CFB Review: Kiss your dreams goodbye
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by Suckatsports
College football review talks about the week that was in college football, about the good teams that won, and the good teams that lost. Look for it to wrap up the college football preview, and to gloat upon picking correct outcomes.
Alright, well, I don't know where to start. Friday through Saturday night was just about some of the most exciting college football I've seen in a long time. It's been years since there was such a monumental shakeup in the college football rankings, and it was exciting to watch, except for those teams that lost. In fact, what made it so great, was the fact that it came unexpected, since this wasn't named by ESPN before it all went down. Deep breath, it'll take a while to get through all these games, starting at the top.
A lot of people are now off the Oklahoma bandwagon, when they lost to Colorado, but I'm not. I still think they're a really good, talented, and deep team that was caught looking ahead on the road - and hey, they're not the only ones. That being said, this is a terrible loss for a team that's had a bad recent history playing against quality opponents. After playing a long schedule of cupcakes and blowing them out, this team looked like world beaters, but this loss proved that they're not only human, but that they may even be less. Stoops, as good as he's been, has to take the brunt of this loss, after putting his team on cruise control when they were up 24-7. I still like them to come out of the Big 12, which isn't saying much, because I'd sooner take the MAC as a stronger conference. Big 12 is weak, but like the Big East in 2003, they still have a BCS bid. Much credit should go to Dan Hawkins, after looking like a fool leaving Boise State, he's now scored a huge upset (yes, even bigger than BSU over Oklahoma last year) at his new gig, and it's not over.
I told you, Auburn is not as bad as they seem, and they're good at the part that will cause UF problems - the defensive line. Even with their best defensive player out (Quentin Groves), Auburn beat Florida twice. This is a big win for Auburn, and a healthy loss for Florida. They have been riding high, but their defense is just not that great; a defense that carried them to the title last year. They, once again let them down, and Florida, how does it feel when you're the favorite now, and everyone's gunning for you? Really though, I think this is a combination of looking ahead and being too cocky, because it never fails, when ESPN does a whole 20 minutes interview on your quarterback, that your team ends up losing. Only good will come of this for Florida, because now they'll be more concentrated on winning instead of being rock stars. Auburn, left for dead, is now back in the chase for the SEC, provided Groves is healthy. I just wish I had the cojones to pick this upset - I came close, when I said it would be a tight game, but couldn't pull the trigger on predicting a shocking win. Some people aren't taking this loss as well as others. I found this video over at Buckeye Battle Cry, and as an OSU alum, it's the best thing I've seen in years.
I saw USF #6 in the nation in the AP poll, and thought that it's too high for them. But, you know what? There's no one I'd rank ahead of them, so it's well earned bulls. They out muscled a West Virginia team we all thought was unstoppable, and made not one, but two Heisman trophy candidates look completely average. I watched the entire game, and it's no fluke, USF is that good. That defensive line is extremely fast and athletic, and their defense in general is what's going to carry them. But, what a great season for Jim Leavitt, the only coach the USF program has ever had is leading them into uncharted waters, and he looks unflappable - probably rubs off on his team. Where does WVU go from here? There's a blueprint on how to stop them, and now the Big East championship is out of their control. Rodriguez still has a wealth of talent on offense, but they need to learn how to pass. As good as their running game is, it's been shown the can be stopped.
The next two top-10 losses I'm going to group together, because I never bought into them. Sure, I may be the pot calling the kettle black, but these teams haven't played anyone of note, and now lose to the first semi-respectable team on their docket.
Texas got their doors blown off by Kansas State, at home. This is inexcusable, although, predicted by yours truly. I was never sold on Texas, and Mack Brown is back to his old tricks. This isn't looking ahead, this is pure getting the wood laid down on your face - Kansas State was just better. Next up, Rutgers, whom I have no intention of watching until they play someone, anyone ranked. They lost to freaking Maryland, at home; the same Maryland that lost a 20 point lead to Wake Forest the week before. Don't even talk to me if you play more than one 1-AA team in a season and then lose to Maryland. Keep chopping wood.
That about does it for the Top 10 losses. No, I didn't forget about a thrilling win by Cal, but it's hard to put it above four of the top 10 teams losing to unranked teams, on the road and at home. So, here we go.
Best of the Rest
California showed they might be the best team in the Pac 10, by going to Oregon and winning an all out battle. Who knew there was any semblance of defense being played in the Pacific, when Dennis Dixon was intercepted on back-to-back possessions, you knew it was over. They made a valiant comeback, only to have their hopes fumble through the end zone. If you somehow didn't know DeSean Jackson, well, now you know. Alright, now I'm sold on Cal, they look really good. In all fairness, this might have been the highlight game, if I were able to watch it, but thanks to ABC's regional coverage the Midwest kicked my balls. Speaking of which...
Wisconsin outlasted Michigan State in a confused game, where each team thought they were Pac 10, and not Big 10. Defense was clearly optional in this game, as teams combined for 700 yards of offense, by the first half. All that being said, this was an incredibly fun game to watch because it was up and down. Two defensive coaches must have had ulcers on the sidelines with these kinds of numbers, and neither of these teams is doing anything at the end of the season. Michigan State is on the right track though, D'Antonio makes them look respectable. Penn State, say hello to Rejis Benn, you're allowed to tackle him. I guess they saw Wisconsin and decided to take cues, because Benn ran through, and around all the white shirts with no names. This was a BTN game, so I only saw the highlights. It's about three games late into the benching Morelli plan. I don't know who's the backup, but it's time to find out.
USC had a scare at Washington, or did they? The score ended up being 27-24, and Washington couldn't recover an onside kick to make things even more interesting, but this game was sloppy. Pete Carroll obviously didn't feel threatened by the Huskies, because his team jumped out early, and then hung on, while falling asleep at the wheel. USC is too good.
Alabama, say hello to your new spot: unranked. I guess one win over an unranked opponent at home isn't enough to catapult you into the top 25. This team is overrated, and Nick Saban is no genius, yet. Stay tuned next year, when he actually has players. On the bright side, FSU finally got a semi-respectable win, and found a quarterback who doesn't suck completely in the process.
All in all, what a horrible weekend to be a ranked team. But then again, maybe it's time to scrap the preseason rankings till week 4 or 5. They have once again shown to be completely moronic, and maybe detrimental to teams that have to dig their way out of an early grave.
CFB Scoreboard Week 5 [SI.com]
This post is cross-published from We Suck at Sports. [2]
