As the only thing in the world where the word 'Chaos' is a good thing, College Football did not disappoint yesterday. And so, of course I am obliged to say some things about the nuttiness and near hilarity of it all.
Observation #1: Embarressment Returns To The Baylor Bears
Yesterday, in their astounding 49-17 loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Baylor Bears looked quite bad. Actually, here is my collection of descriptions of how bad the Bears looked:
Absolutely Horrendous. Just Atrocious. An Abhorrence. An Embarrassment To Humanity. Cringe Worthy. etc.
Yes, folks, if you haven't noticed already, here is my point. I am MAD at Baylor. If they won this game, they would have been in line to play in the National Championship game, if Alabama loses to Auburn next week. They had played so well all season. It is just baffling that they decided to spontaneously combust yesterday. That was total annihilation.
I suppose you could blame that loss on the lack of star running backs Lache Seastrunk and Glasco Martin. But the defense had everybody, and for the most part, the reason Baylor lost was because their defense was simply atrocious. They let Clint Chelf and Tracy Moore just torch the field, ripping up turf as they ran. Baylor's defense looked uninterested at points, often let the OK-State game plan confuse them, and also couldn't make simple tackles. It was simply a debacle.
Full credit goes to the Cowboys, as the Gambling Gundys finally have their mojo back, as they look for a Fiesta Bowl bid in the near future.
Observation #2: Boston College Has A Solid Heisman Finalist On Their Team
Alright. Has anyone heard of Andre Williams? Well, if you haven't, you'd better rethink calling yourself a college football fan. Williams leads the FBS with not 1500, not 1800, but 2073 rushing yards, only the 16th time in FBS history that an RB has achieved over 2000 yards. And BC still has one more game, in which Williams can solidify himself as maybe even the Heisman favorite, against a terrible Syracuse team.
Think about this: Jameis Winston, of Florida State, is very likely not going to win the Heisman if he is charged in the possible Sexual Assault case, which you can find my thoughts about right here: http://benonallsports.blogspot.com/2013/11/thoughts-jameis-winston-case.html
Marcus Mariota, of Oregon, is still a very impressive quarterback, but with his embarrassing performances against Stanford and Arizona, he is pretty well out of the hunt for Heisman glory.
Johnny Manziel, of Texas A&M, is one of the most electric QBs in football, winning the Heisman last year. But Manziel has one obvious problem. His interception rate has really spiked since last year, and he is getting much more careless with the football. He isn't out of the Heisman race, but his candidacy took a significant step back yesterday against LSU.
Bryce Petty, of Baylor, as we have already discussed, had a horrible day yesterday with his Bears, and is out of the race.
The Heisman Race might very well come down to QB AJ McCarron, of Alabama, RB KaDeem Carey, of Arizona, DT Aaron Donald, of Pittsburgh, and Andre Williams.
Who should win it all? That is for you to decide. It's an open race now, and should be thrilling to watch.
Observation #3: The Magnificence Of Football In The State Of Arizona
In my final point, I think we need to reiterate how amazing Arizona and Arizona State's wins were yesterday.
First of all, the Wildcats. You must remember that Arizona was coming off a loss to Washington State. Yeah, Wazzu has had a nice little season, with a win over USC and a Bowl Berth, but come on. They are not a really, really good team. Oregon is. So Oregon should have won, 50-17 yesterday, right?
Wrong. Arizona decided to have a bipolar attack and won, 42-16. Wait, Oregon only put up 16 points? Yep. You see, Arizona is 7-4 now. 3 of those losses were within 7 points. So, if Arizona had made just a few more big plays in a couple more games, they would be 10-1 right now. Think about that. Arizona has a pretty darn good QB in BJ Denker, but the real star of this team is KaDeem Carey. Carey had an excellent season last year, but has really added some new dimensions to his game this year, and looks like potentially the top RB in the upcoming NFL draft. In the defense, the leaders would have to be linebacker Marquis Flowers and safety Tra'Mayne Bondurant. Flowers can really get to the QB, while Bondurant is near the top in the nation in interceptions. Also there is nose tackle Tevin Hood, who is a critical cog in the vanguard of the defense. So, in other words, there is a good amount of talent on this team. Love him or hate him (which I am not the biggest fan of him, as a West Virginia Mountaineer fan), Rich Rodriguez has done a sensational job with this team, and it looks like a Pac 12 contender for years to come.
And of course, there is that other team in Arizona.....
The Arizona State Sun Devils are going to the Pac 12 Title Game.
Quit your scoffing, it's the truth.
Journeyman Todd Graham has finally found the perfect landing spot, and he has got his team in the upper echelon of their league. For the first time, Arizona State has won the Pac 12 South. And you know, this team is just loaded with stars. An improving QB that has a truck full of potential in Taylor Kelly, and one of the most underrated running backs in the country in Marion Grice would be envied by any FBS and FCS team (Division II and Division III teams as well...). And then this stacked defense. DT Will Sutton and LB Carl Bradford are athletic freaks, and are game changers/NFL draft prospects. Safety Alden Darby and DT Jaxon Hood round out the Core Four.
Next week, Arizona takes on Arizona State for the Territorial Cup, and if ASU wins, they will HOST the Pac 12 Title Game. If Arizona wins, they might be able to end the season in the Top 25. I certainly will be watching these exciting programs.
And that is it for today, folks. Signing off, this was Ben Anderson.
No comments:
Post a Comment