College Football Analysis After Week 11

With the season coming to a close the season is really taking shape as to who is really legit and who was nothing more than overhype.

24 LSU 16 Louisiana Tech

I have seen a lot of games at Tiger Stadium, but this one takes the cake as the worst game I have ever seen in person. One week after a devastating loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide, LSU came out of the gates flat. The team overlooked a pumped up Louisiana Tech team and in turn LSU was fighting for four quarters to win. Two main things stuck out about this game - Jarrett Lee and LSU's game plan.

Jarrett Lee: Last year Lee threw 16 interceptions as a freshman at quarterback. Of those 16 interceptions, 7 were returned for touchdowns. It was a horrific experience for Lee, the team, and the LSU fan base. But we were told that was water under the bridge. We were told that Lee had matured and that last year was no reason to cast him in the fire. He was a 19 year old freshman for crying out loud. If anything this Louisiana Tech game was the biggest game of his career. When the clock struck zero Lee's stats was appalling. He finished 7 of 22 for 105 yards against a 3-7 Louisiana Tech team! I never expected Lee to play lights out (he is the backup after all), but I did expect to see improvement from last year and I did expect him to show LSU that he indeed does have lots of potential for the future.

I saw neither. I saw a deer in the headlights quarterback who, outside the first couple of drives, really struggled. I really must say I was blown away on the lack of progress Lee showed on the field Saturday. He has no confidence in himself and when a play breaks down he panics. Before you know it the ball is sailing out of bounds again. Sure that's better than a pick six but there comes a certain point when you have to say, 'What are you doing?' And worse his teammates do not have confidence in him. After what seemed like the 100th overthrown ball to Brandon Lafell, Lafell ripped off his chin strap in frustration. When he does get a throw off Lee's pass seems to hang in the air for an unbelievable amount of time.

I hope Jarrett Lee has a great life and turns out to be a great father with a successful career, but I do not think (or want) him to be LSU's quarterback. He does not have it. If he truly wants to continue pursuing a career as a quarterback he needs to transfer because I honestly do not see any reason to think things will change for the better.

The second thing I wanted to talk about deals LSU's offensive game plan. In short the game plan sucked. Period. I am still baffled as to why offensive coordinator Gary Crowton called some of the plays he called. At quarterback is Jarrett Lee, a man who has no confidence in himself. After a nightmarish freshman year Lee is now terrified to throw the ball. With all that taken into account why would Crowton think the best way to beat Louisiana Tech was to throw the ball? LSU was running the ball on Tech. Senior running back Keiland Williams was having his way with the Tech defense, yet for some reason Crowton would always resort back to throwing the ball. Why? Why? Why? At the end of the day what helped LSU avoid an upset? RUNNING THE BALL. I can only hope Crowton gets things together for Ole Miss, otherwise confidence will be lost in him as well.

With all that considered I do have to give credit to the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. Head coach Derek Dooley (former LSU special teams coach) made his players believe they could beat LSU in Tiger Stadium on Saturday night. For much of the game that dream seemed like it could really become a reality. Using a wildcat offense and a series of trick plays, Tech was able to keep the game close. I know this has been a difficult year for the Bulldogs as they are now 3-7, but rest assured Dooley is a special coach who continue to improve Tech each and every year.


55 Stanford 21 USC

Two weeks ago the USC Trojans got destroyed in Autzen Stadium to the Oregon Ducks 47-20. The game was the biggest blowout in Pete Carroll's career at USC. No way a loss could get any worse than what USC experienced that Saturday, right? Wrong. Someone forgot to tell the Stanford Cardinals they are not supposed to be fighting for the Pac-10 title. Someone forgot to tell Jim Harbaugh's crew this is a game they are supposed to lose.

Two years Stanford beat USC 24-23 in the Coliseum in arguably the biggest upset in college football history. (Stanford was a 41 point underdog.) For their homecoming game and only two weeks removed from the Oregon embarrassment it was expected that USC would rebound in a big way. Going into the fourth quarter Stanford held a narrow 28-21 lead.

But then it all collapsed. By the time the clocked ticked zero Stanford had cruised to an unheard of 55-21 victory over USC. There are several things that stick out about this game. First, where is USC's defense? Consistently, year in and year out Carroll has a team with defense, but this year the unit has looked atrocious at times. The second thing that stuck out ties in with the first. I was blown away by the success Toby Gerhart. All season Gerhart has been torturing opponents, yet in the back of my mind I felt USC would still neutralize him come Saturday.

At day's end Gerhart had 29 carries for 178 yards and 3 touchdowns. I think it's fair to say that Gerhart did whatever, whenever, against the Trojans.

Now the big question is, is this a sign for things to come for a Harbaugh-led Stanford squad or are they just this year's Ole Miss? It will be interesting to see.


45 Wisconsin 24 Michigan

Four weeks into the season and the Wolverines were 4-0. Now Rich Rod's crew stands at 5-6 with the final game in the Big House against Ohio State. So yes you read that right, in order to avoid a second consecutive losing season UM has to beat the 10th ranked team in the country. The minor defensive holes for the Wolverines have blown up as the season has progressed and in turn the Wolverine fan base has begun to show frustration with Rich Rod's job so far. Keep in mind this is only his second year, he is installing a completely new system, the defense is weak, and lastly, but most importantly there's a true freshman playing quarterback. Also keep in mind that three of the Wolverines' losses have been by an average of 3 points. This is a team that will improve in the future. Give it time.

On the other side the Wisconsin Badgers have slowly gone through this season under the radar with an impressive 8-2 record. Coming into the season Coach Bret Bielema was definitely starting to get on the hot seat, but I doubt that's the case anymore. The Badgers only two losses have been to Ohio State and Iowa. The best news they have is their top quarterback (Scott Tolzien), running back (John Clay), and wide receiver (Nick Toon) will all be back next year. Look for Wisconsin to be a dark horse sleeper for next year's Big 10 title.


24 Cincinnati 21 West Virginia

Cincy has had a pretty easy time with it's opponents this year, but things this week things changed. With 2 minutes left Cincy kicked a field goal to go up 24-14 so the final was closer than the actual outcome, but rest assured WV put up a fight. With all that said, unless Cincinnati falls flat on it's face against Illinois on November 27th, you can assume that Cincinnati will be playing at Pittsburgh December 5th in easily one of the biggest games of the year. Winner of that game will get a BCS bowl.

Currently West Virginia is 7-3, but the team still has a home match up with Pittsburgh (a team who's season they would love to ruin after what happened in 2007)and a road game against Rutgers. If the Mountaineers dropped those final two the team will finish 7-5 and things will start to get a little uneasy in Morgantown with how Bill Stewart's tenure has gone. Yes, going 9-4 last year and 7-5 this year is not bad, but keep in mind this program was flying high when Rich Rod was in town. Fans expect more.


27 Pittsburgh 22 Notre Dame

Charlie Weis you are going to be fired. With 12:44 left in the game ND was down 27-9. The team was able to rally, but again Weis's team fell to a ranked squad. And to top it off ND (already with 4 losses) still has to play Connecticut and Stanford. On paper and from what we have seen I can not see Notre Dame beating Stanford so you are looking at another 7-5 season. That's not Notre Dame. Maybe at Temple or Baylor, but not Notre Dame. Weis has been given enough time and still his teams are, well, average.

Also, I have to say I'm awfully impressed with how well Pittsburgh is doing. In particular Coach Dave Wannstedt who has this Panther team two wins away from a BCS bowl. During his first season Wannstedt went 5-6, the following year he went 6-6, and then the next year in 2007 his team went 5-7. Looking at his first 3 years at Pitt (16-19) it makes you think why Wannstedt was not let go. I honestly think the thing that really factored into him coming back last year was the monumental upset Pittsburgh pulled over West Virginia in 2007. The Mountaineers were one win away from going to the BCS National Championship. All they had to do was beat a 4-7 Pitt team that was a 24 point underdog. Pitt won 13-9 and since that game both programs have been going in opposite directions. That win has catapulted Pitt into believing that they can compete with the nation's best.


24 Florida 14 South Carolina

Florida continued its winning streak to 20 games, but at the same time the team was not over the top impressive. A lot of that has to do with great South Carolina defense. A couple things stood out to me. First, with this loss Spurrier is 34-27 at South Carolina. The Ole Ball Coach really is not much of a coach anymore as his teams rarely finish the season strong. The Gamecocks do consistently play tough, but in the end they lose. Their biggest win in Spurrier's tenure was a six point win over a then top 5 ranked Ole Miss team. Would South Carolina ever think about firing Spurrier? Each year it's the same story. Start strong, finish awful.

Florida has the regular season wrapped up. They play Florida International followed by Florida State, so you can pretty much start talking about the SEC Championship Game. That is a tough game to say the least on who I think will prevail. On one hand I say, 'This is Florida and Tim Tebow. The quarterback advantage for Florida is the clear reason the Gators will win again.' But on the other side I have to think, 'Alabama lost last year and has spent an entire year anxiously awaiting a rematch. Rarely do teams beat Nick Saban twice with the same game plan. If Florida wants any shot of beating Alabama they have to change their game plan.' Because of the events that happened late in the fourth quarter in the LSU/Alabama game I will not be watching the SEC Championship Game, but I can pretty much guarantee it will be a defensive struggle. I will take Florida 24-16.


42 Ole Miss 17 Tennessee

Just when you thought Ole Miss's season was going to completely unravel the team came out and beat up a good Tennessee defense. Dexter McCluster ran for 282 yards and 4 touchdowns! REREAD THAT THREE MORE TIMES! This is not Madden, this is real life! Wow! Despite a season that has had some major disappointments, the Rebels still have a very good chance of finishing the season strong. Their ability to score points against a good defense shows that this team can take down LSU this Saturday. Put it this way - if Ole Miss beats LSU and Mississippi State, and wins their bowl game then you have yourself a 10-3 season. Not bad at all.

With that loss the Vols slip to 5-5. Their two remaining games are against Vandy and Kentucky. If Kiffin's crew finishes strong they will get a bowl. Kiffin has this program going in the right direction. Think of it like this - the Vols do not have the top notch athletes they use too, yet they hung with Florida and almost beat Alabama. Once they get the athletes things will really change. The future is bright.

2009 SEC East Football Preview

College football is roughly two months away. Even so, us, the obsessive fans, are already beginning our predictions and speculations on every possible thing.

Come on don't lie. You already know how each player will do on every team and how many yards so-and-so will rush for and how awful so-and-so will be, right?

Today I am going to touch on each team in the SEC. This is short and sweet and basically I want to get out the single biggest question the nation of college football will have about this team.

I will continue my college football preview as the summer progresses.

SEC East

1. Florida: Fresh off the 2008 BCS National Championship (second in three years) the Gators are the clear front runner for the 2009 title. All 11 starters will be returning to the defense and on offense a guy by the name of Tim Tebow will be back as well. The underlining question for the Gator unit is can they keep the same intensity and repeat? The nation knows Florida is for real and it's that bulls eye on their head that will cause Urban Meyer's crew to never take an opponent softly. Without Percy Harvin, now a Minnesota Viking, how will this Florida offense do? Will it plug someone else in and continue to pound their opponents or will the loss of Harvin be bigger than anyone imagined? Only time will tell.

The Florida Gators have a lighter schedule compared to past years meaning a repeat is a strong possibility. With that said there still are some games that Florida has circled. October 10th Florida travels to Baton Rouge to play LSU (this game shall be known as Judgment Day) and October 31st Florida will play the Georgia Bulldogs.

Can Florida trip up in these games? You betcha. Going into Tiger Stadium on Saturday night is by no means easy, and a deep rivalry, like the one with Georgia, can always swing either way. Any chance for a hiccup game against an opponent you would never think would give Florida trouble? Can't see any, but look for Troy, September 12, to score some points. Sure they'll lose 50-26, but Troy scores.

2. Georgia: Going into the 2008 season the Bulldogs were a National Title contender. There was a lot of talk that 2008 would be the year that Coach Mark Richt finally put it all together and wins a title. Well, things went bad before you knew it. They lost to Alabama 41-30. (It was 31-0 at halftime.) Then, November 1st Florida flat out embarrassed UGA by winning 49-10. Finally, Georgia Tech mounted a second half comeback to beat the Bulldogs 45-42. After the season Matt Stafford and Knowshon Moreno leaft for the NFL and Athens, Ga. is left in the dust....

...or so we were led to believe.

The three losses last year for Georgia were painful and this 2009 squad wants to prove to the nation Richt's team is back. Georgia will make noise, but the main question is how will new quarterback senior Joe Cox do? If Cox can grab the reins of the season early on Georgia could be a sleeper in the SEC. Whatever you do watch the Florida/Georgia game this year. Georgia fans are still pretty angry about Florida running up the score in last year's 49-10 slaughter. Don't think the Georgia players will not be pumped for that game?


3. Tennessee: If you like football and do not know who Lane Kiffin is than I can pretty much assume you live under a rock. New Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin has already made his impact on the SEC...and he is yet to coach a game. First it was the snagging of coaches from other SEC teams, then it was the accusations against Florida coach Urban Meyer, then it was the building up of an under-the-radar recruiting class by grabbing studs like Janzen Jackson and Bryce Brown at the last minute, and finally it was the recruiting violations. Kiffin has a big task in rebuilding the UT football program, but it will need time. The main thing is how successful will the Vols be in year one? Let's put it this way, if the Tennessee Volunteers finish with 8 or 9 wins you can sure that Vol Nation will be foaming at the mouth on the potential this coach has. How will this team do once it really starts recruiting?

Do not get your hopes up because Tennessee will be annihilated September 19 at The Swamp against Florida. But, look for Tennessee to pull off at least one upset in these three games.

October 10 Georgia
October 24 @ Alabama
November 14 @ Ole Miss


4. South Carolina: Steve Spurrier did not arrive in Columbia, SC last night. In fact this will be the Old Ball Coach's 5th year with the Gamecocks. With a 28-22 record critics begin to wonder will Spurrier ever build a team for South Carolina that will be stronger than one or two games over .500. Coming back this year for the Gamecocks will be Stephen Garcia who has the poetential to be the best QB Spurrier has ever had at South Carolina. The biggest issue for this team will be replacing the top three playmakers on both sides of the ball, including cornerback Captain Munnerlyn, safety Emanuel Cook and linebacker Jasper Brinkley on defense. After a spring practice where Spurrier left in frustration due a poor performance by the team one has to think if this South Carolina team will ever leave the land of mediocrity. With a schedule that includes games at Georgia, Alabama, and Tennesse, and home against Ole Miss and Florida don't look for that to change.


5. Vanderbilt: The Commodores 2008 season was one of the most incredible of the year. Not only did Vandy finish with a 7-6 record (4-4 SEC), the Commodores also won their Music City Bowl game against Boston College 17-16. Coach Bobby Johnson continously gets applauded for turning around a football program that has always struggled in the SEC. Main question is can Bobby Johnson and his crew keep this going into another year? The team returns 19 starters, not including former QB Mackenzi Adams. In steps Larry Smith who started the last two games of the year. Even with games at LSU and Florida, and home against Georgia and Ole Miss, the Commodores should still be able to enter bowl season for the second consecutive year. But keep in mind that in the history of Vanderbilt football (119 years) never have the Commodores gone to bowl games in consecutive seasons.


6. Kentucky: Last year's Kentucky team surprised a lot of people, myself included. One year after losing lightining-in-a-bottle Andre Woodson the Wildcats were still able to get into the bowl season. QB Mike Hartline came into the position last year with a lot of pressure, but remarkablely was able to guide Kentucky to a 7-6 record. Even better the team beat East Carolina (an early season sleeper) 25-19 in the Liberty Bowl. Much like Coach Bobby Johnson of Vanderbilt, Coach Rich Brooks of Kentucky is faced with the pressure of keeping the momentum going. The best thing happening to the Wildcats is the team will go back to running a similar offense to when Woodson was still in town. Last year the team strayed away from it because a new QB was in town. As Brooks says passing works best for the Wildcats. Despite a promising outlook for the offense the biggest issue for Kentucky will be the defense and its consistency. Cornerback Trevard Lindley is an All-American prospect, but will he be enough to get a fourth straight bowl game? Doubt it.


Up next SEC West...

The Unthinkable is Now a Reality: Part 2 (of 9)

September 22
#12 South Carolina

Through their first 3 games LSU had outscored its opponents 137-7. The South Carolina team coming into Baton Rouge resembled the biggest sleeper in the SEC. Spurrier was getting into his groove their; a coming out party was a possibly for the Gamecocks and all of Tiger Nation knew it. LSU's speed was hindered by the monsoon that took place throughout the game. Opening drive South Carolina went down the field to go up 7-0. Tiger Nation was watching for the first time all season LSU trailing in a game.

Trailing 7-0, Flynn and Co. did not hesitate to regain the lead. Behind a spectacular run by Trindon Holliday, LSU tied the score at 7 a piece. Holliday finished the night with a season high of 77 yards rushing. With the score 14-7 right before the half LSU brough out the field goal team, but as we all know the lovable fake field goal was pulled. Flawless it ran, and dazzling it was to watch. With a 21-7 lead at the half LSU was in control.

The second half remained no trouble for LSU who ran the score up 28-7 before sending Spurrier & Co. home with a 28-16 loss.

Play of the Game: Without a question Colt David's fake field goal touchdown run. I was disappointed when LSU failed on getting a first down on third down. LSU would get a field goal (I thought) and go up 17-7 at the half. Okay, but LSU needed to put this thing away. I have to give credit to my friend Marica. Prior to the amazing touchdown she told me, "They are going to fake it." I was in the state of shock when they a) actually faked it and b) ran it so smoothly.

The Tigers' win over South Carolina was a big victory, but it does not hold a candle to the magic LSU pulled off against the Florida Gators on October 6.

Up next, the game that ended with the most thrilling fourth quarter in LSU football history!....

The Chaos Continue for College Football...

Lots of big games went down this past weekend. I do not want to dance around the subject, so here are my thoughts on Saturday's games.

No. 1 Ohio State rolls over Wisconsin in 4th Quarter...

Buckeyes were in trouble on Saturday against the Wisconsin Badgers. Badgers had the lead for the majority of 3 quarters, until OSU tied it up with a late score in the third quarter. In the 4th, Ohio State showed why they are the No. 1 team in the nation. Behind 3 rushing TDs, the Bucks rolled to a 38-17 victory. Despite the criticism the Big 10 is soft, which it is, OSU is definitely worthy of their No. 1 ranking. Tressel's crew is the team to beat. To make matters worse for opponents, the offense of OSU which was formerly known as the weak spot is only getting better.

No. 2 Boston College Falls Flat Against Florida State

Over one week after BC's sensational Thursday night win against VTech, Boston College falls flat against a disappointing Florida State team. Matt Ryan finished with 3 INTs including one returned for a TD when BC at the time was only down 20-17. The 27-17 loss stings for the Eagles, but winning the ACC is still very much in grasp. With that said, I don't think Boston College will win the ACC either.

No. 3 LSU Wins Despite Sloppy Play

I went to Tuscaloosa for the game. Didn't have tickets, just wanted to be apart of the atmosphere. LSU did everything it could to give Alabama that game. Silly turnovers, stupid penalties, and a defense and special teams that had big mental lapses at times. But, as we know LSU didn't lose. The Bayou Bengals won 41-34. The Tigers again pulled things together to win yet another dramatic football game. After 3 INTs in the second quarter, Matt Flynn was able to compose himself and lead the Tigers to victory. In response to so many complaints for calls being overturned in LSU's favor let me just say it was the right decision. The refs in the SEC are not too efficient from what I have seen. Without instant replay some bad calls would of stuck in the game. Granted, I will admit one replay that was overturned in LSU's favor was a tad surprising. I clearly thought the Bama WR made the catch.

No. 4 Arizona State's Undefeated Season Halted by the Quack Attack

Arizona State only lost the game at Autzen Stadium by the score of 35-23, but anyone who watched the game or read the stats can see it was not even that close. Oregon had jumped out to a 21-3 lead. ASU did cut it to 21-16, but Oregon and Dennis Dixon would pull ahead to a 35-16 lead that was lessened when Arizona State put up a late score. I think this Oregon team is definitely a legit contender for the National Championship. But, before you claim someone is going to get screwed in being selected for the BCS National Championship Game understand a lot of football is still left.

No. 14 Texas Needs Another Dramatic Final Quarter to Overcome Defeat

Was not too long ago when Texas was playing Oklahoma State in a game the Longhorns trailed 35-7. Longhorns would come back to win that game big. Some guy named Vince Young lead the charge. Anyway, that same thing could not happen against for Oklahoma State, right? Well, going into the 4th it was 35-14 Cowboys. Behind the stellar play of Jamaal Charles, Longhorns scored 24 points in the 4th quarter to win 38-35. Just like that UT is back in the BCS mix. After some disappointing losses, UT can find themselves in something like the Orange Bowl if the team can win out. I am saying it: University of Texas at Austin will lose another game this season. Too many close calls to mediocre teams. Sooner or later that will catch up.

No. 15 Michigan Halts the Spoilers Upset with a Late Score

The Michigan State Spoilers were predicted by a lot of analysts to upset the Wolverines. That was happening as the Spartans lead by 10 midway through the 4th quarter. Much like LSU has done countless times this year, UM stayed composed and scored twice to win 28-24. The last of scores came with 2:28 left in the game. Slowly, but surely, Michigan is creeping up the rankings and in time they will be ready to pull off the upset I have predicted all year long. Let me just repeat myself: Michigan will beat Ohio State this year. Period.

No. 23 South Carolina Gets Piggg Sooooied!

So all that talk about the Gamecocks winning the SEC has been completely deflated. After watching Darren McFadden eat South Carolina's D alive, Spurrier's crew lost 48-36. This victory also shows that despite Arkansas's 3 losses, the team is still very capable of making some noise in the SEC. Remember the SEC is a gunfight each and every week. Could Arkansas be the team that knocks out the LSU Tigers in the race for the National Championship?