I can't wait to get to Dallas this weekend for the Red River game. You have two dynamic offenses in the middle of the national title chase, led by two QBs -- Oklahoma's Sam Bradford and Texas' Colt McCoy -- who are near the front of the Heisman race. Still, I think the most intriguing character to watch on Saturday will be playing in Gainesville, Fla., where Tim Tebow faces unbeaten LSU.
Obviously, the comments of Ricky Jean-Francois have added to the buzz around the LSU-Florida matchup, but the real story will be how Tebow performs. I must admit I'm surprised at how many people have jumped off his bandwagon in the past few weeks. His team did lose at home to an unranked Ole Miss team, but judging by the reactions, you'd think Florida has had the identical start that Tennessee has had this fall.
There's even a Web site devoted to the firing of his offensive coordinator, Dan Mullen, who until about two weeks ago was thought to be one of the sharpest young minds in the college game.
Mike Bianchi from the Orlando Sentinel had an interesting column today on the atmosphere around UF these days:
"It's reached a point, according to the Gainesville Sun, where even one of UF's most beloved former players -- ex-UF quarterbacking great Shane Matthews -- regularly goes on his Gainesville radio show and picks apart a UF offense that led the nation last year and was third in the country.
"Even Tebow, the ultimate glass-is-half-full guy, has been sucked into the abyss created by the legions of the miserable. After Tebow fired a 21-yard touchdown pass to Percy Harvin in the fourth quarter Saturday to give Florida a 24-7 lead, Tebow moped off the field without celebrating. Meyer saw his quarterback's dispassionate reaction and ran out to give Tebow a chest bump.
"'I wanted him to enjoy it,' Meyer said of his quarterback.
"The coach might want to send the same message to many of his fans, who seem to believe Tebow really is Superman. They think he should complete every pass, convert every third down, score every time he touches the ball. They think Tebow should duplicate the incredible statistics he compiled last year when he won the Heisman Trophy. The problem is that it was a once-in-a-lifetime season when Tebow accomplished things never before accomplished in college football. Hey, Russell Crowe is a great actor, but he'll probably never make a movie as great as Gladiator.
"The fact is, the Gators lead the SEC in scoring offense and Tebow leads the league in passing efficiency. But, apparently, that's not good enough to satisfy the many spoiled, self-indulgent fans who inhabit Gator Nation. You get the idea some Florida fans are going to be miserable no matter what. They could be married to Halle Berry and complain because she spends too much money on lingerie."
This morning I spoke with Chris Huston, who runs the Web site Heismanpundit.com and spends more time analyzing the pursuit of the Heisman Trophy than just about anybody I know. Huston said Tebow has "no shot" to win the Heisman again this year. That stuns me. I'm not saying Tebow will win it, but given how terrific he was at times last year and given the slate of high-profile games UF still has remaining I just don't see how you can count Tebow out.
Huston says, "He can get to New York because he has the name, but the good money is on a Big 12 QB.
"I think he's got an uphill climb because all of those Big 12 QBs have dominated first half of the season. He has to have that game against LSU that he hasn't had yet this season and those other QBs have to knock each other off.
"Florida just hasn't established an identity on offense this season. I think he has a shot to get back to NYC, but right now the luster's off him. There's a considerable drop-off in his stats. Voters have found that reason to find another winner."
My three cents: All that can change with a 28-17 kind of win over LSU this weekend.
To me Tebow is just the latest example of how the reactionary climate around college football has tilted into a frenzied mode more than ever these days. You can blame the Internet or blame ESPN or whatever else you want. The reality is since there is more time in between games to digest and analyze (or is it overanalyze?) the events of the game and more outlets to do it, the cycle is set to "Overkill." We're all trying to be so profound. The old saying about how you're never as good or as bad as the people say you are has never been truer.
RANDOM STUFF
•Expect to hear more stories about the Kent State connection between Nick Saban and Gary Pinkel. Cecil Hurt digs into the subject today:
"But in 1990, Saban showed that his esteem for Pinkel was more than just lip service. At that time, Saban was the head coach at Toledo University but was preparing to leave to become the defensive coordinator of the NFL Cleveland Browns.
"'I actually picked up the phone and called Gary in Washington,' Saban said. 'I told him that I wanted to recommend him for the job, that he was the person I would choose to be the head coach at Toledo. But I also told him that I was worried about my staff. I couldn't take them all with me to Cleveland, so I told him I would appreciate it if he would give them a chance for a year at Toledo. He got the job, and he did just that. That tells you something about the kind of person that Gary is.'"
•One of the Big Ten's best young O-linemen, Gabe Carimi, might not be able to play against Penn State, Jeff Potrykus reports:
"Carimi, who has started each of his 18 games at UW at left tackle, injured his right knee Saturday night early in the second quarter of UW's loss to Ohio State. He was replaced by redshirt freshman Josh Oglesby, who played well in his first extended action. Oglesby … is expected to make his first start at UW this week against No. 6 Penn State if Carimi is out.
"'I thought our offensive line, even after Josh Oglesby went in there, probably played as good a football game as I've seen them play since I've been a head coach at Wisconsin, against good personnel,' Coach Bret Bielema said. 'Josh did not miss a beat when he popped in there at left tackle.'"
•Vandy may not have gotten a huge boost from the 2007 recruiting class last year, but that bunch has really contributed this season, writes Maurice Patton:
"Redshirt freshmen Chris Marve, Jamie Graham, Brandon Barden and T.J. Greenstone have become impact players through the Commodores' 5-0 start. … Marve and Graham have started every game for the Commodores. Marve, a linebacker, is third on the team in total tackles with 36. Graham, a wide receiver, has 110 all-purpose yards on 17 touches."
•Stat of the Week: Clemson is 1-7 in ESPN's featured Thursday night game, winning only in 2005 at NC State.
•SD State coach Chuck Long is certainly on the hot seat. The former Iowa star had a curious exchange with local columnist Nick Canepa:
"I sat down with Long for a few moments yesterday. His team is 1-4, coming off a 41-7 throttling at Mountain West Conference rival TCU. I asked him how he can explain to an outsider that his program is advancing.
"'You're determining it by the scores?' he asked.
"Of course I am. Of course we are. It's the world we live in. We're score freaks. We're record hounds. We know the Padres lost 99 games. We know the Chargers are 2-3. We know the Aztecs are 1-4. We know Dow Jones is getting punk-slapped.
"'I see it,' Long says. 'I see improvement. I see improvement in practice. We haven't necessarily transferred it (to games). I see guys getting better. I see youth getting better.'
"I see 1-4. I saw 4-8 last year, and off that team seven players either made NFL active rosters or are on practice squads. No other MWC school can make that claim. It means something's haywire."
My three cents: State, which still has Utah and BYU on the schedule, might be lucky to get to four wins this year and that probably won't be enough to keep Long around for a program that has really struggled to get any footing over the last dozen years.
•Don't be surprised if USC DE Everson Griffen starts making some big plays. The Trojans' coaches sent the former blue-chipper a message by benching him for Clay Matthews. According to USCFootball.com's Dan Woike, Pete Carroll insisted Tuesday that Griffen didn't lose his job; Matthews simply won it. The change wasn't intended to motivate Griffen -- at least not on the surface, but regardless Griffen came into practice Tuesday with a different approach. "He practiced his ass off today," defensive line coach David Watson said. "That's what it's all about. I think he took it well."
Griffen said losing his starting spot has lit a fire in his belly, pushing him to perform at a higher level more consistently.
•The best thing Miami had going last week against FSU was freshman speedster Travis Benjamin. The Miami Herald has more on his story:
'''I know if I catch the ball and I have one-on-one, nobody can tackle me in the open field because of my speed and my ability,' said Benjamin, ranked 10th in the nation in kickoff returns (29.9-yard average) and 11th in punt returns (17.1). 'I'm fast and I'm quick, and if I see an open field I trust my speed to get through it.'''
•Rice's amazing Jarett Dillard has posted four straight games with more than 100 receiving yards for the first time in his career.
•The Pac-10 may be down, really down this year, but the league isn't shy about playing youngsters, writes Dan Raley:
"The complete roll call of true freshmen used this season: UW 12, UCLA 11, Arizona State and USC 10, Arizona 9, California 8, Oregon, Stanford and Washington State 5, and Oregon State 4."
•Mississippi State, which has really been struggling on both sides of the ball, is making some changes on D, reports Brad Locke:
"Through five games, the Bulldogs' man-to-man coverage schemes have been exploited on a weekly basis. While they've given up the second-fewest passing yards in the SEC (767), the Bulldogs have allowed eight passing plays of 30 yards or more. In its two SEC games, MSU has allowed five such big gainers. So when State (1-4, 0-2) hosts No. 13 Vanderbilt (5-0, 3-0) on Saturday, its secondary will be lining up in the zone scheme that worked so well last year, when it made 18 interceptions. Free safety Derek Pegues, who made five picks last year but has just one this season, will be, well, freer.
"'I think this week we're getting back to playing middle-field safety and letting me roam a little bit more,' said Pegues. 'I think we'll have a lot more chances of getting our hands on the ball and giving the offense a better opportunity to score.'
"MSU lacks the pass rush it had last year, which led coach Sylvester Croom to make the change to man coverage. But it hasn't worked - MSU is 10th in the league in sacks with eight, and its cornerbacks have been getting burned on inside and deep routes."
Bruce Feldman
