College Football Debriefing

Each week, after all of the games have been played, I'll re-visit some of them and give my take(synonym for biased, slightly informed opinion). It's called the debriefing because whatever happened during your chosen team's game you probably felt like you were part of a crime scene, or maybe a terrorist attack. Whether you thought you were robbed by the referees, or got to witness some WMD's exploding in your stadium, this is where we'll re-open fresh wounds and examine the positives and negatives. But since we're all college football fanatics, probably mostly the negatives.

So Long Lloyd Carr
Something that had been rumored for a while, and set in stone a little more forcefully last week, happened this morning as Coach Lloyd Carr announced his retirement as coach of the Michigan Wolverines football team. In 13 seasons, Carr won 121 games, 5 Big Ten championships and 1 national championship. He also went 6-7 against Ohio State, and it's probably safe to assume that many of them are the saddest that Carr is retiring(don't leave, we want wins!). Like others have said, the spotlight is firmly on LSU Coach Les Miles, as he seems to be the frontrunner to replace Carr.

The Curse Of #2 Continues!
#2 ranked Oregon looked like they were heading for a shot at the BCS title against LSU, but those hopes ended along with Dennis Dixon's season in a loss to Arizona. It's sad to see a great athlete like Dixon end his Heisman hopeful season this way, but you have to give him credit for being a tough m-f'er and trying to play on a torn ACL.

Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk! In College Football?
With Oregon's loss, Kansas takes over the cursed #2 spot, and hopes to avoid the same fate that's befallen other #2's this season. It will be tough with a game against Mizzou this week, and a possible Big 12 Championship game against either Oklahoma or Texas. Their defense is strong enough to put them in position to win just about any game, but with the way this season has gone I wouldn't count out just about anything from happening.

The Mountaineers Are In The BCS Rearview Mirror
Currently at #3 in the BCS, West Virginia has a good shot at making the BCS title game. Sure, they need help in the form of a Kansas loss, and they have to hope that they don't get leapfrogged by Mizzou, but I honestly believe that the voters would like to see an LSU/WVU matchup out of what it probably going to be available. Ask any casual college football fan to name two or more players from either KU, Mizzou or WVU, and I bet that you'll get Steve Slaton & Pat White as the most common answers. Pitting them against a tough LSU defense would probably draw the most viewers, and I have a strange feeling that we'll be seeing it come January.

Another QB Injury, Another Upset
Oklahoma's Sam Bradford was knocked out early against Texas Tech, and the Sooners just couldn't get on track against the Red Raiders. Joey Halzle added two scores late, but by that time the deficit was already too large. With the loss, Oklahoma fell out of the top 5, and ended any hope of a shot at the BCS title.

Georgia Is On Fire
Georgia pulled out a win against Kentucky depsite four turnovers, and the Bulldogs racked up their fifth straight win. In that span, they've also defeated three teams that were ranked in the top 25. Should Tennessee lose next week against Kentucky, then the 'Dawgs will be heading to the UGA friendly confines of the Georgia Dome. If LSU has a choice, and they don't, I would suggest rooting for UT extremely hard on Saturday. Georgia is on a roll right now, and would probably give LSU all they could handle in an SEC title game.

My (insert respective team here) Did This Well
Scored lots of points. For the fourth time this season the Gators scored over 50 points. They tied their season high of 59 which they scored against Troy and Tennessee.

My (insert respective team here) Didn't Do This Well
Penalties once again plagued the Gators. It goes along with having a young team, but this late in the season there's no reason a team should be penalized 12 times for 75 yards in a game. Especially when they're facing an opponent that is as much of a mismatch as FAU was.

Heismens!
I've done my best all season not to campaign for Tim Tebow too much. However, on Saturday he became the first player in "modern college football" to pass for 20TD's and rush for 20TD's in the same season. He might not be the flashiest player, but without him Florida's offense doesn't perform anything like it has. He has the stats, and only his sophomore class standing is holding him back right now.

Kevin Smith, UCF. Smith is currently ranked 2nd nationally in rushing yards, and is ranked 1st in rushing TD's. This past Saturday, he ran for 177 yards on 20 carries and scored 2 TD's.

Graham Harrell, Texas Tech. With the upset win over Oklahoma Harrell showcased his passing skills. He went 47-72(yes, that's 72) for 420yds, 2TD's and 2INT's. Right now, he's got over 5,000 passing yards and has thrown 45TD's and 14INT's. Sure, Texas Tech is a pass happy offense(gross understatement), but Harrell can make all of the throws and has put up crazy numbers.

Consider yourself debriefed!