Triple Option Attack: Week 4 Review

First…

Music to listen to: Hits and Hits (Quadrat Beat Remix) by Aggresivnes

Per usual, here’s my top-25 power poll with thoughts.

1) Alabama- The Crimson Tide were probably the only team in the country that would have won that contest at Arkansas on Saturday

2) Ohio State- Who are the two people who have given Ohio State first-place votes in both the AP and Coaches’ poll each. Being the champion of the MAC, three of which teams Ohio State has beaten so far this season, doesn’t get you a first-place vote in my boat.

3) Oregon- The Ducks have won at Tennessee and at Arizona State. Neither one of those opponents will be competing for a conference championship but those are road wins over BCS opponents that have to be acknowledged.

4) Boise State- Barely beating the fifth-best Pac-10 team on your home turf isn’t enough to earn an AP first-place vote like the Broncos pulled off this week.

5) TCU

6) Nebraska- They were due for a down performance. Sure it came against South Dakota State, but I’ll give the Huskers a pass on the mulligan.

7) Florida- The win over Kentucky shouldn’t be overlooked. They have a puncher’s chance at Alabama this week.

8) Stanford- The most impressive thing about Stanford is the way that the Cardinal is winning contests. Using a physical style on both sides of the ball along with having arguably the best quarterback in the contry in Andrew Luck, Stanford can win the Pac-10. If the Cardinal win at Oregon this week, they are a legit national title contender.

9) Oklahoma- The Sooners seemed disinterested against Cincinnati but got the road win. We’ll know more about them after the Texas game.

10) Auburn- Arguably the second-best team in the SEC but still second-best team in the state.

11) Arkansas- Losing at home to Alabama in that fashion isn’t shameful. The Razorbacks are still one of the top teams in the country.

12) Arizona

13) Wisconsin- Beating Austin Peay (no disrespect, Governors) does nothing for me.

14) Utah

15) LSU- The offense is still embarrassing but the Tigers have still beaten West Virginia, North Carolina on a neutral site and Vanderbilt on the road.

16) Iowa

17) Miami and 18) Texas- The Hurricanes’ lone loss was at Ohio State. The Longhorn’s lone loss was at home to an average UCLA team.

19) South Carolina- Similar to Arkansas in respect to no shame losing to another SEC opponent of that caliber, especially on the road for the Gamecocks. What I didn’t like was Steve Spurrier benching Stephen Garcia for Connor Shaw at quarterback in the fourth quarter. Unless Garcia was hurt and he did take a shot to the head that may have affected him, you have to go with the upperclassman on those final drives against Auburn.

20) North Carolina State

21) Michigan State

22) Michigan

23) Penn State

24) West Virginia

25) Nevada- The best remaining opponent on Boise State’s schedule.

Some general thoughts…

-Huge win for UCLA at Texas. While this may be the weakest Texas team in the past five or six years but a win in Austin isn’t something to ignore. This may be the win that helps propel the Bruins to contend for the Pac-10 title, but…

-Since Southern California isn’t eligible to win the conference title and will struggle for the next few years, the Pac-10 may be the top wide-open conference in the country. Between Oregon, Stanford, Arizona and even Oregon State, any one of those teams can win the conference and be top-10 national teams, unlike…

-The Big East has some serious issues. The conference is a bad 1-10 against BCS conference teams this season. When you have to talk yourself into West Virginia being the top team in the conference, that’s not a good sign.

-When I made my points last week, I stated that it was too soon to question if Georgia head coach Mark Richt should be fired. I’m not willing to say yes to that thought yet but I do have to acknowledge it after the Bulldogs loss at Mississippi State on Saturday.

The problems go beyond the suspension of A.J. Green. The offensive line has played poorly, the new 3-4 defensive scheme hasn’t been executed well and the team continues to be undisciplined on an off the field.

Georgia does enter the soft part of its schedule with games at Colorado, home against Tennessee, at Kentucky and home against Vanderbilt. You have to assume that the Bulldogs can be 6-3 heading into its game against Florida in Jacksonville. That may be a job security contest for Richt because if the Bulldogs look bad against the Gators, and Richt is 2-7 against the Gators, he may have problems.

-Stanford Owen Marecic had a decent game against Notre Dame. The starting fullback/linebacker ran in a touchdown on one possession and in the next on defense, intercepted a pass and ran it from 20 yards for another touchdown.

-Last week’s Clemson and Auburn game may have been one of the hardest hitting games I’ve seen in a long time. The Auburn/South Carolina contest was just as close in intensity. Also, Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton has to be considered a Heisman candidate.

-Good job barely beating UAB, Tennessee.

-If the Big Ten wants to be known as more than “Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and eight other schools,” the teams have to play big boy football. This past week’s slate was embarrassing with the lack of quality opponents.

When you turn on the TV, you see Oregon playing at Arizona State, Alabama at Arkansas, Oregon State at Boise, Cincinnati hosting Oklahoma…you get the idea.

I turn to Big Ten football and I’m seeing Ohio State/Eastern Michigan, Michigan/Bowling Green…you get the idea.

Maybe the conference isn’t ready because two teams, Minnesota and Purdue, found ways to lose to MAC teams.

Those are my thoughts, what about yours?