Two of the best quarterbacks in the nation will square off today when unbeaten Auburn plays host to Arkansas. Auburn’s Cam Newton is a big, physical dual threat, while Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett is a big-armed gun-slinger who can make all the throws.

Both are dynamic players in their own right, and with the success of their respective teams, they’re also right in the middle of the Heisman Trophy conversation. Today’s game could push even further up the chart, and perhaps even to the top.

Both should be able to put on a show, as well, as neither defense is overpowering. Arkansas is improved on that side of the ball from last year, but not by a ton. Auburn, meanwhile, just allowed 34 points to Kentucky. So expect some serious fireworks.

It’s one of — if not the — biggest games of a weekend that isn’t exactly as strong as the last couple have been. But there’s still plenty to take in. Read the rest of this entry »

Michigan State might be changing the pecking order in Michigan. With its third straight win today against Michigan, the Spartans may be soon taking control of the moniker “big brother.”

In a battle of unbeaten teams that had captured the undivided attention of most of the state, the Spartans put in a fairly dominant performance against Michigan at Big House, winning 34-17. It’s the first three-game winning streak in the series for Sparty since the 1960s, and this one was definitely the sweetest of the three.

Michigan State’s ability to move the ball on Michigan — to the tune of 536 yards of total offense — wasn’t a surprise. What the Spartans defense did to Heisman Trophy front-runner Denard Robinson, however, was.

Robinson had 84 yards rushing on 21 carries, which for him might as well have been negative yardage. It was his performance through the air, though, that put the biggest dent in his Heisman campaign, and — dare I say it — cost Michigan the game. Robinson not only threw three interceptions, but he also missed on a couple of would-be big plays in the passing game. Granted, his receivers didn’t really help him out a ton — Roy Roundtree dropped a perfectly thrown touchdown pass — but it was proven today that Robinson still struggles when he’s forced to make proper reads and deliver a pass in a tight spot.

So how did the Spartans do it? They have great linebackers, but it was some great play up front at times that helped corral Robinson before he could get started — which is always the key with him. They also decided at times that even if they didn’t get him right away, they weren’t going to let him break a big run. This resulted in a few trips to the red zone for the Wolverines, which is apparently their kryptonite. Their offense is predicated on getting athletes in space, winning one-on-one speed battles and breaking the big one. When the defense can collapse on them in a confined space like we saw today, they aren’t nearly as effective.

But back to the Michigan defense, which continues to be an absolute disgrace. It started out strong, but the Spartans ground attack eventually overwhelmed Michigan, gaining 261 yards, including 149 from Edwin Baker.

Going forward, Michigan State has a very manageable schedule. Ohio State is absent, and the biggest hurdle remaining is a road game at Iowa. Granted, that’s a pretty big hurdle, but the Spartans going 12-0 is not at all out of the realm of possibility. How’s that for little brother?

Michigan, meanwhile, has Iowa at home next week, a team that has the defensive front to stop Robinson, and enough offense to put up a lot of points against Michigan. Illinois no longer looks like a gimme for the Wolverines, and the finishing games with Wisconsin and Ohio State will be real tough. Eight wins is a definite possibility — maybe probability — but then again, so is seven. And does 7-5 keep Rich Rodriguez in Ann Arbor for another year?

College football season continues to be awesome. It seems like every week I sit down to write my picks (which also continue to be awesome) there are a handful of games that are can’t miss.

I don’t know if that’s because there’s an increasing number of good teams in college football, or if all the cupcakes teams were feasting on at the beginning of the season beefed up their records artificially. Either way, I like being excited on a Friday night for what I’m about to see the next day, and I’ve been like that for a few weeks now.

This week is no different, in fact, it’s about as big as any weekend of the season. And maybe that’s artificially inflated for myself living in Michigan and seeing about 50% of my Facebook “friends” switch their profile picture to something Michigan or Michigan State related. It’s half exciting and half terribly annoying (example: New friend request from John Doe. Hmm, John Doe doesn’t ring a bell, I wonder what he looks like. Oh, he looks just like Denard Robinson. Strange. Ignore. (Not true, I never ignore. My ego can use all the friends it can get, virtual or not.)).

Enough parentheses, let’s get to the games. Read the rest of this entry »

No. 1 Alabama at. No. 19 South Carolina, 3:30PM ET, CBS
After facing Arkansas and Florida the past two weeks, this will be the third top 25 team that the Crimson Tide face in as many weeks. Last season, Mark Ingram rushed for 246 yards against the Gamecocks and Steve Spurrier has lost his only two meetings with ‘Bama since taking over at South Carolina. In fact, the Gamecocks haven’t beaten the Tide since 2004, but they’ll have revenge on their minds this Saturday and will play in the friendly confines of Williams-Brice Stadium.
Current Point Spread: Alabama –6.5 (48)

No. 12 LSU at. No. 14 Florida, 7:30PM ET, ESPN
LSU caught a break last week when Tennessee tried to play with 42 players on defense for the final play of the game. The result was a 16-14 win for the Tigers, who are a very quiet 5-0 right now. Florida suffered its first loss of the season last week against Alabama, who forced four turnovers in a 31-6 rout. The Gators have won 12 straight home games and lead the all-time series between these two teams at 30-23-3.
Current Point Spread: Florida –6.5

No. 23 Florida State at. No. 13 Miami, 8:00OPM ET, ABC
One of college football’s best rivalries renews this Saturday in Miami, where the 3-1 Canes host the 4-1 Seminoles. This will be the first time in four years that both of these teams are ranked and we should see a tight one. The past nine meetings between these two squads were decided by fewer than 10 points, as Miami has won eight of the past 11 games and leads the all-time series 31-23.
Current Point Spread: Miami –6.5

No. 17 Michigan State at. No. 18 Michigan, 3:30PM ET ABC
It’s been roughly 75 years since both these teams were ranked when meeting each other. It’s felt longer than that since either of these squads were relevant, which makes Saturday’s game between these in-state rivals all the more exciting. The Spartans are expected to have head coach Mark Dantonio back, who will return to the field for the first time since suffering a heart attack on September 18. The Spartans have not started 6-0 since 1999 and are looking to beat the Wolverines for the third straight time since 1965 to 1967. Meanwhile, Michigan QB Denard Robinson needs just 95 rushing yards to reach 1,000 on the season and 87 yards to hit the 2,000 mark for total yards.
Current Point Spread: Michigan –4.5

2010 College Football Week 6 Opening Odds & Over/Under Totals:

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This question came up today at work, and it has me really wondering. Who was last player in college football that caused you to hold your breath as soon as the ball was in his hands?

My immediate response was Reggie Bush, who I always felt had the ability to break a long touchdown run every time he touched the ball. With his speed and shiftiness, any time he was in the open field, he was a serious threat to score.

Some of my earliest college football memories were of watching Raghib “Rocket” Ismail at Notre Dame, and he had that same ability. Although I realize that more now watching him on YouTube, as I was only about 6 years old when he started at Notre Dame. Not long after the Rocket, Desmond Howard did the same thing.

The difference between Robinson and those players, however, is that Robinson is the quarterback and has his hands on the ball on every down. He also has the option to throw the ball, which makes every snap the Michigan offense has taken this season an event.

Have there been other quarterbacks like that? Robinson is often compared to Pat White because of the system he’s in, but I don’t remember having that same feeling with White, as dynamic as he was. Tommy Frazier was a beast at Nebraska and always had the ability to break a big run, but if I remember correctly (again, I was pretty young during Frazier’s time), he ran through a lot of people, and while he was fast, didn’t have Denard Robinson speed.

I’m not saying Robinson is better than all of those guys, or an all-time great player. He still hasn’t played against a defense that you would even think is formidable. But just for pure game-breaking ability at his position, I’m having a hard time figuring out who matches him. Thoughts?

All right, so that’s a little premature. But even the staunchest of Michigan haters have to admit that the sophomore has looked mighty impressive in his first two performances of the year.

A week after compiling 383 yards of total offense and two touchdowns in a win over Connecticut, Robinson absolutely torched Notre Dame for 502 total yards on Saturday, including 244 passing and 258 rushing. He also scored three touchdowns (1 passing, 2 rushing), one of which came with only 27 seconds remaining to give Michigan a 28-24 victory.

The criticism Rich Rodriguez has received over the last two years has been well deserved, but it’s fair to note that he hadn’t found a starting quarterback to run his offense. Now that he has one, Wolverine fans are finally seeing positive results. Robinson might not be a traditional passer, but that’s not what Rich Rod’s offense calls for anyway. And it’s hard to find any fault in the way the sophomore signal caller has started the season.

Granted, he hasn’t faced Ohio State, he hasn’t faced Iowa, Penn State on the road or Wisconsin either. But it’s not like the Irish play with 11 amputees on the defensive side of the ball. And while the outcome of the game may have been different had Dayne Crist been able to play all four quarters, Robinson was still a one-man wrecking crew.

He’s made Michigan relevant again.

There’s a reason that ESPN is calling today “Monster Saturday”: It has completely run out of creative ideas. It’s a huge freaking day for college football.

If you’re a college football fan, today is one of those days where you put off all household chores, and curse your friends for even thinking of having a significant event. Or, if you’re a sports writer/part-time blogger, you curse the people who decided to hold your 10-year high school reunion during the Alabama/Penn State game. I mean, c’mon.

Miami is at Ohio State, Penn State is at Alabama, Florida State is at Oklahoma, and Michigan and Notre Dame might actually mean something. That’s a lot of tradition and meaning all packed into one day.

So how’s it all going to go?

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Denard Robinson just made Michigan fans’ wildest dreams come true. Well, not quite, but he’s definitely going to have the maize and blue clad minions smiling from ear to ear tonight.

Robinson torched the Connecticut defense today for 198 yards on 29 carries, and was 19-for-22 for 188 yards through the air in Michigan’s 30-10 victory. That second number is huge, because anyone that watched Robinson throw a football in game action last year might faint at the sight of that completion percentage.

When he arrived on the scene in Ann Arbor a year ago, Robinson excited Michigan fans with his elite speed. His inability to produce in the passing game, however, made him more of a situational player while his classmate, Tate Forcier, handled the bulk of the load. Now that Forcier has fallen out of favor with Rich Rodriguez (true freshman Devin Gardner entered the game for a few plays after Robinson went out with a minor injury in the third quarter), Robinson seems to have a firm grasp on the starting quarterback position in Ann Arbor. His performance today will do nothing but strengthen that.

So is Robinson a true Heisman Trophy contender? It’s way too early to say — and remember, Michigan started out on fire last year, and many were asking the same question about Forcier. But he’s definitely off to a good start, and I’d expect him to be on most Heisman watch lists on Monday. If he helps lead Michigan back to prominence, don’t be surprised to see him in New York in December.

Raise your hand if you don’t live in Oregon and know who Kenjon Barner is. OK, now evaluate your life after physically replying to a command you read on a sports blog (I kid, I kid).

Barner is about to be on everybody’s radar screen, as the Oregon sophomore running back had one heck of a game today against New Mexico. In one half. Barner rushed for 146 yards and scored four times on 17 carries in the first half for the Ducks, and added a 60-yard touchdown reception just for good measure.

Yes, it’s against New Mexico, but it’s still scary good. Barner’s teammates have been pretty good, too, leading New Mexico 59-0 after 30 minutes of play.

Some other tidbits at halftime of the mid-afternoon games:

- Denard Robinson is looking like the quarterback Rich Rodriguez needs to run his offense. Shoelace (he doesn’t tie his shoes, which is repeated ad nauseum here in Michigan) has 131 yards and a touchdown on the ground for the Wolverines in the first half against Connecticut. Perhaps more importantly, he is 8-for-9 passing for 71 yards. Last year, Robinson couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn with his passes. Unless said barn was wearing the opponents jersey. Michigan went into the half up 21-10.

- Brian Kelly’s fast-break offense has shown flashes of brilliance in the first half against Purdue, but has only produced one touchdown and two field goals. Surprisingly, it’s the Irish defense that has been most impressive, holding Purdue to a field goal as Notre Dame led 13-3 at halftime.

I’ll have more after the games.

Here’s a quick and dirty look at how I see things playing out in the Big Eleven this season:

#1 Ohio State
Some believe the Buckeyes’ offense might be close to catching up to their defense in terms of dominance, which is saying something with the way OSU’s D played a year ago. The Buckeyes return all three leading rushers from 2009 in Brandon Saine, Dan Herron and quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who some believe has become a more committed teammate over the offseason. The key to OSU becoming a national title threat is Pryor, or more specifically, whether or not he’ll make opponents respect his passing game. The good thing for him and the Buckeyes on a whole is that they return four starters to a veteran offensive line that will open up plenty of holes for a deep and talented group of running backs. Defensively, OSU was a top five unit last season and could be once again this year assuming they can generate a pass-rush and the safeties can hold up in coverage. Cameron Heyward is one of the nation’s best defensive ends and Ross Homan is a playmaker at the outside linebacker spot. The secondary isn’t flashy, but cornerbacks Chimdi Chekwa and Devon Torrence are solid. From a schedule standpoint, if they can beat Miami in Columbus in the second week of the season, they should be 6-0 heading into Madison on October 16. From there, they’ll be tested by Wisconsin, Penn State and Iowa, but this is your clear favorite to win the Big Ten.

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