Category: College Football (Page 267 of 296)

Here are your college football players of the week.

Remember, if you feel that another player was worthy of higher honors than the two I chose, post the athlete and let me hear why you think he or they were more deserving.

Here are your top performers of the week:

Offensive Player of the Week: Dwayne Jarrett, WR USC
While there were plenty of solid offensive performances to choose from, I’m always partial to the athlete who does it on a national stage. Jarrett was phenomenal in the Trojans 44-24 victory over Notre Dame. The receiver caught seven passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns and helped propel USC into the #2 spot in the BCS rankings. There might not be a better receiver in the NCAA that uses his size to gain an advantage on a defender than Jarrett.

Defensive Player of the Week: Ben Moffitt, LB South Florida
Moffitt was great in the Bulls 24-19 upset over previously ranked No. 8 West Virginia. The linebacker recorded seven tackles and recovered a Steve Slaton fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. Moffitt was also part of a defensive effort that held Slaton and Pat White to only 60 rushing yards.

With the Trojans convincing 44-24 victory over Notre Dame Saturday night, USC has leapfrogged Michigan in the BCS standings. The Trojans now claim the number two spot behind Ohio State and now USC controls its only destiny. Beat UCLA next week and the Trojans will take on the Buckeyes in the national championship.

Given the current BCS situation, Florida is on the shakiest ground for playing for a national title. A one-loss Gator team being the odd man out won’t sit too well with Florida head coach Urban Meyer and his plea for a playoff system either. The Gators would have plenty to argue about too. Not only does Florida play in one of the toughest conferences in college football, the SEC, but also the Gators only loss was to Auburn. The Tigers were ranked No. 11 when they upset Florida, while USC’s only loss would be to an unranked Oregon State program.

Of course, one thing could fix all of this mess, but it also makes the most sense. That’s why we may never see a playoff system in college football.

Top 10 Rewind:

1. Ohio State (12-0)
Ohio State-USC for a national championship? I can certainly hang with that. I think if Florida beats Arkansas, the Gators have a legitimate grip over not getting a chance at a title. However, after watching the Trojans dismantle Notre Dame, I don’t know if there is a better game than USC-OSU. Michigan-OSU is great from a rivalry standpoint, but then again, the Wolverines already had their shot.

2. Michigan (11-1)
The potential Rose Bowl match up seems to pit Michigan vs. California. Is it just me or does that contest seem rather lame?

3. USC (10-1)
You can check out my Notre Dame-USC recap here.
Next Game: at. UCLA, Dec. 2.

4. Florida (11-1)
Florida survived a couple of big plays and turnovers to hold onto a 21-14 victory over the rival FSU. Couple things from the game: One, play-by-play announcer Gary Thorn either drank gallons of coffee or loaded up on sugar before the game. I swear every time a pass was caught or a tailback broke one tackle the guy lost it in the booth by screaming what a play it was. Settle down chief, save the screaming for a game-ending play. Secondly, FSU quarterback Drew Weatherford is outright terrible. As much as the Seminole defense tried to keep FSU in the game, Weatherford equally tried to give the contest away. Weatherford threw three interceptions, including one that was picked off in the end zone in the third quarter that killed an FSU scoring opportinuty. On TV it almost looked like the kid didn’t even care about winning the game. Next up for the Gators – take care of business next week against Arkansas in the SEC Championship game and then start lobbying how you’re more deserving than USC.
Next Game: vs. Arkansas, Dec. 2.

5. Arkansas (10-2)
What amazes me about Arkansas’s 31-26 loss to LSU on Friday is how these borderline national championship teams continue to choke its chances away at the end of the season. Pundits fought for West Virginia, then Louisville, then Rutgers. Then it was Arkansas that deserved a chance. Maybe there’s a reason why we continue to see the big boys competing for a national title every year. Either way, the BCS system continues to get let off the hook, especially if the Razorbacks knock off the Gators next week in the SEC Championship. These “potentials” continue to fall and the BCS is able to justify not having a playoff format. And once again, the fans continue to lose.
Next Game: at. Florida, Dec. 2.

6. Notre Dame (10-2)
You can check out my Notre Dame-USC recap here.

7. West Virginia (9-2)
South Florida took advantage of four Mountaineer turnovers to defeat West Virginia 24-19. What a shocker, another Big East program gets knocked out of the top 10. It’s amazing how just three weeks ago, three Big East teams were ranked in the top 10, now the conference will be lucky to have one. Allow me to give credit where credit is due, however. To go into Virginia and knock off the No. 7 team in the nation is impressive. South Florida is no cupcake either, as the Bulls end their season 8-4. The amazing thing about South Florida’s victory was holding Steve Slaton and Pat White to a combined 60 yards rushing. That’s quite a drop off from the two sophomore’s usual output of about 1,000 yards a game.
Next Game: vs. Rutgers, Dec. 2.

8. Louisville (10-1)
The Cardinals smacked around a lifeless second-half Pittsburgh team 48-24. Quarterback Brian Brohm threw for 337 yards and four touchdowns. Brohm was an impressive 21-of-29 passing as Mario Urrutia hauled in seven receptions for 144 yards and one touchdown. It’s kind of ironic that Louisville will more than likely finish the season ahead of West Virginia. After losing to Rutgers, the Cardinals were cast aside quickly, even though Louisville beat the Mountaineers a week before the defeat. It’s just interesting how things come full circle sometimes in college football.
Next Game: vs. Connecticut, Dec. 2.

9. LSU (8-2)
The Tigers 31-26 win over was Arkansas was big in my eyes. Not only did LSU knock an SEC rival out of contention for a national title, but the Tigers also prove that they could win a big game this season. When you’re beating up Tulane and Arizona, but falling to Auburn and Florida, there’s obviously not much creditability there. However, you knock off one of the SEC Championship teams in Arkansas on its home turf and now you have something to build on heading into a bowl game. Nice win LSU.

10. Wisconsin (11-1)
As of right now, it looks like Wisconsin might play Arkansas in the Capitol One Bowl. If that were the case, Darren McFadden vs. P.J. Hill would be quite a running back dual.

Most impressed with: South Florida holding both Steve Slaton and Pat White under 100 combined rushing yards. That’s amazing considering both Slaton and White usually crack 150 yards on the ground apiece.

Least impressed with: West Virginia, Texas and Notre Dame were the biggest flubs of the weekend. But at least the Irish can say they lost to a USC team that is probably heading to a national championship.

Biggest upset: How about Texas A&M going into Austin and knocking off Texas 12-7 on Friday? The Aggies haven’t defeated the Long Horns in six straight meetings and held a Texas offense to just one touchdown after coming into the game averaging close to 40 points a game. Texas QB Colt McCoy was just hammered on more than one occasion throughout the game. He seemed okay, but McCoy left the field on a stretcher. Welcome to the A&M-Texas rivalry freshman.

Looking forward: Arkansas vs. Florida tops the list as far as big games, but many eyes will be on UCLA-USC to see if the Trojans will get tripped up at the end of the season.

USC 44, Notre Dame 24
This rivalry will never amount to Michigan-Ohio State, but nevertheless, fans that tuned into this contest saw some fireworks. USC just had way too much firepower for the Irish defense. It seemed that whenever Notre Dame needed a stop on defense, it never came. Losing safety Chinedum Ndukwe to a knee injury certainly hurt the Irish in trying to defend a tremendous effort given by Dwayne Jarrett (7 rec. 133 yards, 3 TDs). But John David Booty (266 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs) looked calm and in control all night (more so than Hesiman hopeful Brady Quinn), so I don’t think Ndukwe’s injury was the difference maker. The USC wide out duo is just too much to deal with for most opponents. If the Trojans beat UCLA next weekend, what a match up it will be between USC’s receivers vs. Ohio State’s secondary.

While I’m on the subject, I’m warming up to an USC-Ohio State national championship. I don’t think either defense would completely shut down the opposing offense and we might see sixty points, but it would certainly be entertaining. The way the Trojans dismantled Notre Dame Saturday night, it doesn’t bode too well for a Florida team that barely escaped a win over Florida State. I know it was a rivalry game, but USC completely thrashed the No. 6 team in the country, while UF squeaked by an unranked FSU program that was playing with a quarterback in Drew Weatherford that seemed to barely try. It also doesn’t help that Florida plays Arkansas in the SEC Championship game next week after the Razorbacks just fell to LSU at home. Beating a one-loss Razorback team would have obviously held more water than if Florida knocks off Arkansas now.

If USC doesn’t fall asleep like it did against Oregon State next week, count me in for one who believes the Trojans deserve an outright chance at the Buckeyes come January 8th.