College Football Week 4: Birdies and Bogeys
Championships are always fun to watch. The thrill of the moment as the team secures the title, or the insane excitement as the game comes down to the final tick. Individual championships are just as exciting. As I watched the final round of the PGA Tour Championship on Sunday, it was pure excitement. Not only did it come down to the final hole, but it took 3 playoff holes and the SHOT OF THE YEAR from Bill Haas. His shot out of the water (yes out of the water) and over the bunker is what players like myself dream about. It is plays like that, that make sports amazing. College Football has teams that create those moments every week. Some teams need a miracle for the rest of the season to make things happen, while others are standing on the back nine ready to drive for a title. With inspiration from Bill Haas, here are this weeks impressive and embarrassing performances: BIRDIES AND BOGEYS
BIRDIES
- Temple Owls – Temple not only beat ACC team Maryland, they kicked their ass. 38-7 was the final and it was never that close. Temple has over 400 yds of offense and held the Terps to only 45 rushing yards. Maybe Temple should apply to the Big East to replace some teams that might leave.
- Clemson QB Tajh Boyd - Boyd threw for 344 yds and 3 TDs and also ran for another one against Florida State. The Tigers are undefeated and Boyd did some of that work while limping around on the field. Can Clemson keep this up or will they falter like they ALWAYS do?
- Oklahoma State QB Brandon Weeden - Weeden was shut down in the first half by Texas A&M, but the 2nd half was different. Weeden finished 47-60 for 438 yds and 2 TDs. The Cowboys comeback was amazing and Weeden put himself in the Heisman race.
- Florida Gators Running Game - Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey combined for 25 carries and 252 yards against Kentucky. Demps broke one for 84 yards with pure speed. Florida finished with 405 yards on the ground. They will all that and more against the nasty Crimson Tide this weekend.
- Baylor QB Robert Griffin III - RG3 is OUT OF HIS MIND right now. There is not a hotter player in the country than him. He has thrown more TDs than he has incompletions. WAIT WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?! Those are XBOX type numbers. Griffin was 29-33 for 338 yards and 5 TDs and also ran for a score against Rice. He goes up against a tough Kansas State defense this weekend though. Could be interesting.
- LSU DB Tyrann Mathieu - Mathieu has probably been one of the best players on LSU’s entire team this season and he was huge against West Virginia. He recovered a fumble and took and interception down to the 1 to set up scores for the Tigers. He is all over the field on defense and is a nightmare for Offensive Coordinators.
- Houston QB Case Keenum - Keenum played against Georgia State yes, but he also threw for 415 yards. Can anyone slow down this kid? We will see in the coming weeks, but as for now, he is on fire
BOGEYS
- Arizona Wildcats Defense - The ‘Cats defense is nothing if it is not porous. They have given up 120 points in the last 3 games. Granted, they have played 3 high scoring, top 15 ranked teams but still. Mike Stoops is going to have a heart attack if this keeps up. Hopefully Arizona can circle the wagons and finish the season strong.
- Florida State Seminoles - The ‘Noles have now lost two in a row and looked bad in the process. They hung tough against Clemson, but became mental midgets in the process. FSU had 11 penalties for 124 yds to help the Tigers. Things get easier schedule wise from here until the Florida game, but there are some issues to be worked out.
- Oregon State Beavers – What else can I say about these people? What the hell is going on in Corvallis? They are now 0-3 and their next 2 games against ranked ASU and high powered Arizona. Mike Riley might not make it to the end of the season.
- Texas A&M Aggies - The Aggies completely melted down at home against Oklahoma State. Having a 20-3 lead should help, but when you get outscored 27-9 in the 2nd half, it makes things difficult. Weeden and the Cowboys got what they wanted, when they wanted against the Ags. Mike Sherman better get his boys ready to fight back against a high flying Arkansas offense.
HEISMAN RACE
- Robert Griffin III, Baylor QB - 29-33, 338 yds 5 TDs; 6 Rush, 51 yds, 1TD vs. Rice. Nothing seems to be able to stop Griffin right now. He easily is atop the list. Next week: at Kansas State
- Kellen Moore, Boise State QB - 23-29, 279 yds 4 TDs vs Tulsa. Moore keeps doing what he has always done. He will continue to do so as long as the competition is beneath him. Next Week: vs. Nevada
- Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina RB - 20 Rush, 77 yds 1 TD; 3 Rec, 73 yds, 1 TD vs. Vanderbilt. Lattimore is the best player on either side of the ball for South Carolina and has easily made up for terrible QB play for the Gamecocks. He should run wild against Auburn. Next week: vs. Auburn
- Andrew Luck, Stanford QB – Idle. Luck has all the makings of the top pick in the NFL Draft. Can he produce the numbers to win the Heisman. Next week: vs. UCLA
- Trent Richardson, Alabama RB – 17 Rush, 126 yds; 3 Rec, 85 yds, 1 TD vs. Arkansas. Richardson is mowing down defenses so far this season. In what was supposed to be a tough game with Arkansas, he ran all over the place. Can he do the same against a physical Florida defense? Next week: at Florida
