Surprises galore in college football's first month
01.10.2007 06:00
Sport and Travel
- Source: USA Today
At the start of the season, who would have ever imagined South Florida, in only its seventh year playing major college football, in the top 10? Or 0-5 Notre Dame, with the worst start in school history, getting even worse? Or a leading Heisman Trophy candidate at Kentucky? Or that Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy would ever be introduced as "America's Head Coach?"
These are just a few of September's surprises, topped off by a weekend in which five of the top 10 teams fell. So much has changed in the last four weeks, no wonder the early upsets of the season seem like yesterday's news. Yesterday's news: Appalachian State beats Michigan. Today's story: Five top 10 teams lose in the same weekend for the first time in four years. This coming Saturday could have featured three marquee games between undefeated teams — LSU-Florida, Oklahoma-Texas and Cincinnati-Rutgers. Instead, four of those teams lost — Florida, Oklahoma, Texas and Rutgers. In Dallas, there will be more on the line in the human cannonball act at the State Fair than on the field when No. 10 Oklahoma meets No. 16 Texas at the Cotton Bowl. Though the Sooners could work themselves back into national title contention, winning the Big 12 South seems like a more realistic goal. No. 2 LSU's game against No. 7 Florida is still compelling. The Gators showed last season that they could lose to Auburn and still advance to the national championship game. "The phrase I was always taught as a young person is that a soul of a man is exposed when you get hit in the face," Florida coach Urban Meyer said Sunday. "The soul of a man isn't exposed when you pick up a crystal ball and put on a championship ring. A lot of people can do that. It's when you have to rebound from some adversity." To have a chance at upsetting the Tigers, the Gators know they have to find more offensive options than quarterback Tim Tebow running up the middle against LSU's stellar defensive line. The night before the Auburn game, offensive coordinator Dan Mullen had an emergency appendectomy, but Meyer said that didn't affect the way Mullen called the game. "He should be fine," Meyer said. The prognosis for his team's chances at a national title will be determined on Saturday. Yesterday's news: Running backs for the Heisman. Today's story: Unheralded quarterbacks for the Heisman. Much was made of all the fine running backs in contention for the Heisman: Arkansas' Darren McFadden, West Virginia's Steve Slaton, Michigan's Mike Hart, Rutgers Ray Rice, Boise State's Ian Johnson. Now that all five teams have losses (Michigan and Arkansas have two losses), the focus has shifted to Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson and Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan. Though both QBs were highly regarded entering the season, they are now front-running Heisman contenders thanks to their teams' unblemished records and top 10 rankings. Yesterday's news: Hot freshman Jimmy Clausen of Notre Dame. Today's story: Hot freshman Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech. He tied the NCAA record for touchdown catches by a freshman with 14 … in five games. Clausen's team is winless. Yesterday's news: Nick Saban. Today's story: Mike Gundy. Gundy's tirade the previous week made the Oklahoma State coach a YouTube hit. It also raised his national profile for better or worse. America's most downloaded coach was introduced as "America's Head Coach" by the public-address announcer in Stillwater before the Cowboys' victory against Sam Houston State. This weekend, his Cowboys are playing for first place in the Big 12 South when they meet Texas A&M. As for Saban, Alabama fans still love him even after two losses, but the storybook start of the season is over. Yesterday's news: The Big Ten is bad. Today's story: Pac-10 rules Though the Big Ten's conference strength is still questionable, the league has come a long way from the beating it took during Michigan's 0-2 start. No. 4 Ohio State and No. 5 Wisconsin meet in Columbus on Nov. 3, and the winner should be a contender in the national title race. Plus Michigan, the preseason conference favorite, is still unbeaten in the league. As for their bowl buddy, the Pac-10, the bloom is still on the rose. Even LSU coach Les Miles is changing his tune from disparaging words about the league in the preseason. On Sunday, after AP made his team No. 1, Miles said he thinks Southern Cal should be the top team. "I like SC's dynamic team. I believe they are underrepresented right now," he said. The league has two national title contenders in No 1 Southern California and No. 3 California. The winner of their Nov. 10 meeting in Berkeley could be in the national title game. After their slim escape at Washington on Saturday, USC, everyone's preseason No. 1, looked mortal. "We can't play like that the rest of the season, or else we'll lose like a normal team," coach Pete Carroll said. Normal? So far this season has been anything but.
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