Notes on the Nation:
Recap:
It was good to be home for most of the day to watch games after being on the road for most of the last two Saturdays.
Another typical, down to the wire match-up between LSU and Auburn, except no barns caught on fire mid-game near the stadium thankfully. If LSU can get through Alabama, they should be on the fast track to get to the SEC Championship Game this year.
Looks like West Virginia is missing Rich Rodriguez and Steve Slaton after all. This 1-2 start by the Mountaineers has pretty much squashed all talk of a possible Heisman for Pat White.
It also looks like Rick Neuheisel and Norm Chow have a lot more work to do at UCLA after falling to Arizona. With the Bruins loss and Oregon losing to Boise State on Saturday, it seems like USC will steamroll its way to another National Championship game. No one can touch the Trojans right now in the Pac-10.
On the mid-major watch, with East Carolina's loss to N.C. State, the door has opened wider for Mountain West teams like BYU and Utah and also Boise State with its win over the Ducks. There is a very good possibility that two of these three teams could finish the regular season undefeated (and further strengthening the argument for a playoff).
Top 25:
1. Missouri
2. USC
3. LSU
4. Oklahoma
5. Florida
6. Georgia
7. Wisconsin
8. South Florida
9. BYU
10. Alabama
11. Texas
12. Boise State
13. Utah
14. Colorado
15. Connecticut
16. Clemson
17. Virginia Tech
18. Ohio State
19. Kansas
20. Illinois
21. Arizona
22. Oregon
23. Auburn
24. East Carolina
25. N.C. State
Looking Ahead:
The game of the week is clearly Alabama at Georgia on Saturday night. I've personally been more skeptical than most in terms of where I have Georgia in my poll. However, this game could give the Bulldogs a major boost if they can take care of Saban's Crimson Tide team on the national stage. Georgia's offense versus Alabama's defense will be the variable here.
Illinois at Penn State also looks like a good match-up. The Nittany Lions are another team I've felt so far is a bit overrated and if they can beat the Illini, I will most likely throw them somewhere in my Top 25.
Another game I want to point out is South Florida at N.C. State. This game will be important simply to help determine conference strength, with the Big East and ACC both reeling a bit right now. USF can use to win to help prove to people that this may be their year to be crowned conference champions while the Wolfpack are coming of a win over a Top 25 team that Tom O'Brien's program really needed to elevate their confidence.
Heisman Watch:
1. Tim Tebow QB Florida
2. Chase Daniel QB Missouri
3. Sam Bradford QB Oklahoma
4. Jeremy Maclin WR Missouri
5. Knowshon Moreno RB Georgia
The Bull Breaker
Recap:
For the most part, the Bulls played my No. 1 ranked Missouri team as expected. They came out and kept it close for about a half, before the Tigers' speed, athleticism and talent came through and opened things up.
You have to give Turner Gill and the UB program a lot of credit still. Under the Hofher regime, the Bulls would have came out and got knocked straight on their butts and been pounded into the ground by the end of the first quarter. This is just another example of how the team has progressed since Gill has taken over.
Major props go out to wide out Earnest Jackson, who proved that the Bulls can still burn teams through the air even if you double cover Naaman Roosevelt.This also shows that Drew Willy knows how to read coverage well and get the ball to the open guy (and hopefully pro scouts see that, too). The running game also looked good even without James Starks being in the line-up. You can never have enough good running backs in football.
I wish the game was on television because it would have been awesome to see both Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin in action (both are on my Heisman list). It seemed that Paul Peck and Steve Christie were drooling over them at times, which was probably appropriate.
Looking Ahead:
The Bulls next travel to Mt. Pleasant, Michigan to take on one of the conference favorites in the Central Michigan Chippewas. Could this possibly be a preview of the MAC Championship Game?
The key to stopping CMU's offense will be whether or not Buffalo can contain quarterback Dan LeFevour. The best way to describe him would be as a poor man's Tim Tebow as they both posted nearly identical stats last season.
Central Michigan finds itself coming in with a 2-2 record like the Bulls and after a very close loss to Purdue. The Chippewas' other loss came via a blowout by Georgia. Their two wins are not that impressive: a sound beating of FCS school Eastern Illinois and squeaking by a winless Ohio team by three points.
I see this game coming down to the wire and being very high scoring, with over time possibly in the cards. Ultimately, games like these usually come down to intangibles such as home field advantage and experience playing in big time games. Thus I expect the Chippewas to pull out the win in a very competitive contest.