First…

I find myself often defending college football as the most exciting sport on a game to game basis. In my opinion, it’s weeks like these that re-enforce my theory. Michigan mounted a late 14 point comeback to force overtime again Michigan St. before losing. Georgia scored with about a minute to go, only to have LSU come back and score with 30 seconds left to win. Washington hit a FG with 3 minutes left, ND answered with a touchdown and Washington hit another field goal as time expired to force overtime. Meanwhile Oklahoma and Miami battled in a defensive third quarter for a nail-biting one point game. Basically at any point yesterday you had an exciting game going on. Unmatched in the sports world.

And ten…

  1. I have been on the LSU bandwagon (and alone it seems) but they won in Georgia, which is not easy to do. It was a very  close game and they got some breaks at the right time (including two key late penalties). Their matchup against Florida this week is huge.
  2. Unsurprisingly Houston and Michigan were both exposed on the road as being overrated 4-0 teams. The difference being Michigan did it in overtime against their underachieving rival, and Houston lost by 17 to a mediocre conference foe.
  3. Alabama was the only top three team to play this week and held serve at Kentucky. I still think they might be the best of the three teams. A win at Ole Miss and a loss by Florida could be enough to get Bama to #1.
  4. Cal has now been outscored 72-6 in the last two games and will likely need a miracle to be a factor in the Pac 10 race. This season is not looking good for the Bears.
  5. Virginia Tech is quietly 4-1 (with their only loss to Bama). They are now #4 and their win against Miami looks very good. If they can survive Georgia Tech in two weeks they might have a smooth ride to the ACC title game.
  6. Oregon has rebounded from the debacle at Boise St. by winning four straight. They are clicking at the right time and have four tough games in a row (@UCLA, @Wash, USC, @Stanford) that if they somehow escape unscathed could leave them in the discussion for the Championship game.
  7. Scott Tolzien and Tate Forcier have been the two best QBs in the Big Ten this year if you go by quarterback rating (although I would say the eye test agrees). Interestingly enough, you have to go to numbers 6, 7 and 8 to find the preseason hype guys Pryor, Clark and Stanzi. Hats off to Juice Williams who has managed just 1 TD (to 4 interceptions) and is singlehandedly making sure Arrelious Benn’s draft stock doesn’t get a jolt.
  8. Speaking of which (is it too early to draft about draft prospects?), my opinion is that Sam Bradford is the top player (injury or not) and there are plenty of teams in need of a QB. Since NFL teams haven’t learned not to draft QBs high I suspect Bradford will go #1. If you believe Mel Kiper ($) 5 of the top 7 guys are defensive players. I wondered if you could take a DT or DB in the top 5 and found that three of each had been taken in the top 5 this decade. I think Eric Berry will go in the top 5.
  9. 13 undefeated teams remain, which means 4 fell this week (Michigan, Houston, UCLA, TAMU). LSU vs. Florida is only game featuring two of those teams this week, which means at most 12 will remain. Ironically there were 13 through week 5 last year.
  10. This is a big week in the Big 10 as Iowa hosts Michigan at night and Wisconsin gets a big challenge in Columbus vs. Ohio St. Alabama goes to Ole Miss who will be out to spoil the Tide’s season. Auburn puts their surprise 5-0 record on the line at Arkansas. And of course the game of the week is LSU vs. Florida.