Weekly Update: Week 5

A week with no excitement. A week with total destruction of college football’s top ten. A week with complete parity and mid-major capitalization. Does this college football season have an identity yet? Is it one of chaos, mid-majors or of traditional powers reclaiming the spotlight?

Certainly, Week 5 had its fair share of exciting match ups featuring conference and non-conference foes battling it out as the first BCS rankings loom ever closer, but for a change of place, not many upsets took place on a ripe weekend for one.

The biggest of course, would be Miami (FL) taking advantage of an obviously weakened Oklahoma team in a non-conference battle, and beating them 21-20. The Hurricanes had just come off a loss to Virginia Tech, which if they had won, would have set them up nicely for a run for the national title, but this huge victory over the Sooners may give them hope yet.

Ranked match ups only come so often, especially in conference, but if you want to make a bet where one might happen, the SEC is probably the place to look.

Georgia and LSU took the field in between the hedges to make a case for complete SEC supremacy among the six BCS conferences. In pulling out the late win, it is possible that LSU has finally legitimized the fact that three of the top four teams in all polls are SEC combatants.

The projected BCS won’t look much different this weekend, we’ll give you that much, but its likely that among the jumpers will be Miami, and maybe even a small boost for LSU, but enough for a position increase? Maybe, maybe not, we’ll have to see what the human polls give us in the morning.

Maybe the biggest upset of the night came from the mid-major world, where Houston, one of three mid-majors believed to still have a shot at a BCS-bust, fell in an absolute shootout in Texas, falling to UTEP 58-41.

That leaves just TCU and Boise State as possibly BCS busters, and the road looks bright for both, with forgiving schedules, making it quite possible that we will finally see a year with two BCS busters in the ten BCS bowl spots. Who knows?

-BCSKnowHow.com

Weekly Update: Week 4

Parity.

It’s a great thing for a college football fan. On any given Saturday, anything can happen. Or at least that’s what ESPN wants you to think.

Evidentially, it looks like that’s exactly what we’ve got this season, as the top teams continue to fall, and fall hard to unranked and out of the blue opponents putting on clinics to beat the teams the “experts” had deemed worthy of top national rankings.

This weekend’s slate didn’t seem ripe for any major upsets, but after Thursday came and went with another one of the big upsets we’ve already come to expect from this season, the tone was set for even more on Saturday.

First to fall was #6 Cal. And fall they did to an Oregon team that had looked listless against Boise State just a few Thursdays ago. Then it was #5 Penn State, falling to Iowa as a top five team for the second straight season in a row, making it six top six teams to lose to unranked opponents on the season, approaching 2007-style numbers just four short weeks into the season and still three long weeks from the first BCS standings.

Speaking of, the projected BCS standings definitely took a hit this weekend, with four of the top eight teams losing, including Miami (FL) who lost to Virginia Tech in a match up of ranked teams. But this week will mark the first appearance of the Harris Poll, one-third of the final BCS calculation, bringing us ever closer to a fully-projectable BCS standings. Four of the six computers are also up and running, making us 89% of the way to a full BCS calculation.

Making major moves this week will be all the teams that lost, yes, but the losses leave four very open spots for new teams, which this week will likely include Virginia Tech, Oklahoma and (cue the BCS detractors) USC. Yes USC, who just two weekends ago lost to a very unranked Washington team would likely enter as #8 in a BCS standings if released this morning.

The Harris Poll was released for the first time this weekend, making BCS projecting a little easier, and results were surprising at best. The top three remained the same, as the Harris had little to say different than the Coaches’, but the shake up is strong after than. LSU, Virginia Tech and Boise State all move up, taking the vacated spots of Penn State, Ole Miss and Cal. Surprisingly, or not surprisingly depending on your rooting affiliation, one loss Oklahoma and USC both reenter the top 10 very soon after their respective losses.

The BCS is certainly shaping as we approach its October 18th release date, but in the intervening weeks, even more shake up is certainly a possibility.

-BCSKnowHow.com

Heisman Watch: Week 4

Tim Tebow

No one ever wants to see a player go down due to injury, friend or opponent. But what the entire nation definitely did not want to see was college football’s star pupil, Tim Tebow, go down due to a concussion suffered against Kentucky on Saturday. Having already torn apart the Wildcat defense for two rushing and one passing TD, Tebow dropped back to pass, but was hit hard from a rusher from the outside. The tackle was not the worst part, though, as Tebow’s head hit a lineman’s thigh as he went down, and the Gator QB suffered a severe concussion. Tebow’s Heisman hopes were not dashed, as he did put up good numbers before the hit, but if he is to miss Florida’s next game, which isn’t until two weekends from now, his hopes may be hurt.

Colt McCoy

Following a less than spectacular performance last weekend against Texas Tech, McCoy reinvigorated his Heisman hopes with a quintessential Colt McCoy passing day. Passing at an 80% completion rate, McCoy picked apart the Miners’ defensive attack and passed for three TDs against just one pick. Combined with his 286-yards passing, McCoy put in his best performance since opening weekend against Louisiana-Monroe.

Jacory Harris

Just as fast as Harris entered the Heisman discussion, his numbers against Virginia Tech in the Hurricane’s devastating loss on Saturday did a good number on his hopes, and may have just removed him from the discussion just as quickly. Harris made only nine completions in 25 attempts for just 150 yards with no TDs and an interception. Harris led a seemingly ineffective Hurricane attack that was only able to score seven points and looked suddenly weak against a strong Hokie defense, just one week after making a national statement against Georgia Tech. Harris’s hopes may now rest upon his performance against Oklahoma next weekend.

Jahvid Best

No touchdowns for the Bears meant no touchdowns for the Heisman frontrunner on Saturday, and Best’s Heisman hopes may have taken a big hit. Best had just 52 yards at halftime during Cal’s embarrassing loss to Oregon, 42-3, and finished with just three more yards rushing, 55 in total. Best didn’t contribute in the passing game either, catching just two balls for 14 yards. All around the day was a tough one for the Bears and Best, and will both need to step it up in order to regain the national attention they had received just a weekend ago.

Todd Reesing

BCS Know How favorite Todd Reesing takes Terrelle Pryor’s spot this week after Pryor continues to be a non-factor in Ohio State’s offensive attack. Reesing, on the other hand, a Heisman candidate in years past, has reemerged as a viable candidate with his recent resurgance in a very productive Kansas Jayhawk offense. On Saturday, Reesing passed for three TDs for the second straight game, and finished with 331 yards on 30-of-41 passing, including a 62-yard TD strike to start the game against Southern Miss. As Kansas climbs the national rankings, so too does Reesing’s Heisman hopes, look for the QB who is often dwarfed by his lineman to be a factor in the Heisman race for the rest of the season.

-BCSKnowHow.com

Weekly Update: Week 3

And why not? A week following a rather unexciting weekend of college football, where most of the favorites pulled out easy victories, and little shakeup was seen in the rankings, even the most old-school and staunch of college football followers must have been expecting some sort of realignment to come from this weekend.

Recent history has probably readied us for the constant jumble that early season college football brings us almost every year, and this past weekend was no different.

It all started rather early, as Washington, who just before last week’s victory, had been riding at 15 game losing streak, decided to turn their attack all the way up, and shocked the USC Trojans 16-13.

Just a week ago, it seemed the Trojans were ready to reclaim their spot in the BCS National Championship game after a great come-from-behind victory over the Buckeyes of Ohio State, but the shocking loss sent the Trojans tumbling in the standings and may have once again dashed their hopes for a national title.

BYU, who also had high hopes of playing for a national title, hoping to break the six BCS conference strangle hold on the event, also fell hard, but in their case, much much harder, 54-28 to a very hard hitting Florida State squad.

This allowed a large collection of teams to take jumps up the standings, especially Miami, who after defeating Georgia Tech on the national Thursday night broadcast, skyrocketed into the top tens across the board.

Most of the teams behind the Trojans also took steps up towards the top, but nothing too shocking. Boise State replaces BYU as the mid-major of the hour, as they make a top ten appearance once again, cementing themselves as mid-major darlings of the nation on a permanent basis.

You can find a projected top eight BCS standings at BCSKnowHow.com!

LSU and Mississippi get a lot of help in BCS Know How’s Projected BCS because of the strength of their future schedule in SEC, which will likely be very big when it comes around to Novemeber. That puts four teams of the top eight from the SEC, which may change once SEC conference play hits its stride.

-BCSKnowHow.com

Heisman Watch: Week 3

Tim Tebow

Truth be told, Tebow did not have his best stuff this weekend against the very game Volunteers defense, but he did lead his team to victory. That might be enough for a zero-passing touchdown performance to be forgotten among Heisman voters and pundits. Tebow did punch in a rushing touchdown, but he carried the ball 24 times for just 76 yards, very much below his normal rushing average. As the Gators hit the meat of the SEC schedule, Tebow may have to step it up to stay in the hunt.

Colt McCoy

Also not McCoy’s best on Saturday against a surprisingly tough Texas Tech squad, when this may have been a good game to pad statistics. McCoy wasn’t the only one searching for offense; most of the first half was a defense struggle. McCoy finished with his lowest QB rating and lowest offensive output of the young season, passing for only 205 yards and one TD against two picks. The opponents only get hard from here on out, so McCoy must improve to win his first trophy.

Jacory Harris

Replacing a still ailing Sam Bradford this week, Jacory Harris has been a great surprise for a revitalized Miami offense under young head coach Randy Shannon. His most recent effort, against ACC foe Georgia Tech, was a true coming out party for the young QB on national television. He completed 80% of his passes and threw for three TDs in leading his Hurricanes to the easy 33-17 victory. Harris opened the season with a good performance against Florida State, but his statistics did not tell the entire story. Harris’s leadership and game management won that game for the Hurricanes, and put his name on a fair few Heisman voters’ minds.

Jahvid Best

Best went completely off against a obviously overmatched Golden Gopher defense on Saturday, rushing for 131 yards and five TDs. Each touchdown was more impressive than the next, and Best has cemented himself into the Heisman race as the most consistent performer of the young season.

Terrelle Pryor

A huge bounce back game for Pryor has likely reinvigorated his Heisman candidacy and reclaimed a little of the lost glory that the Buckeyes were missing after losing to a now befuddled USC team last week. Pryor led his team up and down the field, completing 17 of 28 for 262 yards and three TDs, for a QB rating of more than 160. He also added an astounding 110 yards on the ground on just 12 attempts, and scored one more TD on the ground.

-BCSKnowHow.com

Note on Projected BCS Standings

All BCS Know How projected BCS standings updates are based on what BCS Know How thinks the BCS would look like. Therefore, unlike the patented (not really) BCS Know How Postseason BCS standings, the BCS wouldn’t actually look like this if released today.

We just think that this way, strength of opponents, which is kind of wacky early in the season, will be out of the picture, and teams like Florida, who would probably be ranked fourth (WHAT?!?) in the BCS standings if you were to calculate them correctly, wouldn’t be so wrongly out of the national title picture.

Take this as you will, but just be aware of these strange changes when viewing the BCS Know How projected BCS standings.

Thanks,

-BCSKnowHow.com

Heisman Watch: Week 2

Tim Tebow

Florida and Tim Tebow just keep rolling along. Against an obviously overmatched Troy squad, Tebow again lit up the scoreboard and continued to show just why he’s widely considered the best college football player of the year, and possibly ever. Tebow completed 15 of 24 passes for 237 yards and four TDs in another somewhat shortened day. No need to play the man if your up 50 points. Tebow also added 71 yards and a TD on the ground.

Colt McCoy

McCoy got off to a slow start, as did his Longhorns, but both eventually turned it on against Wyoming on the second weekend, and kept his name high on the Heisman watch list. McCoy finished with 337 yards through the air on 30-47 passing and three TDs against just one pick. He also added 44 yards and a score on the ground in an easy 41-10 victory over Wyoming.

Sam Bradford

Bradford sat this week, and news is that he may be out a total of 2-4 weeks as he tries to heal the AC joint in his shoulder before the beginning of Big 12 play. Bradford may need to put on a real show if he is to continue his Heisman candidacy and his quest to repeat as Heisman winner, because the way it looks now, he just will not have enough time to put up the statistics he needs to get the trophy again if he sits out the full four weeks.

Jahvid Best

Not a contest, to be sure, but Jahvid Best continued to show why he’s considered the best running back in the nation this year with his performance against Eastern Washington. Best ran for 144 yards on just 17 attempts and scored once on the ground. He also contributed to the passing attack, adding 19 yards and a score through the air.

Terrelle Pryor

Pryor’s Heisman stock may be falling off following a poor showing against a very strong Trojan defense. Pryor did show the leadership qualities expected of a Heisman candidate in the game, but his statistics did not reflect any kind of real quality play against the Trojans. Pryor completed just 11 of 25 pass attempts for just 177 yards, and was picked once by the swarming USC defense. Pryor did get 36 yards rushing, but it took him 10 attempts to get just that small amount, not an impressive average. We will see in the coming weeks if Pryor is a true Heisman candidate.