College Football Lessons: Week 4
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by The Beast
1. The Big Ten is Ohio State's to Lose
After an entire month of football, I believe that it is safe to say that the Big Ten title is Ohio State's to lose. Now that the offense has finally caught up to the defense, the Buckeyes are ready to role. Against Northwestern on Saturday, they totaled over 450 yards of total offense in a 58-7 victory. What made Buckeye fans even happier is the fact that QB Todd Boeckman threw for three touchdowns. Against Youngstown State and Akron, the junior quarterback looked hesitant and nervous while attempting pass after pass. For the second game in a row, he finally looked like the confident and poised leader that he was expected to become. As long as he can just manage games and play effectively down the stretch, the Buckeyes defense should carry them all the way to a Big Ten title.
2. Louisville Has Serious Defensive Issues
Prior to their upset over 18th ranked Louisville, the Syracuse Orange held the nation’s 97th-ranked pass offense. However, Louisville's defense made quarterback Andrew Robinson look like Matt Leinart as he threw for 428 yards and four touchdowns. While Louisville has been known for their high-octane offenses under Brian Brohm and Stafon LeFors, their defenses have always been good enough. After last year's Orange Bowl victory, the Cardinals did lose many of their defensive starters and it was unrealistic for people to expect Steve Kragthorpe to actually contend for a national championship this year.
3. How good is Nebraska?
Most analysts excused the Cornhuskers loss to the USC Trojans last week but after a one-point win over Ball State, Nebraska has no place to hide. So far this season, they have feasted upon weaklings such as, Nevada and Wake Forest, while getting dominated by the more physical USC Trojans. After allowing USC's offense to rush for over 300 yards against them, the Huskers gave up 600 yards of offense to Ball State. Most people expected the Huskers to win the Big XII North but their defense seems to be a main hindrance. If they struggled against Nate Harris and Ball State, how will they contain Missouri's Chase Daniel in a few weeks.
4. Kentucky is for Real
I use winning on the road in College Football as an indicator for whether a team is a legitimate contender for the conference title. While Kentucky's shootout win a week ago against instate-rival Louisville as certainly a great victory, their road win against SEC-foe Arkansas was even better. Andre Woodson showed why he should be the Heisman Trophy front-runner as the senior quarterback torched Arkansas's secondary. As long as Rich Brooks can keep his Wildcats level-headed, the Cats will have an excellent shot of making it to a January 1st Bowl game.
5. USC's Passing Game is Just Fine
While the Trojans rushed for 311 yards against Nebraska, their passing has been a question mark as John David Booty has looked uncomfortable at times with his new receivers. However, Booty and company put all those doubts away as the Heisman contending quarterback went 28-of-35 for 280 yards and four touchdowns. What made his night even more special for the offense was the fact that nine receivers and running backs where able to catch passes. This kind of offensive balance was missing last year as the bulk of the passes went to Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith.
