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SI.com college football writer Stewart Mandel shares his commentary, analysis and random tidbits on the latest developments around the country.
Five Things We Learned This Weekend
2) That no one wants to win the Heisman: When Adrian Peterson got hurt a few weeks back, the door opened for any number of other contenders to challenge Troy Smith. And who’s heeded the call? Umm … I still think Steve Slaton is one of the three best players in the country, but he likely fumbled away his chances -- literally -- against Louisville. Garrett Wolfe has fallen off the face of the earth. Calvin Johnson killed himself with that zero-catch game. Even Smith himself has gone into hibernation the past couple weeks. If I had to vote today, my top three would be Smith, Brady Quinn and Colt McCoy -- which is saying something, considering the latter two, while they’ve gone on to have great seasons, went belly-up in their biggest games of the year back in September. 3) That a possible Ohio State-Texas rematch might not be far-fetched after all: A week after struggling defensively against Texas Tech, the ‘Horns couldn’t have been more impressive in shutting down Oklahoma State. The Cowboys -- which, thanks to the dynamic passing group of QB Bobby Reid and WRs Adarius Bowman and D’Juan Woods, had put up 496 yards on Nebraska a week earlier -- managed just 203 yards of offense in 36-10 loss in Austin. Texas isn’t out of the woods yet, but it will certainly be favored in all its remaining games. If Louisville loses at Rutgers this week and if Florida trips up at some point, guess who’s probably next in line for Glendale? 4) That the Big Ten has three good teams and then … blech: The standings right now say the conference’s No. 5 team is Purdue. Purdue? The Boilers have scored a combined 20 points their past three games and lost by 30 to Iowa. That was back when the Hawkeyes were a top-15 team, before they lost to both Indiana and Northwestern. Well at least these aren’t the same old Hoosiers … oh wait, maybe they are. They lost 63-26 to Minnesota on Saturday. The Gophers, by the way, are one of four league teams tied at 1-5 in the conference. As exciting as it is for the Big Ten to have the top two teams in the country, its four through 11 teams this year are as bad as any I can remember. 5) That it’s getting to be beyond ugly in Miami: The ‘Canes managed to lose to Virginia Tech on Saturday night despite holding the Hokies to 109 yards. It’s no secret Larry Coker is on life support at this point, but now Miami fans are going after QB Kyle Wright as well. As the junior quarterback walked off the Orange Bowl field Saturday night, he was met with boos and taunts of “Go back to California.” At that point, the player’s father, Ken, who was also on the field, got into a shouting match with the fans, with AD Paul Dee intervening and security escorting Ken Wright out of the area. I know it’s been a nightmare season for Miami, but it’s hard to believe it’s come to this. UPDATE: The missing Blog post from yesterday has been restored.
posted by Stewart Mandel | View comments |
Comments:Oh come on Mandel... I dont think that saying Colt McCoy went "belly up" in the game against Ohio State is an accurate statement. Yes, I agree he didnt win the game, AND I agree that it was not his best performance by far... but considering that it was his 2nd collegiate game EVER... against the number 1 team in the nation.. his stats (19 of 32, 154 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT) are not THAT bad. Especially in comparison with Brady Quinn's against Michigan (taking into account that Brady Quinn was a seasoned veteran coming into that game and that Michigan was ranked 11 at that time). Nevertheless, I am just happy that people are finally considering Colt in the same sentence as Troy Smith.
We will see if the Hogs are really the best team if they survive this final stretch.
Troy Smith does have the Heisman locked up but if there was an MVP award, which there isnt, than Mike Hart would win hands down. Compare last yr to this year's michigan team. I admit the defense is a big key, but that offense lives and dies on the shoulders of mike hart. If I had a drive to win a game, I would take Hart as my RB over any in the nation. How many other Backs can say they've fumbled only ONCE in the past 600+ carries? Finally, I feel if FLorida, Louisville, slip up and the UM vs OSU game is close, there should be a rematch. Mack: charleston, sc Every time you mention that Colt McCoy lost to OSU, shouldn't you explain in all fairness that it was his SECOND college game ever AND he actually did not play poorly. If not for Billy Pitman' fumble at the 2yard line (and Tarrel Brown's suspension) the game might have gone very differently AND that had nothing to do with Colt.
Hi Stewart, I was sure you'd include your weekly slam against the Big 12 North in your 5 Things We Learned - I guess your comments about no one caring about the North have produced nationwide apathy - NOT! Believe it or not, there are people that actually occupy and live in the central part of the country, and we love our Big 12 North Football! Cycles come and cycles go, and Kansas City in December can be mighty cold and miserable for Texas boys. Go Big Red!
Speaking of Miami - how many non-ACC fans could tell you which division of the ACC they are in??? The monikers "Coastal" and "Atlantic" are terrible - the entire conference is along the Atlantic coast, that the conference's name for gosh' sake! And the groupings in each Division make NO SENSE Geographically, the way the SEC's East and West, or the Big 12's North and South do. How do you have 4 Carolina schools in 2 different divisions? FSU and Miami in different ones? And quick, name the 6 members in each division correctly, and win a prize to the Mediocrity Bowl this year!
Stew..have you been watching college football the last few weeks. Troy Smith has been subpar compared to Brady Quinn. Who cares if his team is #1. You're still talking about a guy who's numbers haven't compared to Quinn this year. And his performance almost cost him a loss to a team that got blown out be Rutgers earlier in the year. Now, if Illinois recovers that onside, scores a TD, completes a 2 point conversion and end up beating Ohio State's defense, does Smith still have your vote? Even though Smith would of had nothing to do with Illinois scoring in the closing minutes to win the game? So now, look at both players equally, without wins and losses, and Quinn stands out. Then journalists like yourself, are still looking back at last year, Smith beat Quinn. However, it was LAST YEAR! Smith's team hasn't lost a game this year, but neither has Teel's.
Stewart's take on the Big Ten is pretty good but he should develop his arguement a bit more. Clearly, Ohio State is the top team. Sure they struggled with the Illini but in recent weeks have given Wisconsin and Penn State all they could handle. This team could be darn good next year. Joining the Buckeyes at the top is a Michigan team that seems to be getting worse as the year goes by and is probably not as a good as a top five team should be. Sorry Stewart, this is where I disagree, the Badgers have only beaten one good team, Penn State. They will finish the season at 11 and 1 but I have a hard time putting them in the top twenty in the country. After that, Penn State is pretty good and would be better than Michigan and Wisconsin with real offensive coaching. After that it is a mess. The Big East is at least as good as the Big Ten and the Pac-Ten looks to be better. How far have the great fallen? The Big Ten more resembles the also ran of the eighties and early ninities than the colosus it has become in the decade since.
I have to say your comment on Arkansas is totally wrong. Arkansas hasn't played the schedule of any of the other SEC major players. Let's go through who Arkansas has played so far out of the SEC powerhouses - Auburn and that is it...LSU has played TN, Florida and Auburn...Florida has played LSU, Auburn, Georgia...Auburn has played LSU, Arkansas, Florida...TN played LSU, Georgia, Florida. ARKANSAS has only played one big game! It's a bit presumptious to say that Arkansas is the best team when they haven't had to play the schedule that other teams in the SEC have. You are totally off on this point. They got lucky on the schedule, it's as easy as that. We'll see what happens when LSU comes to town.
"Now, if Illinois recovers that onside, scores a TD, completes a 2 point conversion and end up beating Ohio State's defense, does Smith still have your vote?"
Are you kidding me? That's a whole lot of "ifs," isn't it? Here are a few more for you: IF Brady Quinn didn't crap the bed against Michigan at home, he probably would be leading in the Heisman race right now. IF Brady Quinn didn't pile up stats against teams like Stanford, Navy, UNC, MSU and Purdue (with Army and Air Force still to come), maybe sportswriters would take him seriously. IF Notre Dame wasn't guaranteed to lose horribly in a bowl game they don't belong in, then...oh, sorry, that's not even worth thinking about it, because it's a sure thing! Domers, give it up. BQ doesn't deserve all the accolades, and neither do the Irish. Can we now please state that the SEC is over rated? I think they are very competitive, inside their own conference. The evidence is lacking for a a true national power conference. Yes they beat each other up, but non-conference games do not stack up. I'm sorry but I cant see how any of these teams are highly regarded.
Thankfully for Michigan their offence stepped up and bailed them out. But I am continually baffled by how some teams can win and drop in the polls and and some teams dont drop. Where's Darren McFadden in this Heisman race? He's playing better than every back in the country, he's run all over SEC defenses this year and he's been carrying the Razorbacks who you say is the best in the SEC. Will anyone outside of Arkansas give D-Dawg some love?
Stewie, good points as usual, but your comment about the Hesiman race illustrates a pretty narrow view, no? There are more than 5 guys playing for the trophy. Marshawn Lynch is (literally) limping between downs on two sprained ankles, and continues to put up 100+ yards per game. And it seems oddly fickle to even consider writing Smith off because of a few quiet games; his performance for the year overall has been insanely hot.
No doubt, Arkansas has a good team and has not gotten enough attention from the press this year.
However, it is curious how many sportswriters are now making up for it by blowing a narrow win against South Carolina up into a game that "demands respect" for the Hogs. Really? Granted, Arkansas won the game. However, if South Carolina had played slightly better ball, the Hogs would have another hash mark in the "L" column right now. Consider the fluke touchdown at the end of the first half. Or the INT thrown by USC in Arkansas territory in the final USC possession. Or the botched punt. Or... well, I hope you get it. Auburn wins by 7 points, and they "escape." Arkansas wins by 6 and they "demand respect." Whatever. I agree with the comment regarding McFadden. He's putting up good numbers in a tough conference and his team is winning. I also think Colt deserves to be ranked in the top 3 for the Heisman. Great points made previously regarding his game against ohio st. Give the kid credit - he's the QB at an elite university, replacing a ledgend in Vince Young, coming off a national championship year with HIGH expectations, and he's only 19! He's playing much better than a lot of seasoned QB's in the nation.
so Arkansas is switching quarterbacks midseason? Again? And they're the best team in the SEC? No, I can't say that makes any sense whatsoever.
Colt McCoy should be the Heisman winner, but won't because he's a freshman. The Texas Tech game two weeks ago is evidence enough for me. and dr. dave- the reason for the allignment in the ACC, I believe, was to ensure Florida State played Miami for the championship every year. Kinda blew up in John Swofford's face, though.
How on earth can you even be suggesting that Texas deserves a possible rematch with Ohio State in the NC game? The only teams they have beaten that have been ranked are Nebraska and Oklahoma. The only one left on their schedule is Texas A&M. Those schools, the Longhorn's quality wins, are in the bottom half of the top 25. Look at Auburn. If they get shut out of the big game (SEC championship) and still have only one loss at season's end, they deserve to be in the NC game. Their quality wins have come against top ten teams: Florida and LSU. There only loss is against the team you think is playing the best football in the SEC. How on earth can you even suggest a one loss Texas over a one loss SEC team. Actually, I don't even think you could make the case for Texas over a 2-loss SEC team. LSU would give them a whooping. Quit hyping teams that have proven nothing!!
Already there will be unconvinced people out there when the Hogs run the table Tennessee had three players arrested in a bar this morning, so when the Hogs beat them that will be the reason. When LSU comes to LR, something will happen, Russell will have a hang nail, some excuse not to give Arkansas it's due. When the Hogs beat Florida in the SEC Championship Game they will be left out of the picture so Louisville or Texas or some team that plays nobody in their little conferences get the nod. GIVE ARKANSAS CREDIT. HELL YOU GIVE LOUISVILLE, WVA. It's time for a playoff now!!!
I find it interesting that a Michigan backer is bashing the SEC for out of conference games. Who has Michigan played? An over-rated Notre Dame with Big Ten officials. A Wisconsin team that has only one strong win to its credit. Does anyone know when the last time Michigan scheduled a top team on the road? How about a top team period? The answer is 1995. Michigan fans really should not bust on people for not scheduling good out of conference teams. In recent memory, they have turned down series with Va. Tech and Tennessee.
Auburn football fan: Did you watch the Ark-USC game? The game was over and 33-6 if Marcus Monk doesnt drop a touchdown that a SC player picks off. Didnt Ark pound Auburn down in the plains?
natedogg posted: "Arkansas hasn't played the schedule of any of the other SEC major players"! What????? This person surely doesn't follow the SEC schedules well. Arkansas plays just as many major teams as the rest in the SEC. Lets take a look at the top SEC teams according to the polls (Florida, Auburn, Arkansas, Tenn, LSU). Now lets look at the Ark. schedule. WOW!!! Ark. plays them all but Florida during the regular season. My bet is Arkansas plays Florida in the SEC Iron Bowl and then natedogg can get behind the team that wins the SEC championship (that being ARKANSAS).
hog fan from Allen, Texas (home of Casey Dick). Well, of course Smith or Quinn WILL win the Heisman, but neither deserve any consideration at all as far as being the most outstanding college football player. Smith's best performances came last season and the eminent difference between Brady Quinn and, say, Chase Holbrook is helmet color (and Holbrook might be more accurate). Wouldn't it be great to make this the season where the Heisman becomes a meaningful award again. How about giving it to a defensive player or lineman who is truly outstanding. Lamarr Woodley for Heisman???
Troy had a bad game, but a lot of that was more to do with problems on his O-line, as demonstrated by the fact that his runningback was also having a lot of problems. OSU needs to figure out what is wrong on the O Line, or maybe they just weren't taking a decent Illini team as seriously as they should have. Illinois will be tops in the Big 10 in 1 or 2 years. They shouldn't be underestimated.
But Troy having "subpar" performances in "the past few weeks" is a bit of a stretch when you see 44 and, oh yeah, 44! points on the scoreboard in consecutive weeks. Brady Quinn is a good QB, I won't deprive him that distinction. But Troy is just a better leader on the field, and he has been the most impressive player this season. I believe that the SEC is over rated. I went to UT and went to a lot of football games there and I got nothing out of it. I moved backed to MI and have gone to A TON of games and have loved evey bit of it. The fans are much more into thier football here in BIG 10 country. Another this why does everyone have OSU going to the NC game they have not played UofM yet. You should not write off UofM just yet... Have you seen the defense?
I'm glad to see that you finally have some respect for Brady Quinn, Stewart. Including him in your top-3 for the Heisman is a no-brainer though. And in response to Mack from Charleston, South Carolina---TROY SMITH DOES NOT HAVE THE HEISMAN LOCKED UP! Surely you, if anyone, would realize this Stewart (and Mack). If Troy Smith has another ho-hum day with no TDs and an interception in his next game at Northwestern, he will have to take a backseat to Quinn who is on fire right now and rightfully so due to the easy opponents the Irish are playing. But also take time to realize that Ohio State has played Indiana, Minnesota, Illinois, and will play Northwestern next week. Not much easier for a better team in Ohio State over Notre Dame's schedule. The Heisman isn't awarded to the best team but rather the best player. Brady Quinn is having a BETTER season statistically than Troy Smith with an offensive line that can't do crap and a schedule much harder that Ohio State's. And behind that mediocre offensive line, Quinn has 2 rushing TDs as opposed to Smith's 1!
warthog, you may want to pay attention to verb tenses. natedogg's point was that arkansas has yet to play much of the difficult part of its SEC schedule, not that it won't play most of the top teams in the SEC. that's the reason he used words like "hasn't yet" and "so far." we'll know whether they're as good as they seem to be by the end of the year.
In Response to what plainoldplainsman said about UT...throw away records and throw away the rankings. Lets look at the games specifically. Name a game where Florida played away in a rivalry game. They won all of their games close in the swamp. Texas had to go to Nebraska in the snow...Gator fans do not understand what its like to play at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. Not to mention in the pouring snow. They came away with a win and then flew to Lubbock. Playing the Red Raiders in ATT stadium is like trying to fly a plane in the snow. Down 21-0, UT came back and shut out TTU's offense for the second half. In fact, UT hasnt given up an offensive touchdown in 6 quarters. They are the best 1 loss team in the nation. Their only loss was to the number on team in the nation. And that game couldve gone either way if Jamal Charles didnt fumble on the 13 and the Billy Pittman didnt fumble on the 3.
Look at playmakers...To be competitive against OSU, you have to have great playmakers on both sides. I honestly dont see the playmakers in the SEC to be able to compete with OSU's SMith, Ginn, Pittman, Gonzales. UT has McCoy, Charles, SWeed, Pitman, Young, and Finley...and thats just on the offensive side of the ball. Hey, a 4th-ranked Michigan went to Oregon in 2003! Oh yeah, they lost...
But you're right - Michigan's out-of-conference road record is not really bad, it's just plain nonexistent. Once every other year they play ND on the road, but aside from that... Michigan has played at Notre Dame (1998, 2003, 2005), at Colorado (1996), at Syracuse (1999), at UCLA (2000), at Washington (2001), at Oregon (2002). And out of all those teams, only Syracuse was not ranked. So your "1995" comment is way off base.
HogNation thanks you for your comments. Finally! Someone outside the state recognizes just how good the Razorbacks really are. I wonder how well the USC Trojans would fair against the Hogs at this point in the season? No one wants to see rematches in the BCS Championship Game, to include Ohio St. playing either Michigan or Texas. Then again, no one wants to watch Louisville get demolished in a boring game against the Buckeyes either! If USC, Notre Dame, or Florida are still one loss teams, then they should be given some consideration. But what if USC and Notre Dame lose another game and Arkansas beats Florida in the SEC Championship Game? Should the Razorbacks be given a serious look as an opponent to Ohio State? Especially if the Hogs win the rest of their games?
A team that does not win its conference should not play for the national title. It was a travesty that Nebraska played for the NC in 2001. I understand Auburn would have lots of impressive wins, but if Arkansas wins the division by virtue of beating Auburn, well then you lost the one game you shouldn't have. Just like I don't think the Michigan-OSU loser, since it won't be Big 10 champ, deserves a shot either. Any playoff should reward conference champs and have VERY LIMITED at-large teams.
Stewart:
I get as "mentally irregular" (to quote Rocky) as anyone about NCAA football, but at this point can we PLEASE have some news that does more than just fanning the "which conference stinks the most?" flames??? There are good teams in all the conferences (and I'll still stack my Big 10 teams against others in the bowls) but how about everybody just try to keep their egos tucked away for a bit longer?! The bowl games will tell the story of who's good and who's not...and I'll tell you right now that the Big 10 will acquit itself to you and the other doubters. Until then, it's all just hot air that fans the testosterone flames. Go Bucks! Go Boilers! Playing Notre Dame with Big Ten officiating does not count, and honestly, they have not been a top ten team in more than a decade. You know it, I know it, Notre Dame fans know it and so do the Michigan schedule makers. As for UCLA, Oregon and the like, they are hardly top teams. They were not when they were scheduled and they were not when they played.
Sorry, Michigan has a bad habit of ducking top teams. Remember when they used to play Miami, Florida State and other great teams. Oh wait, that went the way of the dodo when they lost to Florida State 51 to 31 in the Big House. Colorado was already on the schedule for a series which turned out to be the last time Michigan has scheduled a top ten team. Get over it, like so many other schools around the nation, they refuse to play teams when they know they would likely be an underdog. Dearest K,
I was being terribly sarcastic about Michigan. They are one of the teams that I find that doesnt seem to get penalized for coming close in a game where they should be miles ahead. My beef is with the pollsters, who seem to take on different personalities when it comes to voting for different teams. When one team squeaks by and gets chastised for it, and another squeaks by and is rewarded and praised for it. Truth be known I am an Irish fan. Dude from Arkansas - LSU plays all four of those teams you listed ON THE ROAD. The hogs play 2 out of 3 at home. Wanna trade??????
What does Auburn have to do? They have continued to win and yet have fallen in the BCS for three consecutive weeks. Arkansas caught Auburn looking ahead to Florida and got lucky. Auburn beat South Carolina by a touchdown and it was an escape yet when Arkansas escaped by a touchdown it was an impressive victory. There current status is based on a lone fluke win against Auburn. Think about it, Texas squeeks by week after week against inferior opponents, Louisville has performed well in the Big East (High School Conference),and Florida went down to Auburn. Why did they all jump Auburn in the BCS polls?
Has anybody else noticed that Auburn has only been televised 4 out of 9 games? It almost looks biased. yea i agree with eric....with tennessee and LSU left we will find out if arkansas is any good. personally i think they are better than usual but not as good as they seem in the polls
I recall the Badgers beating a darn good Auburn team in last year's Capital One Bowl. anyway...
Just a thought here... If Wisconsin beats Iowa and Michigan beats Ohio State, would the Big Ten tie-breaker go to Wisconsin this year? Would that place Michigan in the NC game, Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, and Ohio State somewhere not in the BCS? How come when OSU and Michigan won their close games this weekend, all the pundits and apologists said that they were looking ahead to Nov. 18th? But when Louisville won two fairly close games leading up to their big game with WVU, everyone (except Herbsteit) said that they're not that good and undeserving of their ranking.
Also, UofL lost Michael Bush (Heisman candidate) for the season and Brian Brohm (another Heisman candidate) for a few games and they still remained undefeated. I'd like to see how Texas, UT, MIchigan, Auburn, LSU, Florida and others would do in that same situation. And finally, I'm tired of hearing people rag on the Big East's and UofL's OOC. For the record, UofL beat UK (SEC; 5-4), K-State (Big XII; 6 wins) and Miami (ACC; 5 wins). Now let's all go back and look at some of the OOC schedules from from those above mentioned conferences and schools. Most of them are filled with D-II schools, weak MAC schools and apparently every Directional School from Louisians. Can you tell I'm a Cards fan? Go Cards! I will admit that Michigan has not always played the "toughest" non-conference schedule, and I am sure that they have ducked playing home and home series with major conference oppenents. But to single out Michigan is just wrong since almost all of major football teams dont want to play "top 10 teams" early in their season becaues they know that one loss can ruin your NC chances. Very rarely does a top team play another one early in September (it does happen, just not often...ex OSU/Texas and USC/Auburn)
Now while i am a michigan fan, i would love to see them schedule some top 10 teams in september more often. I was glad to see them put in Vandy this year (hey, its an SEC team, and they did beat UGA between the hedges this year as well) but i do miss the days when they played Colorado, FSU and Miami (still proud to see those three games...even the pounding FSU and Charlie Ward gave them) But if you can get the voters to over look early season losses to "top 10" teams, not many major programs are going to put them on the schedule. Besides, it is really hard to know who is going to be good when you make these decisions. And the schedules are made years in advance, so who knows how good a team is going to be in 3 years. Who expected the fall of Miami this year? Michigan finally gets Oregon at home to complete their home and home from 2003. Until teams like LSU and Oklahoma stop playing 1-AA teams...stop ripping on Michigan Hey Eric, you must be joking making fun of the Irish's schedule compared to the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes is even easier and Brady Quinn is having a more impressive season statistically. I guess the Rutgers QB should be ahead of Quinn because they are undefeated too. The Heisman isn't for intangibles, it's for the best player. The stats between Quinn and Smith aren't even comparable. This shouldn't even be an argument.
The Hogs are for real and its about time they get some respect. If you put any of the top teams in the SEC, all of them would have at least one loss and Louisville would not be in the top 25.
And Darren McFadden should be on everyones Heisman candidate watch list. He is by far the best RB in college. Go to the Arkansas team page to view his awesome stats. As a die-hard Canes fan, I know personally how hard this season is. Sitting in the Orange Bowl yesterday and watching the program tailspin towards this ground is a very tough thing to do. I am hoping that this offseason the canes will get some long-overdue change in the top leadership positions (that includes QB).
As a die-hard Canes fan, I know personally how hard this season is. Sitting in the Orange Bowl yesterday and watching the program tailspin towards this ground is a very tough thing to do. I am hoping that this offseason the canes will get some long-overdue change in the top leadership positions (that includes QB).
As a die-hard Canes fan, I know personally how hard this season is. Sitting in the Orange Bowl yesterday and watching the program tailspin towards this ground is a very tough thing to do. I am hoping that this offseason the canes will get some long-overdue change in the top leadership positions (that includes QB).
First, the hogs are real. Second, Darren McFadden is by far the best RB in the country and is only a true sophmore. He should be a finalist for the Heisman. He has over a 1,000 yards rushing in by far the best conference in America. Lastly, I think all the Auburn and Florida talk of them being the best team is crap. Arkansas beat Auburn easy on the legs of McFadden and Jones. And if Louisville played in the SEC, they would have at least 3 losses.
Troy Smith's numbers:
66% completions, 158 completions, 2,000 yards, 22 touchdowns, 3 ints, 165 passer rating, 10-0, unanimous #1 team in the nation team: 19 rushing touchdowns, 1743 rushing yards defense: 7.6 points allowed Brady Quinn's numbers: 63% completions, 216 completions, 2,500 yards, 25 touchdowns, 4 ints, 150 passer rating, 8-1, #10 team in the nation team: 8 rushing touchdowns, 964 rushing yards defense: 22.1 points allowed Colt Brennan's numbers: 73% completions, 248 completions, 3,347 yards, 39 touchdowns, 6 ints, 189.95 passer rating, 8-2 team: 13 rushing touchdowns, 945 rushing yards defense:23.2 points allowed Ok, so according to the Golden Domer's logic Troy Smith should be disqualified from the Heisman because his team can run the ball and play defense. Brady Quinn's numbers are supposedly worlds better, although he has a lower completion %, lower passer rating, 500 more yards on 60 more completions, only 3 more touchdown passes and an interception more for a team that has allowed 14 more points per game, ran for 800 less yards and had 11 less rushing touchdowns. If they would like to award the Heisman based upon numbers then how about awarding it to a guy who's team statistics are comparable to the Irish's yet who's individual numbers Brady Quinn can't even hold a candle up against: Colt Brennan. Any way you slice it up, Brady Quinn had his chance at the Heisman and completely laid an egg. He only began putting up big numbers against inferior competition when his team should have put the game away long before they actually did. A player should not be punished because he throws less touchdown passes when his team doesn't need him, only if Troy Smith completely blows the Michigan game should the Heisman debate be opened back up. If Brady Quinn did not play for a team that the national media is desperate to put back up on their supposed pedestal then there would be no talk at all about awarding the golden statue to the golden boy. Why doesn't Marshawn Lynch get the Heisman consideration he deserves? In a week where all the other major candidates had uninspired performances Lynch kept playing the way he has all year long; 126 yards and 2 TDs, leading Cal over a feisty UCLA squad...
Mandel you bascially said,SEC champ over the PAC 10 Champ if it is CAL, but if it is USC, then the Trojans go to Glendale? How about this logic good ole' "journalist" friend; if CAL beats USC, a team that scored 51 against Arkansas, then that should netrualize the CAL loss to Tenn, assumming Arkansas beats Tenn. Especially if USC beats the Irish and CAL wins out, CAL should be moved beyond the typical choices made by you and your so-called expert colleagues. CAL will beat any team in the country right now. GO BEARS!!!
You all have it wrong. The best player in college football has been on the sideline for the last 4 weeks. Adrian Peterson. The best 1 loss team in the country at this point is Oklahoma. I know that there is a 2 in the loss colomn but you know what I mean.The Oklahoma defense is playing better than anyone and after all of the adversity they have overcome this year ( losing the starting QB, All American and Heisman runnerup running back and 2 starting offensive linemen, plus the fiasco in Eugene Or.)they have to be considered for a BCS bowl if they win out.
Mr. Mandel, after watching that huge Kansas State Upset and listening to that stupid annoucer calling K-State KU over and over again do you feel that Josh Freeman can be the next Micheal Bishop or Ell Roberson? I definetly felt their presence yesterday thru the young freshman. And also if Freeman wins out with those types of numbers is he heisman candidate next year?
When is Hawaii (8-2) and Colt Brennan going to get some deserved recognition?
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Stewart Mandel's first book, Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls: Tackling the Chaos and Controversy that Reign Over College Football, is available now. Click here to order your discounted copy.
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