Even the mighty fall - eventually. Louisville lost to unranked Syracuse. The mighty Tide was rolled over by up-and-coming Aggies (and all of Oregon Nation cheered...). Number One fell and then there were three - all vying for a shot at the crystal football. Will one of them fall and make it an easy choice championship match-up? Or will two fall and ignite controversy? Or will three unbeatens remain leaving us all to wish for the BCS "play-off" to start this year?
W E E K L Y W R A P
We saw losses of two of the five unbeatens ('Bama and Louisville). I've said it before and I'll say it again: repeating as national champs is near impossible in this day and age. I'll admit a few weeks ago I thought 'Bama might prove me wrong, but TA&M vindicated me. The other unbeatens didn't struggle with their opponents - but there is still a few weeks left. If they're smart they will not fall into the same rut as 'Bama did: they looked a bit like their bowl loss in 2009 to Utah; very cocky and very unprepared.
And amidst this unforeseen loss by the #1 team is K-State and their methodical, no-fanfare Snyder. More on that next week...'cause this week belongs to Johnny Football:
TA&M have been improving all season. They showed Saturday why the mighty SEC felt they were a good league addition. Manziel was down-right fun to watch: mobile, versatile, pin-point accuracy, with a never-say-die attitude....and a band of receivers that just don't miss. Granted - TA&M had the benefit if seeing the weak links that LSU exposed last week. Nonetheless, 'Bama went in a bit cocky (with good reason) and it bit 'em. They had their comeback shot (twice) and blew it. (BTW: SIs Andy Staples warned 'Bama of this scenario in print last week). And as Yahoo! Sports Graham Watson put it: "Until the past two weeks, no one had been able to touch Alabama. Many pundits thought the Tide would cruise through the season and it was never a question of whether they'd make the national title game, but whom they would play. LSU was a challenge Alabama saw coming; A&M was not."
W E E K L Y W H I N E
Unbelievable. I really gave the guy the benefit of the doubt. Hoping Kiffin had learned his lesson at Tennessee and thinking he might change his ways when he got a new start. I firmly believe in :innocent until proven guilty" and I believe in having all the facts. But when this number of shady things follow the guy around it is difficult to not wonder. From Yahoo! Sports we read the following (read the entire story here):
E N D Z O N E
College football this time of year is the best. Teams have had a chance to see enough video of their opponents. They prepare much better and though I don't have any stats I would be willing to bet that unbeaten teams are more likely to be beaten in November than in October. It showed Saturday and it'll show again before seasons end. It keeps the game all the more unpredictable - and the sport all the more fun.
W E E K L Y W R A P
We saw losses of two of the five unbeatens ('Bama and Louisville). I've said it before and I'll say it again: repeating as national champs is near impossible in this day and age. I'll admit a few weeks ago I thought 'Bama might prove me wrong, but TA&M vindicated me. The other unbeatens didn't struggle with their opponents - but there is still a few weeks left. If they're smart they will not fall into the same rut as 'Bama did: they looked a bit like their bowl loss in 2009 to Utah; very cocky and very unprepared.
And amidst this unforeseen loss by the #1 team is K-State and their methodical, no-fanfare Snyder. More on that next week...'cause this week belongs to Johnny Football:
TA&M have been improving all season. They showed Saturday why the mighty SEC felt they were a good league addition. Manziel was down-right fun to watch: mobile, versatile, pin-point accuracy, with a never-say-die attitude....and a band of receivers that just don't miss. Granted - TA&M had the benefit if seeing the weak links that LSU exposed last week. Nonetheless, 'Bama went in a bit cocky (with good reason) and it bit 'em. They had their comeback shot (twice) and blew it. (BTW: SIs Andy Staples warned 'Bama of this scenario in print last week). And as Yahoo! Sports Graham Watson put it: "Until the past two weeks, no one had been able to touch Alabama. Many pundits thought the Tide would cruise through the season and it was never a question of whether they'd make the national title game, but whom they would play. LSU was a challenge Alabama saw coming; A&M was not."W E E K L Y W H I N E
Unbelievable. I really gave the guy the benefit of the doubt. Hoping Kiffin had learned his lesson at Tennessee and thinking he might change his ways when he got a new start. I firmly believe in :innocent until proven guilty" and I believe in having all the facts. But when this number of shady things follow the guy around it is difficult to not wonder. From Yahoo! Sports we read the following (read the entire story here):
"...Could it be that the [ball] manager saw Kiffin pull
a jersey switcheroo...to help the Trojans beat big, bad Colorado? USC had
backup quarterback Cody Kessler change from No. 6 to No. 35..., a number worn
by punter Kyle Negrete. Kessler then attempted to run for a two-point
conversion.... In the second half, Kessler was back to wearing No. 6, seemingly
in violation of NCAA rules about changing jerseys in an attempt to deceive the
opponent. That brainstorm was almost certainly the difference in USC squeaking
out a 50-6 victory over Colorado...."
E N D Z O N E
College football this time of year is the best. Teams have had a chance to see enough video of their opponents. They prepare much better and though I don't have any stats I would be willing to bet that unbeaten teams are more likely to be beaten in November than in October. It showed Saturday and it'll show again before seasons end. It keeps the game all the more unpredictable - and the sport all the more fun.