Gameday Commentary - 2:30 games

Oregon State 34, California 21

Oregon State has some speed. Between Jacquizz Rodgers, James Rodgers, and Sammie Stroughter, the Beavers have enough speed to run circles around the rest of their schedule (Arizona and Oregon) and take home the Pac-10 title. The trio combined for 475 all purpose yards and 3 touchdowns. Wow. How did those speedy Rodgers brothers not get out of Texas?

Florida 56, South Carolina 6
Oh, I get it. Florida is so good because of their defense and special teams. I'm still not impressed with the offense, but the defense and special teams are indeed special. Both units picked up a touchdown in the first quarter, and that has become the norm in Gainesville lately.

The speed the Gators have on defense and special teams is matched only by the fire with which they play. If Florida goes on to run the table and beat Alabama in the SEC championship game, it won't be because of their inconsistent offense. It will be because of the play of the defense and special teams.

Can somebody please tell me why Charlie Strong doesn't have a head coaching job yet??

Wisconsin 35, Minnesota 32
The little mistakes are starting to add up for Minnesota. Despite an impressive 7-1 start, the Gophers are reverting to 2007 form during the now 3-game losing streak.

Minnesota took an easy 21-7 lead into the locker room at half time. They even took a 24-17 lead into the fourth quarter, but that's when they fell apart. Specifically, the special teams fell apart.

Early in the fourth quarter, right after Wisconsin tied up the game at 24 apiece, Troy Stoudermire fumbled the ensuing kickoff and it went out the back of the end zone for a safety. Then after forcing a Wisconsin punt on the next drive, the Minnesota punt returner made a bone headed decision to field the ball inside his own five yard line. That decision led to another safety for the Badgers.

Two safeties in 3 minutes of game time meant Wisconsin would have all the momentum for the rest of the game. But to make matters worse, quarterback Adam Weber fumbled at his own 11 yard line on the next Minnesota possession, which Wisconsin turned into a touchdown. Game over. Tim Brewster needs to get these mistakes ironed out.

As a side note, Wisconsin looks to have finally found a quarterback. Dustin Sherer has a good arm and played with excellent composure. The junior had a huge third quarter and made some clutch throws to get the Badgers back in the game.

Gameday Commentary - 11 o'clock games

Notre Dame 27, Navy 21

Navy nearly made their second remarkable fourth quarter comeback in as many weeks. Trailing 27-7 in the fourth quarter, sophomore quarterback Ricky Dobbs sparked a comeback that included two onside kick recoveries, but fell just short.

Notre Dame displayed an excellent running game. The three headed monster of James Aldridge, Armando Allen, and Robert Hughes combined to pound the undersized Navy defense to the tune of 230 rushing yards.

Yet again, Jimmy Clausen was inconsistent and threw two interceptions. If Notre Dame wants to get better, they'll rely more on their solid running game than on the unreliable arm of the overconfident Clausen.

Keep an eye on Navy's Dobbs. I have a feeling you'll be hearing a lot about him over the next two years. He's got great athleticism to run the triple option, but he has a stronger arm than any Navy quarterback in recent memory.

Northwestern 21, Michigan 14
Michigan lost their school record 8th game of the season in snow flurries against Northwestern. I know this is going to prompt even more criticism from Michigan fans and the national media, but everyone needs to hit the breaks a little bit.

Sure, and 8-loss season is something Michigan should never have to experience, but when you consider the magnitude of the overhaul taking place to the offense, you have to expect some setbacks. Watching the game, I didn't get the feeling that Michigan was a terrible team. Defensively they are actually quite good.

The 2008 Wolverines are simply a team in transition, and hasn't been able to catch any breaks this season. So lay off Rich Rodriguez (at least for the time being), because he needs at least a couple more years to get his players in place before it's fair to make a judgment on the job he is doing in Ann Arbor.

Georgia 17, Auburn, 13
As expected this was an ugly, low scoring game. Auburn proved to me they haven't quit on this season. Despite all the coaching turmoil and the mounting losses, the Auburn players were still giving a solid effort on the field, and almost pulled the upset.

The main question I had watching the game is: what in the world was Tony Franklin thinking? For some reason, Franklin had it in his head that Chris Todd was a better quarterback than Kodi Burns. Well, he couldn't have been more wrong - and maybe that had something to do with his firing at mid-season.

Burns played a solid game against Georgia. His athleticism is obviously far superior to Todd's, but Burns proved to me today that he is a much better pocket passer as well. Burns has a stronger arm, and more importantly, doesn't panic in the pocket and make stupid throws the way Todd did. In the SEC, you can't have a quarterback that can't handle a pass rush.

Gameday Commentary

*What a great Red River Rivalry game. Texas and Oklahoma both played excellent football. There's nothing bad you can say about either quarterback. If Missouri can hold up their end of the deal against Oklahoma State tonight, it would set up another epic Big XII showdown in Austin next week when Missouri takes on Texas in what should be a matchup of top four teams.

*B.Pike was right - Minnesota is much improved this year. They might actually be able to win some games in the Big Ten this year.

*Is it just me or does Mike Leach look like a drunk Vince Gill?

Gameday Commentary - 10 pm

*If anybody figures out the Maryland Terrapins, please let me know. Their 31-0 loss to Virginia is the most unexplainable score of the day.

*Texas once again looked like one of the best teams in the country. The Texas defense is starting to play at a championship caliber level. The front four looks like they can put pressure on anybody - Brian Orakpo is an All American. The secondary is young, but they played their best game of the season against Colorado. Offensively, Colt McCoy is playing great at quarterback right now, which is good because the running game hasn't gotten going yet. The only rushing yards Texas will get next week against Oklahoma will be on McCoy scrambles.

*Terrelle Pryor looked great on a touchdown drive in the final minutes to beat Wisconsin. He was calm, cool, and collected; he made clutch throws (which Brian Hartline tried to fumble away - go figure), and made a nice run on an option keeper for the game winning score with just over a minute left in the game.

*Jeremy Maclin is fast.

Gameday Commentary - 8 pm

*Tony Franklin's offense is an abomination. Tommy Tuberville, if you want to win any more games in the SEC this year, you better get control of the offense because otherwise Franklin is going to keep running Chris Todd out there in the shotgun to go 3-and-out for all of infinity. The only time the Auburn offense has moved the ball today is when Ben Tate lined up in the Ace formation and ran the ball down hill (obviously Tuberville's influence). Tate picked up 9 first downs in that fashion. But with Franklin running his preferred offense the remaining 75% of the game, Auburn only produced about 5 first downs and 10+ penalties. Auburn's offense is a joke, and Tony Franklin is looking like a terrible hire so far.

*On a similar topic that will further emphasize Tony Franklin's hard-headedness, Vanderbilt's secondary is legit. D.J. Moore, Myron Lewis, Reshard Langford, and the rest of that group are all big and athletic, and they completely dominated Auburn's receivers tonight. Great win for Vanderbilt.

Gameday Commentary - 5:30 pm

*Kansas State is a bad team. There are no fundamentals at all; nobody on defense can tackle; there are breakdowns in the special teams; and worst of all, the team has no confidence. I feel bad for the players in this situation. The coaching staff is clueless from and X's & O's standpoint, and on top of that, Ron Prince made them run laps in the middle of the night when they got back from a road loss against Louisville a couple weeks ago. Ron Prince looks like he's in his final season as head coach in Manhattan.

*I still like Jim Harbaugh at Stanford. He's a fiery head coach who doesn't let his team quit. Even when his team trailed 28-7 in the third quarter, the Cardinal never quit and Harbaugh was fighting for calls. Stanford ended up cutting the lead to 28-21 and had the ball with a chance to tie.

*I have to give Chris Smelley some credit. He played a great game today in South Carolina's win over Ole Miss.

*Kentucky is giving Alabama all they can handle. Alabama has been great this year, and the defense is playing up to those standards today. But Kentucky is laying the blue print for how to stop the Crimson Tide offense. John Parker Wilson hasn't been a big part of the conservative game plan, but he's not doing his part. Wilson has struggled mightily on throws down the field. Also, kicker Leigh Tiffin has been awful today.

*I've said it once, I'll say it again: I'm not sure there's a quarterback in the country with a stronger arm than Juice Williams.

*Michigan quarterback Steven Threet is coming around. He looked very average early in the season, but his accuracy has improved, particularly on the deep throws that you have to complete to keep defenses from loading up the box.

*Tommy Tuberville is taking his team back! After putting up with Tony Franklin's ridiculous spread offense for the first several weeks (and getting poor results), Tuberville clearly straightened things out this week. The first few drives included more non-shotgun formations than Auburn has run all season. That allowed them to take advantage of Ben Tate's strengths and build a 13-0 lead. Also, Auburn's defense is as good as it has ever been. If the offense keeps playing REAL football (as opposed to that shotgun every play/sideways running nonsense Franklin has been running all year), Auburn is a team that can have legit national title dreams.

*The discovery of the day: Miami WR/KR Travis Benjamin. The freshman has incredible speed and agility and has played a huge role in getting Miami back in the game in the second half against Florida State. Keep an eye on this kid because he'll be making some big plays this year and beyond.

Gameday Commentary - 12:30 pm

*Iowa State is looking really good so far against Kansas. Gene Chizik might be even further along in his rebuilding plans than I expected. If they can hold on against Kansas (up 20-0 in the middle of the second quarter) it would be a great win.

*Robert Griffin needs some help. Griffin has breathtaking athletic ability and Baylor is playing a lot harder for Art Briles than they have in the past, but Oklahoma is just waaaay better.

*Usually the home fans are always rooting for their team to go for it on fourth down, but here's a random PREDICTION: Mike Leach will be the first head coach in the history of football to get booed for GOING FOR IT on fourth down. Leach is one of the rare exceptions where the fans might actually be smarter than the head coach when it comes to decisions like that.

*Penn State is a team to be reckoned with. They aren't playing great against Purdue so far (10-0 lead early second half), but you can just see that they have all the pieces to make a serious run at the Big Ten title. They have the makeup of a team that can win even on an off day, and the skill and toughness to beat anybody when they are on top of their game.

*Florida on the other hand is looking more and more like that loss to Ole Miss wasn't a fluke. Urban Meyer's offense is in neutral because apparently Tim Tebow isn't the "greatest player of our generation." The Gators are struggling against a bad Arkansas team early.

Gameday Commentary - Night Games

Alabama 20, Tulane 6
This is more like the Alabama I was expecting to see this year. Bama needed a punt return for touchdown and a blocked punt returned for touchdown to win the game. The offense was anemic all day, compiling only 172 total yards. Youch.

Florida 26, Miami 3
Miami hung around in the first half, but couldn't generate enough offense to make a game of it. Florida held the Canes to 140 total yards and Tim Tebow fought off a barrage of blitzes to lead three scoring drives and ice the game in the second half.
J.Pike's Thoughts:
*Miami has an impressive collection of freshmen. Linebacker Sean Spence is going to be a player. He's fast and physical. Quarterback Robert Marve struggled in the second half, but he has a strong arm and came out with great poise early in the game. Miami will win some games in the ACC this year.
*Florida has quite an impressive collection of athletes. There was so much speed an athleticism wearing blue tonight that it almost doesn't matter what schemes you teach them. Florida started slow but got better as the night went along. By the end of the game the Gators looked like a top five team with national title aspirations.
*The defensive game plan called by Bill Young of Miami was impressive. The continuous pressure they put on Tim Tebow, particularly with constant blitzes off the edge, really disrupted Tebow and the offense. Tebow adjusted in the second half, but his accuracy was clearly diminished with all the pressure in the first half.

Texas 42, UTEP 13
After a slow start, the Longhorns put it together and ran away with a big win in El Paso. It was sort of a ho-hum game, but Texas proved their superiority in the trenches, and Colt McCoy played another excellent game.
J.Pike's Thoughts:
*Quan Cosby is a super solid receiver. He and McCoy seem to be on the same page which will come in handy in those third down situations against Missouri and Oklahoma in a few weeks. The young receivers are also showing more and more promise every week. For some reason I'm not sure about Dan Buckner yet - he doesn't seem to play as big as he is - but Malcolm Williams and Brandon Collins are going to be good.
*By the end of the game the Texas defense was pressuring UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe on every snap. Vittatoe hung in there pretty well for the most part, but you can't expect him to win a game when he's under that kind of pressure.
*Overall it was a spotty performance by the Longhorns, but the good spots were really good. The defense is still a work in progress, but they are definitely coming along. At the end of the day it's hard to complain too much when the strength of the team is on both lines.

It's been a long, glorious day of college football. Good night now!

Gameday Commentary (cont.)

*Maryland lost to Middle Tennessee State. That's a tough loss for Ralph Friedgen. Chris Turner threw three interceptions. Looks like it's back to Jordan Steffy at quarterback.

*The Kansas defense looked good in a 29-0 shutout victory over Louisiana Tech. QB Todd Reesing was sharp as well, and true freshman WR Daymond Patterson looks like a stud. The running game needs some work though.

*It's official - Arkansas is the worst team in the SEC. After Vanderbilt's win over South Carolina on Thursday night, Arkansas went out and earned the title by laying another egg (followed by an "impressive" comeback). Bobby Petrino's troops trailed Louisiana Monroe 24-6 late in the third quarter before finally deciding to play some football. Congratulations Arkansas! You ran off a good coach for a bum. The only reason Petrino won't leave this program high and dry (which he has done at every other job he's had) is because nobody wants him anymore.

Gameday Commentary - Afternoon Games

*The call at the end of the BYU/Washington game was a disgrace. In case you missed it, Washington QB Jake Locker made a nice run to get into the end zone with 2 seconds left in the game to potentially tie the game. In the excitement he tossed the ball up in the air over his back and the official threw a flag for excessive celebration. Then the ensuing 35-yard PAT attempt was blocked. I'm sorry, but you don't ever throw a flag on what Locker did - ESPECIALLY in that situation. Washington was robbed - sort of. Should have executed the kick a little better.

*The Cincinnati/Oklahoma game went almost exactly as I expected. Oklahoma jumped on those pretenders early and Cincinnati committed several unnecessary penalties. Oklahoma is up 45-20 early in the 4th quarter and already have well over 500 yards of offense. The kick coverage has been troublesome though as Cincinnati has made several long runs on kick returns, including one that went for a touchdown. They'll need to work on that for sure.

*Stephen McGee has joined JaPorky Lane on the bench - finally. It only took a terrible performance against Arkansas State and a slow start against New Mexico. Jerrod Johnson is in now and he led two touchdown drives prior to halftime. The Aggie defense needs work though. Coach Fran left the cupboard bare on that side of the ball.

*East Carolina is for real, and West Virginia is not. ECU has owned the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and for some reason the Mountaineers think they are a passing team now. What? Why would you take away a huge advantage by not letting Pat White run? Why even play the game? But I don't want to take anything away from the Pirates. They are playing with a passion that is great to see. Wins over Virginia Tech and West Virginia are great wins for the program already this year.

*My upset pick of the week almost came through. Ole Miss QB Jevan Snead scrambled back and forth to find Cordera Eason in the end zone with a minute to go in the game to give Ole Miss a 28-27 lead. But Wake came back with a quick drive down the field to set up the game winning 41-yard FG by Sam Swank. Oh well, maybe next week...

*The Notre Dame offense looks every bit as awful as they were last season. The offensive line is terrible and Jimmy Clausen is the biggest tool of all time. They finally took the lead 14-13 on a touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, but four turnovers and several breakdowns up front have led to yet another inefficient outing for the Charlie Weis offense. This is a bad team yet again.

*And did anybody else notice how much trouble Colorado had with Eastern Washington? They were down 21-7 at halftime and needed an interception return for touchdown with 2 minutes left in the game to win it.

Gameday Commentary (cont.)

*I'm a little sketchy on the new Auburn offense. They no longer have the ability to line up and run the football - something that I believe is necessary to win in the SEC. Luckily the Tiger defense looks as good as it's ever been. They were absolutely dominant in the first half against Southern Miss. USM put some points up in the second half, but Auburn was running a lot of backups in and out of the lineup to get some experience.

*Big ups to ESPN360.com. I have been able to check out the Georgia Tech/Boston College, Southern Miss/Auburn, and Ole Miss/Wake Forest games thanks to this brilliant bit of technology.

*Penn State is every bit as good as I thought they were. I bumped them up into my top 10 last week and they are giving me no reason to reconsider. Both the offensive and defensive line play have been outstanding - which is remarkable considering they are missing a handful of projected starters due to suspension. Almost as impressive is the collection of skill position talent on offense. QB Darryl Clark, RB Evan Royster, and WR Jordan Norwood are a fantastic trio. That doesn't even include speedy wideouts Derrick Williams and Deon Butler! I now consider Penn State a serious threat to Ohio State in the Big Ten.

*Ed Cunningham is an idiot. Please ESPN, give Ron Franklin a real counterpart because he deserves way better than this clown.

*Charlie Weis' offensive brilliance continues! With two minutes to play in the first half against a San Diego State team that lost to Cal Poly SLO last week(!), the Domers unstoppable juggernaut has a grand total of zero points(!!). Congratulations Chuck!

Gameday Commentary - Morning Games

Ohio State 26, Ohio 14
Ohio State actually trailed early in the 4th quarter of this game against Frank Solich's Bobcats. The Buckeyes were clearly playing vanilla football, but they displayed zero emotion until the fourth quarter when a Roy Small punt return for touchdown broke the game open.
J.Pike's Thoughts:
*Ohio State is going to struggle to score against USC next week. The running game struggled mightily against Ohio, most notably not being able to pick up a 4th and short at one point in the first half. Granted, Beanie Wells wasn't playing and he'll be a factor, but the bigger problem is that Ohio State's receivers are average at best. Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline just don't want to go get the ball, and you better believe they'll need to make a play or two against USC to avoid three-and-outs on every series.
*The Ohio Bobcats played a great game. Solich had his team ready to play and they looked like they belonged on the same field as Ohio State. Even when starting quarterback Theo Scott went down with an injury in the first half, Boo Jackson stepped right in and showed the same poise in directing the offense against what appears to be a slightly overrated Buckeye defense.

Michigan 16, Miami(OH) 6
Michigan looked pretty decent jumping out to a 10-0 lead early in the first half, but basically had to hold on to beat a scrappy Redhawk team that wouldn't go away.
J.Pike's Thoughts:
*Miami(OH) punter Jacob Richardson put himself firmly in the running for the inaugural Sproles/Sauerbrun Award for Special Teams player of the year. His booming punts single-handedly kept Miami in the game. He finished the day with 7 punts for a 54 yard average, landed 4 punts inside the 20 yard line, and boomed a 74 yarder at one point.
*Michigan doesn't have a quarterback. Steven Threet can run pretty well for a 6'6" guy, but his accuracy in the passing game leaves a lot to be desired. He missed just about every open receiver beyond five yards the whole game. Nick Sheridan is a more accurate passer, but he doesn't have a good arm and can't execute the zone read play as effectively. It will be a chore for Michigan to put points on the board this season.
*Daniel Raudabaugh played a good game for Miami(OH). He was by far the best quarterback on the field today, displaying good arm strength and the ability to make some very good touch throws - as long as he isn't rushed.

Georgia Tech 19, Boston Colleg 16
Persistency was the key for Georgia Tech's running game today. After running up against the brick wall that is BC's front seven for about three quarters, Jonathan Dwyer finally busted a 43-yard touchdown run on an option pitch midway through the fourth quarter to put the game away. Tech finished with 166 rushing yards, and only 240 total yards in the game, but it was enough to secure the win and a 2-0 start for new coach Paul Johnson.
J.Pike's Thoughts:
*I was wrong. Chris Crane is no Matt Ryan. Crane struggled mightily, taking a safety, throwing two interceptions, and making several other poor throws that should have been interceptions as well. The BC defense is good, but they'll need at least a little help from the offense if they are going to win games in the ACC this year.
*Paul Johnson is off to a great start so far in his Georgia Tech coaching career. His team wasn't as good as the Boston College team overall, but they won the fundamentals battle. His commitment to the running game paid off and they have a solid enough defense that they are going to win some games in the ACC this year. A bowl game is definitely in store.