After Week 9!

I'd like to start with an apology to all my regular readers for not posting the last three weeks, I was helping some friends with school work; I’m sorry, but I'm back now though!  Week 9 was a little bit crazy, and a lot crazy for the land of the undefeated.  Going into the weekend there were eleven teams without a loss; now there are only six.  I predicted there would be at least two that went down, Florida and Notre Dame, and was only right on the former and was frustratingly wrong on the latter.  Georgia's win over Florida certainly wasn't pretty (both teams combined for nine turnovers), but it gives them a road to their second straight SEC East title.  I missed on my call that AJ McCarron would throw his first pick against Mississippi State's secondary; only one pass was really even close to being picked.  As someone who has liked McCarron since he was a freshman (I said he should start over McElroy in '09), I like his progression and I like that Saban is gradually letting him play his game.  McCarron only faces one more defense in the regular season that should pose a threat to his “streak” and that’s coming this week.  That being said, can we slow down on the McCarron for Heisman campaign?  I understand that some are excited because he's leading the nation in passer rating (a statistic I've always thought was overvalued -- see my comments about Cam Newton in '10) and that he's not thrown an interception yet this season.  I still think it's too early to have a serious discussion about who is deserving of the 25-pound trophy, but there are a few guys I think are having better seasons than McCarron at quarterback and I think a linebacker (or two) might get invited to New York this year.  There is still a lot of football left as most teams still have 4 games remaining (and some will have 5 if their conference has a championship game) to make an impression on Heisman voters; several teams' schedules are a bit backloaded too, so we'll get to see some good stuff.  Also, although I am not saying Braxton Miller should win it (I tend not to choose run-first quarterbacks for this award), those who point to the fact that he's playing for a team that is ineligible for postseason play as reason he won’t end up winning it, I don’t think that’ll be the reason.  When Andre Ware won it in 1989, not only was the University of Houston ineligible for postseason play, they were also playing under a television ban!  That's before Twitter and iPads, folks.  

My Week 1 prediction that Ohio would go undefeated is busted! It came down to a gamble.  On the seven-yard line and with nine seconds to go and down three points, what do you do?  Do you go for the game-tying 24-yard field goal and play for overtime or do you take a quick shot at the end zone and try to win it with the field goal being the backup plan if there's no one open?  I think Frank Solich made the right decision when he gave quarterback Tyler Tettleton a chance to win it.  He'd thrown for over 300 yards and he'd only thrown one interception all season (two weeks ago against Buffalo), why not take a quick shot?  But Tettleton looked around too long, hoping someone would open up, and took the sack which brought the game to a close.  Tettleton would confess after the game that he didn't know they were out of timeouts so he took a little more time because he thought they had a timeout to call if something breaks down and they could still kick the field goal.  What a terrible way to end a bid for an undefeated season; although with the emergence of Kent State (8-1), the Bobcats' undefeated season would have been tested the last week of the season anyway.  Given the way Zac Dysert, quarterback for Miami(OH), was playing (311 yards, touchdown) and that his Redhawks never trailed in the game, I can't blame Solich for deciding to try to win it right there.  Why give Dysert, who I recognized as having a lot of  talent when hey played against my Buckeyes in Week 1 (303 yards, touchdown), a chance to play in overtime if it can be avoided?  Congrats to the Redhawks for taking down an undefeated team in the ninth week of the season and to the Bobcats for making a nice run -- not bad for a couple of MAC teams, right?

I'm finally going to have to admit it:  Notre Dame is a good team and they have a chance to run the table undefeated.   Any team that can go into Norman, OK and get on the bus after the game as winners is a good team.  Coming into the season, Bob Stoops had only lost twice at home since taking over as head coach in 1999 and yet it's happened twice now this year (Kansas State won 24-19 in Week 4).  It's a team built on defense, a running game, and resilience.  Brian Kelly finally looks like he trusts Everett Golson to run the team (despite Tommy Rees throwing a pass in this game), but this team is built unlike any Kelly team we've seen before.  Its foundation is linebacker Manti Téo who is leading a defensive front seven that looks better and better every week and he will probably be going to New York as a Heisman candidate.  Most Kelly teams are quarterback driven with a lot of pass attempts and yardage.  Golson and Rees combine for just 6 touchdown passes and 4 interceptions on the season.  Offensively, they count on the three-headed monster in the running game made up of Riddick, Wood, and Atkinson III who have combined for nearly 1300 yards and 11 touchdowns (Golson also has three rushing touchdowns).  Notre Dame's remaining schedule is not daunting at all with their only remaining challenge being their final regular season game visiting USC (who just fell to Arizona this week).  The three games before that are against teams (Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, & Boston College) whose combined record is 10-16 and two of those games are at Notre Dame Stadium.

Terrible Terrapins:  what’s next?  Randy Edsall came into the season under a lot of scrutiny.  He took over a Maryland program who fired  Ralph Friedgren after his winning ACC Coach of the year and going 9-4 in 2010 and Edsall followed it up by going 2-10 last season.  24 players transferred out after the season including 2010 ACC Rookie of the Year, quarterback Danny O'Brien.  O'Brien went on to Wisconsin, struggled, and lost his starting spot to redshirt freshman Joel Stave.  After so many players left, including his starting quarterback, word started to spread that Edsall may not make it through the whole season if there isn't an indication of improvement, of hope for the future.  The Terrapins sit at 4-4 and 2-2 in the ACC, but in this weekend's loss to Boston College (now 2-6), they lost their fourth quarterback for the season!  Caleb Rowe became the third Maryland quarterback to be out for the year due to a torn ACL while one was knocked out due to a broken foot.  They have both Clemson and Florida State (in back-to-back weeks) remaining on their schedule along with North Carolina.  Next week they host Georgia Tech and will start either a converted linebacker or a converted tight end at quarterback.  I think it would be very impressive if they were able to split their final four games (wins would likely have to be GT and NC) and become bowl eligible after having to resort their fifth quarterback (sixth if you count losing O'Brien), who had to be converted from another position!  Realistically, I believe they'll lose their last four and Edsall will have to sell the fact that he won twice as many games as last season and did so despite so much adversity, in order to keep his job.  If Maryland can fire a guy after being named ACC Coach of Year, I don't think they'll feel sorry for Edsall's quarterback carousel.

Washington:  a strange season.  This has to be one of the oddest teams I've seen in years.  Coming into the season I expected them to be a team that could ruin the season for a team or two just because of how good quarterback Keith Price is.  I didn't expect them to contend for a Pac-12 North title, and they're not really, but the three teams above them right now have a combined two conference losses -- both at the hands of the Huskies.    Stanford came into the season with high expectations for the Luckless generation under Josh Nunes, but Washington handed them their first loss, by four points, in a Thursday night game in Week 5 which the Cardinal played coming off a win over USC followed by a bye week.  No one saw Oregon State being as good as they've been, but the Beavers weren't 6-0 by accident as they've beaten quality teams (Wisconsin, UCLA, Arizona, and BYU).  However, the Huskies pulled off the three-point victory after causing four turnovers and then making a field goal with a little over a minute left.  What's confusing about these two wins is that Washington hasn't really shown up for other games this season.  To start October, the Huskies were outscored 128-52 by Oregon, USC, and Arizona.  In Week 2, Kieth Price was basically nonexistent in Death Valley and LSU romped to a 41-3 win.  One could point to the fact the Stanford and Oregon State games were played in Husky Stadium and the closest of those October games was a 10-point loss to USC, also played at home.  However, that's little solace to Steve Sarkisian and the Huskies as three of their final four contests are away games.  If anything can comfort the 4-4 squad, perhaps its that two of those road games are against Colorado (1-7 and 124th in points allowed) and Washington State (2-6, 124th in rushing, and Colorado's only win) to finish their season.  If they can get two of the last four they have a chance at a bowl game to finish a truly strange season!

Charles Dickens said it best in A Tale of Two Cities:  "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, ... it was a season of light, it was a season of darkness ...".  It was a moment that was ugly and beautiful, heart-dropping and heartwarming.  If you missed the Marcus Lattimore injury against Tennessee on Saturday, you missed more than great player (he’s scored more touchdowns than anyone in school history -- already) getting hurt.  On a run to the left, Lattimore was hit after a gain of about 4 yards and his leg hyperextended in a disturbing direction.  One need not have any history with knee injuries to wince when looking at his leg (Here is the video of the play, but it is not recommended for the easily nauseated).  According to the team's website Sunday night, Lattimore "suffered a significant impact to the front of his right knee during the Tennessee game on Saturday. The ensuing hyperextension of the knee resulted in injury to several ligaments. There were no fractures or additional injuries".  Now that we've discussed the horrible side of the moment, let's get to the beauty.  As Lattimore was on the field, waiting to be carted off, he was engulfed with encouragement.  First, everyone from his sideline, the whole team, came out to check on him and offer strength.  Then everyone from the opposing sideline, the whole Tennessee Volunteers team, came out and did the same.  Not only is that a great demonstration of sportsmanship, but it's also a great indication of how much respect Lattimore's game demands.  Everyone knew Lattimore started the season coming off a knee injury that required surgery, and luckily this hit did not affect that knee, and after the brutality of this hit the early sense was it may be career-ending.  I've read reports that Twitter exploded with support and encouragement for Lattimore from the likes of RGIII, Tim Tebow, and Manti Téo (the aforementioned star linebacker for The Fighting Irish).  According to ESPN, South Carolina is 15-0 when Lattimore rushed for at least 85 yards and 14-0 when he has at least 20 carries.  I was moved when both sidelines cleared to surround him and I think it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen.  I've been big Lattimore fan since he emerged on the scene as a freshman, and like Steve Spurrier, I refuse to consider this a career-ending injury.  I hope he uses his medical redshirt for next season and takes the rest of this season and next season in an effort to get back on the field.  I'm rooting for you, Marcus, and I hate that you’re spending your 21st birthday (10/29/12) dealing with this!  I know your motto is to play every play like it’s your last -- keep pushing, keep your head up, and I know we’ll see you again!

P.S.  I actually missed an Aflac trivia question for a second straight week!  Steve Spurrier won the Heisman in 1966 and was drafted third overall in the 1967 NFL Draft.  The player who was runner-up for the Heisman in '66 was drafted fourth overall in that draft -- who was it?  My guess wasn't even close, so I'm not even going to put it out there.  The answer was Bob Griese, quarterback for Purdue, and Hall of Famer with the Dolphins (he led their famous '72 undefeated team to their Super Bowl victory) who didn't even cross my mind.  

P.S. 2:  Congratulations to the San Francisco on their World Series Championship.  They swept the Detroit Tigers for their second championship in three years (it was the fourth World Series sweep since 2000)