Campus Confidential

By Adam Abramson

Let me apologize for not having a weekend preview, but the toll of driving through the night to Virginia and watching the Hokies upset Clemson put me out of commission on Friday.

Without a doubt, the highlight of my trip was watching the game from a Lane Stadium luxury box. I have to give credit to my boy Ty and his family for letting me watch the game from warmth with an open bar and full buffet. After spending years in the press box, I found myself thinking the suite wasn’t so bad…

As for the rest of the games…I’m still trying to figure out what we learn each weekend. I just keep going back to the insane amount of parity this year. But, is it parity? I keep going back to mediocrity (sans SEC and Ohio State).

One thing I’m glad about…we’ll start seeing what the Big East is all about beginning this Thursday.

Let me do the poll, and I’ll wrap up with a few more thoughts:

1. Ohio State
2. Florida
3. Michigan
4. Auburn
5. Louisville
6. Texas
7. Louisiana State
8. Arkansas
9. Southern California
10. West Virginia
11. Tennessee
12. Boston College
13. California
14. Wisconsin
15. Notre Dame
16. Rutgers
17. Clemson
18. Georgia Tech
19. Boise State
20. Iowa
21. Virginia Tech
22. Wake Forest
23. Oklahoma
24. Texas A&M
25. Oregon

• I’ve said this around the office since last week, and I’m going to stick to it. If there’s a one loss team in the SEC, they need to be the national championship game…over an undefeated Big East team.

• I watched Miami-Georgia Tech. The U has no heart. None. And why is Lance Leggett playing? The kid plays lazy football and I got the impression he doesn’t care when he’s on the field.

• I’ve waited all season for this Thursday night’s game.

• It’s weird to think that the ACC team in the BCS will probably be Boston College.

• If Southern Cal loses to Cal, but beats Notre Dame, does that two-loss Notre Dame team earn a BCS bowl? A lot can happen between now and then, but now I say no.
  

A huge bombshell was dropped on me at work today increasing my workload by 20-fold...I'll write my Week 9 recap and do my poll tonight when I get off and post it tomorrow at some point. Sorry guys...

By Adam Abramson
**See my side note below

Adrian Peterson. Gone.

Calvin Johnson. Gone (for the second week in a row).

It has been no secret that I’ve been on the AP bandwagon, so to see him freakishly break his shoulder hurt me too, because my Heisman favorite was gone. Although, I think his pain might be a little more intense…

As far as Calvin, the guy is now the best player in college football. The guy is just an unstoppable force. But there’s just no way he’s putting up the numbers to be in the Heisman running. He didn’t have a catch against Clemson, which pretty much ended his Heisman campaign.

I read an article in the last Sports Illustrated that pointed out something important: Reggie Ball won’t be throwing to him after he goes to the NFL. The guy completes about 50% of his passes. I’ll go out on a limb and say he’ll be Alex Smith’s big target in San Francisco if he goes pro after this year (I know it’s not that big of a limb…but it’s a limb).

I started going through the numbers trying to find replacements and I noticed…this is for sure the year of the sophomore running back. You’ll see what I mean below:

Troy Smith, Ohio State
Quarterback, Senior
The play where he did the spin move off the defender and found Ted Ginn Jr. in the end zone should kick off his highlight reel. With AP out of the mix, he’s gotta be the clear favorite to win the award – he’s only thrown two INTs this year.
Last week: 15-23, 220 yards, 4 TDs, vs Indiana
This week: versus Minnesota

Brady Quinn, Notre Dame
Quarterback, Senior
Not only is he putting up good numbers, he’s creating miraculous moments on the field that people are going to remember. He’s 34th in the country in passing, but the facts that he is leading a winning Notre Dame team coupled with the wins over Georgia Tech, Michigan State and UCLA offset his shortcomings.
Last week: 27-45, 304 yards, 2 TDs
This week: at Navy

Ray Rice, Rutgers
Running back, Sophomore
I said it last week and I want to say it again. I was on this guy’s scene before almost anyone else was. Okay, thanks. In all seriousness, he and Rutgers are blowing up. He has 12 touchdowns this year, he’s gotta beef that up, quick. Also, he’s one of three guys to have over 200 carries this year (201), I hope he doesn’t start to break down against Louisville and West Virginia.
Last week: 39 carries, 225 yards, 1 TD at Pittsburgh
This week: versus Connecticut

James Davis, Clemson
Running back, Sophomore
This guy is a tough runner. If you missed him destroy Georgia Tech, tune in Thursday night to the Virginia Tech-Clemson game. He might rip off VT linebacker Brenden Hill’s face and step on it. I know he hasn’t eclipsed 1,000 yards yet (he only has 139 attempts), but he’s a touchdown machine with 16. Freshman backfield mate CJ Spiller (who is absolutely nasty) is keeping him from being higher on the list.
Last week: 21 carries, 216 yards, 2 TDs vs Georgia Tech (career high yards)
This week:at Virginia Tech, Thursday night

Steve Slaton, West Virginia
Running back, Sophomore
He’s been on here before, and he’s back. He’s fourth in the country in rushing, but he only has nine touchdowns. He’s got four big games: Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville and Rutgers and if he is a monster in all of those games, he has to be involved in the mix. I also love that he averages 7.01 yards per carry.
Last week: 19 carries, 128 yards, 1 TD at Connecticut
This week: idle

Making moves:

Iam Johnson
Running back, Sophomore
This guy is absolutely money. Fifth in the country in rushing, first in rushing touchdowns (18), 6.99 yards per carry. He’s the west’s version of Garrett Wolfe, except he is younger and isn’t the nation’s leading rusher (he’s also like 4 inches taller).
Last week: 27 carries, 183 yards, 4 TDs at Idaho
This week: idle

Defensive bruiser:

Ameer Ismail, Western Michigan
What a nose for the backfield: 2.29 tackles for loss per game (tops in the country). He’s responsible for opponents losing 92 yards this year (that’s 8 yards shy of an entire field, mind blowing, I know). He tackles on his side of the line of scrimmage too (60 in 7 games). But, last week, he was just the man and he was recognized as the Walter Camp Football Foundation National Division I-A Defensive Player of the Week. Atta boy.
Last week: 13 tackles, SIX SACKS and an interception returned for a touchdown at Ball State
This week: versus Eastern Michigan

**I am filing from Blacksburg. I got off work and drove through the night to watch the Virginia Tech-Clemson game. So, tomorrow's weekend preview might be abbreviated, we'll see what I can crank out.

By Adam Abramson

What could have been.

Here are the upsets I picked, in case you didn’t read last week or did read, can’t remember, and are too lazy to scroll down:

Nebraska over Texas (Texas won 22-20)
Alabama over Tennessee (Tennessee won 16-13)
UCLA over Notre Dame (Notre Dame won 20-17)
Florida State over Boston College (BC won 24-19)
Pittsburgh over Rutgers (**Rutgers** won 20-10)--See below

I was so incredibly burned by those picks, the only way I could have been more burned is if I had fallen asleep naked in a tanning bed for 2 hours (I don’t have a good base tan…actually, I don’t have any base tan).

It really was a great weekend though. I would have made a ton of money if I bet with the spreads, but I didn’t, so I didn’t make any money.

I wanna talk about just five things before I go into my poll this week. Because I’m tired of coding the bulleted lists, I’m going to try a numbered list this week, let’s see how it works.

1. The Nebraska-Texas game was incredible. I was 15 minutes late to work because I couldn’t leave my house until it was over. AND, I missed the roughing the passer that led to the second Hail Mary. Honestly, that was one of the best games I’ve watched this fall. I really thought I had this pick locked up until the fumble, then I knew I was screwed.

2. Alabama at Tennessee. This was another pick I was so confident about, Tennessee didn’t have a lead for 56 freakin minutes. Well, I said it’s about this time of year where Tennessee loses a game it can’t lose, I’m sticking to that.

3. Only Notre Dame could have won that game. But, to his credit, Brady Quinn is going to make a good living because he can master a game-winning drive far better than anyone else in college football.

4. I am still singing the tune that the biggest story that nobody is talking about this year is Florida State. They are in last place without an excuse because their talent pool is among the deepest in the country. I do most of their blue chip recruits the last five years have been skill position guys and not the big uglys, BUT STILL. I guess maybe it’s time for Bobby to hang it up. Someone tell me what’s wrong in Tallahassee. Now.

5. And last, but not least (actually, probably most importantly), my buddy Nick left a comment that drove a dagger into my heart. I left off March Madness (with emphasis on the opening weekend) when I said things I liked more than baseball playoffs. You can’t talk to me during the first four days of the NCAA Tournament. Last year we had three TVs set up in the living room of Nick’s apartment along plenty of take-out food and drinks…it was one of the more special weekends of my life (sad, I know). Actually, what are your guy’s thoughts about blogging it out during college basketball season? Send me your thoughts/suggestions if you have any.
   

1. Ohio State
2. Texas
3. Michigan
4. Southern California
5. Auburn
6. Florida
7. Louisville
8. Clemson
9. Louisiana State
10. West Virginia
11. California
12. Arkansas
13. Notre Dame
14. Wisconsin
15. Boston College
16. Nebraska
17. Iowa
18. Georgia
19. Boise State
20. Rutgers
21. Wake Forest
22. Oklahoma
23. Texas A&M
24. Missouri
25. Oregon

**I orginally had Pitt won 20-10...until two readers let me know I'm a moron. Sorry about that. I did watch half of the game (until the Clemson beatdown came on). So, I corrected that, sorry guys. Also, I know picking PItt to win wasn't an upset prediction, because they were favored 7. Anyway, I'm going to try and do a story about Ray Rice because he's just ripping it up, and I miss writiing non-blog pieces (although the blog is fun).

**I'm on fire this week. Thanks to the keen observation of Claire, I had Boston College twice...so hello Oklahoma at 22 and Rutgers at 20.

By Adam Abramson

Let me set the record straight.

I’ve been moaning and groaning about baseball playoffs and not having time to do this blog, and yeah, it did suck, but I will miss baseball. Playoff baseball comes third after college football season and the Super Bowl for me.

But, we’re back…and it feels good.

This may be surprising, but the game that intrigues me most this weekend is Rutgers at Pittsburgh. I’m talking to my Pittsburgh buddy Phil as I’m writing this and he sums it up perfectly:

“When’s the last time that was a big deal, huh?”

Talk about. But it is. The Big East has proven to be a formidable conference to all the naysayers (I was one of them), so it’s time we took games like Rutgers-Pitt very seriously. Both of these teams still have to go through West Virginia and Louisville, but what if the winner of this game goes on to knock off the current juggernauts of the conference.

We could have three one-loss teams in the Big East. Is the Big East going to get two BCS bids? What if Pitt or Rutgers wins out, they’ll get an automatic bid. Would WVU/Louisville still have done enough to make it if one of them ends up with one loss? Let’s not forget, as a reader pointed out earlier in the week, Notre Dame could be the X-factor here.

But, this game isn’t the only thing going on this weekend. While they’re aren’t any games that carry the weight of a Ohio State-Michigan, there are plenty of potential upsets and games with serious conference implications.

I’m going to try it with a different format this week:

• Iowa at No. 2 Michigan: I would say Iowa needs this game as much as Michigan, but there isn’t national title hopes on the line for the Hawkeyes. However, at 5-2, and coming off of a bad loss, they need this game in the worst kind of way. On the other side, Michigan knows it can’t stumble, and the Wolverines are at home, so I’m taking the men of the Big House.

• No. 5 Texas at No. 17 Nebraska: This could be the first of two meetings (highly likely Big 12 Championship match up). This is a game where both quarterbacks have a lot to prove. I’m going to go bold and pick Nebraska, but Texas in the Big 12 Championship game.

• Alabama at No. 7 Tennessee: It’s about that time of the year. The time of the year where Tennessee loses a game it needs to win. My second upset of the weekend.

• UCLA at No. 10 Notre Dame: This will be a close game, but I don’t have it in me to pick the Irish.

• No. 13 Georgia Tech at No. 12 Clemson: This will likely be the biggest game in the ACC this year. I like Clemson, but with how the ACC has been going, who really knows…

• Final thoughts: Florida State needs to run the ball against No. 22 Boston College this weekend. They have the talent on paper, time to take it to the field … I know I said I liked Wisconsin earlier this week, and I do, but knocking off Purdue at home won’t be easy, but I think the Badgers will do it. Watch the tricky Wildcats of Kansas State against Missouri…that’s all I’m gonna say.
  

NBC’s Dateline “To Catch A Predator,” I’ll tape it and watch it at some point.
Texas at Nebraska, noon
UCLA at Notre Dame, 2:30
Boston College/FSU, Iowa/Michigan, Alabama/Tennessee 3:30
Rutgers at Pitt, 5:45
Georgia Tech at Clemson (with Southern Miss-Virginia Tech on Internet radio), 7:45

OH, and about that game in the Big East...I'll taaaaaaaaake...man...umm...Pitt.

I’ll be at work, so feel for me. Enjoy.

Hey all,

It's Game 7 day and I've been swamped with baseball stuff.

The end is almost near, haha.

At least the baseball has been good.

If I can get to Heisman stuff soon, I will...but I got the green light on something big for the end of the year. When I can talk about it, I will.

By Adam Abramson

Who out there fully understands the BCS? Seriously. Email me if you do.

Here’s where we stand:

1. Ohio State
2. USC
3. Michigan
4. Auburn
5. West Virginia
6. Florida
7. Louisville
8. Notre Dame
9. Texas
10. California
11. Tennessee
12. Clemson
13. Arkansas
14. Oregon
15. Boise State
16. Rutgers
17. Nebraska
18. LSU
19. Georgia Tech
20. Boston College
21. Wisconsin
22. Oklahoma
23. Iowa
24. Missouri
25. Tulsa

Now, I don’t really care about a Top 25 because 10 teams will play in BCS bowls.

So, here are my first week projects with seeds in parenthesis.

National Championship Game: Ohio State (1) vs. Florida (2)
Fiesta Bowl: Auburn (7) vs. California (8)
Sugar Bowl: ACC Champion (10) vs. Louisville (5)
Orange Bowl: West Virginia (9) vs. Texas (6)
Rose Bowl: Southern California (3) vs. Michigan (4)

Here’s why:

• Ohio State will beat Michigan, but the Wolverines will have plenty of street cred to make the Rose Bowl. Everyone involved with the 28-14 USC win over Michigan in the 2004 Rose Bowl wants to see this go down again (probably the people in Ann Arbor more than Los Angeles residents.

• Southern California has a November gauntlet of: Oregon (11/11), California (11/18) and Notre Dame (11/25). All of them are home, but USC will lose one of those games, and I think it’ll be to California giving the Pac 10 two BCS teams.

• Florida will beat Auburn in the SEC championship rematch, but Auburn is more than worthy to beat up the Golden Bears in the desert.

• Okay…Louisville will beat West Virginia. Now, if they really smoke WVU and Notre Dame runs the table, it’ll be Notre Dame-Texas in the Sugar Bowl and whichever scrub team from the ACC versus Louisville in the Orange Bowl.
  

Thoughts?

By Adam Abramson

I have other things on my mind today, so I am going to talk about the first installment of the BCS rankings tomorrow.

First, my apologies for last week. I said I didn’t want to make any guarantees, and sure enough, something came up at work leaving me no time to write my weekend preview. I would have predicted Florida to beat Auburn though.

Second, my condolences to Adrian Peterson for breaking his collarbone. He was diving into the end zone after scampering 51 yards for a meaningless touchdown in the fourth quarter. Oklahoma topped Iowa State 34-9, but AP kissed the Heisman Trophy goodbye because the injury will likely sideline him for the rest of the season. And, as a side note, he had 183 yards and two touchdowns in the game. What a talent.

Third, my congratulations to Troy Smith for essentially locking up the Heisman. I’ll get into this more on Thursday.

Finally, before I get into the polls and thoughts about the weekend, I want to talk about something pointed out to me today.

Below is a list of the top college football headlines on ESPN.com at 5 p.m. today:

• FIU-Miami to re-air without Thomas' comments
  
• Georgia loses RB Brown for season with torn ACL
  
• Two players at I-AA Albany, N.Y., charged with rape
  
• Sooners' top tackler Alexander arrested on two charges
  
• UNC's leading tackler Edwards has broken collarbone
  
• No. Colo. fullback arrested, faces assault charges
  
• Syracuse QB apologizes for obscene gesture
  
• Peterson likely out for season with broken collarbone
  

I know football players have always been getting in trouble before this year and I know, first hand, that non-football playing college football kids get in trouble all of the time as well, but this is just crazy.

It’s a problem at pretty much every college, and after seeing the Miami-FIU brawl this weekend, I couldn’t take it anymore. Weigh in on this if you want, I’ll do a mailbag about it.

Before I write a novel, I’ll just go into my Top 25 and go back to baseball…And pay attention, because there’s a few changes.

1. Ohio State
2. Texas
3. Michigan
4. Southern California
5. Auburn
6. Florida
7. Louisville
8. Louisiana State
9. West Virginia
10. Clemson
11. California
12. Notre Dame
13. Georgia Tech
14. Arkansas
15. Oregon
16. Wisconsin
17. Nebraska
18. Iowa
19. Georgia
20. Boston College
21. Boise State
22. Rutgers
23. Texas A&M
24. Wake Forest
25. Pittsburgh

• Auburn showed its toughness against Florida. And I thought about this afterwards, and it looks like the voters agree, does that win by Auburn vindicate Arkansas even more? What I do know it does is elevate the dominance of the SEC, if it can be even higher. It’s a travesty if a team from the SEC doesn’t play Ohio or Michigan State for the national championship.

• I know you’re probably thinking “Well, why do you have Texas, USC and Michigan ranked ahead of the top SEC teams?” Well, let the season play out, I don’t think I’m going to feel any differently and as the weeks pass, I’ll prove it with my rankings.

• Oklahoma is not a Top 25 team when Peterson is on the sideline.

• Wisconsin’s only loss is to Michigan and after seeing them CRUSH Minnesota, I’m pretty impressed with the Badgers.

• Actually, I want to move USC down on my poll, but I don’t have the time to redo it.

• Because the Mets are rained out, I’ll try to do some more tonight if I get some free time. I’m really sorry guys, but the good news is that there’s plenty of football to be played after my baseball playoff duties are done.
  

Hey all, sorry I couldn't get this up today. With the sudden death of Cory Lidle, I was bogged down all day. My thoughts are with his family, the family of the passenger in the plane and all of those unfortunately touched by this.

I will put together my Heisman Watch on the ferry ride to Boston tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Technology is almost there. I’m currently cruising across the Long Island Sound right now on what I was told I must call “the boat with cars on it” and not a ferry.

I’m in one of these wifi “hot spots” … but it’s not so hot. It’s more like, room temperature. Well, at this point, it’s cold. When we were still docked, it was nice, I was writing emails, IMing people, researching stats, getting directions to Boston,etc.

I go down to my car, lose my connection and now I can’t get it back. Like I said, technology wants to be 100%, it just can’t be. It’s like Duante Culpepper telling Nick Saban he’s ready to roll when he’s not.

Okay, college football. I decided that Calvin Johnson is not a Top 5 Heisman candidate. I am going to use Desmond Howard as my point of reference considering he was only one of two wide receivers to win the award. Howard put up 23 touchdowns in 1991. Enough said.

Here are the guys, in order:

Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma
Running back, Junior
Take this into account: Texas likely focused the majority of its defensive efforts on Peterson, and he still had a solid game. A three- or four-touchdown performance would have all but locked it up for him, but he didn’t hurt his chances by any means.

Troy Smith, Ohio State
Quarterback, Senior
Bowling Green was a stat padding game for Smith, and that’s exactly what he did. Each passing day brings Smith one step closer to his big Heisman stage with Michigan in November.

Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois
Running back, Senior
I would love to see this guy play live. I couldn’t imagine trying to make an open-field tackle on him. Something tells me it would be tough.

Brady Quinn, Notre Dame
Quarterback, Senior
He needs to do more, more, more and his opportunities are dwindling, dwindling, dwindling.

Ray Rice, Rutgers
Running back, Sophomore
Just a couple of a weeks ago, he was my guy who was making moves (can’t do that today because I can’t get stats) and now he’s in the Top 5. If he keeps putting up 3 TDs a game, he’s going to end up with monster numbers and you’re gonna be like “where’d this guy come from” and I’ll be like “he was making moves in Week 5, but you didn’t care.”

Alright, I can’t do my guys making moves or my defensive bruisers. This baseball stuff will all be over soon and we can go back to the way it was. I want it to be like it was in the beginning. (I could write soap operas, right?)

Tomorrow evening I’ll bring the pain with my weekend preview.

For now, it’s go time for me.

Well, the Yankees are out, meaning my work is cut in half, theoretically.

Between that and my computer programs running slower than molasses because of a Windows Update (it’s gone up 15% in 90 minutes…help me please), I figured I’d respond to some comments recently left for me. So, thanks to those who read and wrote. And, if the response continues, I’ll do this more often (how often depends on the amount of responses).

And finally, I plan on doing some more recruiting stuff because I received good feedback. So stay tuned, and tomorrow I'll do my Heisman watch for Wednesday and my weekend preview on Friday after I return from Boston.

Onto the comments/questions:

By Adam Abramson

I told you it’s the most wonderful time of the year.

How awesome was the weekend? Granted, it was tough to watch the games in their entirety because of a Yankees-Mets doubleheader, but I got it done.

• Tommy Tuberville has to be eating crow down in Auburn after Saturday’s loss to Arkansas at home. During the week, he was talking to reporters about the great BCS/playoff system debate. He was already lobbying for the Tigers in case the season ended with multiple unbeatens, like it did in 2004 when Auburn was snubbed and Oklahoma was drubbed (Auburn beat Virginia Tech 16-13 in a great Sugar Bowl). Well, all of that is a moot point after Darren McFadden and Felix Jones trashed the vaunted Auburn defense. Quarterback Mitch Mustain became the first freshman to win his first four starts (surprised at that stat, but I guess freshman starters aren’t really prevalent, and when they’re around, they’re not extremely successful).

• It was a great game though. And just a few channels away, Wake Forest was giving Clemson everything it had. The Demon Deacons ran one of those end around throw back to the quarterback plays like Friday Night Lights, and it was executed to perfection – I don’t know if the throw to the back corner of the end zone (across the field, mind you) or the sliding catch was better. I’ll give the props to Riley Skinner for the catch though – it was that good.

• LSU made every mistake imaginable and gave the game to the mighty Gators. If Florida wins next week at Auburn, watch out brother. How about that mid-range jumper by Tim Tebow for a touchdown on the goal line? You don’t see that every day. I was glad to see Florida leapfrog Southern Cal in the AP poll because USC hasn’t been in top form.

• How about that Michigan-Ohio State game? Both of them are just flat out rolling. It’s building up to be a prelim national championship game. But, it’s still five weeks away (Nov. 18).

• Let me quote myself: “The only thing that has a chance at looking good in red this weekend is Adrian Peterson. Oklahoma is outmatched everywhere on the field.” I rest my case.

• Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez, the Pac 10 is awful. I could hardly stomach two minutes of the Oregon-Cal game. Not only were both uniforms atrocious, the game was just boring as all get out. It was so boring, I don’t know what to say about it.

• I told you Tennessee could run/pass/play defense better than Georgia. This game was the icing on the cake for the SEC, clearly the class of college football right now. Three great games in the conference marked the weekend while every other conference is just…eh. It would be a shame if an SEC team didn’t play for the national championship.

• And, lastly, the good news. I get to see my first live game of the year. I’m heading up to Boston to see Tech play the Golden Eagles. Let the countdown begin.
  

1. Ohio State
2. Texas
3. Florida (if UF wins next week, they’ll be No. 2)
4. Michigan
5. Southern California
6. Auburn
7. Tennessee
8. Notre Dame
9. California
10. Louisiana State
11. West Virginia
12. Georgia Tech
13. Louisville
14. Clemson
15. Iowa
16. Georgia
17. Virginia Tech
18. Arkansas
19. Nebraska
20. Oregon
21. Missouri
22. Oklahoma
23. Boise State
24. Rutgers
25. Wisconsin

That’s it. That’s all. Heisman on Wednesday this week since I’ll be out of the office on Thursday.

By Adam Abramson

I honestly think Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” was referring to college football season and not Christmas. Proof? This weekend’s lineup of games.

It all began with Florida State at North Carolina State last night. I found myself watching the game during commercial breaks of the Mets game and not making it back to Fox until there were 1 or 2 outs in the subsequent inning. Oops…

Chuck Amato is saving his job week by week with wins over Boston College and Florida State. Thursday night’s 24-20 win over the No. 17 Noles makes him 4-3 against his former mentor and employer, Bobby Bowden.

Why can’t Florida State run the ball? We’ve talked about this briefly in the past. It just baffles my mind. My Florida State guy, Mike, is also clueless and has called the lack of offense “one of the biggest surprises in the NCAA” and “I think we are due for some major coaching shake-ups this off-season.”

The most intriguing point Mike made? Florida State is 4-6 in its last 10 games:

That’s pretty intriguing. The most intriguing point I could make? Those 10 games go from 11/5/05 to 10/5/06…exactly 11 months. Weird. (Okay, not that intriguing. I tried.)

Anyway, back to Andy Williams’ alleged Christmas classic. It really is the most wonderful time of the (sports) year. Take a gander at this quintet of games:

No. 9 LSU at No. 5 Florida, 3:30
No. 7 Texas vs. No. 14 Oklahoma, 3:30
Michigan State at No. 6 Michigan, 4:30
No. 13 Tennessee at No. 10 Georgia, 7:45
No. 11 Oregon at No. 16 California, 8

There are other undercard games this weekend, but those are the main events.

• If LSU can run the ball, they’ll beat Florida. That’s been easier said than done for the Tigers this year, but I think they can rise to the challenge, even in The Swamp. Here’s my big upset.

• The only thing that has a chance at looking good in red this weekend is Adrian Peterson. Oklahoma is outmatched everywhere on the field.

• If Michigan wins this game big, Michigan State is more than done this year. I can’t see the Spartans going into the Big House and winning. I pretty much wrote off MSU after the Notre Dame game, you just don’t bounce back from catastrophes like that.

• Tennesse can run the ball better than Georgia. Tennessee can pass the ball better than Georgia. Tennessee can play defense as tough as Georgia’s. That’s all you need to know. Two SEC road upsets on one weekend.

• I picked Cal to beat Arizona State last week and it didn’t happen. I’m going with the mighty Bears again. My reason? Eh, I guess I’ll give home field advantage a try. However, if Oregon proves me wrong, I’ll start taking them seriously. I promise.
  

I gotta scoot, baseball duties beckon. As for what I’ll be watching? The list above pretty much covers it. I’ll peak in at Notre Dame-Stanford though at 2:30.

Enjoy.

I’m really sorry about this week. I wanted to do a recruiting piece, but these baseball playoffs are really handcuffing what I can do with the blog. As long as the Mets and/or Yankees are alive and kicking, I have to be baseball first.

However, I will not falter on my Friday previews, Monday recaps/poll and Thursday Heisman watch. I will try to get a head start on getting something posted next Tuesday or Wednesday.

Before I go into this week’s Heisman watch, I wanted to tell everyone that I am always open to suggestions or ideas. Just email me or leave me a comment. I’m thinking about dissecting the country’s most notorious rivalries and coming up with a list. It might take a lot of research and a scoring system…thoughts?

My top dogs, in order:

Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma
Running back, Junior
I don’t like when teams or players lose cred when they have an off week. AP holds on to the top spot because he’s just dominant. If he rips off 200 yards and 3 TDs against Texas, nobody can deny he’s the man to beat.
Last week: idle
This week: versus No. 7 Texas (in Dallas)

Troy Smith, Ohio State
Quarterback, Senior
He’s such a beast. Last weekend in Iowa was a big statement for his campaign – the Hawkeyes are no slouch on defense and he rolled over them. His TD to INT ratio? 6:1 That’s Playstation numbers that should only get better this weekend.
Last week: 16-25, 186 yards, 4 TDs at Iowa
This week: versus Bowling Green

Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois
Running back, Senior
His projected numbers through five weeks are insane: 305 carries, 2,834 yards, 26 TDs. Even more insane? His game last week, but it was against Ball State. I’m worried about his competition; he might need 5 more 300-yard games to get big boy consideration.
Last week: 31 carries, 353 yards (11.4 ypc), 3 TDs
This week: at Miami (OH)

Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech
Wide receiver, Junior
Virginia Tech tried to make a comeback against the Yellow Jackets, but Johnson’s two first-quarter touchdowns made that a moot point. I don’t know that he is containable. He needs more touches though.
Last week: 6 catches, 115 yards, 2 TDs at Virginia Tech
This week:versus Maryland

Brady Quinn, Notre Dame
Quarterback, Senior
Another day at the office for Mr. Quinn against the Boilermakers. I like the efficiency, but he has some work to do. He’s currently 41st in the country in passer rating.
Last week: 29-38, 316 yards, 2 TDs versus Purdue
This week: versus Stanford

Yeah, I know those are the same names in the same order as last week, but those are honestly the top 5 contenders right now.

Making moves:

David Ball, New Hampshire
Wide receiver, Senior
I have to give some love to this guy. His game against Dartmouth in the same company as Jerry Rice for I-AA career touchdowns. JERRY. RICE. If that’s not making moves, I don’t know what is. The Wildcats went down to Delaware and Ball had another big game, but couldn’t break the tie with Rice. Quarterback Ricky Santos has gotta make this happen.
Last week: 7 catches, 126 yards, 0 TDs versus Dartmouth
This week: versus Richmond

Defensive bruiser:

Eric Weddle, Utah
Defensive back, Junior
Don’t throw to his side of the field, just don’t. San Diego State did on September 23 and he picked off three passes, returning two for a touchdown (he also had a rushing touchdown). Boise State didn’t learn much from that game film because he picked off two more passes the following week. His backfield mate, Steve Tate, had 17 tackles against Boise State as well, it’s just too bad they lost 36-3.
Last week: 6 tackles, 2 INTs
This week: tonight versus Texas Christian

By Adam Abramson

I’m really short on time this week. With baseball playoffs beginning tomorrow, I’m pretty handcuffed over the next month, but I’m going to still try and produce a blog every weekday, but they’ll likely be abridged.

About last weekend…so much for all the heart attack games. I don’t know that anyone was pulling for Washington State more than me this side of the Mississippi. I wanted that prediction to be right so much.

Ohio State continues to show all of us why they’re the Sherman Tank that’ll roll all the way to the title game.

Oh, and the ACC is still terrible.

Below is my top 25:

1. Ohio State
2. Texas
3. Auburn
4. Florida
5. Southern California
6. Louisiana State
7. Michigan
8. Louisville
9. West Virginia
10. Notre Dame
11. Clemson
12. Georgia
13. Oregon
14. Georgia Tech
15. Tennessee
16. Oklahoma
17. Florida State
18. Virginia Tech
19. Nebraska
20. California
21. Boise State
22. Alabama
23. Rutgers
24. Missouri
25. Tennessee Titans (or Oakland Raiders) – I don’t know that they could beat any of the teams in front of them…with or without Albert Haynesworth.

I’ll close with this: did anyone notice Georgia Tech behind Virginia Tech in the coaches’ poll this week? I want to know how they came up with that one.

I’ll return.