My alma mater one of the most hated in the country, the Ohio State University almost gave most people some major excitement as Navy damn near pulled off a late fourth quarter miracle. A record setting 85 yard touchdown pass by the Midshipmen combined with a fourth down stop in field goal territory and an interception in Buckeye territory showed why players need to focus for 60 minutes. The Buckeyes won due to superior talent on the scoreboard but in the locker room and on campus I am sure they are feeling the wrath of underachievement.
In the late Saturday match-ups Virginia Tech almost pulled off the miracle being out gained by Alabama by better than 3-1 but again counted on a special teams touchdown return and timely penalties to nearly pull of the upset of the Crimson Tide it the Georgia Dome. Just like the Buckeye game this should have been a blow out but shows why you play the game for 60 minutes because in today's game where the level of athletes is so prolific on the high school level there is little difference between the Alabama recruit and the Virginia Tech recruit. Granted Tech has been a tough program for a long time but when Bama comes a callin' an athlete cannot ignore the history that includes Joe "Willie" Namath, Ken "The Snake" Stabler, Bear Bryant, two time Super Bowl MVP Bart Starr and these are guys from the 50's, 60's, and 70's!
Speaking of throw back games, Florida State versus Miami! Either both teams have piss poor defenses or there is some talent and leadership at the QB position for both that has been absent of a few years. Fact is both Florida State and Miami still get great speed and they still get great athletes so defense is always going to be solid for the Noles and Canes. Not since Chris Weinke and Ken Dorsey have these Florida powerhouses had solid QB play and when they did, the result was National Championships. Great ACC battle! Jacoby Harris and Christian Ponder are both great quarterbacks!
Look out for the rest of the conference despite losses by Virginia and Duke to Division IAA schools North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Boston College and Georgia Tech will be battling the Florida schools for a chance to redeem the conference during bowl season! Especially look out for North Carolina. Butch Davis can recruit and he has proven on the collegiate level that his teams can battle for a national title as he did with Miami before handing over the keys to the U football program to Larry Coker who won a national title in his rookie season.
Upset of the week? No contest BYU over Oklahoma. Even with Sam Bradford out of the game and BYU not deserving the respect they deserve this game was played in Dallas. This is Oklahoma territory! The team heavily recruits out of Texas and doesn't take a back seat to even the Longhorns in the talent rich lone star state for football recruits. A goal line stand from the stormin' Mormons to keep it a one score game late in the second half provided the margin for victory so Max Hall could execute a last minute drive to take the lead and than the Cougar defense did their job keeping the Sooners out of easy field goal range late in the game.
The upset of this week is the Ohio State Buckeyes. If they can beat USC at home this would be a great upset of more than one type. First of all the Buckeyes have the talent and the beef but have to lack the confidence after their bumbling effort against the Naval Academy. Secondly the Buckeyes are playing at home and when was the last time this national powerhouse and championship caliber team was a home underdog by more than a touchdown? The Trojans are laden with tons of talent and speed to getting the cream of the crop from the elite high school football programs in the country in Southern California and where ever they decide to recruit as young men know they will be in the title hunt year for four years at USC. The Buckeyes need to remember who they are. They are top recruits also no different than USC. They are from a very competitive football state that is on their home turf. Last but not least the key position for the two teams is their field general. In one corner you have the most highly sought recruit, second year starter, and incredible physical specimen Terrel Pryor and in the other corner is a strong armed stud in Matt Barkley, a freshman who will be making his first start on the road this week in a very, very hostile environment. The Buckeyes will need to frustrate Barkley, no easy task with the Trojan confidence as tough as teflon. This will be up to the Buckeye coaches to make sure the players are in position at all times especially on defense and play a ball control field position game hopefully making for long fields for the Trojans and limiting their playbook.
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