The rankings and polls suggest that Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide is the best team in college football. Considering they’re 11-0 this season with wins over previously No. 1 ranked Georgia and SEC foe LSU in Baton Rouge, it’s hard to question why the polls have ‘Bama at numero uno.
But are the Tide the legit top ranked team in the nation or are they there by default because they’re unbeaten? With the way Florida crushed South Carolina 56-6 on Saturday and have run roughshod over everybody since losing to Ole’ Miss in late September, are the Gators the true No. 1 team in college football?
Not to take anything away from Alabama or No. 2 Texas Tech, but no team in college football is playing better than Florida is right now. They’re arguably the fastest team in the nation and their defense has played absolutely remarkable this season, holding opponents to just over 11 points a game.
Obviously we’ll know more on December 6 when the Tide and Gators meet in the SEC Championship Game, but you just get the feeling that Alabama is due to stumble. They weren’t overly impressive in a 32-7 win over Mississippi State on Saturday (at least in the first half) and they’ve struggled playing four quarters outside of their impressive win over LSU.
If the two teams meet tomorrow on neutral ground, I’ve got to believe that Florida would hand ‘Bama its first loss of the season.
Top 25 vs. Top 25 No. 25 South Carolina at. No. 4 Florida, 3:30 PM ET CBS
After they were shocked by Ole’ Miss and turned in a lackluster performance in a win over Arkansas, the Gators trounced LSU, Kentucky, Georgia and Vanderbilt in convincing fashion. Nothing against the three teams ranked higher, but Florida might be the best team in college football right now. Tim Tebow has resurrected his Heisman candidacy after rushing for five touchdowns and accounting for 424 total yards in the Gators’ 51-31 win over the Gamecocks last year. But Steve Spurrier’s squad has been one of the hottest teams in the nation over the past couple of weeks. The rotation of Stephen Garcia and Chris Smelley at quarterback has lifted South Carolina and the defense has played inspired. This is a better matchup than most think, although it’s highly possibly that Florida could roll with how well they’ve played over the past month. Expect the Gators to use this as another statement game leading up to their huge battle with Alabama in the SEC Championship Game December 6.
Upset Watch: No. 16 North Carolina at Maryland, 3:30 PM ET ABC
The Terps have clearly been a different team at home than on the road where they’re 4-0 and averaging 25.5 points per game as opposed to 1-3 and 11.75 PPG on the road. Maryland has also won five straight against ranked opponents the past two years and still control their own destiny in the ACC Atlantic. Three wins in their final three games would send the Terps to the ACC title game, which is amazing considering this was the same team that got drubbed 31-0 by Virginia. If Maryland is going to pull off the upset they’ll need to get Da’Rel Scott and Davin Meggett going in the running game because putting the ball in the air against the Tar Heels is a risky proposition. UNC has one of the best ball hawking defenses in the nation and has forced opponents into mistakes all season. If the Terps play things close to the vest offensively and rely on their defense to win the game, an upset could be in the making.
Other notable games: Mississippi State at No. 1 Alabama, 7:45 PM ET
It’s highly unlikely the Tide lose focus against a 3-6 Mississippi State team, but the Bulldogs did pull off one of the better upsets of the year when they crushed previously No. 13 Vanderbilt 34-3.
No. 3 Texas at Kansas, 12:30 PM ET
The Longhorns try to keep in the national title hunt while the Jayhawks look to end the season as quickly as possible.
No. 10 Georgia at Auburn, 12:30 PM ET
This is one of the more underrated rivalries in the SEC.
It appears that the referee who flat out tackled South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia in LSU’s 24-17 win on Saturday night won’t face any discipline from the NC-two-A.
The league’s coordinator of football officials, Rogers Redding, reviewed the tape and considered the hit to be inadvertent contact, SEC spokesman Charles Bloom said.
Bloom said the umpire position lends itself to more contact than is seen with other on-field officials. “We feel there was nothing else that needs to be read into it and it was a collision between a player and an official,” Bloom said.
Hackett won’t face any discipline for what the league considers protecting himself from an onrushing player, Bloom said.
Neither of the coaches, LSU’s Les Miles or South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier, thought Hackett did anything wrong.
Spurrier thought Hackett was trying to get out of Garcia’s way. “Stephen sort of cut back right into him. Sometimes that will happen,” the coach said.
Miles, always coaching them up, couldn’t help critiquing Hackett’s technique.
“We told him, ‘Listen, you’ve got to use your flipper. You’ve got to use your forearm. But then you have to wrap up.’ I want you to know that we were disappointed in his effort to be honest with you,” said Miles, a smile on his face as reporters laughed Monday.
Getting serious, Miles said Hackett reacted instinctively to protect himself once Garcia turned his way.
“Certainly, everybody in this room would look to defend themselves, and I’m certain that’s what he was thinking,” Miles said.
The situation is over and dead (especially considering Spurrier even said the ref was defending himself), but this still looks like a full-on tackle to me:
If you were busy watching No. 1 Texas destroy Missouri on Saturday night, chances are you missed one of the officials tackle quarterback Stephen Garcia in the LSU-South Carolina game. And as FanIQ.com points out, clearly this official had money riding on the Tigers since he flat out gave Garcia the business:
It’s like the dude forgot he was a ref for a second and saw an opportunity to make a play.
The Tigers eventually came from behind and won 24-17…easily covering the 2.5-point spread. Hmm…
The South Carolina Game Cocks were a goal line fumble away from tying No. 2 Georgia and possibly pulling off a huge upset at Williams-Brice Stadium Saturday.
Trailing 14-7 early in the fourth quarter, SC drove to the UGA 1-yard line, but Game Cocks’ running back Mike Davis fumbled trying to leap over the goal line and the Bulldogs recovered for a touchback. Georgia eventually hung on for a 14-7 victory.
It was over when… Georgia’s Reshad Jones picked off Chris Smelley’s pass at the Dawgs’ three-yard line with less than a minute remaining. Gameball goes to… Knowshon Moreno: His four-yard TD in the third quarter gave Georgia the lead and figures to be one of the most important Dawgs’ TDs of 2008. Stat of the game… 112: The Dawgs didn’t help their cause by losing 112 yards on 11 penalties.
This game really could have gone either way and while some will note that the No. 2 team in the nation should be able to beat an unranked opponent by more than a touchdown, this was a prime example of how tough it is to win in the SEC. Good teams have to win ugly sometimes and that’s exactly what Georgia did.
South Carolina’s defense deserves a ton of credit for limiting UGA’s potent offense to only 14 points. And while turnovers eventually did them in, the Game Cocks had an opportunity to win at the end and that’s all they could ask for.
Time to check out the big games, top matchups and potential upsets as college football heads into Week 3.
Top 25 Action: No. 5 Ohio State (2-0) at No. 1 USC (1-0), Saturday 8:00 PM ET ABC
OSU head coach Jim Tressel said Tuesday that Heisman candidate Beanie Wells will play Saturday in Southern Cal. The Buckeyes are going to need all the offensive firepower they can get against one of the best front sevens in the nation. USC quarterback Mark Sanchez shredded Virginia for over 300 yards and three touchdowns in Week 1, but OSU’s defense is loaded with experienced talent. This is one of the most anticipated college football games of the year and should be a tight contest, although oddsmakers have made the Trojans 10.5-point favorites. (Check out our offical Ohio State-USC smack talk thread as well.)
No. 13 Kansas (2-0) at No. 19 South Florida (2-0), Friday 8:00 PM ET ESPN2
This is a tremendous matchup to kick off the Week 3 schedule as Kansas and its high-powered offense take on South Florida, which has the No. 1 ranked defense in college football. In their two wins, the Jayhawks averaged over 450 yards a game, but they go up against a Bulls’ defense Friday night that has only allowed an average of 161.5 yards per game. Oddsmakers have listed South Florida as a 3-point home favorite.
No. 10 Wisconsin (2-0) at No. 21 Fresno State (1-0), 10:30 PM ET ESPN2
Marshall rolled out to a 14-0 lead on the Badgers last week before Wisconsin eventually settled down and hammered the Thundering Heard 51-14 to improve to 2-0 on the year. Fresno State dismantled Rutgers 24-7 in New Jersey in Week 1 and should be well rested coming off a bye last week. One thing to keep an eye on is the health status of Wisconsin TE Travis Beckum, who missed the Badgers’ first two games this year with a bad hamstring. Beckum is highly regarded as one of the top tight end prospect in college football and is expected to play this weekend.
No. 2 Georgia (2-0) at South Carolina (1-1), Saturday 3:30 PM ET CBS
Before being upset by Vanderbilt last week, the Game Cocks were supposed to be Georgia’s first real test of the 2008 season. One has to assume that South Carolina is going to come out fired up after being bounced from the top 25 following their loss to the Commodores. The Bulldogs absolutely hammered Central Michigan last week, but can’t take anything for granted this Saturday playing a pissed off Steve Spurrier squad. SC is a 7.5-point home underdog.
Upset Watch: UCLA (1-0) at No. 18 BYU (2-0)
Washington gave BYU all it could handle in Week 2 before the Cougars eventually eked out a 28-27 win. And the last time we saw the Bruins, they were upsetting Tennessee in the first week of the season. While this wouldn’t be a huge upset, it would be the second time in two chances that UCLA knocks off a ranked opponent. And with Fresno State, Oregon, California, ASU and USC on their schedule, the Bruins will have plenty of opportunities to make some noise and possibly become one of the best surprises of the season. BYU is currently an 8-point favorite.
Other notable games:
No. 14 East Carolina at Tulane – Saturday, 3:00 PM ET
No. 3 Oklahoma at Washington – Saturday, 7:45 PM ET
Arkansas at No. 8 Texas – Saturday, 3:30 PM ET
They didn’t score a touchdown until the second half but Vanderbilt reached pay dirt three times in the final two quarters to stun No. 24 South Carolina 24-17 in Nashville Thursday night.
It was over when… Jared Hawkins powered his way to two straight first downs to allow the Commodores to run out the clock. Gameball goes to… Vanderbilt. The offense, defense and special teams all contributed to help the Dores claim their first home win over a ranked team since 1992. Stat of the game… 2-0 The Commodores are off to a 2-0 start for only the second time since 1989. Big deal? It is when you haven’t had a winning record since 1982.
They couldn’t get their offense going in the first half against SC, but Vandy was the more physical team throughout and eventually started to move the ball effectively. Senior wide out Sean Walker is fun to watch and he had a nice 29-yard run on an end-around to set up the Commodores’ go-ahead touchdown.
And good for Vandy. Too long they’ve been the whipping program for powerhouses in the SEC. Starting 2-0 might not be a big deal for most college football programs, but it’s given the Commodores a lot of confidence to start the season.
