The Weekend Review

As Campbell, other seniors prove, there's value in having a veteran QB

Jason Campbell and the Tigers are now in the driver's seat in the SEC West after downing LSU and Tennessee. Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

In a society of instant gratification, we don't like to be bothered with waiting on anything -- including the development of young college quarterbacks. Consider this past Saturday a friendly reminder that, yes, that old coach's adage really does hold true: Experience matters.

In leading his team to a rousing 34-10 victory at Neyland Stadium, Auburn's oft-maligned senior quarterback, Jason Campbell, dispensed a textbook performance, complete with the kind of nuances only a wily veteran could muster. Meanwhile, Vols freshmen QBs Erik Ainge and Brent Schaeffer, who after just three collegiate games were already being hailed as the second comings of Peyton Manning and Michael Vick, respectively, were served a lesson in humility.

Campbell's showing against the Vols, which came two weeks after he orchestrated a last-minute touchdown drive to beat LSU, was unquestionably the finest of his career. With Tennessee loading the box to stop Tigers running backs Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown, a poised and proficient Campbell completed 15-of-21 for 240 yards and two touchdowns -- in the first half. By then, his team led 31-3. Campbell continually checked off at the line despite the thunderous crowd noise, something head coach Tommy Tuberville said his senior QB probably wouldn't have been able to do earlier in his career.

At that time, Campbell was a lightning rod for criticism. A starter since midway through his freshman season in 2001, the former Parade high school All-America struggled to learn the offense, causing the coaches to oversimplify things, and didn't always deal well with pressure. He did, however, have a career completion percentage of 62 and was probably much farther along coming into the year than most observers gave him credit for, simply because they never got over their initial impressions of him.

"There's so much hype in recruiting now, people think once they're recruited they're going to be great players right out of the box," Tuberville said Sunday. "That doesn't happen, especially at quarterback. It takes two-to-three years of making mistakes and learning from your mistakes."

That's what will be going on this week in Knoxville, Tenn., after Ainge, who came into Saturday's ballgame with an impressive 64 percent completion rate, eight touchdowns and just one interception, threw for one TD and four picks against the Tigers. Schaeffer was 1-of-5 passing with a pick of his own. Vols coach Phillip Fulmer's decision to throw the pair into the fire this early was absolutely the right one -- they're both gifted players who have already helped them win games. But it was unrealistic to think Ainge and Schaeffer would continue unabated at such a staggering pace. Their growing pains will likely continue Saturday at Georgia.

"They're good players," said Tuberville, "but we knew if we got any kind of pressure on them at all they'd throw it up for grabs."

The benefits of quarterback maturation were plentiful this weekend. In Georgia's 45-16 thumping of LSU, four-year Dawgs starter David Greene made one masterful throw after another in the face of intense pressure while LSU freshman counterpart JaMarcus Russell found himself running for his life. In Connecticut's 29-17 victory over Pittsburgh, Huskies senior Dan Orlovsky shone while Panthers sophomore Tyler Palko, a far-more hyped recruit, struggled. Purdue's Kyle Orton, brilliant yet again Saturday at Notre Dame, could barely hold on to his job two years ago. Even Miami, where fifth-year senior Brock Berlin has struggled mightily, probably feels fortunate to have him after Saturday's 27-3 win over Georgia Tech. While Berlin was a picture of poise in producing his best performance of the season, redshirt freshman Kyle Wright -- the fans' choice -- was notably shaky, enduring four sacks in just a few series of work.

There are exceptions to the rule, of course. Michigan's true freshman starter, Chad Henne, has been surprisingly solid, while seniors like Oregon State's Derek Anderson and Florida State's Chris Rix continue to make the same mistakes they did as freshmen and sophomores. But the reality is, only three of the nation's top 12 most efficient passers and six of the top 20 are first-year starters. Be careful what you wish for the next time you start clamoring for the coach to put in the freshman.

Player of the Week

MAILBAG MAILBAG Stewart Mandel will answer questions from SI.com readers each week in his mailbag. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

Ryan Moats, RB, Louisiana Tech: Stat lines like Moats' 34-carry, 236-yard, four-touchdown performance Saturday against Fresno State are becoming almost commonplace -- he also has two 257-yard efforts on his resume. What was different about this one was whom it came against: a Fresno State defense that had not only led the Bulldogs to a top-20 ranking but was allowing just 115 yards per outing. The same defense that Moats shredded Saturday in Tech's 28-21 upset had previously held Kansas State All-American Darren Sproles to 37 yards. Clearly, Moats is a legitimate All-America candidate, regardless of his conference. While the 5-foot-9, 209-pound junior didn't exactly put up Heisman numbers in his matchups with powers Tennessee and Miami, he didn't wilt either, carrying 21 times for 97 yards against the Vols, 14 for 81 against a 'Canes D that may well be the best in the country. Next up for Moats: Auburn, which just happens to have the SEC's No. 3 rushing defense.

Honor roll

Purdue's Orton (21-of-31, 385 yards, four TDs, no INTs) vs. Notre Dame; Auburn safety Junior Rosegreen (four INTs) vs. Tennessee; Marshall DE Jonathan Goddard (four sacks, forced fumble, recovered fumble) vs. Miami of Ohio; Memphis RB DeAngelo Williams (33 carries, 262 yards, four TDs) vs. Houston; Northwestern LB Tim McGarigle (13 tackles, forced fumble) vs. Ohio State; Virginia Tech safety Vincent Fuller (76-yard fumble return for TD, game-clinching interception) vs. West Virginia; Syracuse RB Walter Reyes (19 carries, 237 yards, two TDs) vs. Rutgers; Wisconsin RB Anthony Davis (27 carries, 213 yards, three TDs in his return from an eye injury) vs. Illinois.

Gratuitous props to ...

Navy kicker Geoff Blumenfeld, 0-for-4 on the season and 5-for-13 on his career before kicking the game-winning field goal against Air Force; TCU quarterback Brandon Hassell, bruised shoulder and all, who came off the bench to rally the Frogs from a 17-0 deficit against Army; Southern Miss, for getting off to a 3-0 start without playing a single home game; and the Ohio Bobcats for knocking off Kentucky 28-16 for their first win in four years over a BCS-conference foe.

Team of the week

Northwestern: In the decade since they first morphed from neglected stepchild to an actual, competitive Big Ten program, the Wildcats have beaten Michigan three times, Wisconsin four times and Penn State twice. But one team, Ohio State, remained a hovering symbol of their remaining respectability gap. For one thing, NU managed to avoid playing the Buckeyes in each of its three league title seasons (1995, '96 and 2000), and when the teams did meet, it was usually ugly. The Wildcats had lost 24 straight times to OSU dating to 1971. Add to that the fact that head coach Randy Walker is a Woody Hayes devotee and two of the game's biggest contributors, receiver Mark Philmore (11 catches for 134 yards) and cornerback Jeff Backes (10 tackles and an interception in the end zone), are Columbus, Ohio, natives, and you can start to get a sense of how Saturday night's 33-27 overtime victory meant a whole lot more than simply a 1-3 team knocking off a 3-0 team.

"We had expectations, we had high belief in ourselves," Walker said. "But [prior to Saturday], there was nothing to confirm it."

Worth the price of admission

If you saw the score -- San Jose State 70, Rice 63, the highest-scoring regulation game in I-A history -- you probably pictured a classic WAC shootout with footballs flying all over the field. But here's what makes the score that much more unbelievable: Rice is an option team. The Owls ran the ball a staggering 85 times for 570 yards. They held the ball for 42 minutes to the Spartans' 18. In fact, San Jose State did not even score its first offensive touchdown until early in the second quarter, already trailing 34-7, when quarterback Dale Rogers, who hadn't practiced all week due to an injury, came off the bench. Suddenly the Spartans started scoring quickly and often -- a 74-yard run here, a 67-yard pass there. Ironically, the game was ultimately decided on two rarities: a Rice pass and a San Jose State defensive play. Brian Nunez returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown and the Spartans' only lead all night with 2:18 left.

Afterwards, longtime Owls coach Ken Hatfield said, "It was a typical WAC game."

If that's the case, buy me a season ticket.

Five wide

1. Here's an idea for the BCS. There's a good chance the winner of the Nov. 13 West Virginia-Boston College is going to earn the Big East's automatic berth. The Mountaineers and Eagles have already lost to Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, respectively, two ACC teams that will be fortunate to finish higher than sixth in that conference, an honor that is often accompanied by a trip to the Humanitarian Bowl. Meanwhile, the ACC currently has three top-10 caliber teams, Miami, Florida State and Virginia, at least one of which will be left out of the BCS under the current rules. How about the third team gets the Big East's spot in the Sugar or Fiesta bowls, each of the teams below them moves up a spot in the pecking order and whichever emerges as champion, WVU or BC, gets a more appropriate invitation -- to Boise.

2. If USC's Reggie Bush and UCLA's Maurice Drew were to switch teams, would we suddenly be hearing every 10 minutes how Drew is the best player in college football? Both are phenomenal players, no question, but it's actually Drew, not Bush, who is leading the nation in all-purpose yards (229.5 per game), without nearly the same supporting cast. Bush is third (212.8). Drew is averaging 10.3 yards every time he touches the ball, Bush 10.0. And while Drew is much more of a traditional running back, gaining 93 percent of his yardage via handoffs, he's shown the ability in the past to break a kick return. The speedier Bush is more of a factor as a receiver (14 catches, 196 yards, four touchdowns) but also doesn't get to serve as his team's primary runner because the Trojans have LenDale White.

3. Georgia caught a lot of flak for trailing 16-0 before rallying to beat South Carolina a few weeks back, but as it turns out, the Gamecocks are pretty darn good. Lou Holtz's team earned its first-ever win at Alabama Saturday -- by a 20-3 score -- despite completing just four passes. How? With a relentless defense that forced Tide QBs Marc Guillon and Spencer Pennington to throw four interceptions.

"Our defense is playing very well," Holtz said. "They haven't given up the big play."

Tailback Demetris Summers looked good in his return from a sprained ankle and versatile QB Syvelle Newton made things happen on the ground. He and playmaking receiver Troy Williamson have already shown they can get it done in the passing game when needed.

4. Where has Chase Lyman been the past four years? Before last year's Insight Bowl, the injury-plagued Cal receiver had caught all of 16 passes the previous three seasons. In that game, he lit up Virginia Tech for 149 yards on five catches, and so far this year he's supplanted Geoff McArthur as QB Aaron Rodgers' favorite target. Saturday against Oregon State, Lyman had five catches for 176 yards and three touchdowns, including a 79-yard bomb, in a 49-7 victory.

"This is the first time he has been healthy," Bears coach Jeff Tedford said. "But I'm not surprised how he has played. He is a big, physical receiver who is productive."

Just one more weapon for top-ranked USC to worry about this Saturday.

5. Sylvester Croom and Mississippi State enjoyed eight months' worth of feel-good stories over the offseason, but there's no way to sugarcoat what's transpired since toe finally met leather. The Bulldogs are without question the worst major-conference team this side of Temple, falling 31-13 to Vanderbilt on Saturday in what had to be the first time the Commodores were ever a double-digit favorite against an SEC opponent. State, which was playing without injured QB Omarr Conner, has also lost 51-0 to LSU, 43-14 to Auburn and 9-7 to, yes, Maine. And the worst part is, the Bulldogs haven't even made it to the day when the NCAA slaps them with sanctions from the Jackie Sherrill era.

Stewart Mandel covers college sports for SI.com.