Colleg Football Midseason Recap

So we are somehow halfway through the college football season. I have collected 585 dollars from stats inc for sitting on my ass imputing statistics from the various games I watch on Saturdays. Notre Dame has lost twice as many games as they lost last year. Alabama is still insufferable. Les Miles is still awesome. Jameis Winston might pull a Manziel and win the Heisman.  Everything is still a crap shoot. What follows is an attempt to pick out who's going to win the 1600 after we're 800 meters into the race (goofy running analogy brought to you by my woeful distance running career in high school).

 

ACC: Obviously the Atlantic race is more than likely going to be settled on Saturday night in Clemson. Do you go with the senior QB at home, or the freshman nicknamed “Jameis Christ?” Honestly, these teams seem to be very equal on paper. FSU is averaging 54 a game while allowing 12, and Clemson is scoring 41 and giving up 16 against a harder schedule. Clemson gets more turnovers and sacks, but FSU gives up less points. Both teams have multiple receivers at their disposal. In the Coastal, an undefeated Miami team gets Virginia Tech at home on November 9^th. I just don't think Tech's sometimes erratic offense will travel well down South, so despite their stellar defense, Miami will win. This sets up a showdown between Miami and …....Clemson in the ACC championship. Clemson will win and get to a BCS game, but will not go to the national championship game because they will lose to South Carolina. Meanwhile, Miami will lose to FSU and each team in the ACC will have at least one loss.

 

AAC: Louisville might have lost out on their slim title game hopes by struggling against the likes of Rutgers and Kentucky. With a schedule this week, they literally have to win 70-0 every week to convince people they are good enough in this sick and twisted world where there is no playoff for them to try and prove themselves against the big boys (March Madness>football). Regardless, they aren't losing any time soon and will have to wait for a BCS game to play someone that isn't derptastic.

 

Big 10: Mediocrity is entertaining, right? Ohio State is ahead in the leaders division, with nothing outside of a game in Ann Arbor standing in their way from winning their side. Even with one loss, I'm assuming they'll get the tiebreaker over Wisconsin since they beat them. I'm too lazy to look up the tie breaking rules so we'll just go with that. Indiana and Penn St might be frisky, but they won't win. On the other side, it's looking like someone out of the triumvirate of “teams ranked between 25 and 30 in the country” to challenge the Buckeyes in the title tilt. Nebraska gets Michigan State at home, Michigan State gets Michigan at home, Michigan gets Nebraska at home, so basically you can go with a coin flip or some form of paper, rock, scissoring to find this answer. If I had to guess, I'd go with Nebraska. It looks like a defense with 8 JC's/freshman contributing might be starting to jell.

 

Big 12: Baylor all day son. Sorry that was the first thing that popped into my head. The standings say Texas Tech and Texas are also undefeated. I kind of like Texas Tech, but they do all the same things as Baylor, but just don't do them quite as well. Texas went from being a national joke, to being good all of a sudden because they won one game? Against a team missing the heart and soul of their defense that had been playing out of their heads? Baylor gets everyone from the top five in the league at home except for Oklahoma St, so I think they win the conference. They might lose a game in there, but everyone else will lose two. Texas will lose more than two.

 

PAC 12: I really liked Stanford coming into the year. I just thought that their defense was too stout, and that losing Chip Kelly would hurt Oregon. Methinks I underestimated Niketown however; as Oregon looks as good as they ever have. Oregon St. still has a 0 in the loss column, but Stanford will beat them. Oregon is heading towards being 13-0 and heading to Pasadena to play whichever 1 loss SEC team they get matched up against. In the South, UCLA will emerge. Everyone else is bad, and I can't take ASU seriously after they got handled by a team quarterbacked by Tommy Rees.

 

SEC: Like everyone else, I'm kind of sick of all the countless SEC hype and slobbering. At the same time, it is the best league and home to the best games by far. When someone who doesn't watch college football wants a guide on how to get into it because “there are too many teams to keep track of,” I point them in the direction of the SEC. Eight teams in the top 25 kind of speaks for itself. Any number of things could happen, but I really like how LSU's young defense looked against Florida. With the offense they have being better than it's been in years, I think they can beat Bama and win the West. I like South Carolina to come out of the East, simply because Florida's offense is bad, Georgia is beat up, and Missouri is just a cute story. If LSU slips up in the championship game, Alabama will vulture their way into a game against Oregon for all the marbles, hopefully coming away with a loss of about 586-3.

 

Player Rankings:
( I have a system in ranking players that admittedly isn't perfect. It tends to crystalize better as the season goes on, when everyone has played an even amount of games. At the midseason mark, here's how it stands by position).

 

QB

1. Marcus Mariota, Soph. Oregon ( 100-165 1724 yards, 17 td's 0 Int. 41-426 8 td's rushing)
Mariota puts the video in the video game that is Oregon's offense. He has to be considered the Heisman frontrunner at this point.

2. Johnny Manziel Soph. Texas A&M ( 131-179 1835 14-5, 66-466 5TD's)                                                                           (google images)
I could write about Money Manziel (copyright Bomani Jones) all day long. Instead, just watch the game against Bama if you have any questions about the validity of Manziel's ability to play quarterback.

3.      Teddy Bridgewater, Jr. Louisville (125-176 1872 18-2)

4.      Jameis Winston Frosh. FSU (90-123 1441 17-2)

5.      Tajh Boyd Sr. Clemson (123-185 1783 15-2)

(Next 3: Aaron Murray, Zack Mettenberger, Devin Gardner)

RB

1. Mike Davis Soph. South Carolina (111-742 9 TD’s)
Davis has stepped in for Marcus Lattimore and arguably been more productive. The sophomore is averaging 6.7 yards a pop and has been the best running back in the country.

 2. Melvin Gordon Soph. Wisconsin (90-870 8 TD’s)

 Gordon has gone from someone who the Badgers used primarily on reverses and outside runs, to someone who has been the primary ball carrier, making Wiscy forget Montee Ball ever existed.

      3.      Todd Gurley Soph. Georgia (71-450 4 TD’s)

4.      Bishop Sankey Jr. Washington (159-899 9 TD’s)

5.      Jeremy Hill Sr. Ohio St.(98-715 9 TD’s)

(Next 3: Jordan Hall, Tyler Gaffney, Lache Seastrunk)

 

WR

1. Jarvis Landry Jr. LSU (46-674 7 TD’s)

It looks like the race for the number one wideout is going to be between teammates, as Landry and Beckham have gotten off to tremendous starts for the Tigers. Landry is slightly ahead only on number of catches and touchdowns. LSU is clearly a much different team on offense this season, and these two receivers are one of the main reasons why.

 2. Odell Beckham Jr. LSU (37-733 6 TD’s)

Beckham separates himself as maybe the biggest weapon LSU has simply because he can also be a gamechanger in the return game. He’s averaging 25 yards a kickoff return, and I can see him breaking off a long one in an important game just like the Honey Badger circa 2011.

 

3.      Mike Evans Soph. Texas A&M (32-737 5 TD's)

4.      Sammie Watkins Jr. Clemson (36-582 4 TD's)

5.      Josh Huff Sr. Oregon (27-552 5 TD's)

(Next 3: Jeremy Gallon, Tony Jones, Corey Brown)

 

(photo courtesy of google images)

DL:

1.Vic Beasley Jr. Clemson (20 Tackles, 9 Sacks, 12 TFL’s 2 Forced Fumbles, 5 PBU’s)
A defensive lineman from the state of South Carolina has been an absolute terror this season, but he wears orange and not red. Beasley has built off of a strong finish last year to simply become a dominant force as a pass rusher, which is a big reason why Clemson is number 3 in the country.
2.  Lorenzo Maudlin Jr. Louisville (17 Tackles, 6.5 Sacks, 8.5 TFL’s 3 Forced Fumbles)
The safeties got most of the preseason love for Louisville’s defense, but Maudlin, and to a lesser degree, Marcus Smith, have lived in the backfield for the undefeated Cardinals.

3.      Dean Lowry Jr. Northwestern (16 Tackles, 2 Sacks, 2 INT, 2 Forced Fumbles, 5 PBU’s)

4.      Tony Washington Jr. Oregon ( 29 Tackles, 4.5 Sacks, 6 TFL’s, 3 Forced Fumbles)

5.      Tyler Scott Sr. Northwestern ( 24 Tackles, 4 Sacks, 6 TFL’s, 2 Forced Fumbles)

(Next 3: Marcus Smith, Dante Fowler, Noah Spence)

LB:  1. Preston Brown Sr. Louisville (39 Tackles, 3 Sacks, 7.5 TFL’s, 1 Forced Fumble)

Brown was a 1^st team all AAC LB in the preseason and the 22^nd best inside linebacker in terms of draft stock according to soothsayer Phil Steele, and he has done nothing to change anyone’s mind playing on a defense that is sturdy on all three levels.

2. Colin Ellis Jr. Northwestern (40 Tackles, 2 INT, 6 PBU’s)
Ellis and some of the Northwestern boys will slide slightly as long as they are out of the top 25, as I use this as part of my basis for my rankings. That being said, he parlayed a strong first game with 2 picks against Cal into this spot. The Wildcats have created a lot of turnovers, and Ellis has been right in the middle of it.

 3. Anthony Barr Sr. UCLA (27 Tackles, 4 Sacks, 4 Forced Fumbles, 10 TFL’s)

4. Amarlo Herrera Jr. Georgia ( 55 Tackles, 5 PBU’s)

5. Ryan Shazier Jr. Ohio St. (47 Tackles, 2 Forced Fumbles, 8 TFL’s)

(Next 3: Stephone Anthony, Chi Chi Ariguzo, Caleb Lavey)

 

DB:

1. Doran Grant Jr. Ohio St. (28 Tackles, 2 INT, 1 Forced Fumble, 7 PBU’s)

Ryan Shazier gets a lot of the hype, but Grant has been very good as well. After getting some burn last year, he stepped in for Travis Howard and has paired with Bradley Roby to produce maybe the best corner tandem in the Big 10.

2. Vernon Hargreaves Frosh. Florida (16 Tackles, 3 INT, 8 PBU’s)

Hargreaves was a top 10-20 recruit depending on who’s rankings you looked at, and has more than lived up to the hype, with 3 interceptions and 8 PBU’s, both of which lead the team.

3. Blake Countess Jr. Michigan (24 Tackles, 4 INT, 6 PBU’s)

4. Ibraheim Campbell Jr. Northwestern (38 Tackles, 4 INT, 6 PBU’s)

5. Armani Reeves Soph. Ohio St. ( 12 Tackles, 1 INT, 6 PBU)

5. Julian Wilson Jr. Oklahoma (12 Tackles, 2 INT, 5 PBU)

(Next 3: Tramain Jacobs, Calvin Pryor, Bradley Roby)

 

 

Top 20 Offensive Players

1.      Marcus Mariota

2.      Johnny Manziel

3.      Teddy Bridgewater

4.      Mike Davis

5.      Jameis Winston

6.      Tajh Boyd

7.      Melvin Gordon

8.      Jarvis Landry

9.      Odell Beckham

10.  Mike Evans

11.  Aaron Murray

12.  Zach Mettenberger

13.  Devin Gardner

14.  Todd Gurley

15.  Bishop Sankey

16.  Jeremy Hill

17.  Bryce Petty

18.  Jordan Hall

19.  Lache Seastrunk

20.  Tyler Gaffney

 

Top 20 Defensive Players:

1.      Vic Beasley

2.      Lorenzo Maudlin

3.      Preston Brown

4.      Dean Lowry

5.      Tony Washington

6.      Colin Ellis

7.      Anthony Barr

8.      Amarlo Herrera

9.      Ryan Shazier

10.  Stephone Anthony

11.  Tyler Scott

12.  Chi Chi Ariguzo

13.  Caleb Lavey

14.  Doran Grant

15.  Vernon Hargreaves

16.  Marcus Smith

17.  Blake Countess

18.  Dante Fowler

19.  Brennan Beyer

20.  Trent Murphy

 

College Football Top 50

                                                     College Football Top 50

 (google images)

With the season nine weeks old, and with countless BCS scenarios still playing themselves out in the next couple of Saturdays, I felt like it was time to take a look at who the top 50 players in the game are as of right now. This isn't NFL projection, nor is it in-depth in terms of looking at game film to see how the left tackle at Louisiana Tech handles blitz pickups. It's merely a list going strictly by the numbers. Without further ado, here's my list of the top 25 defensive and offensive players in the land after 8 weeks.

25. O- Ameer Abdullah, Soph. RB, Nebraska
       D- Arthur Brown, Sr. LB, Kansas St.
Abdullah has stepped in with Rex Burkhead missing some time and has been a catalyst for a Nebraska offense that has averaged 42 points a game with 615 yards and 7 TD's. Brown anchors the Kansas State defense that is the only team with someone from all three levels of the D ranked in my top 25. Brown leads the team with 55 tackles.

24. O- Denard Robinson, Sr. QB, Michigan
      D- Josh Francis, Sr. LB, West Virginia
"Shoelace" played horrible against my Notre Dame squad, and has had his issues throwing the ball with 9 interceptions. He makes up for it with 900 yards rushing, as Michigan comes attempts to come back from some tough losses early. As decrepit as the Mountaineers defense has been, Francis has made some plays with 3 sacks and 10.5 TFL's.


23. O- E.J. Manuel Sr. QB, FSU
      D- Nigel Malone, Sr. CB, Kansas St.
Manuel has been climbing the charts lately with his improved production. He's thrown for 2,033 yards and 14 TD's. Malone leads the Wildcats with 5 PBU's, and has 2 picks and a forced fumble.

22. O- Robert Woods, Jr. WR, USC
      D- Jordan Richards, Soph. S, Stanford
Sometimes the forgotten man in USC's high octane attack, he had his best game of the year against Colorado last week. He now has 44 catches for 492 yards and 9 TD's. Richards is the only safety in the top 25, with 8 PBU's and 2 picks.

21. O- Tajh Boyd, Jr. QB, Clemson
      D- Alex Okafor, Sr. DE, Texas
Getting Sammie Watkins back up to speed after some lingering injuries and the horrid DB's he gets to play against in the ACC make Boyd a threat to crack the top ten at the end of the season. He's up to 20 touchdown passes after beating Wake Forest thursday night. Okafor lost his partner in crime in Jackson Jeffcoat for the year, meaning he needs to probably double his current sack total of 6 for the Longhorns to finish on a positive note.

(google images)

20 O- Marcus Lattimore, Jr. RB, South Carolina
     D- Jason Verrett, Jr. CB, TCU
Lattimore has gone from Heisman possibility, to someone who's once again battling injuries. He still has double digit touchdowns for a fading offense that doesn't have many other weapons. Verrett was all over the field against Texas Tech, and checks in with 4 Int's and 11 PBU's on the season for a young defense that could be absolutely nasty next year.

19. O- A.J. McCarron, Jr. QB, Alabama
      D- Jackson Jeffcoat, Jr. DE, Texas
McCarron doesn't have the stats that jump off the page, simply because that's not how the Tide do business. He does however, have 16 TD passes and 0 Int's. His team is also a juggernaut, so the Heisman buzz will continue. I do think the Int streak ends today with Jonathan Banks getting him once or twice for Mississippi St. As I mentioned, Jeffcoat is out for the year. He now has an interesting decision about whether to go pro or not. He finishes the season with 9.5 TFL's and 4 sacks.

18. O- Taylor Martinez, Jr. QB, Nebraska
      D- Calvin Pryor, Soph. S, Louisville
Martinez has shown improvement throwing the ball, so he's ahead of fellow dual threat QB Robinson for now. Pryor has been the best player on Louisville's very young defense. Pryor has 3 forced fumbles, 2 picks, and leads the team with 53 tackles before last nights game against Cincy.

17. O- Marcus Mariotta, Frosh. QB, Oregon
      D- Will Compton, Sr. LB, Nebraska
Mariotta could hop up some spots when he plays some actual competition, as he's been getting pulled early in a lot of the Ducks' easy wins so far. He's arguably the best freshman in the country. Compton has stepped in for Lavonte David and contributed a team-high 58 tackles for the Huskers.

16. O- John Hubert, Jr. RB, Kansas St.
      D- C.J. Mosley, Jr. LB, Alabama
Hubert gets lost in the shuffle with all of the "Octomus Klein" Heisman hype, but he is simply a banger that churns out yards for a unit that loves to pound the rock. He's at 663 yards with 8 TD's so far on the season. Mosley leads the Tide in tackles, and is getting a lot of NFL buzz on an extremely deep defensive unit.

15. O- Matt Barkley, Sr. QB, USC
      D- Bradley Roby, Soph, CB, Ohio St.
Barkley hasn't lived up to expectations, but if he continues to have games where he goes 19-20 with 4 touchdown passes, he'll be in the top ten at the end of the year. He's now up to 22 TD's on the year, and has the weapons to easily get to 40. Roby leads the Buckeyes with 12 PBU's and has scored 3 TD's.

14. O- Todd Gurley, Frosh. RB, Georgia
      D- Dee Millner, Jr. CB, Alabama
Gurley will be fighting it out with Marcus Mariotta for the freshman of the year on the offensive side of the ball. He's splitting carries with fellow Diaper Dandy Keith Marshall, but has put up 622 yards and 9 touchdowns to date. I'll be really interested to see how he does against Florida's stout run D in Jacksonville today. Millner has double digit PBU's, 2 picks, and essentially is the latest lock-down corner gettin a lot of draft hype in Bama.

13. O- Mike Gillislee, Sr. RB, Florida
     D- Kevin Minter, Jr. LB, LSU
Gillislee has toiled in obscurity for a couple of seasons, but has had a breakout campaign in his senior season. He's at 652 yards and 7 touchdowns right now. Minter has really stepped up and been a tackling machine for the Tigers. His production jumps off the charts on a team where the Sam Montgomery's and Barkevious Mingo's of the world get more NFL love. Minter has 75 tackles, 4 PBU's 3 sacks, a pick, a forced fumble, and 9.5 TFL's. He's stuffing the stat sheet and then some for one of the best defensive units in the land.

12. O- Andre Ellington, Sr. RB, Clemson
      D- Adam Davis, Sr. DE, Kansas St.
Ellington gets overshadowed by the Clemson passing game, but he's been just as good as the receivers on a team that could end up with only one loss. Davis and fellow DL mate Meshak Williams have been terrors for Kansas St, with Davis totaling 3 forced fumbles and 3.5 sacks.

11. O- Aaron Murray, Jr. QB, Georgia
      D- Stephon Tuitt, Soph. DE, Notre Dame
Murray lost his best receiver in Michael Bennett to injury, but is probably the best QB in the SEC. He's thrown for 1,914 yards and 16 TD's to date. The matchup today with the Gators' secondary looms large for Murray's NFL stock, and Georgia's season. Manti Te'o gets all the hype, but Tuitt has been outstanding rushing the passer for the Irish. To date, he's registered 8 sacks, and has made Irish fans completely forget classmate Aaron Lynch's departure to USF.

10. O- Stepfan Taylor, Sr. RB, Stanford
      D- Devonte Fields, Frosh, DE, TCU
Taylor, much like Gillislee, is an extremely underated offensive standout at the national level. He only needs 154 yards to get to 1,000 for the second straight year. Fields has come out of nowhere to have a comparable freshman year to that of one Jadevon Clowney. To put into perspective, Phil Steele only had him as the 30th best defensive lineman in his class, and he's now the 10th best defensive player nationally based on my numbers. These numbers include a whopping 13.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles.

9.  O- Le'Veon Bell, Jr. RB, Michigan St.
    D- Ryan Shazier, Soph. LB, Ohio St.
Bell did a lot of his damage early on, and both he, and his team have cooled off. I look for him to drop quite a bit the rest of the season. Shazier leads top 25 teams in tackles with 76, and has shown versitility with 8 pass breakups. Only a sophomore, I look for Shazier to get lots of NFL hype by next season.

8. O- Colin Klein, Sr. QB, Kansas St.
    D- Terrence Garvin, Sr. LB, West Virginia
Klein is starting to get some Tebow-type love and is arguably the Heisman front-runner after his team smacked around Geno Smith and his boys last week. He showed, albeit against a horrible defense, that he can do more than run as he threw it for 300 plus. Garvin plays for that defense I spoke of, and has 4 sacks from his linebacker spot. It's amazing that anybody from that shitshow of a unit is ranked anywhere, but believe it or not, Garvin has made some plays.

7. O- DeAndre Hopkins, Jr. WR, Clemson
    D- Manti Te'o, Sr. LB, Notre Dame
Hopkins has gone from second in command behind Sammie Watkins, to arguably and equal if not better player. He leads all top 25 teams with 909 receiving yards, and is strong candidate to go high in the draft whenver he comes out. Te'o is the face of the Notre Dame resurrgence, and arguably the face of college football right now. The personal tragedies aside, Te'o has 69 tackles and 4 interceptions as he captains what may be the best defense in all of college football.

6. O- Stedman Bailey, Jr. WR,  West Virginia
    D- Tank Carradine, Sr. DE, FSU
Taking the whole season into account, and not just the last two weeks is what one has to do when evaluating the West Virginia boys. Bailey has been tremendous as both he and Tavon Austin should both get to 1,000 yards and double digit touchdowns with ease. Tank Carradine has stepped in for injured Brandon Jenkins to pair with Bjoern Werner as probably the best defensive end tandem in all of the college game. He leads the team tackles, and has contributed 8 sacks.

5. O- Kenjon Barner, Sr. RB, Oregon
    D- Jadevon Clowney, Soph, DE, South Carolina
Barner's numbers are insane, with 870 yards and 12 touchdowns. If he played for a team with less weapons, they would arguably be even better. Clowney has battled injuries lately, but he leads top 25 teams with 14.5 TFL's.

4. O- Tavon Austin, Sr. WR, West Virginia
    D- Iko Ekpre-Olomu, Soph. CB, Oregon
As I mentioned earlier, Austin needs to be evaluated based on his whole body of work. Even with the collective terribleness against K-State, he was the only Mountaineer to score a touchdown. All in all, he's a threat both as a receiver and as a return man. Ekpre-Olomu is a relative unknown, but with 4 forced fumbles and 10 PBU's, he's been a standout on a defense that doesn't get nearly the amount of love it deserves.

3. O- Marqice Lee, Soph. WR, USC
    D- Morgan Breslin, Jr. DE, USC
Lee barely edges out Austin for top wide receiver honors, as he has raced past Robert Woods as Matt Barkley's main go to guy. Right now he has 60 catches for 784 yards and 8 TD's. Breslin emerged from the JC ranks to come in and overshadow some of the other higher publicized linemen on the team to the tune of 8 sacks and 12 TFL's.

 (google images)

2. O- Geno Smith, Sr. QB, West Virginia
    D- Bjoern Werner, Jr. DE, FSU
Geno Geno Geno, I don't even know where to begin. I don't question the numbers, even though it's a system that's meant for the QB to average about 9 million yards a game. What I do question is leadership. He looked like he doesn't really have what it takes in that department last week. He needs to stop forcing things if he wants to get back into the Heisman race. "The Germinator," has been an absolute terror for the Seminoles, again taking up some of the Brandon Jenkins slack to produce 8 sacks and 11.5 TFL's. Werner had good numbers in limited snaps earlier in his career, but now has become the best D-lineman in the country according to my metrics.

1. O- Braxton Miller, Soph. QB, Ohio St.
    D- Jarvis Jones, Jr. LB, Georgia
Miller is doing the Denard Robinson thing far better than Mr. Robinson himself this year. Specifically, he's accounted for 21 touchdowns and over 2300 yards for a Buckeyes offense that has been the key in the teams' unexpected 8-0 start. Miller could easily win the Heisman in his sophomore campaign, much like what that Tebow guy did under Urban Meyer years ago. I watched Jarvis Jones single-handedly keep Georgia going on D earlier this year with all of suspensions leaving them shorthanded. He arguably won the Mizzou game by himself. To date, Jones has 36 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 9.5 TFL's and 3 forced fumbles. He also has picked off a pass and has 2 breakups, showing that he's not just a pass rusher. I look for him to have a huge day today against the Gators, cementing his status as the top defensive player in the land.

( google images)

                                             

                                                            Best by Position:
QB- Braxton Miller
RB- Kenjon Barner
WR- Marqise Lee
DE-Bjoern Werner
LB- Jarvis Jones
CB- Iko Ekpre-Olomu
S- Jordan Richards

College Football Hodgepodge: Week 6

I think I went 5-1 last time with my picks, so let's just start there this week before I get into some player rankings, BCS predictions, and my choice for the Heisman and Defensive POY.

Oklahoma-Texas: I know Texas has won 3 out of the last 4, and that both teams are in the top 15, but I don't see this being much of a contest. I don't like Texas' QB situation, even though it's a challenging matchup to have to account for two different types of players that literally have two different playbooks. OU has too much on offense, and despite the fact that the Longhorns young secondary has played well, Ryan Broyles is going to have a field day (Oklahoma 34, Texas 17)

Florida-LSU: Another top 25 game that won't be close. LSU's defense will tee off on Frosh Jeff Driskell, who is a backup to a terrible QB, so probably isn't very good himself. I see Charlie Weis crying and calling Tom Brady on his cell midgame, asking to come back as Wes Welker's man servant while crushing bags of Dorito's. I also see the "Honey Badger" (Tyrann Mathieu) rising to number one in my defensive player rankings with a 12 tackle, 2 sack, 1 Int, 4 PBU type of game. (LSU 45, Florida 14)

Arkansas-Auburn: I'd say this one would be more of an even game, but with Auburn's top two WR's out, I'm going with the Hogs. Jairus Wright and Tyler Wilson went off against a decent defense last week against A&M, and Nick Fairley will be busy putting Jay Cutler in the hospital on Monday night, after knocking out Ryan Mallett in last year's game. Arkansas has holes on D, but Auburn won't be balanced enough to punish them, even though Michael Dyer will have a big day. (Arkansas 35, Auburn 24)

Ohio St.-Nebraska: This one has lost some of its luster with both teams playing like garbage in their Big Ten openers. Ohio State's offense is terrible, and they still don't get Dan Herron or Devier Posey back. Nebraska can at least run the ball, with Rex Burkhead ( think Danny Woodhead college version), and dual threat Taylor Martinez. I still like the Husker Defense, with 3 players in my top 25 rankings, plus preseason All-Americans Alfonzo Dennard and Jared Crick. (Nebraska 24, Ohio St. 17)

Miami-Virginia Tech: I'd love to take the verbal cattle prod to the VT people, as probably half of those that read this are probably Tech alums. I won't do it this week however. After coming out flat against a suprising Clemson team last week, the Hokies will bounce back this week. David Wilson is still a sleeper Heisman candidate, and the defense has played well. I see Jayron Hosely picking off a pass or two, and the Hokies doing something Hokie-like on special teams, coming away with the win. (VT 27, Miami 14).

(yahoo images)

Player Rankings:
( This is my unscientific, non-biased look at how players stack up going into Week 6. With apologies to Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson, and others that don't have the numbers since their teams beat the shit out of everyone each week, here's how my rankings look so far.

QB
1. Brandon Weedon, Sr. Oklahoma St.
2. Geno Smith, Jr. West Virginia
3. Landry Jones, Jr. Oklahoma
4. Tyler Wilson, Jr. Arkansas
5. B.J. Daniels, Jr. USF

Dual-Threat
1. Taylor Martinez, Soph. Nebraska
(Weedon and Smith are largely putting up numbers because of the systems they play in, but both play for teams that are a combined 9-1. Martinez is Vick-like in his running abilities, but has to be ranked separately because he's barely completing 50 percent of his passes).
RB
1. Trent Richardson, Jr. Alabama
2. Marcus Lattimore, Soph. S.Carolina
3. Joseph Randle, Soph. Oklahoma St.
4. David Wilson, Jr. VT
5. Chris Rainey, Sr. Florida
( Richardson would get my vote for Heisman if I actually had the credibility that would give me a Heisman vote. Lattimore is one of maybe 5 or 6 Gamecocks that will be in the Pro Bowl in 5 years. Randle gives the Cowboys three dynamic playmakers on a potential BCS sleeper).
WR
1. Ryan Broyles, Sr. Oklahoma
2. Justin Blackmon, Jr. Oklahoma St.
3. B.J. Cunningham, Sr. Michigan St.
4. Jairus Wright, Sr. Arkansas
5. Tavon Austin Jr. West Virginia
( Broyles and Blackmon are well-known, but B.J. Cunningham from Michigan St. has quietly put together a reccord-breaking career and hasn't slowed down in his senior year).

Defense
1. Antonio Allen, Sr. South Carolina
2. Tyrann Mathieu, Soph. LSU
3. Chase Thomas, Jr. Stanford
4. Jadevon Clowney Frosh. South Carolina
5. Emmanuel Acho, Sr. Texas
6. Markellle Martin, Sr. Oklahoma St.
7. Melvin Ingram, Sr. South Carolina
8. Dre Kirkpatrick, Jr. Alabama
9. Cameron Meredith, Jr. Nebraska
10. Sean Porter, Jr. Texas A&M
( South Caroliina stands out with 3 in the top 10. Allen has been a monster with 49 tackles, 3 Interceptions, 3 Forced Fumbles, and 4.5 Tackles for Loss. Clowney has more than lived up to the hype of being the number one player in his class. And Ingram has the unlikely combo of 5.5 sacks, and 3 touchdowns from his spot on the D-Line. Mathieu has been all over the field for the Tigers, and Chase Thomas has stepped up for the Cardinal after they lost arguable their best defender (Shayne Skov) to injury).

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11. Tharold Simon, Soph. LSU
12. Chris Borland, Soph. Wisconsin
13. Damion Staffford, Jr. Nebraska
14. Carrington Byndum, Soph. Texas
15. Chris Smith, Soph. Arkansas
16. Lavonte David, Sr. Nebraska
17. Quandre Diggs, Frosh. Texas
18. Kyle Fuller, Soph. VT
18. Andrew Sweat, Sr. Ohio St.
20. James Thomas, Sr. Oklahoma St.
21. Tony Jerod-Eddie, Sr. Texas A&M
22. Frank Alexander, Sr. Oklahoma
23. Daytawion Lowe, Soph. Oklahoma St.
24. Bjorn Werner, Soph. Florida St.
25. Michael Clay, Jr. Oregon

BCS Predictions:

I know it's early, and hopefully I'll be able to put Notre Dame in my next batch of predictions, just for the haters out there. But here's how I see it right now.

National Championship: Alabama-Boise St
Rose Bowl: Oregon-Wisconsin
Orange Bowl: VT-West Virginia
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma-Stanford
Sugar Bowl: LSU-Oklahoma St.

Heisman Leaderboard
1. Trent Richardson
2. Andrew Luck
3. Kellen Moore
4. Ryan Broyles
5. Marcus Lattimore
(Also Receiving Votes: Russell Wilson, Landry Jones, Brandon Weedon, Justin Blackmon, Joseph Randle, David Wilson, Dayne Crist)

Defensive POY
1. Tyrann Mathieu
2. Chase Thomas
3. Emannuel Acho
4. Markelle Martin
5. Dre Kirkpatrick

College Football Quick Picks: Week 3

If using these as a guide in terms of real gambling, it would probably be wise to take what I say and run in the other direction. Especially with my track record on this site (see Fighting Irish, Notre Dame). Regardless, here's a look at an intriging slate of games this third week of the season.

Auburn at Clemson (-3.5): In the battle of two teams with the same nickname, I'd have to go with Auburn here. Even with the losses from last year, getting that win against a good Miss St. team  last week shows that they have enough left to still have a solid season. The ACC is down, and Clemson barely beat Wofford last week. (Auburn 35, Clemson 28)

West Virginia at Maryland (E): I was able to taunt my boy who's a WVU alum last week after the first half score read Norfolk St.12, West Virginia 10. The 'Neers then went on a 45-0 run in the second half. Two good QB's in this one with Geno Smith and Danny O'Brien more than likely putting up huge numbers. WVU struggles as they look past the Terps and whatever god-awful unis they bust out, but right the ship in the second half once again. (WVU 45, Maryland 35)


Tennessee at Florida (-9.5): Tennessee has the best QB they've had since this dude named Peyton Manning was around. Tyler Bray put up 400 yards last week against a decent Cincy team, and I'm not sold on Florida, or Florida's defense still trying to replace the booted Janoris Jenkins, and the graduated Ahmad Black out of the secondary. If this game was in Knoxville, I'd have the balls to go with UT here. It's in The Swamp however, so Florida will squeak by after Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps save the day with a combined 3 TD's. (Florida 27, Tennessee 24)

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Michigan State at Notre Dame (-5): It's unbelieveable that this spread is where it is. To quote my little brother: "God Bless all these Midwest Catholics going to Vegas and moving the line." I spoke at length about Notre Dame already on this site. I still believe in them. Michigan State is impressive with WR B.J. Cunningham off to a great start, and a D lead by DT Jerel Worthy. They won't win in South Bend however as Notre Dame finally puts everything together. (Notre Dame 27, Mich St. 17)

Ohio St at Miami (Fla) (-2.5): I'm sure there are plenty of cute little nicknames one could come up with for this one, but I'm barely awake right now. So we'll go with "The Scholarship Reduction Bowl". The NCAA's two favorite teams right now battle it out in Coral Gables, with Miami getting the majority of their suspended playmakers back. Ohio State is still missing their best RB and WR, plus DE Nathan Williams is out with an injury. I look for the U to take advantage of having everybody back. (Miami 24, Ohio St. 14)

Oklahoma at Florida St. (+3): The game of the week and the 2nd top 5 battle in three weeks is the biggest game of Jimbo Fisher's tenure in Tallahassee. After Oklahoma kicked the living shit out of the Noles last year in Norman, I expect things to be different this year. E.J. Manuel has gotten off to a great start throwing the ball to a multitude of dfferent receivers. This one is going to be a track meet even though both squads have decent defenses. I can see it being a very high scoring first half, followed by the D's settling down a little in the 2nd, causing some turnovers. I give Oklahoma the nod because of the combo of Landry Jones and Ryan Broyles (Oklahoma 38. FSU 31)


                                                  Player Rankings:
    I started doing this last year on the LCB website, as I brilliantly dubbed my "Stonebreaker Award" the Defensive Heisman. I didn't think there was an award for Defensive Player of the Year, even though there is. It was informative however tracking the stats each week, as it led me to see the impact players like Nick Fairley on and week to week basis. This year, I'm also looking at Offensive stats, so here's how the rankings play out after the first two weeks of the season.

QB's

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1. Taylor Martinez, Nebraska           
2. Brandon Weedon, Oklahoma St.
3. Geno Smith, WVU
4. Chris Relf, Miss. St.
5. Landry Jones, Oklahoma

RB's
1. Joseph Randle, Oklahoma St.
2. Vic Ballard, Miss St.
3. David Wilson, VT
4. Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina
5. Chris Rainey, Florida

WR's
1. Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma St.
2. Jairus Wright, Arkansas
3. Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma
4. B.J. Cunningham, Michigan St.
5. Robert Woods, USC

Defense

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1. Antonio Allen, South Carolina
2. Tyron Mathieu, LSU
2. Cameron Meredith, Nebraska
4. Andrew Sweat, Ohio St.
4. Chase Thomas, Stanford
6. Markelle Martin, Oklahoma St.
7. Frank Alexander, Oklahoma
8. Michael Clay, Oregon
8. Tony Jerod-Eddie, Texas A&M
10. Shea McClellin, Boise St.

QB's: Martinez and Relf lead the cause of the dual threat signal callers, although Relf will probably fall out of the top 5 after his dealings with LSU on Thursday night. Landry Jones cracks the top 5 even though the Sooners did not play last week.

RB's: I'd never heard of Randle or Ballard until the sesaon started. David Wilson is averaging 150 yards for a Tech team that has struggled to throw the ball so far. Ditto for Rainey as he leads the Gators in both rushing and receiving, with 4 TD's as well.

WR's: Blackmon and Broyles are both early season Heisman candidates who've gotten off to excellent starts, while Wright spearheads a Razorback offense that hasn't missed a beat despite losing Ryan Mallett and Knile Davis.

Defense: There are bigger names on the Gamecocks D, and freshman Jadevon Clowney has been every bit as good as advertised (#14 in my rankings). Allen however has 22 tackles, and Int, 2 Forced fumbles, and 1.5 Tackles for Loss, combined with 2 touchdowns. Mathieu leads an incredible secondary for the Bayou Bengals, while DL's Tony Jerod-Eddie and Frank Alexander make the cut despite only playing one game.