blazes brighter. The Eagles will have an advantage behind center over all their ACC opponents they play from here on out. And that ACC schedule is already three games shorter as the Eagles started out the season going 3-0, all in conference games.

So while other teams are getting ready to delve into the meat of ACC play, Boston College has already tasted the juices of victory against last year’s ACC championship contestants Georgia Tech and Wake Forest. Just as delicious was a sweet revenge win over NC State and former coach Tom O’Brien who bolted for the Wolfpack in the offseason.

Besides Ryan, the Eagles boast one of the most talented defenses in the nation. Tashard Choice was shut down to the tune of 31 yards on 15 carries, and Georgia Tech was held to 267 yards of total offense.

And in fact the defense, may be improving. Wake Forest put up 28 points and 368 yards opening week against BC, while NC State put up 17 points and 407 yards one week later. If the Eagles defense can match the play of Ryan’s, then the rest of the ACC is in trouble.

Boston College can now rest up during some easy non-conference games the next few weeks.

The rest of the ACC will have to make up time while looking up at the Eagles in the standings.

—E. Blaso

THE WORST OF THE WORST: Michigan Embarrasses Notre Dame, Gets First Win

Rarely do two of college football's most storied programs enter the third week still seeking their first win, but in an unprecedented match-up of mediocrity, winless Notre Dame headed into the Big House to take on also winless Michigan.

While it seemed Michigan's season couldn't get worse after losing to App State and getting spanked by Oregon in consecutive weeks, it was almost as bad for the Irish, who had been handled easily by both Georgia Tech and Penn State.

Could the stakes be any lower?

A rivalry is still a rivalry and Michigan came out with a fire not seen in the two previous games, while Notre Dame kept on sucking. Add those ingredients together and you get a 38-0 Michigan victory. Things might finally be looking up for the Wolverines, but it just keeps getting worse for the Irish.

After allowing 34 and 39 points the Michigan defense finally stepped up, though with offense as bad as Notre Dame, a shutout might not be that great of an accomplishment. RB Mike Hart backed up his words with his play after guaranting a Michigan win, rushing for 187 and 2 scores.
In what might be a future rivalry for years to come, two of the top high school recruits from last year lined up under center for their respective clubs. While few would have guessed that Ryan Mallet would be taking the snaps today, it was #15 that ended up throwing for three TDs clearly outplaying his counterpart, Jimmy Clausen, who looked clueless for the second straight week, being sacked 8 times.

Then again, its hard to blame a frosh QB when your running game is being stuffed for -6 yds and your defense isn't stopping anything.

After two embarrassing losses, Michigan finally has some breathing room and confidence headed into Big Ten play. Meanwhile the Irish have more questions than answers.

After a trip to Michigan State next week, Notre Dame will play Purdue, UCLA, BC and USC.

An 0-8 start may be very realistic, especially since scoring is a vital part of college football today.

And not much about Saturday seemed different than weeks one and two. The Irish defense still sucks, the offense still hasn't scored a touchdown, and Charlie Weis is still fat.

Imagine that.

It may take more than Touchdown Jesus and Rudy combined to save this season.

—C. Nierman

USC HOW WE RUN: Trojans Rain On Huskers Parade

Saturday night at Lincoln had all the excitement of a college football game. Husker fans were swarming in a sea of red, bracing for what seemed like a possible upset of #1 USC. But by the end of the night, the crowd silently filed out of the stadium.

The Trojans had licked the Huskers 49-31 in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated.
The Men of Troy got things going on the ground and never let up, averaging 8.2 yards a carry and piling up 313 yards rushing. Though Nebraska led 10-7 midway through the 2nd quarter, two costly interceptions to lead of the second half by Sam Keller led to two Trojan scores to put them up 35-10 and they never looked back.

In a stark contrast to the USC ground game, Nebraska netted only 68 rushing yards. Meanwhile Trojan QB John David Booty was effective going 19-30 with two scores. His counterpart, Keller, had a decent performance but only in the 4th quarter when the game was out of reach and the two picks proved to be devastating.

Now both teams can look to conference play. UCS might steal back some votes LSU took last week after Saturday's convincing win. Nebraska meanwhile is still searching for the breakthrough win of the Bill Callahan era.

And with the volatile and impatient fans of college football today, he'd better do it quick.

—C. Nierman

SWAMP THING: Gators Demolish Vols

Lost amidst the talk of whether USC, LSU, or Oklahoma should be voted No. 1 is the fact that Florida is still the defending National Champions. They reminded the country of that fact with a 59-20 demolition of Tennessee.

The most exciting thing is that Urban Meyer finally has the nearly unstoppable, high voltage offense he dreamed about when coming to Florida. It’s evolved slightly from his Utah and Bowling Green days as it’s now less spread option as it is spread single-wing.

And it matches the personnel of his team perfectly.

The match-up with Tennessee was a perfect example.

Obviously looking to take away Tebow’s powerful QB dives, Tennessee stacked the middle of the box. While this proved effective for most of the first quarter, it left the defense vulnerable on outside runs or deep throws. However, a counter run to Percy Harvin and two well thrown passes to Cornelius Ingram and Riley Cooper sent the Gators 65 yards for a touchdown… in just one minute.

From then on, the offense did whatever it wanted. Tim Tebow dives, Tebow counters, Kehstan Moore dives, Moore dive counters, counters to Percy Harvin coming in motion, reverses to Harvin, options to Harvin, dives to Harvin, dive counters to Harvin…. And those are only just the running plays!

Add it all up and the Gators rushed for 255 yards total. Tebow had 61 yards and 2 scores while Harvin had 75 yards on just 9 carries and two scores. Moore chipped in with 48 yards on 11 carries.

And with the running game working so well, and the athletes on the Gator offense, it was no surprise that Tebow had the easiest of days throwing the ball. He threw for 299 yards on only 14 completions, good for a fantastic 21 yards per completion. His lone blemish came when Riley Cooper broke off a short slant or curl route and Eric James picked it off for a 95 yard touchdown score.

And while the offense was calling its shot, Brandon James was returning punts for touchdowns, Dustin Doe was returning fumbles for touchdown, and the Gator defense was holding Tennessee to 37 yards rushing and only 13 offensive points.

As evidenced by the score, it was a complete and total victory over a nationally ranked opponent.

Maybe we should stop talking about USC, LSU, and Oklahoma, and start talking about Florida.

—E. Blasco

SABAN ALABAMA: Crimson Tide Rolls Over Arkansas

We all know that a tide is periodic change in sea level caused by the gravitational influences of the sun and moon.

Okay, maybe you didn't know that, but if you've been following Nick Saban's run at Alabama, you know that he—and not the sun or the moon—influences the Crimson Tide.

It looks like Alabama's $32 million investment is paying off nicely.

After one of a pair of SEC showdowns, the usually stoic Nick Saban was obviously delighted to have knocked off the much ballyhooed Darren McFadden and the Arkansas Razorbacks. Saban—the same man that barely cracked a smile after leading LSU to a national title—even showed off his pearly whites.

That's how big this win was.

Before his arrival, the Crimson Tide did anything but rise. But under Saban that's all the Crimson Tide is doing.

They're off to a 3-0 start. They've outscored opponents 117-54, and they've returned to the AP Poll for the first time since '05.

In the Saban-era, the Crimson Tide is indeed rolling.

QB John Parker Wilson looked comfortable in the pocket at the very start of the game; his very first play was 43-yard pass completion to DJ Hall, who had two first quarter TDs that helped put the Crimson Tide up 21-0.

The Razorbacks surged in the second half, and, thanks to D-Mac who took advantage of a tiring defensive front and QB Casey Dick, Arkansas scored 28 unanswered points and led by a touchdown at 8:08 in the fourth quarter.

But Alabama wasn't ready to give in just yet; RB Glenn Coffee helped put the Crimson Tide in field goal position. That field goal was good, making it a one-score game. That's when Alabama's defense stood up, causing a three-and-out which set up a masterful drive by John Parker Wilson that ended with a TD pass to Matt Caddell that gave the Crimson Tide the win.

Statistically speaking, the game was as close as they come, even closer than the score suggests.

Both teams had seven penalities. Both had three turnovers—two interceptions and one fumble for Alabama; the opposite for Arkansas. Both teams finished 7-16 on third down situations. Both teams had exactly 450 yards of offense. Arkansas completed half as many passes, but also took nearly half as many. The Razorbacks dominated on the ground with over twice as many rushing yards as the Tide. Alabama's QB JPK threw for 327 yards, and DJ Hall had six recptions with 172 yards. D-Mac had 33 carries for 195 yards.

‘Bama fans rejoice. Under the Nick Saban era the Crimson Tide is rising fast.

—R. Cooper

CFU: Week No. 4 —"Four Sure"

Four things are for sure. 1. USC 2. LSU 3. Florida and 4. Oklahoma. Everything else…well, not so sure. They’re the fantastic four. The four leaves on the college football clover. The magnificent four. Oh no, that’s five. OK, umm, the lucky four… Wait that’s seven. Well, whatever, just know that one, and maybe two, of those four teams will play for the national championship.

No doubt about it.

Just consider each of their last games.

How did USC fair against Nebraska? They spanked ‘em. LSU against Middle Tennessee? Are you kidding me?! Florida against Tennessee? Does the word ‘demolish’ come to mind? And Oklahoma against Utah? Well, you get the point.

I mean, week in and week out, these teams roll. And they roll easily.

So far, no one has really challenged them. But, eventually, somebody will.

Two of these four—LSU and Florida—play each other, possibly and more than likely twice. USC faces Washington State in the Pac-10 opener. LSU faces a fastly improving South Carolina squad this week.

Wouldn’t Steve Spurier like to get that win.

Which of these teams, if any, can survive the season to get to the National Championship?

I don’t know.

But I do know that nothing in college football, not even these four teams, is "four sure."

— R. Cooper