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 A recap of what went down and what you should take away from Saturday's college football games.
A new king is crowned in the Pac-10. We just don't know who. With Oregon State's win over Washington State, the USC Trojans have been officially eliminated from Pac-10 title contention. Greek mythology buffs speak endlessly about the fall of Troy. Expect the same from the college football community. The questions 'why?' and 'how?' will echo across the college football world for the next week as pundits, analysts and fans struggle to comprehend a Trojan-less BCS bowl season. The speculation started at halftime of the OSU/WSU game with the Badgers ahead by only 11 at halftime.
In other news, there are still six undefeated teams, a new name has entered the Heisman race (and we should all be ashamed for not mentioning him all season long) and an OT thriller may have cost a head coach his job. Read on.
Recapping the day in 500 words or less, this is what Saturday taught us about the season:
- The day started with a bump. Fully padded Michigan running back Michael Shaw, while arrogantly walking out of the tunnel like his team wasn't 1-5 in conference, bumped into pad-less Ohio State wide receiver Grant Schwartz, who was walking into the tunnel. Don't worry Buckeye fans. While it was a fairly close game, Ohio State didn't need any bulletin board material to run over the woeful Wolverines.
- Tate Forcier has acted his age in the second half of the season. There was a four game stretch in the middle of the season in which he did not throw or rush for a touchdown. True, he's still only a 19 year-old true freshman, but he'll have to reclaim that special something that helped spring his team to victory if Michigan hopes to escape the Big Ten basement in 2010. (And if he wants to save his coach's job.)
- RichRod isn't the only head coach the media has put on the hot seat. Charlie Weis was seen creating a profile on Monster.com following Armando Allen's fumble with under two minutes to go in regulation on Saturday. Luckily for the Irish, Connecticut kicker Dave Teggart missed the game winning field goal pushing the game into overtime. The Irish lost in the 2nd OT. It's only a matter of time.
- Do the Iowa Hawkeyes miss Ricky Stanzi? Of course. But they're getting along just fine with James Vandenberg. He's no Stanzi (yet), but the redshirt freshman has led the Hawkeyes into overtime against Ohio State and defeated Minnesota on Saturday. Sure Iowa managed only 12 points, but was the Hawkeyes offense really that great with Stanzi? His 14 interceptions are still among the league leaders and his brilliance seemed to only surface in the fourth quarter. That said, last week's Iowa/OSU game may have finished differently if Stanzi was on the field.
- Damien Berry is the best running back on the Miami roster. His third quarter performance gave the Hurricanes the spark they needed to get by a hungry Duke team fighting to keep their bowl hopes alive. Keep an eye on senior Jimmy Graham, too. The Miami tight end has developed into one of Jacory Harris' favorite targets, and in his first year on the gridiron after four years on the basketball court could be an NFL prospect by season's end.
- How do you not have your field goal team ready to run onto the field, LSU?? And who tries to spike the ball with a second left?? That's got to fall on the coaches.
- In the Pac-10, Stanford was upset at home by Cal in a close game and Arizona fell to Oregon in the 2nd overtime, giving the Ducks the inside path to the Pac-10 title. The Pac-10 has dethroned the SEC as the deepest conference in the nation this season. The conference is now six deep with the emergence of Stanford and Arizona, although the Wildcats may still be a work in progress.
Shane Vereen became a New Household Name playing in primetime against Stanford Saturday night. Vereen ran the ball 42 times (42 times!!!) for 193 yards including a 36 yarder. That's 4.6 yards per carry! He also scored 3 touchdowns on the ground. Vereen filled in nicely for the injured Jahvid Best in leading the Cal offense to victory.
The little known and little talked about Freddie Barnes continued to rack up huge receiving numbers Saturday with a 197 yard performance and Proved He's Worth The Hype in the process. The Bowling Green wide receiver also caught 2 touchdowns in the win over Akron. He's begun to garner respect in the college football world, as he leads the NCAA in receiving yards with 1,482 yards and, along with Boise State's Austin Pettis, has the most receiving touchdowns in the nation with 14. While the senior may not go in the first round of April's draft and he may not be on anybody's Heisman radar, he has proven to be a reliable target for his quarterback in his final college season.
My Heisman ballot if they let me vote:
- Mark Ingram, Alabama: In the absence of a passing game worthy of the 2nd ranked team in the country (89th in the nation with 192.36 passing yards per game), Ingram continues to carry the Crimson Tide on their way to the showdown with Florida on December 5. Ingram played just over a quarter of football in Saturday's contest against Chattanooga before being given the rest of the day off. Yet he managed 102 yards on 11 carries including two long touchdowns of 25 and 40 yards. (Still, 'Bama should work on getting the passing game going for the matchup with the Gators.)
- Toby Gerhart, Stanford: Finally! Gerhardt should have been on this list all season long. I am ashamed that I've left off for so long. He has scored the most touchdowns on the ground following a four touchdown performance in Stanford's loss to Cal Saturday night. Gerhart took the Cardinals to the Cal 13 yard line with time winding down, but did not touch the ball again, as quarterback Andrew Luck threw an incompletion before throwing an interception that sealed the deal. That's just bad play calling.
- Case Keenum, Houston: Keenum continued his proficient passing on Saturday against Memphis with another huge numbers day. He threw for 405 yards and 5 touchdowns, breaking the school record for career passing touchdowns in the process. And that was in just over two quarters of football. The evidence is pointing to system quarterback, but those numbers are hard to ignore. Keenum shouldn't be punished because his system is working better than others. And this isn't a prize for the best NFL prospect.
- Colt McCoy, Texas: McCoy became the all-time winningest college quarterback on Saturday with his 43rd win as a starting quarterback. His final home game at Memorial Stadium was a memorable one. He threw for 396 yards and 4 touchdowns in leading Texas to the win. McCoy will round out his college career @ Texas A&M (who have beaten McCoy twice), vs. Nebraska in the Big Twelve Championship and then, if the Longhorns manage to win those two, in the National Championship against either Florida or Alabama. He is still very much in Heisman contention.
- Jordan Shipley, Texas: It's always hard to put a wide receiver on the Heisman list because they're at the mercy of their quarterback's decision making in most cases. But if anybody deserves to be considered for the ultimate individual prize, it's Shipley. McCoy's favorite target has caught 91 balls for 1,204 yards and 9 touchdowns. While others have more receiving yards and touchdowns than Shipley, few have been as important to the success of their offense.
Next week's big games get started on Thursday, which just happens to be the best football day of the year. Texas visits Texas A&M in primetime on Thanksgiving Day as the Longhorns gear up for the Big Twelve Championship against Nebraska and look to keep their perfect season alive. The Aggies have beaten the Longhorns in 2 of their last 3 meetings.
Black Friday may entice some to begin their holiday shopping, but those who put if off for that Christmas Eve dash to the 24 hour Wal-Mart will be handsomely rewarded. Cincinnati takes on Illinois, Alabama visits Auburn and Pittsburgh looks to keep their Big East title hopes alive as they travel to West Virginia in Friday's primetime matchup. Boise State plays Nevada in the nightcap, making that 4 undefeated teams playing before college football Saturday even kicks off.
Saturday looks to be just as exciting with rivalries galore to look forward to. Rivalry Saturday includes Clemson/South Carolina, Oklahoma State/Oklahoma, Florida State/Florida, Arizona/Arizona State, Missouri/Kansas, Utah/BYU, Georgia/Georgia Tech and UCLA/USC. Some other big matchups include Arkansas/LSU and Stanford/Notre Dame.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! - Danny Hobrock
Danny is a sports journalist who primarily covers college football and professional baseball. He is a contributor for several sports related blogs and is the former editor of a political and current events website.
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