When Kiffin was speaking to the media today he said, “These may be the only conversations that I don’t recruit in is with these guys. It’s too important for them to make the right decision. This isn’t about me, it isn’t about Tennessee.

“This is about Eric and Eric’s family, and so I told Eric from my perspective that he’s done everything that he can do. If he wants to go, this is the time to go.”

Kiffin had some very high praise for Berry adding:

“Eric has played man-to-man coverage, we’ve blitzed him, he’s played back in the middle, he’s played halves, he’s played down, so to be able to do all those things and then also play on our special teams as many snaps as he has, he’s created a lot of draft value for himself,” Kiffin said. “I think as people look at him, when you evaluate safeties a lot of times, the majority of safeties can only play one spot. They can only play free or strong because of how they’re set up.

“He’s very unique because he can play free, he can play strong or he can play nickel corner, so I would think he would go extremely high – whenever he leaves.”

Berry is currently number No. 3 on the NFL Mocks Big Board and he is slated at the No. 5 spot in the latest mock draft. When asked about his future, he admitted that his mind is made up.

“It’s kind of made up, but right now I don’t want to get into that,” Berry said. “I want to focus on Virginia Tech and just deal with that right now.

“I really just wanted to make sure there was no stone unturned. I sat down with coach Kiffin and talked about it, sat down with my family, talked with some of my close teammates and friends about the whole situation. I wanted to make sure I weighed out every possible scenario and situation that could happen.”

A week after defeating an Oregon team ranked in the top 10, the Cardinal put a whooping on another top 10 team. This time, the victim was Southern Cal.

Stanford got off to an early 14-0 lead and had a 21-7 lead at halftime. Southern Cal made some big plays in the third quarter to cut the lead to just 28-21, but, Stanford dominated the final quarter, outscoring the Trojans 27-0 in route to a 55-21 victory.

Stanford has moved in the top 20 and is arguably the hottest team in the nation. Meanwhile, Southern Cal’s quest for an eighth straight 11-win season, BCS Bowl bid and top-four finish is all but over. USC is now 4-3 in conference play and is tied for fifth in the Pac-10. Stanford still has a chance at the Rose Bowl while the Trojans may be relegated to the Emerald Bowl.

The most points ever given up by a Pete Carroll-led USC team came three weeks ago when Oregon lit up the Trojans for 47 points. Then, Stanford scored 55 points at USC Saturday. In other words, this is the worst defense that Carroll has had at USC. By far.

On the flip side, Stanford had scored 106 points in their last two games.

Many feel the Cardinal have the most-balanced offense in the entire country and they showed why on Saturday.

Quarterback Andrew Luck, a redshirt Freshman, was 12-of-22 for 144 yards with 2 TDs and 0 interceptions. Toby Gerhart continued to show that he is an elite player by rushing for 178 yards on 29 carries and scoring three touchdowns.  Gerhart was understandably excited.

“To do that against a storied program, a perennial power, it’s the greatest feeling in the world. It was just will. The offensive line just moved people. We got after them and got downhill, and it was just a good offensive day.”

Stanford rushed for 325 yards and picked up 469 total yards, while holding the Trojans to just 334 total yards. Stanford was also extremely efficient when they needed to be, converting eight of their 11 third down attempts and converting on their only fourth down try.

Stanford has just two games remaining. They play host to California in their annual rivalry game and then head back home to host Notre Dame.

Stanford is currently in a three-way tie for second place in the Pac-10. Unfortunately for the Cardinal, they lost to the two teams they are tied with – Arizona and Oregon State.

The best bet for a Stanford BCS berth would be to have Arizona lose one of their final three games. That very well could happen because the Wildcats host Oregon and then travel to Arizona State and USC. Stanford would love for Arizona to upset Oregon and lose one of their final two games because Stanford also needs Oregon to lose at least one game. The Ducks are currently in first place in the Pac-10 at 6-1.

Oregon State plays Washington State and Oregon on the road in their final two games. Wazzou is maybe the worst of any team in a BCS Conference, so it is unlikely that Beavers will drop that game. That means the Cardinal will need Oregon to defeat their rivals and lose their game this week at Arizona.

To summarize, Arizona has to beat Oregon and then lose to either USC or Arizona State and Oregon has to defeat Oregon State to get Stanford to the Rose Bowl.  It’s a complicated scenario that seems unlikely, but it’s far from impossible.

Is TCU a National Title Contender?

In the highly anticipated MWC matchup between TCU and Utah, the Horned Frogs dominated from start to finish. TCU gained 549 total yards while holding the Utes to just 284 total yards and just 65 yards rushing. The Horned Frogs rushed for 342 yards.

The game seemed like it would be a good one early on but TCU turned a 7-7 tie into a 35-7 blowout in just over six minutes spanning from the end of the first quarter into the second quarter.

Junior Quarterback Andy Dalton is playing great football for the Frogs. He’s completing 63% of his passes (149-of-236), has 2,088 yards and 17 touchdowns with just 4 interceptions. He’s making great decisions and is avoiding mistakes. He’s also rushed for 389 yards and 2 TDs.

TCU’s running game has been outstanding. Dalton has 389 yards and is just the team’s fourth leading rusher. Joseph Turner (622 yards), Ed Wesley (598 yards) and Matthew Tucker (471) make up the three-headed monster at Running Back. The team has rushed for 2,521 yards, is averaging 5.3 yards per carry and has scored 30 touchdowns.

There is a very good argument for TCU.

TCU is the only team in the country to rank in top four in both total offense and total defense, ranking fourth in both categories.

That defense is led by Defensive End Jerry Hughes, who has 49 tackles and 10 sacks. The unit is also extremely well coached by Defensive Coordinator Dick Bumpas and Head Coach Gary Patterson.

TCU has won three key road games. They won at likely ACC Atlantic Division Champion Clemson, at Virginia, and blew out conference rival BYU at Provo.

The Horned Frogs have defeated three teams currently ranked in the top 25 (Clemson, BYU, & Utah). Alabama has defeated just two teams currently ranked in the top 25 (Virginia Tech, LSU) while Florida (LSU) and Texas (Oklahoma State) have defeated just one each.

TCU isn’t just beating these teams either – they are destroying them. Outside of a close, come from behind win in Death Valley against a very talented Clemson team and a scare at Air Force, TCU has won every game by at least 16 points and is winning by an average of 26.3 points per game.

Unfortunately the Frogs need a loss by Texas to make the title game and that doesn’t seem likely. The Horns host Kansas Saturday, play at rival Texas A&M on Thanksgiving and then have 9 days to prepare for the Big 12 Championship against either Nebraska or Kansas State.  The Horns should be a heavy favorite in all three games.

TCU is one of the country’s elite team.

And they probably won’t get the chance to prove it.

FBS Notes

After disappointing losses to Southern Cal and Purdue, Ohio State is going back to the Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes were in third place in the Big 10 just two weeks ago, but after wins against second-place Penn State and first-place Iowa, the Buckeyes clinched the Big 10 title. They conclude their season in the Big House against Michigan Saturday.

Duke’s performance has been one of the stories of the season. It looked like the story would get even better after they took a 10-0 lead against ACC Coastal leader Georgia Tech. Then, the Yellow Jackets scored the game’s last 49 points, winning 49-10. Tech has clinched a spot against either Clemson or Boston College in the ACC Championship and has a week off before finishing the season against rival Georgia on November 28. The Jackets have won 8 in a row and are the BCS’ top ranked one-loss team.

Props to Redshirt Freshman QB E.J. Manuel of Florida State. He stepped in for an injured Christian Ponder and led FSU to their first win against Wake Forest in four years. On the road. He was 15-of-20 (75%) for 220 yards with 1 TD passing and 1 interception. He also had 10 carries for 45 yards and a TD rushing. If Manuel can lead the ‘Noles to a home win against Maryland Saturday, FSU will be bowl-bound after a 2-4 start.

Miami Sophomore QB Jacory Harris has now thrown 16 interceptions after his 4 interception performance against North Carolina on Saturday. Harris looks great at times but his inconsistency has cost the Canes a shot at the ACC title. Then again, without him, it’s unlikely that they would have even been in the ACC race to begin with. The media was way too quick in anointing Harris, but he is still just a true sophomore.  There is plenty of room for improvement but there is also plenty of time for improvement.

LSU is not a top-10 team. LSU nearly lost to Louisiana Tech, coming from behind to win 24-16 last weekend. The Tigers have not had an impressive win all season. Sure, they kept it close with the nation’s top two teams, Florida and Alabama, but a loss is still a loss.  Their best win is also tainted in the eyes of some because of the excessive celebration penalty called on Georgia Wide Receiver A.J. Green after Georgia took a late lead.

Houston Quarterback Case Keenum probably lost his chance at the Heisman Trophy after Houston was upset by Central Florida. Keenum threw for “only” 377 yards and 3 TDs. I would also like to congratulate UCF on their first ever win over a top 25 team. Houston entered the game ranked 15^th.

If Charlie Weis wasn’t done after the loss to Navy, he is now. Notre Dame was defeated by Pittsburgh and Weis is now just 35-25 in five seasons at Notre Dame. He’s just 6-4 against what was considered a fairly weak schedule. And with games left against Connecticut and at red-hot Stanford, it may get even worse for Weis and the Irish.

Performance of the Week:

Toby Gerhart, Running Back, Stanford

Gerhart takes home the honor for the second straight week after rushing for 178 yards on 29 carries and scoring three touchdowns, leading Stanford to a 55-21 blowout win at Southern Cal.

The Heisman Race

We have a little bit of shake-up, but the top 2 remain the same.

1. Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama
Last Week: 19 carries, 149 yards, 2 TDs
Season: 194 carries, 1,297 yards (6.7 yards per carry), 25 receptions, 225 yards, 3 TDs.

2. Colt McCoy, QB, Texas
Last Week: 23-of-34 for 181 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs
Season: 254-of-351 (72.4%), 19 TDs, 9 INTs, 1 TD rushing

3. Golden Tate, WR, Notre Dame
Last Week: 9 catches, 113 yards, 1 TD, 87-yard punt return TD
Season: 74 receptions, 1,172 yards, 11 TDs, 23 carries, 159 yards, 2 TDs, 1 punt return TD

4. Case Keenum, QB, Houston
Last Week: 33-of-56 for 377 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
Season: 358-of-514 (69.7%), 4,194 yards, 31 TDs, 6 INTs, 3 TDs rushing

5. C.J. Spiller, RB, Clemson
Last Week: 18 rushes, 97 yards, 1 TD, 3 receptions, 48 yards, 1 TD, 1-of-1, 17 yards, and a TD passing.
Season: 153 carries, 836 yards (5.5 ypc), 6 TDs, 24 receptions, 382 yards, 4 TDs, 1-of-2, 17 yards, 1 TD, 11 punt returns for 191 yards, 1 TD, 16 kickoff returns for 543 yards, 3 TDs, 1,952 all-purpose yards, 15 Total TDs.

Looking in:

Toby Gerhart, RB, Stanford
Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame
Tim Tebow, QB, Florida
Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State
Jordan Shipley, WR, Texas

My Top 25

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati
6. Boise State
7. Georgia Tech
8. Pittsburgh
9. Ohio State
10. Oregon
11. LSU
12. Iowa
13. Penn State
14. Oklahoma State
15. Wisconsin
16. Virginia Tech
17. Stanford
18. Clemson
19. Utah
20. Brigham Young
21. North Carolina
22. Houston
23. Rutgers
24. Oregon State
25. Miami (FL)

Game of the Week

#9 Ohio State @ Michigan

12:00 pm, EST, ABC

The Line: OSU – 12

Michigan came out of the gate strong, starting 4-0. The Buckeyes started the year a disappointing 5-2. Both teams have since gone in difference directions. Michigan is just 1-6 since their 4-0 start and the Buckeyes have won four straight claims and clinch the Big 10 title. Michigan has to win this game in order to become bowl eligible. If they don’t, Rich Rodriguez’s club will be home for the holidays for the second straight season – that won’t make the big wigs and boosters at Michigan happy.

Sure, the game is in the Big House, but I don’t think that matters. The Buckeyes have a better team, plain and simple.

Michigan’s defense is awful. They give up over 400 yards per game and 5.73 yards per play, ranking 89^th in the country.

Ohio State’s defense is one of the nation’s elite. It is an extremely well coached unit and is fifth in the country in total defense. The Buckeyes give up just over 258 yards per game and only 4.08 yards per play.

Michigan’s offense is improved but they still rank just 56^th in the nation. The Wolvers average less yards than they give up at 391.36. They average 5.74 yards per play. They have struggled against good defenses and Ohio State’s defense will easily be the best the Wolverines have seen.

Terrelle Pryor is playing much better as of late so I like the Buckeyes to come away with a comfortable win.

Keep an Eye On…

#11 LSU @ Ole Miss – 3

Ole Miss has been disappointing this season, losing three games after being projected as a top-10 team, but the Rebels have won 4 out of 5 after a 3-2 start and played their most complete game of the season last week against Tennessee. The Rebels dominated the Vols, 42-17. Running Back Dexter McCluster was incredible, rushing for 282 yards on 25 carries with 4 TDs against a Tennessee defense that has been very stout this season.

Both defenses are stout. LSU gives up just under 312 yards per game while the Rebels give up 313 yards per game. Both units are extremely talented and it will likely come down to which offense can make more plays.

LSU’s offense is awful. The Tigers rank 107^th in the country in total offense. They average just 310 yards per game. Ole Miss’ offense has had a lot of trouble with turnovers and inconsistent play from QB Jevon Snead, but they have been a much better unit then the Tigers. They rank 41^st in the nation, gaining 405 yards per game and 5.96 yards per play.

California @ #17 Stanford – 7

If you haven’t seen the balance of their Stanford offense led by Quarterback Andrew Luck and Running Back Toby Gerhart, do yourself a favor and check it out.

We should see some points in the “Big game.” Both defenses have had several lapses but both offenses are capable of scoring points.

It looks like Stanford should come away with the victory, but this is a rivalry game and Cal is a very talented team.

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger and a contributor at NFL Mocks Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily.)

Miami Quarterback Jacory Harris overcame a dreadful start to lead the Hurricanes to a 21-20 victory over Oklahoma in front of a crowd of 45,000 at Landshark Stadium Saturday night.

Harris started the night off about as bad as he possibly he could. Harris threw an interception on each of Miami’s first two drives that helped Oklahoma get out to an early 10-0 lead. Harris would bounce back, finishing the game 19-28 for 202 yards and three touchdowns. Harris did not throw another interception.

With Heisman-winning Quarterback Sam Bradford still unable to play due to a right shoulder injury and All-American Tight End Jermaine Gresham already out for the season, the Sooners got another huge blow. Senior Wide Receiver Ryan Broyles, who entered the game 22 receptions for 309 yards and an impressive seven touchdowns in just four games, fractured his left shoulder blade and had to leave the game with the Sooners ahead. Broyles is the Sooners’ leading receiver and after he exited the game, Landry Jones and the Oklahoma offense started to fall apart and never really got back into their groove. Oklahoma was forced to use Running Back Mosis Madu as a Wide Receiver and had only one real reliable target throughout the night in Wide Receiver Cameron Kenney, who entered the game with just three career receptions.

Oklahoma had a lot of success running the ball. DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown combined for 151 yards on 34 carries, but Stoops and company kept trying to move the ball through the air. Strange thing to do when you have a redshirt freshman Quarterback out there.

Mark Whipple’s Miami offense also probably threw the ball a little too much, but with all of the success Whipple has had thus far, it’s hard to question his play-calling. Graig Cooper could not get going, rushing for just 21 yards on eight carries, but his teammate in the backfield, Javarris James, had a career-high 150 yards on 15 carries.

Oklahoma was down by just four and faced a 4^th down on Miami’s 22 with 4:18 to go. Rather than go for it and take the lead, Stoops opted to kick a Field goal to cut the lead to one. Thanks to a good running game, a gutsy call by Mark Whipple and an excellent throw by Jacory Harris, Oklahoma wouldn’t see the ball again.

Stoops’ big game strategies and abilities used to never be called into question, but after his recent string of big game losses that include three losses in BCS National Title games, one has to wonder what Stoops is thinking with some of his decisions.

Miami is obviously one of the most improved teams in the country and I admire Randy Shannon for all of the adversity that he is overcome, but I still think he has some work to do as a game day coach. But, with Shannon’s excellent recruiting abilities and his fantastic coaching hires (especially the hiring of Offensive Coordinator Mark Whipple, who has turned the offense around), he has put himself in an excellent position to be successful.

Harris still struggles when he has pressure put on him. He threw two interceptions early on and had a dropped interception that would have certainly been a pick-six. When Harris is protected, he makes excellent decision and is one very good Quarterback. His offensive line kept him clean throughout the second half, which enabled the ‘Canes to win the game. I don’t necessarily think that Miami is “back.” Miami being back, by their standards, makes them one of the five best teams in the nation every year. The ‘Canes aren’t quite there yet as evidenced by their blowout loss at Virginia Tech, but the team is very close and is no doubt on the right track.

Cal – The Most Overhyped Team in the Nation?

California entered the season with a top-10 ranking, a Heisman contender Running Back and lofty expectations. It took just a few weeks to take Cal out of the top 25 all together.

A week after being destroyed at Oregon, the Bears returned home to face Southern Cal in what was supposed to be the biggest game in the Pac-10 this season.

If it was, somebody forgot to tell the Bears. Cal was embarrassed for the second straight week, losing to Southern Cal 30-3. Jahvid Best managed just 47 yards this week, nine less than he had at Oregon a week ago. If his Heisman campaign didn’t come to an end last week, it has now.

Southern Cal, whose offense has struggled throughout the entire season, put up 457 yards. Freshman Quarterback Matt Barkley was 20-35 for a career-high 283 yards, while Cal Quarterback Kevin Riley completed just 15 of his 40 pass attempts. Southern Cal built a 20-point halftime lead and never looked back.

Cal’s Pac-10 title hopes are all but over while Southern Cal has a chance not only to win the Pac-10, but to get back into the BCS National Title picture as well.

“That’s how we play,”  USC Senior Safety Taylor Mays said. “We know what we have in the locker room, and we’ve been playing close to our potential for the last few weeks.”

USC’s October 24^th matchup at Oregon and their date with Stanford this November in the Coliseum should decide the Trojans’ fate in the Pac-10.

Cincinnati Continues to Fly Under the Radar

With an NFL quality Quarterback, Tony Pike, an NFL quality Wide Receiver, Marshawn Gilyard, maybe the hottest coach in the country, Brian Kelly and a 5-0 record, you’d think Cincinnati would be talked about by every pundit and analyst in the country.

They’re not.

If you look at the team’s overall body of work so far in the season, few teams have been as impressive as Cincinnati. They started the season with a blowout 47-15 win over Big East rival Rutgers, a team that many expect to contend for a Big East title .

The Bears then went out to Corvallis and came away with a very impressive road win over Oregon State, ending the Beavers’ 26-game home win streak over nonconference opponents. It is never easy to go across the country and play a football game, especially when you face a perennial Bowl team who rarely loses at home.

Cincinnati has given both Rutgers and Oregon State their only loss.

Cincinnati struggled with Fresno State, but Fresno is a team that took Wisconsin to overtime at Camp Randall Stadium and for the most part, kept up with Boise State.

I’m not calling Cincinnati a serious national title contender – they’re not – but they have been quite impressive and Head Coach Brian Kelly deserves all the credit in the world for what he has done with Cincinnati’s football program.

We will see what the Bearcats are really made of a week from Thursday when they take on the unbeaten South Florida Bulls, fresh off road wins over Florida State and Syracuse. The Big East will officially have a front runner after that game.

Auburn’s Offense Continues to Impress

What happens when you a dump a coach who has had great success and even turn in an undefeated season (Tommy Tuberville) and sign a coach who has had one major head coaching gig  and went 5-19 over those two seasons (Gene Chizik)?

A 5-0 start, of course.

Auburn has been one of the most surprising teams in the country this season. Gene Chizik’s first move was his best move. Chizik hired Offensive Coordinator Gus Malzahn. Under Malzahn, the Tigers are averaging 512.8 yards of offense per game. Auburn currently has the fifth ranked offense in all of college football after ranking 104^th a season ago when the Tigers finished 5-7.

The Tigers defeated Tennessee in Neyland Stadium on Saturday by a final score of 26-22. Auburn was in control throughout the game, allowing 16 of Tennessee’s points to come in the 4^th quarter. This included a touchdown by Tennessee that came with no time remaining when the game was no longer in doubt.

After a shaky 2008 in which he split time with Kodi Burns, Auburn decided on Chris Todd as their starting Quarterback.

Good decision.

He is completing nearly 60% of his passes and has 12 touchdowns and just one interception. He had just five touchdowns and six interceptions last season.

Former starting Quarterback Kodi Burns isn’t being left out. He is 3-of-7 with 46 yards and a touchdown out of the Wildcat formation. He also has rushed for 83 yards and four touchdowns.

Running Back Ben Tate has 540 yards on 97 carries and his backup, Onterio McCalebb has 416 yards on 67 carries. Auburn is running and passing the ball with great efficiency.

We thought we’d have a three-horse race in the SEC West and after Ole Miss’ slip-up at South Carolina, it seemed like Alabama and LSU jumped to the front of the pack. Well, they may have company in the Auburn Tigers.

Performance of the Week

Donald Buckram, Running Back, UTEP

Buckram rushed for an astounding 262 yards and four TDs in UTEP’s 58-41 upset win over the 12^th ranked Houston Cougars.

The Heisman Race

It wasn’t a big week for the Heisman contenders.

Both Texas Quarterback Colt McCoy and Florida Quarterback Tim Tebow had bye weeks.

Houston Quarterback Case Keenum had another huge game, going 51-76 for 536 yards, 5 TDs and 0 interceptions. Seems like that would boost him up the list, right? Wrong. Houston was defeated by UTEP 58-41. On a team like Houston, if you lose a game to a UTEP team that Colt McCoy’s Longhorns beat down 64-7, you fall out of the race. It’s unfortunate for Keenum because the loss was not his fault – there’s not much more he could have done.

As I mentioned earlier, Cincinnati Quarterback Tony Pike continues to impress. He passed for 270 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception in a 34-13 win over Miami (OH) Saturday.

Notre Dame Quarterback Jimmy Clausen is flying up the charts after another big game. He had 422 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception in the Fighting Irish’s comeback overtime victory over Washington. Clausen has 1544 yards, 12 touchdowns and 2 interceptions and is completing 67.6% of his passes on the year.

My Top 25

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. LSU
5. Virginia Tech
6. Cincinnati
7. Boise State
8. USC
9. Miami
10. Ohio State
11. TCU
12. Oregon
13. Iowa
14. Oklahoma State
15. Penn State
16. Auburn
17. Kansas
18. South Carolina
19. South Florida
20. Nebraska
21. Brigham Young
22. Georgia Tech
23. Ole Miss
24. Wisconsin
25. Oklahoma

Game Of The Week

#1 Florida @ #4 LSU, 8 PM EST, CBS

The Line: Florida – 8.5

With Florida Quarterback Tim Tebow’s status up in the air, I’m surprised that the line is so high. I know that LSU has struggled and Florida returns the majority of their two-deep from the team that won the 2008 National Championship, but 8.5 points is a huge spread for any team going into Death Valley, especially at night. LSU has won 32 straight night home games.

This is a difficult game to gauge because of the unknown status of 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.

Florida has had it easy outside of a closer than expected win against Tennessee while LSU has, for the most part, struggled. They needed a goal-line stand to defeat Mississippi State and had to score with under a minute to go to defeat Georgia last week.

I think, because of some close wins against inferior competition, LSU has flown under the radar, but the Tigers are already 3-0 in the SEC and have two impressive road wins, defeating Washington, who is just 2-3, but is 2-0 at home, and Georgia, whom the Tigers defeated 20-13 in Athens. Georgia scored 41 and 52 points in their first two SEC contests against South Carolina and Arkanas, but were unable to get on the score board until the fourth quarter against the Tigers. LSU shut down the Georgia running game and really only allowed one offensive player – superstar Wide Receiver AJ Green, to do much damage against them. LSU ran fairly well throughout the game. These close games could work to LSU’s advantage because they have proven they know how to win these games and should be confident when a game comes down to the wire.

There are a few keys for LSU if they want to win this game.

The Tigers must slow down Florida’s running game. They have averaged more rushing yards than any team in the country (307.5 yards per game)

This will force Florida’s Quarterback, whether it’s Tebow or his backup, John Brantley, into throwing to their unproven Wide Receivers against LSU’s talented secondary.

LSU must establish the run themselves and have Quarterback Jordan Jefferson play extremely smart football. This will allow LSU to control the football and keep the Gator offense off of the field.

Unfortunately, I don’t trust Jordan Jefferson and the Tigers offense to do that. I’ll take LSU to cover but Florida to win the game.

Upset Alert

Boston College @ #5 Virginia Tech – 13.5

The Eagles are coming off an emotional win against Florida State and Virginia Tech struggled to defeat Duke last week. The Eagles will be full of confidence and have traditionally played the Hokies tough. Although Boston College has lost two straight ACC Championship games to the Hokies, the Eagles have defeated the Hokies three straight times during the regular season. I like the Eagles to keep it close, but in the end, I think Tech has too much talent for the Eagles to match.

#22 Georgia Tech @ Florida State -2.5

Seriously, who decided to make FSU a favorite? Not only have they looked awful in their last two games (losses to USF and BC), but now there are rumors of Bobby Bowden retiring or being forced out and dissent among the coaching staff.

#2 Alabama – 6.5 @ #23 Ole Miss

Before the season, this was billed as the game of the year in the SEC West. Ole Miss nearly took down Alabama last year in Tuscaloosa. Ole Miss Quarterback Jevan Snead will have to have a phenomenal game and that is something that he is yet to do this season. Still, Ole Miss has enough talent and the home crowd behind them to pull the upset if Alabama makes some mistakes, but Alabama Quarterback Greg McElroy has played excellent football, so I wouldn’t bet on the Tide’s offense making too many mistakes.

Georgia @ Tennessee – 2

Someone explain to me why Tennessee is favored.

#25 Wisconsin @ #10 Ohio State -13.5

The Badgers gave Ohio State all they could handle last year before Terrelle Pryor’s game-winning touchdown run late in the 4^th quarter last year and have traditionally given the Buckeyes trouble. With that being said, it will be difficult to knock off the Buckeyes at home, but I can see the Badgers covering.

#13 Oregon – 6.5 @ UCLA

Oregon has to be riding high. They are 4-0 since their loss at Boise State, knocking off two consecutive ranked teams (Utah, Cal) and then blowing out Washington State 52-6 last week. The Ducks go to Washington, host USC and travel to Stanford from October 24^th-Novemeber 7^th in a stretch that will decide their season. Unfortunately for the Bruins, Oregon has a bye next week, so will not be looking ahead. UCLA is much improved. They had back to back wins at Tennessee and against Kansas State before dropping a game at Stanford last week 24-16. Kevin Craft has played fairly well for the Bruins since taking over at Quarterback against Kansas State and the UCLA defense has been very good outside of Toby Gerhart’s 134-yard performance for Stanford last week. If UCLA can play keep away from the Oregon offense, they have a chance.

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger an an avid college football fan. Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily.)

Heavily Favored Trojans Go Down (Again)

Once again USC lost to an overmatched conference foe. This time, the Washington Huskies took down the Trojans. Don’t get me wrong, Washington is a very improved team. They played the 7th ranked LSU Tigers very tough. Steve Sarkisian is going to put this former power program back on the map, but they aren’t there yet making this a game that USC should not have lost. Then again, neither was Oregon State in ’08, neither was Stanford in ’07, and neither was UCLA in 2006, but the Trojans still managed to lose each game. Had they won any of these games, they would have played for the National Championship. If we are going to get on Jim Tressel for losing big games, shouldn’t we get on Pete Carroll for losing one of these games every year? Carroll is a great coach and a great recruiter, but shouldn’t we put some of the blame on him? His team should be able to get up before every game and even if they don’t, they should be able to recover in time to win these games against such lesser teams. This can’t all be on the players. This is more of a coaching issue.

Sure, we can blame the loss on Matt Barkley being hurt and Aaron Corp making his first career start and sure we can blame it on Steve Sarkisian, USC’s former Offensive Coordinator and the coaches that he took with him to Washington from USC but those are just more excuses for a football program that shouldn’t need to make up excuses. The athletes that USC recruits are just too talented to lose games like this. Southern Cal needs to start winning these games and if they don’t, Pete Carroll will never claim his second BCS championship.

Moral Victory?

After Lane Kiffin and his Tennessee Volunteers lost to the Florida Gators for the fifth straight season, many experts are calling it a moral victory for Kiffin’s squad because the top ranked Gators only beat the Vols 23-13. What? Is that what the once-proud Tennessee program has come to? Celebrating losses? When should a loss to one of your top rivals ever be considered a moral victory?

I do agree that Tennessee’s defense played very well, but they played very well in 2008 against the Gators in a 30-6 loss as well. This is why I don’t understand why the way Tennessee played defense is suddenly a blueprint on how take down the Gators. Actually, Tennessee’s defense only allowed 243 total yards in 2008 and allowed 323 yards this year. In fact, Tebow had a lower completion percentage, less yards rushing and less yards passing in their 2008 meeting. Had Tebow not uncharacteristically fumbled in the fourth quarter while Florida had a 23-6 lead, it’s likely the end result would have been the same 30-6 score.

Can Florida Be Beaten?

Monte Kiffin is an incredible defensive mind, but I’m not sure that his scheme is what made the Vols play so well on defense. Instead I believe it was players like LB Rico McCoy, All-American Safety Eric Berry and a pretty good Tennessee pass rush.

Do I agree that Florida could have some problems? Yes. I think they can potentially be run on up the middle if a team has a really dominating offensive line and you can use a ball-control offense to keep the ball out of Tebow’s hands. This running game could open up the play-action pass, but Tennessee’s Jonathan Crompton and his WRs were not good enough to take advantage of this situation. Then again, with Florida’s talent in the back 7 and their pass rush, I’m not sure a team even could take advantage of this anyway. Sam Bradford and Oklahoma’s high scoring offense didn’t seem to be able to, scoring just 14 points in last season’s BCS Championship game. With Brandon Spikes in the middle, he could make up for an opposing team that  is strong up the middle in their line and has a good running game. And like the rest of the team, they are still very capable players in the middle of Florida’s defensive line. Still, there is hope for the rest of nation – no team is unbeatable, but Florida is and should be the odds on favorite to win it all right now. Florida does need to find a playmaker at WR to replace Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy. They thought they had one in Freshman Andre Debose, but he is out for the season with a hamstring injury. There is talent there, but no one really stepped up on Saturday.

Is the U “Back?”

Most experts and pundits have already answered this question with a resounding yes. I nearly put them in my top 5. Yes, they were a dropped pass away from losing their opening game to rival Florida State but came away with a 38-34 victory on the road. Miami’s defense had as much trouble stopping Christian Ponder and FSU as they had stopping Miami, but FSU’s blowout win over BYU helps Miami’s raise Miami’s stock quite a bit. After Florida State dropped 54 points in Provo against the Cougars, Miami’s defense doesn’t look so bad.

The ‘Canes then took on a team in Georgia Tech that scored 41 points and gained an astounding 421 yards rushing and took a 41-10 lead into the fourth quarter last season. Last Thursday was very different. After a nice 13 play, 45 yard drive to open the game that netted a field goal, Georgia Tech couldn’t get much going. Miami answered with a quick four play, 75 yard drive that ended in a Jacory Harris touchdown pass and the ‘Canes never looked back. Miami held the Jackets to just 94 yards rushing. Last year’s ACC Offensive Player of the Year, Jonathan Dwyer had just seven yards on five carries.

Jacory Harris has been the story for the ‘Canes. So far he’s completing 69.5% of his passes, is passing for 328 yards per game, has thrown 5 TDs and has 2 interceptions, but the ‘Cane’s defense is what will make or break the season. If they can keep playing the way they played Thursday night, they will be hard to beat. Saturday will be their offense’s toughest test as they face the Virginia Tech Hokies in Lane Stadium.

So Much for the MWC and the BCS

The Mountain West Conference has tried to get an automatic bid into the BCS, but has been unsuccessful in their bid thus far. Maybe now we know why.

The MWC has had one team (Utah) win two BCS bowl games. The ’04 Utes lead by Alex Smith went undefeated and destroyed Pittsburgh 35-7 in the Fiesta Bowl. Last year’s Utes were even more impressive. They finished their season with a Sugar Bowl win over Alabama 31-17. The Utes beat an Alabama team that finished the 2008 regular season unbeaten.

The 2009 Utes had their 16 game winning streak snapped by the Oregon Ducks on Saturday, losing 31-24 in Autzen Stadium. Utah cut a 21-7 deficit to 28-24 but the Utes could not get any closer. Utah gave up 217 yards rushing to an Oregon team that is without starting RB LeGarrette Blount for the remainder of the season. Oregon isn’t exactly a powerhouse team either. They opened the season by being dominated by Boise State. Then they barely survived a game against a bad Purdue team last week. Utah fell out of the top 25 after previously being ranked 18th.

It was even worse for the 7th ranked BYU Cougars. After upsetting Oklahoma 14-13 and then dismantling Tulane 54-3, national title talk emerged in Provo. That talk quickly went away after the Cougars were blown out at home by Florida State. Christian Ponder and company scored early and often in route to a 54-28 victory over BYU in Provo. The Cougars gave up 512 total yards, including 313 yards rushing. The Seminole defense all forced five turnovers, including three Max Hall interceptions. So, not only did BYU’s BCS hopes come crashing down but so did Max Hall’s Heisman hopes. He now has as many touchdowns as he does interceptions (Six). The Seminoles on the other hand, made people forget about their terrible performance against Jacksonville State (a 19-9 win in which they trailed with a minute left), put themselves back into the top 25 and back onto the national radar. Who wouldn’t love to see Miami-FSU part 2 in Tampa for the ACC Championship?

TCU is still unbeaten but probably doesn’t have the schedule to get into the BCS. TCU must travel to BYU and host Utah in conference. TCU handled one of the two worst teams in the ACC, Virginia, but face their stiffest test this Saturday in Memorial Stadium against the Clemson Tigers. Clemson is a three-point favorite.

Why Give Love to Notre Dame?

Call me unimpressed. Jimmy Clausen has been very good but his team has not. After being unable to stop Michigan’s True Freshman QB Tate Forcier virtually all game in a 38-34 loss in the big house, Notre Dame allowed 30 points against the Michigan State Spartans. They would be just 1-2 if Larry Caper would have been able to haul in a pass from MSU QB Kirk Cousins. At worst, MSU would have tied the game if not for Cousins’ ill-advised pass on 2nd and 10 at the Irish 18 yard line that was picked off by Kyle McCarthy. Remember, this was a Michigan State team fresh off of a loss at home against Central Michigan.

Now, Notre Dame’s top big-play Wide Receiver this season, Michael Floyd is out for the season after breaking his collar bone on a near touchdown. Floyd had just 13 receptions in the first three games, but those 13 receptions went for 358 yards and five TDs. Golden Tate is a very good WR, but now another target outside of TE Kyle Rudolph must step up. Notre Dame’s defense needs to improve a lot after giving up a combined 68 points to Michigan and Michigan State.

Charlie Weis may have saved his job for another week, but I’m not sure how long he can keep this up, because Notre Dame’s easy schedule suddenly doesn’t seem as easy. Michigan was supposed to be a win for the Irish. After playing at Purdue, the Irish must deal with Washington, which was probably checked off as a win before the Huskies upset USC. They also must play USC and Boston college, a team they have lost six straight times to, at home. They have road trips to Pittsburgh and an improved Stanford team. Sure, there schedule isn’t overly difficult but with the way their defense is playing, there is still potential for what would be an extremely disappointing 8-4 season.

Performance of the Week

Greg Paulus, QB, Syracuse

The former Duke Point Guard playing in just his third career college football game had two turnovers, but made up for it by going 24-35 for 346 yards with two TDs. Paulus also rushed for a TD in a 37-34 upset win over Northwestern. After taking a 27-21 lead, the Orange feel behind 34-27. Paulus lead his team on a six play, 70-yard drive that ended with a 13 yard TD pass from Paulus to Mike Williams (who was also outstanding, catching 11 balls for 209 and two TDs). After Syracuse intercepted a pass, Paulus started his final drive on the Northwestern 39. He completed two more passes to set up the game winning field goal, a 41 yarder by Ryan Lichtenstein as time expired giving Paulus and the Orange their first win.

The Heisman Favorite

As good as QBs Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy are, neither has played up to their potential this season. Tebow was rather pedestrian in his first “real” game of the season against Tennessee after playing two cupcakes, passing for just 115 yards, rushing for 76 yards and turning the ball over twice (one Interception, one fumble). Tebow is 39-58 for 540 yards with five TDs and one interception in three games. He has 148 yards rushing and three TDs. McCoy threw one TD and two interceptions against rival Texas Tech and is 75-110 with 859 yards through three games. He has six TDs and four interceptions. He also has one rushing TD.

Jahvid Best, the junior RB from California, has been the nation’s best player so far. I’m not sold on Cal but I am certainly sold on Best as the nation’s best back. He rushed for 131 yards and FIVE TDs as Cal avoided the upset at Minnesota. Best has 412 yards on just 53 attempts this season. That’s an average of 7.8 yards per carry which is actually down from his 8.1 ypc last season. Best has eight TD runs. He also has seven catches for 59 yards and another TD, giving him eight total.

If Best does not keep it up in Cal’s next two contests, which are probably the Bear’s two biggest games of the year, at Oregon and home against USC, Miami QB Jacory Harris and Houston QB Case Keenum could get into the race. With all that being said, I expect both Tebow and McCoy’s numbers to improve throughout the season.

My Top 10

It’s early for any kind of top 10. Many teams on this list (Florida, Cal, Penn State, & Ole Miss) are yet to be really tested. Ole Miss, Penn State, and Cal all face top 25 caliber teams this week, so things should become a little clearer after the weekend. This is a mix of pre-season expectations and current performance.

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. California
5. LSU
6. Miami
7. Penn State
8. Ole Miss
9. Boise State
10. Cincinnati

Game of the Week for September 26

Miami @ Virginia Tech

The Line: Miami -2.5

College GameDay will be at College Station to cover Iowa and Penn State, but they should be making the trip to Blacksburg. Then again, Kirk Herbstreit isn’t announcing the Miami-Virginia Tech.

Virginia Tech QB Tyrod Taylor has really struggled this season but made big plays when he had to last Saturday against Nebraska. First, Taylor scrambled and found Danny Coale on an 81 yard pass with just over a minute to go. Then, just three plays later, he avoided several tackles and extended a 3rd and goal with his feet before throwing an 11-yard touchdown to Dyrell Roberts. Taylor has to be MUCH more consistent if the Hokies want to have any shot at defeating the Hurricanes.

The Hokies will give Jacory Harris his toughest test defensively, but Harris has been fantastic this season and has handled just about everything anyone has thrown at him. The ‘Canes also seem to have found their running game, rushing for 184 yards against Georgia Tech.

Virginia Tech will have to rely on the run and after the way Miami defended Georgia’s Tech powerful rushing attack, I’m going to have pick the ‘Canes to cover, leave Blacksburg unbeaten and continue their surprising early season run.

Ole Miss on Upset Alert

South Carolina +5 over Ole Miss

Ole Miss has yet to prove themselves. South Carolina defeated a probable bowl bound NC State team in their house with an incredible defensive effort, winning 7-3. The offense got back on track a week later, but the Gamecocks came up just short as they failed to convert a 4th and goal inside Georgia’s 10 yard line and lost 41-37. Junior QB Stephen Garcia has shown improvement since the first game. He has 683 yards and is completing 62.7% of his passes compared with a 53.3 completion % last season. He has three TDs and two interceptions.

Rebel QB Jevan Snead does have 5 TDs and 384 yards but Ole Miss has played Memphis and Southeastern Louisiana so far. Snead struggled against the Tigers, throwing two interceptions in a 45-14 win. Ole Miss has a very tough run defense and South Carolina has just seemed to find their running game, improving each week, and rushing for 287 yards in a win over Florida Atlantic last week.

I think Steve Spurrier may have finally found his Quarterback and the home crowd combined with a Thursday night atmosphere will give 4th ranked Mississippi their first loss of the season.

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger and an avid college football fan. Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily.)

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#	+/-		Team	Comment
1	–		Georgia Bulldogs	I have to rank Georgia as #1, only because they beat Florida last year when Tim Tebow had a bummed shoulder. The battle in Jacksonville between the two SEC East rivals will be great theater.
2	–		Florida Gators	Tim Tebow did everything last season but he won’t have to this year. Chris Rainey is probably going to emerge as a star beside Cornelius Igram and Percy Harvin in the nation’s most potent offense.
3	–		USC Trojans	USC is the program every athletic director in the country wished they had. With Mark Sanchez under center the Trojans are once again loaded with talent and should run through the Pac 10 with ease.
4	–		Ohio State Buckeyes	Back to back national championship games and back to back embarrasing losses to SEC teams once they get there. Don’t even begin to ask me why two SEC teams are ahead of the Buckeyes.
5	–		Oklahoma Sooners	What Sam Bradford did last season was amazing, but he was overshadowed by Tebow’s record breaking year and the fact that OU has struggled in recent BCS games. Expect them to bounce back in a big way this year.
6	–		West Virginia Mountainners	You are reading it here first (gulp)….Noel Devine will be better than Steve Slaton was during his career if he can stay out of trouble in Morgantown. He has all the talent in the world.
7	–		Clemson Tigers	Here’s the team I think could surprise a lot of people this year. They’ve probably got the most talented backfield in all of college football; Cullen Harper, James Davis, and C. J. Spiller.
8	–		Missouri Tigers	Chase Daniel led Missouri to a #1 ranking going into the Big 12 Title game last year. This year their goal is to prove that last season was no fluke. They have the talent to do that very thing.
9	–		Wisconsin Badgers	Is Wisconsin really the nation’s 9th best team? I feel as if there is a small bit of separation between the top eight and the next tier of teams. The Badgers have P. J. Hill and Travis Beckum and they seem like a good place to start.
10	–		Texas Longhorns	I actually like Colt McCoy, although it seems no one outside of Texas does. The big question for the Longhorns is at running back after losing Jamaal Charles to the NFL Draft.
11	–		Auburn Tigers	Kodi Burns will be the starting QB for Auburn, and the Tigers should be very good. The SEC West race appears wide open and should be Auburn’s for the taking.
12	–		LSU Tigers	The first problem in Baton Rouge is trying to find a replacement to Ryan Perrilloux. It appears Harvard transfer Andrew Hatch will fill that spot. With that talented defense it may not matter who starts at QB for the defending national champions.
13	–		Kansas Jayhawks	Were the Jayhawks a fluke last season? I sure hope not. Quarterback Todd Reesing is the real deal when it comes to running the spread offense.
14	–		Texas Tech Red Raiders	I keep talking about how WR Michael Crabtree is a can’t miss prospect. At least I’m not the only one who thinks that way, I actually heard ESPN college football analyst Joe Schad say that Crabtree could catch 30 TD passes this year.
15	–		South Florida Bulls	I am a Matt Grothe fan. The kid has a great arm and understands the game of football. Plus somebody has to challenge West Virginia in the Big East right? Why not the team that actually beat the Mountaineers last season?
16	–		Virginia Tech Hokies	The ACC looks like it is headed for another very down season. Despite losing Brandon Ore by dismissal the Hokies should still be one of the favorites to win the conference.
17	–		BYU Cougars	The next tier of the top 25 seems to be here. BYU has the nation’s longest winning streak and is led by quarterback Max Hall. Their battle against Utah to end their regular season November 22nd could be for a BCS bowl.
18	–		Tennessee Volunteers	The Volunteers are the 5th SEC team already listed here, and yet people ask who the strongest conference is. Last year they made the SEC Championship game after blowout losses to Florida & Alabama, so there’s no telling what to expect.
19	–		Utah Utes	I really think that either BYU or Utah will be playing in a BCS Bowl game at the end of the season. The Utes get both TCU and BYU at home, so they should be favored in both of their tough games.
20	–		Arizona State Sun Devils	Rudy Carpenter and the Sun Devils are out to prove that their amazing turnaround in 2007 was a fluke ( a word I’ve used a lot in this article). They play both USC and Georgia, which means they will be a team to watch.
21	–		Penn State Nittany Lions	I’ve seen Penn State ranked as high as the top ten by some experts’ rankings and as low as completely outside the top 25 in others. I think Maurice Evans will be great, but can they find a succesfful quarterback?
22	–		Michigan State Spartans	Even losing Devin Thomas I think the Spartans can be very good in 2008. If they can win their opener at California and survive games against teams they should beat (ND & IND) then they could get Ohio State at home at 7-0. Think of that OSU fans.
23	–		Fresno State Bulldogs	The last two seasons WAC teams have made BCS Bowl games. This year Pat Hill’s bunch has a tough schedule; Rutgers, UCLA, Wisconsin, & Boise State but if they can somehow manage to escape those four with one loss then they should be in the top 15 when the final polls are released in January.
24	–		Illinois Fighting Illini	Quarterback Juice Williams is very inconsistent but if he can play well all season (which I know he is capable of) then Illinois has a chance to play in the Rose Bowl again.
25	–		Pittsburgh Panthers	LeSean McCoy is one of the nation’s best running backs, but he will have to carry this Panthers offense. Last year he ran for 1,328 yards and 14 TDs.

QB | RB | WR | TE | T | G/C | DT | DE | LB | CB | S | K | P

1. Chris Wells (Ohio State)* Round Projection: Early-Middle 1st Wells has been great at Ohio State and should have another fantastic season for the Buckeyes. Expect him to go in round one unless he just completely falls off the map.

	2. Knowshon Moreno (Georgia)* Round Projection: Middle 1st He’s young and was redshirted as a Freshman so he is illegible here. Not sure if he will leave or not but if he does the NFL scouts will love him. He’s a powerful runner and he’s quick when he gets in the open field.
	3. C. J. Spiller (Clemson) Round Projection: 1st-2nd You’ve got think that one of the two great running backs from Clemson will go high in the draft. Will it be Spiller or James Davis? Right now it looks like Spiller is the better pro prospect.
	4. LeSean McCoy (Pittsburgh)* Round Projection: 2nd-5th A lot of people like McCoy’s chances to make a run at the Heisman this year. He makes good cuts and accelerates quick when he finds the open field.
	5. James Davis (Clemson) Round Projection: 2nd-6th His stock is up and down, it just depends on who you talk to. We will learn more about him, and his teammate C. J. Spiller, during the season.
	6. Jason Ringer (Michigan State) Round Projection: 2nd-6th Another guy all over the map. Most people believe he will go in the first three rounds but this isn’t exactly the strongest batch of running backs I’ve ever seen.
	7. Marion Lucky (Nebraska) Round Projection: 3rd-6th Lucky can move up considerably in this draft if he plays well this season. He’s another player a lot of guys are really high while other guys aren’t high on him.
	8. Arian Foster (Tennessee) Round Projection: 5th-7th Foster ran for 1,159 yards and 12 touchdowns last year which is pretty impressive numbers against the defenses of the SEC.
	9. P. J. Hill (Wisconsin) Round Projection: 5th-7th Hill is a very powerful running back and runs an incredible 4.64 40 yard dash. He’s not very fast though and that will hurt his stock. He will be like Brandon Jacobs in the NFL.
	10. Andre Brown (North Carolina State) Round Projection: 5th-7th Just call this a hunch. He’s recovering from a broken foot but ran well before he broke it last season. I think he will bounce back and be a good NFL running back