Before sending out a search party for the LSU defense, we’re back to wrap up Week 7 of the college football season.
It’s tough at the top: Texas, the highest ranked team that posted a victory this week, deserves to jump from No. 5 to the top of the heap. Alabama, which sat this wacky week out, should hold steady at No. 2, followed by Penn State, which went to Camp Randall Stadium and decimated Wisconsin, 48-7. Florida also decisively took care of its business with LSU, 51-21, staking its claim to climb to No. 4. Once you get past that quartet, it gets a little messy. We’d go with Oklahoma and USC at Nos. 5 and 6 (losing to Texas is no crime, while getting worked over by Oregon State is). Then, you’ve got Texas Tech, BYU, Georgia and Oklahoma to fill out the Top 10. Missouri and LSU have good shots to end the season in the Top 10, but they don’t deserve to be there right now. Both Tiger squads might not mind too much. It’s dangerous in there.
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Here’s what was learned on another eventful Saturday around the college football landscape:
Vanderbilt is for real: The studious Commodores (5-0 overall, 3-0 in the SEC) continue to pass every test placed in front of them with flying colors. On Saturday against Auburn, the most unlikely hero for the most unlikely SEC East leader was backup quarterback Mackenzi Adams, who entered the game in the second quarter with Vandy down, 13-0. Unfazed, he tossed two touchdowns passes in the 14-13 victory, the Commodores’ first as a ranked team in more than half a century. Professor Bobby Johnson needs to keep his players focused next week at Mississippi State, with the big midterm looming at Georgia on Oct. 18.
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CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Now we know that David was most likely 5-foot-7 and a sturdy 193 pounds. That would be just like his modern-day embodiment, Jacquizz Rodgers, who led Oregon State’s shocking slaying of Pete Carroll’s Goliath here, just around the corner from nowhere, on Thursday night.
A true freshman in just his fourth collegiate game, Rodgers rushed for 186 yards on a whopping 37 carries, the majority of which saw him rip right through the heart of top-ranked Southern California in a decisive 27-21 victory.
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While wondering if Pete Carroll’s knack for recruiting should be blamed for destroying the Pacific 10 Conference, here are this week’s EXTRA POINTS.
NO. 1 AND ONLY ONE: For the fourth week in a row, USC sits atop the AP Top 25. For the first time in a long time, the Pac-10 has only one ranked team. That’s simply startling. Last season at this time, California was No. 6 and Oregon was No. 11. Before the end of the campaign, both of those teams climbed as high as No. 2. And even Arizona State hung out at No. 4 during the second half of October
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While wondering if Charlie Weis would be willing to sacrifice a pair of ligaments in return for a victory every Saturday, this week’s set of EXTRA POINTS begins out West where things are upside-down for the moment.
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Fittingly enough, this week’s EXTRA POINTS is a rant about Saturday’s most infamous extra point -- Washington’s 35-yard PAT attempt with two seconds remaining that could have sent the Huskies into overtime with Brigham Young.
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While enjoying some college football on a Sunday and wishing it would be this way every week, I’d like to offer these EXTRA POINTS after the first four days of the 2008 campaign.
It could have been worse: Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford should be thanking his lucky stars (if he’s got any left) that Maryland was able to hold off Delaware, 14-7, in College Park. Yes, the Fightin’ Blue Hens don’t fall into the cupcake category, having advanced all the way to last season’s Football Championship Subdivision title game, but that was with quarterback Joe Flacco (now with the Baltimore Ravens) at the helm. Previously known for a prolific offense, Delaware’s defense took center stage and made the Terrapin offense look like a Colonial Athletic Association cellar dweller.
We’re not finished with the ACC. How about North Carolina? A 35-27 victory at home over McNeese State isn’t exactly the way Butch Davis wanted to start out. Especially when you consider that the Tar Heels were seemingly a one-man-band in the opener. If not for senior wide receiver Brandon Tate’s 397 all-purpose yards, UNC could have been toppled and the ACC’s black eye would have been an even darker shade.
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Coaches and sportswriters have a long history of displaying their differences. Last season’s explosion by Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy and its aftermath is perhaps the best illustration of recent times.
But when it comes to the polls, they march in lockstep.
On Saturday, the Associated Press released its Top 25 college football poll, more than two weeks after the USA Today Coaches Top 25 made its debut.
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After laying out what would be a sensational start to the season, followed by an awesome October, we’re back to finish up with a tradition-filled stretch run.
Nov. 1 – Florida vs. Georgia (at Jacksonville)
The SEC would appreciate it if you didn’t refer to this one as “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party,” but you know what it is and why you’re there. Drink responsibly and enjoy what could be a “national championship semifinal.”
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Part 2 of our dream season-long road trip, seeking the ultimate college football experience, begins with a four-day weekend in the Sunshine State.
Oct. 2 (Thursday) – Pitt at USF
Start off in Tampa at Raymond James Stadium for what is the Big East’s first big showdown matchup. The winner gets the inside track on challenging West Virginia.
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