DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING…

- “If only the Rams could now somehow beat the Saints on Sunday, this would be the greatest sports weekend EVER,” uttered the random St. Louis fan on Friday night after the Cardinals defeated the Rangers in Game 7 of the World Series. How do the previously winless Rams defeat a team in the Saints that just racked up 62 points on the Colts? Well, that’s pretty easy. When you can’t stop Steven Jackson even though you know he’s going to get the ball every down, you lose two turnovers over on your side of the field, and you don’t protect your quarterback, you’re going to lose to most opponents regardless of whether or not they have any wins. The Rams won this game because of Jackson and their defense, which sacked Drew Brees six times and returned one of his passes for a game-clinching touchdown in the fourth quarter. Chris Long absolutely abused Charles Brown, who should have been given more help because he clearly needed it. The Rams clearly haven’t checked out and they’ll continue to fight every Sunday. That was apparent for anyone who saw Jackson flip out on his offensive line late in the second half following yet another false start penalty. What a sweet first win this was for a city that is on cloud nine right now.

- It’s not really shocking that the 2-6 Panthers lost another game. But considering whom they were playing and given that they were 3.5-point home favorites, it was a little surprising to see Carolina go down in flames to Minnesota on Sunday. Christian Ponder’s 102.7 passer rating and 8.4 yards per attempt were both season-highs for the Vikings, who apparently just should have started the kid from Week 1 and bypassed acquiring Donovan McNabb altogether. Ponder threw for 236 yards and a touchdown on 18-of-28 passing while earning his first career win thanks in large part to Olindo Mare’s inability to hit a 31-yard chip shot. The miss, which came with under a minute left to play, cost the Panthers an opportunity to force overtime. Good thing Carolina GM Marty Hurney spent so much money on Mare this offseason. Dude was totally worth it.

AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM…

- Tebowmania was rather short lived. One week after fueling a fourth-quarter comeback in an 18-15 win over the Dolphins, Tebow and the Broncos were absolutely embarrassed by the Lions in a 45-10 rout at Sports Authority Champs Dick’s Sporting Goods Field at Mile High. Tebow did nothing to silence the nearly 4 billion people who think he can’t throw, can’t be a NFL-caliber quarterback, and can’t buckle his chinstrap without having assistance. Thanks to his longer-than-necessary windup, he was sacked seven times and single-handedly accounted for 14 Detroit points off turnovers. He fumbled three times on the day and was intercepted once, which was returned 100 yards by Chris Houston for a Lions’ touchdown. Thanks to Eric Decker (six receptions, 72 yards, 1 TD), who is used to saving quarterbacks coming from the University of Minnesota, Tebow’s stat line was much better than his performance on the field. While he did throw for one touchdown and rushed for 63 yards on 10 carries, he was simply brutal.

- The blueprint to beating the Saints is still pretty clear: Generate pressure on Drew Brees using four down linemen and create turnovers. The Cowboys accomplished this when they ruined the Saints’ perfect season in Week 15 of 2009, and the Browns also did it last year when they forced four turnovers and produced three sacks in a 30-17 Week 7 shocker at the Superdome. It’s easier said than done to bring the heat with only four linemen and force the Saints to turn the ball over. But the Rams once again proved today that limiting Brees’ effectiveness isn’t rocket science.

- The Patriots may have cost themselves home field advantage in the playoffs. While the Steelers played inspired football, New England was flat from the start. Bill Belichick has to do something about his secondary, which is incredibly thin and hemorrhaging yards at the moment. It’s hard for Tom Brady and the explosive Pats’ offense to score when they don’t have the ball. The defense couldn’t get off the field as the New England offense only held the ball for three plays in the first quarter. While they certainly didn’t get blown out, there weren’t a lot of positives to be taken from this game for Belichick and Co. They’ll just have to regroup and start fresh on Monday, especially considering they’re now tied with the Bills again in the AFC East.

– Once again Pete Carroll has me completely befuddled. Tarvaris Jackson was healthy enough to start today against Cincinnati. In fact, he was even named the starter in the pre-game. But who trots onto the field for Seattle’s first possession? Well Charlie Whitehurst, of course. Why announce that Jackson is starting and then play Whitehurst instead? Who did Carroll think he was fooling? The Bengals don’t care if they’re going up against Jackson or Whitehurst. First of all, both quarterbacks are pretty brutal so it’s not like Cincinnati is going to be thrown for a loop if one is announced as the starter and the other one winds up playing. Secondly, the Bengals likely prepared for both quarterbacks during the week so Pistol Pete fooled nobody with his little switch-a-roo (if that was his intention, to deceive, that is). Either way, Carroll continues to pay for his decision to not bring back Matt Hasselbeck this offseason. Why anyone would think Jackson is a starter or Whitehurst was worth a third-round pick is beyond me. (Not that Carroll had anything to do with acquiring Whitehurst.) The Jets didn’t even have to give up a third-rounder for Santonio Holmes and he was a former Super Bowl MVP for cribb’s sake.

- As much as I hate to say it because I’ve rooted for the kid since he was a freshman at Texas, I don’t think Colt McCoy is the long-term answer for the Browns. That might be an overreaction on my part, but he continues to struggle with downfield throws and passes outside the numbers. He was 22-of-34 for 241 yards with one touchdown and one interception against the Niners today, which certainly isn’t bad. Not when you consider the Browns didn’t have a running game because of injuries and considering San Francisco’s defense has played exceptionally well all season. But what happens when the Browns get deeper into November and December and they have to trust that McCoy will beat the Steelers and Ravens in nasty weather with limited arm-strength? As I’ve written many times on this site, McCoy is the prototypical West Coast Offense quarterback in that he’s accurate and makes good decisions with the football (for the most part). But as Phil Simms has lamented over the course of his broadcast career, Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks can make all of the throws. I realize that doesn’t fit Trent Dilfer but Trent Dilfer also played for a team whose defense was one of the best the NFL has ever seen. The last time I checked, Cleveland’s defense isn’t exactly on the same level as the 2000 Baltimore Ravens. Thus, at some point Mike Holmgren will have to make a decision about whether or not McCoy is the franchise’s best option under center.

- The Dolphins, who were winless coming into the day, mind you, held a 17-10 lead after three quarters and decided to get conservative in the fourth. Why? They’re winless. They had nothing to lose and everything to gain by pressing their foot firmly to the floor and staying aggressive. Instead, the Miami coaching staff decided to play soft in coverage in hopes of avoiding the big play and the Giants scored 10 unanswered points in the final quarter to win the game. This game affirms what everyone already knew: That the Dolphins don’t have the right men in place to lead this team on the field.

- It’s pretty telling that Javon Ringer received almost all of the Titans’ fourth-quarter snaps today against the Colts. Maybe that’s because Ringer fought for his 60 yards on 14 carries while Chris Johnson often gave up on half of his 14 runs when he knew he wasn’t going to break a big one. Sunday marked the fourth time in seven weeks that Johnson failed to rush for at least 50 yards and the sixth time in seven weeks that he failed to rush for even 55 yards. Mike Munchak said in his post-game presser that the Titans would use a backfield committee going forward, which is smart. If Johnson isn’t going to raise his level of production, then he shouldn’t play over more-willing runners like Ringer. Johnson and the Titans have seemingly flipped roles. Now it’s the team that isn’t getting what they deserve.

- With their 30-27 loss to the Ravens on Sunday, the Cardinals have now blown second-half leads in losses to the Redskins, Seahawks, Giants, and now Baltimore. Kevin Kolb did some good things despite being constantly under pressure today. He hit Larry Fitzgerald on a 66-yard competition and scrambled to find Early Doucet for a touchdown to give Arizona a 24-3 lead late in the second quarter. But Kolb remains awfully inconsistent – too inconsistent for a quarterback that the Cardinals surrendered draft picks and a ton of money in order to acquire from Philadelphia. Arizona paid too big of a price for him to play like Rex Grossman.

- Cam Newton completes 22 of 35 pass attempts for 290 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions, runs for a team-high 53 yards and the Panthers still find a way to lose. Thanks, defense!

- The Redskins were extremely banged up offensively coming into their game with the Bills on Sunday. But it takes some effort not to score a single point against Buffalo’s suspect defense. The Skins had a field goal blocked in the second quarter and despite marching into Buffalo territory twice in the fourth quarter, they didn’t produce a score. John Beck completed 20 of his 33 pass attempts for 208 yards but his day was marred by several poor underthrows and interceptions on back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter. Suddenly Mike Shanahan’s coveted running game has disappeared as well. The Skins amassed just 26 yards on 12 carries. Yikes.

“CHAMPIONSHIP”…

- The Steelers’ 25-17 win over the Patriots on Sunday doesn’t mean that Pittsburgh is now on a crash course for the Super Bowl again. It does not mean that they’re the best team in their conference or even in their own division. But given their struggles over the years with spread teams like New England and Green Bay, this was a signature win for the Steelers and one that could propel them to big things in the second half. Make no mistake: they dominated the Patriots in all facets today. Ben Roethlisberger (365 yards, 2 TDs) absolutely shredded New England’s secondary and while Tom Brady did complete 69% of his passes and threw for two scores, Pittsburgh’s defense held him to under 200 yards passing. Given the Ravens’ struggles the past two weeks, the Steelers suddenly look very powerful again in the AFC North.

- Think the Lions were a little steamed coming into day? My God, man. Forty-five points, 376 total yards, two defensive touchdowns, seven sacks and a cure for Athlete’s Foot later and suddenly Detroit has everyone’s attention again. Granted, Tim Tebow did hand them the game on a silver platter but the ’85 Bears weren’t beating the Lions on this day. Jim Schwartz still has to figure out how to plug his leaky run defense but there’s really nothing for him or any Lion fan to complain about right now. It had to be a great sight watching Matthew Stafford throw for three touchdowns after he hobbled off the field at the end of the game last week. What a day for the silver and Honolulu blue.

- For my weekly filling of crow I’d like a serving of Andy Dalton and a side of humiliation, please. This morning I wrote that the rookie would struggle in a rough Seattle environment (rough, ha!) and all he did was throw for two touchdowns in a 34-12 rout of the hapless Seahawks. The Bengals, who once again played well defensively and on special teams, are now 5-2 and 3-1 on the road. That’s impressive considering many people felt they wouldn’t win five games all year and seeing as how a rookie quarterback has already led them to three wins on the road. It’ll be interesting to see how Cincy plays in back-to-back games against the Steelers and Ravens next month.

- In less than a week the Ravens have gone from being Super Bowl contenders to a team that couldn’t beat the Jaguars and had to mount a massive comeback in order to beat the one-win Cardinals. But at least a) they did win the game today and b) Joe Flacco rebounded from a brutal start to finish 31-of-51 for 336 yards. It was also good to see Ray Rice (three touchdowns) receive 25 touches, although the Ravens could certainly still boost his opportunities. Baltimore needs to cut down on the mistakes (the Ravens were flagged 11 times for 99 yards on Sunday) but at least it didn’t suffer back-to-back losses against two teams that will probably be picking in the top 10 next April.

- The Niners’ plan for victory is pretty simple these days, isn’t it? Put the game on the defense’s shoulders, give the ball to Frank Gore 25-plus times and don’t let Alex Smith do anything to ruin the game. That approach will work for the regular season but it’ll be interesting to see how the Niners fare when they reach the postseason and Smith has to throw the ball to beat teams.

- It wasn’t all good for the Texans on Sunday but they did what they had to do against an inferior Jacksonville team. They only allowed rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert to complete 33 percent of his passes and held Maurice Jones-Drew (18 carries, 63 yards) in check. They also rode Arian Foster (33 carries, 112 yards, 1 TD) to another victory without much need for Andre Johnson, who should be back next week. With Cleveland and another match with Jacksonville coming up, Houston is in a good spot to increase its lead over Tennessee in the AFC South.

- What in God’s name can you say about the Giants at this point? Everyone left them for dead at the start of the year because of the amount of injuries they had on both sides of the ball. Then they beat the Eagles on the road as a 9-point underdog and jumped out to a small lead in the NFC East. Then they needed a fourth-quarter rally to beat the Cardinals, they lost to the Seahawks at home, needed a fourth-quarter rally to beat the Bills, and then needed yet another fourth-quarter rally to beat winless Miami on Sunday. Do you laud them for their resiliency or hammer them for constantly playing down to their competition? I want to say the Patriots will crush them next Sunday but knowing the Giants they’ll probably win a nail-bitter. I just can’t figure them out.

- With the Patriots having a tough go of things in Pittsburgh, the Bills did exactly what they needed to today: Beat a bad Washington team in order to keep the heat on New England in the AFC East. The Bills out-gained the Redskins 390-178 in total yards, forced two turnovers and rushed for 138 yards as a team. Ryan Fitzpatrick also completed 21-of-27 passes for 262 yards while Fred Jackson rushed for 120 yards on 26 carries. Outside of their two turnovers on the day, this was win was about as perfect as they come for Buffalo, which finally showed up defensively.

No. 14 Brigham Young at No. 7 Utah, 6:00 PM ET
No love for the Mountain West – this one won’t even be shown on national TV despite huge ramifications for the Utes. A MWC title and a possible BCS at-large bid is on the line in this game as Utah has another opportunity to justify their high ranking. Before being upset by TCU, BYU expected to be where Utah currently is – ranked in the top 10. The Cougars will have to overcome a stingy Utes defense that is damn near impossible to run against, yielding just 3.0 yards per carry. The onus for BYU in this game will be on quarterback Max Hall to carry the offense, while the Cougar defense will have its hands full with Brian Johnson. Considering this will be yet another tightly contested game, the Utes should be prepared. They’ve got five wins this year by seven or fewer points, including their nail biting 13-10 win over TCU three weeks ago. Oddsmakers have made BYU a 6.5-point underdog.

No. 15 Michigan State at No. 8 Penn State, 3:30 PM ET ABC
How sad is it that in the same week of Ohio State-Michigan, this is the best matchup in the Big Ten. Penn State’s win over Indiana may have looked like a blowout, but the Lions struggled with Hoosiers in the first half. Truth be told, PSU’s offense hasn’t looked that impressive in weeks. After reaching the end zone 12 times threw the air in their first fives games, the Lions have managed just five touchdown passes in their last six contests. The Spartans struggled in their last Big Ten statement game (a 45-7 drubbing at the hands of Ohio State on October 18), but Brian Hoyer (548 yards, 5 TDs in two games vs. PSU) has really stepped up of late and is putting together a nice season. Of course, all eyes will be on RB Javon Ringer. Ringer is third in the nation in rushing and if MSU’s massive offensive line can open up holes for the small back, Sparty will have an opportunity to keep PSU’s spread offense off the field and possibly walk away with an upset. Penn State is a 14.5-point favorite at home.

No. 20 Pittsburgh at No. 19 Cincinnati, 7:00 PM ET ESPN2
The job head coach Brian Kelly (who I suggested should be a candidate to replace Phillip Fulmer at Tennessee) has done this year in Cincinnati despite losing three quarterbacks has been remarkable. To keep the Bearcats afloat in the Big East is outstanding it speaks volumes about Kelly being a true winner. Speaking of the Big East, first place is on the line in this game as Cincy will try to avenge its 24-17 loss to PITT last year by throwing early and often. The Panthers have struggled against teams with like to attack downfield and Tony Pike has played very well lately in Kelly’s offense. The mission is clear for Cincinnati: Win the next two games at home and claim the Big East title. PITT is a 5-point underdog.

Upset Watch:

No. 2 Texas Tech at No. 5 Oklahoma, 8:00 PM ET ABC
As previously mentioned, there’s a ton of folks waiting for the Red Raiders to fall this year, but I’ve already bought into the hype. No defense has even remotely slowed down Harrell or Crabtree and while Bradford and the OU offense can go toe to toe with anyone, I say Tech walks away with a straight up upset. Of course, they may need to score 60 points to win.

Other Notable Games:

Michigan at No. 10 Ohio State, 12:00 PM ET ABC
This could be the worst Michigan-Ohio State matchup in the history of this rivalry. If the Buckeyes don’t beat the Wolverines by more than four touchdowns, Jim Tressel should resign. Michigan has never found a way to stop a mobile quarterback, so Terrelle Pryor should find life pretty easy this week at the Horse Shoe.

Florida State at No. 25 Maryland, 7:45 PM ET
Does any team want to win the ACC? The Terps have provided some great upsets this season, but they don’t seem to fare well when favored. Still, their rushing attack matches up well against a solid Seminole front seven and this is one of the more underrated matchups of the week.

No. 21 Oregon State at Arizona, 7:00 PM ET
The Beavers can still punch a ticket to Pasadena this year, but they’ll need to get past a Wildcat team that gave USC fits a couple weeks ago.

Michigan State vs. Penn State
A win for Joe Pa on Saturday could clinch Penn State’s first Rose Bowl appearance since 1994, their second year competing in the Big Ten. If Michigan State running back Javon Ringer cannot run the football, the Spartans will have no chance of winning this game. It will be a difficult task, as the Nittany Lions are ranked first in the Big Ten and 10th in the country against the run. Michigan State’s last victory in Beaver Stadium was in 1965, the year before Joe Paterno became head coach of the program. Regional coverage begins Saturday at 3:30 PM on ABC.

Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma
A win in Norman on Saturday night would leave the Red Raiders two victories away from playing in the BCS national championship game. But an Oklahoma win will leave us with oh so many possibilities for our little bowl series come January. First off, we will have a three-way tie (Texas-Oklahoma-Texas Tech) for the top spot in the Big 12 South, and the conference has an interesting tie-breaker to determine the representative in the Big 12 title game against Missouri. The winner will be decided by which school has the highest ranking in the BCS bowl standing. So, Orwell’s big brother will have a vested interest in the outcome of this weekend’s game. National coverage begins Saturday at 8 PM on ABC. Click here for the official Texas Tech-Oklahoma smack thread.

New York Jets vs. Tennessee Titans
Two of the hottest teams in AFC will square off this Sunday, as the New York Jets travel to Memphis to face the undefeated Tennessee Titans and the winner could emerged as the conference favorite to reach the Super Bowl. The East-leading Jets are riding a four-game winning streak into the game, while the Titans are looking to become the 13th team in league history to open a season with a 11-0 record. The media spotlight has shine brightest on quarterback Brett Favre, but the team’s turnaround can be contributed to the Jets running attack. New York has averaged over 160 yards per game and scored eight rushing touchdowns in its last five games. The Titans defense could welcome back two starters this week with defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch (groin) and cornerback Nick Harper (ankle) returning to the lineup. Regional coverage begins Sunday at 1 PM on Fox.

Missouri vs. Texas
Texas is No. 1 in the polls during the regular season for the first time since 1984. But coach Mack Brown can remind his players that the 1984 squad went on to lose four of their last five games to finish 7-4-1 and out of the national title hunt. History is working against Missouri, as the Tigers are 0-10 lifetime vs. No.1 teams, and are winless in Austin since 1896. That’s right…1896. This game pits Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel trying to re-establish himself in the Heisman race against Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy, who some believe is the Heisman front-runner. National coverage will begin Saturday at 8 PM ET on ABC.

Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Baseball fans have been lulled to sleep this post-season by uninspiring play, with no series going one game beyond the required number. And with nine outs remaining, Tampa’s bullpen fell apart and blew a seven-run lead in an 8-7 loss to the Boston Red Sox in Game Five. We now have a series to watch. The never give-up Red Sox could force a Game Seven if struggling post-season ace Josh Beckett can muster a victory against James Shields in Tampa Bay. Game Six will begin Saturday at 8 PM ET and if necessary Game Seven will begin Sunday at 8 PM ET. Both games can be seen on TBS.

No. 11 Missouri at No. 1 Texas, 8:00 PM ET
For their first game after being crowned number one in the land, surely the Longhorns would rather face a Big 12 cupcake than a pissed off Tigers team reeling from suffering their first loss of the season. But at least Colt McCoy and Co. don’t have to worry about suffering a letdown after their thrilling win over top rival Oklahoma last weekend. Speaking of McCoy, he’s been nearly perfect this season, completing 79.4% of his passes and compiling 17 touchdowns to just three interceptions. He’ll get the chance to light up a suspect MIZZOU defense, although don’t expect Heisman candidate Chase Daniel to have back to back bad games, especially against a UT defensive unit that was destroyed by Sam Bradford and the Sooners. Remarkably, Daniel and the Tigers have scored in 23 of 24 quarters this season. Oddsmakers have made MIZZOU a 7-point underdog.

No. 16 Kansas at No. 4 Oklahoma, 3:30 PM ET
Despite walking away with victories, the Jayhawks have not played very sharp the past two weeks. In their 12-1 campaign last season, KU didn’t have to face the powerhouse programs of the Big 12, but they’re not as fortunate this year. Neither team is running the ball as well as they would like, but the Sooners will be looking to make a statement after losing to Texas last week. If sophomore QB Sam Bradford could hang 35 points on the Longhorns, imagine what he’ll do to the Jayhawks. Still, Kansas isn’t a pushover and is looking to make a statement in the polls as well.

No. 22 Vanderbilt at No. 10 Georgia, 12:30 PM ET
One might assume that since the Commodores suffered a crushing blow last week to Mississippi that they’d roll over and play dead this week in Athens. But Vandy has enough speed and athleticism to contain UGA’s explosive offense and they should be able to keep things close. The hard part will be containing QB Matthew Stafford and RB Knowshon Moreno for four quarters, however. And if the ‘Dores can’t come up with a turnover or two, the Dogs should pull away in the end. Still, expect a bounce back week for Vandy, who could expose a young UGA secondary ranked 11th in the SEC.

No. 12 Ohio State at No. 20 Michigan State, 3:30 PM ET
It’ll be interesting to see if the Spartans can catch the Buckeyes looking ahead to their date next week with No. 3 Penn State. OSU has had a tough time moving anywhere in the rankings since being blown out by USC in mid-September, but they could use the next two weeks to make a huge statement to voters. MSU is playing awfully well right now, especially on offense where QB Brian Hoyer has provided balance with the dynamic running style of Javon Ringer. Since making a splash against Troy, Buckeye freshman QB Terrelle Pryor has leveled off in recent weeks, throwing for just 104 yards per game and one touchdown in his last three outings. RB Beanie Wells also seems to still be suffering lingering effects from an early-season toe injury as he rushed for only 94 yards on 22 carries last week against Purdue. Next Saturday’s PSU-OSU matchup should be great, but Sparty isn’t going to be a pushover this week in East Lansing.

Upset Watch:No. 9 BYU at TCU, Thursday, October 16
The Cougars arguably get their first test of the season against a Horned Frogs team that has already faced the likes of Oklahoma. TCU’s defense will provide a challenge BYU QB Max Hall and the high-powered Cougar passing attack and even though he’s a backup, Frog’s QB Marcus Jackson has led the team to back-to-back wins. TCU is also incredibly tough to beat in Fort Worth, so beware a major upset on Thursday night. (Of course the last time I suggested that BYU could be upset, they beat UCLA 59-0.)

4. Javon Ringer, RB, Michigan State
Ringer ran 44 times for 198 yards and a touchdown, and added two receptions for 20 yards in the win over Indiana.

3. Chase Daniel, QB, Missouri
Daniel completed 36 of 43 passes for 439 yards and two touchdowns in the 42-21 win over Buffalo. The Tigers play Nebraska this week.

2. Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma
Bradford completed 19 of 34 passes for a career-high 411 yards and four touchdowns in the win over TCU.

1. Colt McCoy, QB, Texas
McCoy completed 17 of 19 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns, and he ran nine times for 84 yards and two scores in the win over Arkansas.

All of these candidates have been fantastic so far, but none of them have faced very legitimate opponents. That quandary will be fixed for two of these players when Bradford’s Sooners host McCoy’s Longhorns in two weeks. And I can’t wait to see how Ringer stacks up against Ohio State’s defense on October 18, because he has absolutely shredded opponents to date. Daniel will get a decent test this week against Big 12 opponent Nebraska, although the matchup looks less sexy after the Huskers fell to VA Tech last Saturday.

Ringer’s 200-yard day was his second in as many weeks after rushing for 282 yards in a 17-0 win over Florida Atlantic last Saturday. So far on the season, he has totaled 699 yards on 143 carries and 11 touchdowns.

So why aren’t we hearing his name mentioned more for the Heisman? Entering this week (as in, before his 201-yard effort against Notre Dame) only Navy’s Shun White and Connecticut’s Donald Brown had more rushing yards than Ringer. And no back had as many touchdowns. Yet oddsmakers currently have Ringer has a 20/1 long shot to win college football’s most prestigious award.

Playing for Michigan State doesn’t help, but Ringer deserves more attention than he’s getting. And as previously noted, he has been the backbone of the Spartans’ offense and often carries them to victories. While he doesn’t have the size of OSU’s Beanie Wells, Ringer has a thick lower half and runs hard between the tackles. And anyone who has watched him over the past couple weeks and throughout his career knows how explosive he can be. He also benefits from his small stature, because defenders lose him behind MSU’s big offensive line.

It’ll be interesting to see how Ringer fares later in the season against better Big Ten defenses like Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin and Penn State. If he can continue to turn out 150-plus yard games, he’ll definitely turn some voters’ heads. (If he hasn’t already.)