Week 3 has come and gone and we know this: Alabama is still good, but A&M and Johnny Football can still score, the PAC-12 is much improved, the Big 10 isn’t; and the NCAA continues to state that they won’t pay their athletes (so I guess the boosters and agents will have to continue to fill that void).
Now here’s the Autumn Wind’s week 3 Top-10 recap:
1. I saw some bad calls this weekend (the targeting call against Alabama’s DB, rightfully overturned; a series of strange/bad calls in the Thursday night TCU/Texas Tech game – a “fumble” into the endzone prior to scoring a TD resulting in a dead ball at the half yard line, a failure to adequately not call a fair catch, or whatever the explanation was) but the end of the ASU/Wisconsin game takes the cake as far as flat out bad calls. Sure, the play by the Wisconsin QB was boneheaded (I’ve never seen a player spot the bad like that), and the response by ASU thinking it may have been an ill-advised fumble wasn’t the problem. The problem was the refs letting the clock run out without even blowing it dead to discuss what was happening. And then not even looking at it after the fact! With replay happening on insignificant plays in the first quarter of games, the NCAA must include a rule that in the final minute of play, everything is reviewable. Notice how I haven’t said that this scenario cost Wisconsin the game. They still would’ve needed to make the FG. What a strange ending to an otherwise entertaining game.
2. You really shouldn’t need three 4th quarter TD’s to beat Purdue, Notre Dame. I hate to say it, the only reason the Irish have a chance this year is because of Tommy Rees. The defense (which was supposed to be as good, if not better, than last year’s squad) has not been good. And, the schedule doesn’t get any easier: Michigan State, Oklahoma, Arizona State, and USC. Then it calms down a bit with Air Force, Navy, and Pitt; only to end with BYU and Stanford. Looking more and more like 7-5 for the Irish.
3. Akron almost pulled an Appalachian State against the Wolverines. Hey Michigan, when you’re 38-point favorites at home, you probably don’t need to have to have a goal-line-stand to save the day against the Zips.
4. Nebraska gets shut out at in the second half at home, and the Blackshirts give up 38 straight points to UCLA. Yikes. Pelini better pack his bags. 85th in the nation in scoring defense is not good; especially when two of your first three were against Wyoming and Southern Miss. At least Wisconsin and Ohio State aren’t on the schedule, and overall the Big 10 is down. 9-3 may not be good enough for Pelini to keep his job.
5. Speaking of coaches on the hot seat, Nebraska could probably get a fair deal in a trade for Mac Brown. Texas has lost two straight, and have lost three straight to both Kansas State and Red River Rival Oklahoma. I know Mac wants to leave on his own terms, but he may want to start packing too.
6. The PAC-12 was 8-1 in non-con games this weekend, including 3-1 against the Big 10; and, Cal actually looked pretty decent against thee Ohio State. The Big 10 was 7-5, but six of those wins were Bowling Green, Akron (barely), Western Illinois, Youngstown State, Iowa State, and Western Michigan. The PAC-12 is flying high; the B1G is not.
7. Every time I changed channels from the A&M/Alabama game to the Oregon game the result was the same. Oregon was flying in for yet another score. But, the Ducks looked pretty crappy in the first quarter with lots of penalties and mental mistakes. You can get away with that versus a Tennessee, but not many quality teams. The offense looks better than ever, and the defense continues to improve. However, two of their three remaining toughest games are on the road: @ Washington, and @ Stanford. I still don’t see a PAC-12 team that’s gonna slow down the Ducks. They’ll be #1 soon, just wait for it.
8. In the most exciting game of the weekend that no one saw, Oregon State took down Utah 51-48 in overtime. If you’re into gambling, you may want to start looking at overs in these Beavers games. They’re scoring 43/game but are 110th in the nation in scoring defense, giving up 37/game. And their season ending schedule is brutal – v. Stanford, v. USC, @ Arizona State, v. Washington, and @ Oregon in the Civil War. It’s gonna be a long year for Oregon State fans – if there are any left.
9. A couple of things to take home from the A&M/Alabama game (yet again the game of the week that did not disappoint): Manziel’s two INTs cost A&M 14 points – one in the endzone and one returned by ‘Bama for a TD. Alabama’s defense gave up the most yards it ever has. Ever. Alabama’s offensive line looked great; but it was against A&M’s defensive line (remember the team that gave up 509 yards to Rice). Bottom line, ‘Bama’s the better team, and once they got the lead, it was clear that Saban and Co. wasn’t going to give it up.
10. The anti-playoff folks say that every week is a playoff. Well, even though there were many cupcake games on week 3’s schedule (yes, Michigan, Akron was a cupcake); check out what’s upcoming this weekend for the AP Top-25: #1 Alabama v. Colorado State, #2 Oregon (bye), #3 Clemson v. North Carolina State, #4 Ohio State v. Florida A&M, #7 Louisville v. Florida International, #8 Florida State v. Bethune-Cookman, #9 Georgia v. North Texas, #10 Texas A&M v. SMU, #11 Oklahoma State (bye), #12 South Carolina (bye), #13 UCLA v. New Mexico State, #14 Oklahoma (bye), #15 Michigan @ Connecticut, #16 Miami v. Savannah State, #17 Washington v. Idaho State, #18 Northwestern v. Maine, #19 Florida v. Tennessee, #20 Baylor v. Louisiana-Monroe, #21 Ole Miss (bye), #24 Wisconsin v. Purdue, and #25 Texas Tech v. Texas State. So, outside of #5 Stanford v. #23 Arizona State, #6 LSU v. Auburn, and #22 Notre Dame v. Michigan State, if there’s going to be any upsets this weekend, they’ll be huge upsets. Don’t expect the Top-10 to change much after this weekend.
Now on to the Top-10 in the standings:
Top-10:
#1 Oregon (3-0) – Oregon’s so good they’re gonna score 59 on Bye.
#2 Ohio State (3-0) – At least one Big 10 team beat a PAC-12 team.
#3 Stanford (2-0) – My confidence in you is fading…struggling to put Army away? Let’s see how you do against Arizona State this weekend, back at the farm.
#4 Alabama (2-0) – Offensive output was surprising, defense looked the most vulnerable it has in years.
#5 Louisville (12-0) – Did you accept your Orange Bowl bid yet?
#6 Clemson (2-0) – Probably should be closer to #3 in my poll, but gotta wait until LSU beats Alabama and Oregon beats Stanford. And, you need to beat Florida State.
#7 Oklahoma State (3-0) – It figures that the year OU and Texas are really down, and Oklahoma State looks great, the eye of NCAA is peering down on the Cowboys for violations.
#8 Georgia (1-1) – You’ve got the offense to put up points on ‘Bama in the SEC Championship, but your defense isn’t much better than A&M’s.
#9 Florida State (2-0) – But, which four TD underdog will you lose to this year?
#10 LSU (3-0) – Mettenberger leads the SEC in passing efficiency. Yes, you heard that right. Not McCarron from Alabama, Johnny from A&M, Murray from Georgia, or Shaw from South Carolina. And LSU may have the best defense in the SEC.
Heisman Watch:
Tajh Boyd, Clemson – Boyd had a bye; gets back at it Thursday night @ NC State.
BCS Title Game Prediction:
Oregon v. Ohio State – This requires Alabama losing somewhere along the way…
Week 4 Big Games:
Auburn @ LSU – Auburn’s off to a surprising 3-0 start, but LSU isn’t Washington State, Arkansas State, or Mississippi State. Then again, is LSU peeking ahead to next week’s road trip to Athens? Not this time. LSU may be the most balanced team in the SEC right now. LSU 34 Auburn 14.
Week 4 Game of the Week:
Arizona State @ Stanford – ASU comes in on a high note, with a wild win over Wisconsin. Stanford hasn’t been all that impressive through their two games, but they really haven’t had to be. The national spotlight will be on Stanford this weekend, as there’s no other match-ups of ranked teams, and the country wants to see if they are worth the hype. ASU’s gonna want to create some tempo, but Stanford’s going to want to slow it down. ASU is a much improved team, but they’re not quite ready for the big time. Stanford 31 ASU 27.
Until next time…
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