We're a third of the way through the college football season, and since my preview looks utterly ridiculous at this point, I thought I would make a post about what I've observed thus far. I've been watching what most would call an unhealthy amount of the college game to this point, so hopefully that has at least resulted in some legitimate insights. If not, feel free to make fun of me in a month when all of this sounds ridiculous, too.
The Good
-For the first time in a while, both of my teams are actually good. Notre Dame is 4-0 for the first time since I was applying to it....for undergrad. While that eventual 8-0 start in 2002 was largely smoke and mirrors, this start feels a little more legitimate because of the strength of the defense. Sure, the schedule has featured a couple of teams that might not live up to their pre-season billing, but holding opponents to nine points a game is good no matter who you play. Nebraska probably isn't as strong of a team as ND thanks to their leaky D and the still-mistake-prone Taylor Martinez. However, there's enough playmakers on the offense to pull off a 10-2 season and a trip to Indy, given the weakened state of the Big 10.
- In other Big 10 news, Northwestern is off to a 5-0 start. None of their wins are particularly impressive, but they're the only team in the nation to have beaten teams from 4 different BCS conferences. What is impressive is the way that Pat Fitzgerald has juggled their two-quarterback system with Kain Colter running and Trevor Siemian passing. Their diversity on offense reminds me a bit of the only really successful duel-QB system I can remember: Arizona went 12-1 in 1998 with the duo of Keith Smith and Ortege Jenkins. The likely reason this model works is because a defense literally has to prepare for everything. The likely reason you don't see this model more often is that it's hard to get two such differently skilled QBs. It should be exciting seeing the Wildcats make a run at Indy with their favorable schedule (no Ohio State, Wisconsin, or Purdue).
- Before the season, my big concern about Alabama was whether or not they'd be able to replace all the NFL talent they lost from their secondary, especially since their road schedule looked so imposing. Since then, we've seen Dee Milliner and company look just as impressive as last year's bunch, if not even better. At the same time, Alabama's road opponents have looked terrible. Arkansas got completely destroyed by the Tide, and Missouri and LSU's offenses haven't come close to preseason expectations. So if Alabama ends up 13-0, you'll have to give them all the credit in the world, but do remember that the SEC West doesn't have quite the bite we thought it would.
The Meh
- Georgia's defense got a lot of pre-season love, but it has yet to show up. Of course, suspensions are at least partly to blame, and it will be interesting to see if they can successfully re-intergrate Bacarri Rambo and Alec Ogletree, among others. Yes, the offense has been awesome, but someone is going to outscore them at some point if they don't fix what's broken. And if you don't think it's broken, just rewatch Cordarrelle Patterson's ridiculous TD run from last weekend's game.
- My "surprise" teams, Tennessee and Oklahoma State, have both lost two games. While that means they probably won't reach my lofty expectations, they haven't exactly looked bad either. Tennesee's defense has been continually gashed for long runs in their two losses, but Georgia and Florida are both really good offenses, and Tennessee was firmly in both of those games until the end. The schedule doesn't get much easier for the Vols, but I think they'll pull off a big win at some point. Okie State has been hit by a few injuries and a missed fumble call at the end of the Texas game, but they looked as sharp as any team last weekend, largely thanks to new new quarterback JW Walsh. As a result, I have them still ranked, unlike every single AP voter. Last year's #3 team isn't going away just because they lost Brandon Weeden.
- In spite of taking the second half off against Marshall, Purdue looks like a pretty complete team. And hey, they're a 1/2 game up in the Leaders division! Because they're 0-0. And everyone else who is eligible lost last weekend. I think I have a motto for the 2012 Boilermakers: They're good....by default.
The Ugly
- Yes, the Big 10 is down this year. However, their level of ineptitude is nothing compared to the ACC. 9 of the 12 teams in the league have already lost non-conference games, and many of those losses have been of the embarassing variety. The other three have tough tests remaining (Wake Forest travels to ND, and Florida State and Clemson have their annual rivalry games with Florida and South Carolina). The good news is that maybe Duke will make a bowl. So yeah. Basketball starts November 9th.
- TCU racked up all of 156 yards against terrible SMU and beat terrible Kansas by only 14. I know they had to replace a lot, but this has been a disappointing start nonetheless. Good luck against non-terrible teams.
Rankings
1. Alabama
2. LSU
3. Florida State
4. Oregon
5. Texas
6. Georgia
7. South Carolina
8. Florida
9. Notre Dame
10. West Virginia
11. Kansas State
12. Clemson
13. USC
14. Ohio State
15. Oregon State
16. Oklahoma
17. TCU
18. Mississippi State
19. Nebraska
20. Stanford
21. Texas A&M
22. Oklahoma State
23. Northwestern
24. Purdue
25. Louisiana Tech
Also considered: Arizona State, Texas Tech, Rutgers, UCLA
One third of a Heisman (A Hei?):
1. Geno Smith - Yes, we all know by now that Mr. Smith has better numbers than RGIII had through four games last year. However, Baylor had already played TCU and Kansas State, and Geno has yet to leave West Virginia. That being said, it's been a pretty boring year for top-end talent in college football, so here is Geno.
2. Kain Colter - The whole "Dan Persa for Heisman" bandwagon turned out to be a year early for the Wildcats, as they have their legitimate candidate now. Here is his bizarre statline from last week: 161 yards rushing, 131 yards receiving, all of 2 yards passing, and a pity interception. Yep, a game against Indiana doesn't mean much, but I don't really care.
3. Manti Teo - Manti has been the rare overhyped ND player that has lived up to the overhype. As good as he was the last three years, he's taken it to a new level this year, as he has finally learned how to intercept. Maybe I'll finally stop accidentally calling him Rhema once a game.
4. Every defensive lineman - While offenses have been as offensive as ever, the year of the defensive lineman is still in effect. From FSU's Bjoern Werner to Purdue's Kawann Short, dominant lineman have stolen the spotlight enough to show that it's OK to play defense sometimes. I have also started using Barkevious as an adjective, so there's that.
5. Gurshall - I love how the trend of having two awesome RBs has rotated through the SEC. First it was Caddy and Ronnie Brown with Auburn, then McFadden and Jones at Arkansas, then Ingram and Richardson at Bama, and now the two super freshman at Georgia.
6. Mark Weisman - This may indeed be the one who slays the vengeful AIRBHG. It's just too bad that I can't think of a good Heisman campaign slogan for him.
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