College Football - Week 7 Review

Random Musings on Week 7

Editor's Note: Special thanks to one of the greatest American rock bands of all-time, Chicago, for providing the titles for each of this week's musings..

1. Feelin' Stronger Every Day - The feel good story of the year took place this weekend in Bloomington, Indiana. The Drew Tate hype machine hit another pothole on Saturday afternoon against the mighty Hoosiers when the Big Red machine upset the Hawkeyes 31 to 28. Of course, the obvious thing to note is that this was the biggest win in Bloomington since the Hoosiers knocked off Ohio State in 1987. And how can anyone forget the amazing interception by safety Will Meyers! However, the feel good element of the story is the one thought caught my attention. With Coach Terry Hoeppner coming off another brain surgery just a few short weeks ago, the Hoosiers have moved to a 4-3 record. This win was so huge for Coach Hoeppner that his former quarterback at Miami(OH) - none other than Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger - called him after the game. The real question is just how much of a feel good story will this be?...can the Hoosiers reach a ball game since the glory days of Trent Green? The Hoosiers have five games left on their schedule, and they need only 2 more wins to qualify for a bowl game. Of course with Ohio State and Michigan being two of those 5 games, it really comes down to can the Hoosiers win two of three against Michigan State at home, Minnesota on the road, and Purdue on the road. The odds are stacked against the Hoosiers, but just having Hoeppner back on the sidelines is more important than a berth in a bowl game. Here's hoping that the Hoosiers can shock the world next week in Columbus against the Buckeyes!!!


2. Alive Again - I know a lot of good Auburn football fans, and I even consider myself to be one, but I don't think many of us Auburn fans really gave the Tigers much a chance to beat the undefeated and #2 ranked Gators on Saturday night. While some pundits would agree that Auburn's defense struggles with smashmouth football teams like Arkansas, I'd argue that the results against finesse teams like Buffalo and South Carolina indicated that the Tigers' defense would struggle mightily against the spread option attack of Urban Meyer. In the first half, the Auburn defense did just that, but something changed at halftime. Did Coach Will Muschamp (or Mus-chump) really make halftime adjustments? Did Tommy Tuberville assume control of the defense? Or did Tuberville challenging the manhood of the Tigers during his halftime speech really have that much of an impact? I have a feeling that speech by Tuberville rivaled the speech by my former B-Team basketball coach, Randy Stephenson, when he chastised us for having a guy in sweatpants beating us up and down the court, but that's a story for another blog. The second half was a return to the Auburn defense from the LSU game, and it could not have come at a better time, because the Auburn offense is just not clicking. It's time for Brad Lester to get more carries and have a larger role since Kenny Irons is not 100 percent. It's time for Gabe McKenzie to play more than Tommy Trott at tight end, because Trott might be the worst blocking tight end in the SEC. Who would have thought that Auburn would miss Cole Bennett this much? Regardless of the problems on offense, Auburn has reasserted itself as the best team in the SEC and could possibly sneak back into the national championship race with its #4 BCS ranking. Auburn has 3 weeks to figure out its problems on offense as Tulane, Ole Miss, and Arkansas State mercifully appear on the schedule before "Amen Corner". Hopefully, Al Borges can solve the riddle of how to avoid kicking field goals in the red zone and actually punch the ball into the end zone. And from my seat, here's two suggestions - quit running the screen pass and quit running the bootleg to the tight end on third down.

3. Where Do We Go From Here - I honestly do not know how much lower the Miami(FL) program can sink this year. It's one thing to struggle on the field and squeak past weak opponents in the Orange Bowl, but what took place on Saturday night in the Orange Bowl is probably the biggest disgrace in the history of college football...well, maybe except for Alabama's football team wearing houndstooth trim around the neck of their home uniforms to honor a coach who has been dead for 25 years. Of course, the brawl, the helmet swinging, and the stomping of FIU players already on the ground have been the major items discussed and rightfully so. But aside from the disgusting display of violence during a football game, what really stuck out to me was that Miami fullback James Bryant bowed....yes, actually took a freaking bow...after scoring a touchdown against lowly FIU to put the 'mighty' Miami Hurricanes up 14-0 in the third quarter. Since when do Miami players take a bow for scoring a touchdown against a winless team that only started playing football in 2002? Larry Coker should throw Bryant off of the team for instigating the brawl with his theatrics. I am all for self-expression, and I love what Chad Johnson, Steve Smith, and Terrell Owens do in the NFL, but that's against elite competition. You don't take bows for scoring a touchdown against a winless, weak college football team. So where does the Miami program go from here? I'll be cheering for rock bottom next week when the Hurricanes travel to Duke. A loss to the Blue Devils would surely signify rock bottom for the "U".

4. The Road - The Vanderbilt Commodores have had long, treacherous road schedule this fall. The Commodores have traveled to the Big House in Ann Arbor to battle the #3 BCS-ranked Wolverines. They've traveled to the Capstone (or Crapstone some Alabama law school alums that I know in Montgomery, AL) to battle the Crimson Tide of Alabama. They visited the Grove in Oxford, Mississippi to take on Coach O and his WILD BOYS of Ole Miss. All three of those road trips resulted in tough losses for Vanderbilt, but that's what Commodore fans have grown to expect. And this past weekend, they took their fourth road trip to Athens, Georgia for a game between the hedges of Sanford Stadium. Of course, no one really thought that the 'Dores would have a shot on the road against the Bulldogs of Georgia, but this time, it was the 'Dores who hunkered down and whipped the Dawgs. Although it took a last second field goal to pull off the upset, Vanderbilt really dominated this game and could have won by a much larger margin without some key turnovers. QB Chris Nickson looks special, and the next three years of Vanderbilt football could bring some mild success for Coach Johnson's program. Every SEC fan has a special place in their heart for the Commodores, so Saturday's upset win against Georgia caused cheers from the bluegrass of Kentucky down to the swamps of Louisiana, but the cheers were especially loud for all SEC fans in the metro Atlanta area who aren't Georgia fans. The Bulldog nation is in shambles, and I don't even think another letter to the editor of the Atlanta Journal Constitution from the governor is going to protect Richt and his Dawgs from some harsh criticism. Ah, what a great week to live in Atlanta!

5. Goodbye - For all practical purposes, the college football career of Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson is over. Peterson was having a spectacular game against Iowa State when he broke a 53-yard touchdown run and fell awkwardly on his shoulder as he was tripped up at the goal line. Of course, one must wonder why Peterson was even in the game when the Sooners were winning 27-9 with 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter. I realize that Peterson's father was getting to watch his son play for the time since being released from prison, but still, you cannot jeopardize the rest of your football season to let a player pile up individual statistics. The Sooners' season is pretty much over now. Upcoming road games to Missouri and to Texas A&M could have the Sooners looking at a 4 loss season. But back to Peterson....what I will always remember about his college career is my sister, who was a graduate student in music at Oklahoma at the time, telling me about Peterson falling asleep in a music class as a freshman and falling out of his chair. Peterson ran out of the class with an injured shoulder and never came back to the class. I believe he still got an "A" in the class though.

6. Old Days - Football at Southern Methodist University has not mattered in over 20 years. The Mustangs have not played in a bowl game since 1984 when they defeated Notre Dame 27-20 in the Aloha Bowl. Granted SMU football did not even exist during the 1987 and 1988 seasons, but since the halcyon days of Craig James and Eric Dickerson, college football in the Highland Park area of Dallas has not generated much excitement. That could change this year though. Phil Bennett, a protege of Kansas State's Bill Snyder, has the Mustangs on the brink of possibly qualifying for a bowl game after their 31-21 victory over Marshall pushed SMU's record to 4-3. With 5 games to play, the Mustangs need only 2 more wins to qualify for a bowl game. Unlike Indiana, SMU's remaining schedule makes a bowl game a real possibility. Home games against 3-4 UAB and road games at 2-4 East Carolina and 2-5 Rice give the Mustangs a realistic shot at a 7-5 record. You have to believe that the Fort Worth Bowl is pulling for a strong finish by the Mustangs.

7. Hard Habit to Break - Over the past few years, Virginia Tech has developed quite a reputation, and unfortunately, it's a reputation of which Coach Beamer, the university administration, and alumni are not exactly proud. I hate to use words like 'thugs' and 'punks', but that is exactly what the Hokies have played like on numerous occasions over the past few years. Of course, it's easy to put all the blame on former quarterback Marcus Vick as his stomping of a Louisville player epitomizes the dirty play of the Hokies in recent years. I remember sitting in the upper deck two years ago when Virginia Tech traveled to Georgia Tech for a Thursday night game and was appalled by the personal fouls for late hits and taunting against the Hokies. Frank Beamer is now fining his players as a means of discipline, but based on the sideline behavior at the Boston College game, Hokie players just cannot seem to behave themselves. Throw in the suspensions of Josh Morgan, Josh Hyman, and Chris Ellis during this season, and you've got a team that is out of control and has no leadership. How long will Virginia Tech fans continue to tolerate this kind of behavior from its football program? Virginia Tech is just barely a step above Miami Hurricane football when it comes to discipline. Fortunately, for Beamer, his Hokie teams typically win 9 to 10 games and go to New Years Day bowl games. What happens when his teams start losing? Well, we may find out this year as the Hokies could drop 4 or more games.


And finally, one man's attempt to rank the Top 25 teams in the country:

1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
3. USC
4. West Virginia
5. Auburn
6. Louisville
7. Florida
8. Texas
9. Tennessee
10. Notre Dame
11. Clemson
12. California
13. Georgia Tech
14. LSU
15. Rutgers
16. Arkansas
17. Oregon
18. Boise State
19. Nebraska
20. Boston College
21. Oklahoma
22. Wake Forest
23. Texas A&M
24. Missouri
25. Pittsburgh