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A fortnight of rivalries has arrived, as teams square off against that one proximate rival that pips all others in terms of inflamed passion and mutual hatred. The picture becomes ever more contentious at the top of the standings even as everything begins to really come into focus. The next week should settle all our questions as to who will be going where come bowl season. So with bellies full of turkey legs, let’s pack up the grill on a wacky Week 13 in college football and get ready for championship weekend...

CHOOSING THE BCS CONTENDERS

by Matt Strobl

We have arrived.  This is conference championship week, and once these few meaningful games play out, we will know for certain what the 2009-2010 BCS picture will be.  In advance of the actual selection, I thought I’d lay out my ideal scenario.  Here’s what I would like to see happen.

National Championship Game: #1 Alabama vs. #2 Texas

After beating Florida in the SEC title game, the Crimson Tide would take over the #1 ranking and head into the championship as the favorite to win it all.  The Gators have had plenty of success recently.  Why not spread the wealth around a little?

The Longhorns will finish the season undefeated after dispatching Nebraska , although that’s certainly an upset that I would like to see.  They’ll play for the national title hoping that a diverse passing game will be enough to knock off ‘Bama.

Orange Bowl (ACC Champion and 1st Selection): #10 Georgia Tech vs. #5 Florida

The Orange Bowl has a standing contract with the ACC to host the conference champion.  That will likely be Georgia Tech, assuming all goes according to plan.  And because the Orange Bowl gets first dibs on its second participant, it will choose the Gators.

For one thing, having Florida play in-state just makes good financial sense.  The Gator fans will gladly travel a few hours south.  For another, it would set up a natural ACC-SEC rivalry appropriate to the region.

Fiesta Bowl (Big 12 Champion and 2nd Selection): #3 TCU vs. #9 Iowa

The Fiesta Bowl loses out on its tie-in with the Big 12 because conference champ Texas will be playing for a national title.  Luckily, the Fiesta does get second choice of whom to take.  TCU is an easy choice due to its relative proximity to Glendale and the fact that the team’s fan base will be energized by a rare BCS appearance. 

The choice of who plays the Frogs will be tougher.  Big East champ Cincinnati would make for a good matchup, but the lack of an established national presence will probably scare the selection committee.  They’ll likely go with Iowa , a team that borders both the midwest and the plains states and has a huge fan base that is willing to travel.

Sugar Bowl (SEC Champion and 3rd Selection): #4 Cincinnati vs. #6 Boise State

With the SEC champ spoken for, and only leftovers remaining, the choices for the Sugar Bowl will be thin.  However, the bowl will benefit from programs’ perceived weaknesses and end up with a stellar matchup. 

Cincinnati , having been passed over by the Fiesta and Orange Bowls, will get an auto-bid thanks to a close win over Pitt.  Boise State will be an at-large berth, but the Broncos’ body of work is too good to ignore.

Rose Bowl (Big Ten Champion vs. Pac-10 Champion): #8 Ohio State vs. #7 Oregon

The Rose Bowl is the only BCS game to have both slots governed by contractual obligations, and this year that works out just fine.  Neither the Pac-10 nor the Big Ten will be sending a team to the BCS National Championship Game, so the winners of both conferences will meet in Pasadena once again on New Year’s Day 2010.

BOWL PROJECTIONS - VOLUME IV

by John Mitchell

BCS National Championship Game

Alabama vs. Texas

As long as Texas doesn’t slip up against Nebraska in the Big XII Title game on Saturday, the National Title game is set between the SEC Champion and Texas . I have Alabama beating Florida in the SEC Championship game, and I don’t see Texas losing to Nebraska . If Texas is to be upset, then that could open the door for TCU to jump into the National Title game.

Sugar Bowl

Florida vs. Cincinnati

If Alabama beats Florida , then the Gators will end up in the Sugar Bowl, because the Sugar Bowl will get the first pick to replace the SEC Champion, and it is most likely that they select Florida . Cincinnati needs to beat Pittsburgh on Saturday to win the Big East and earn a spot in a BCS bowl game. The Bearcats would get their chance to prove they were the best team in the nation if they could beat the defending national champion in Florida .

Fiesta Bowl

Iowa vs. Boise State

The Fiesta Bowl would get the second selection to replace Big XII Champion Texas, and they would probably go with the team that could bring in the most money to their game and that would be Iowa out of the Big Ten. Boise State has to hope that Nebraska doesn’t upset Texas , because then, two teams out of the Big XII would get into a BCS Bowl, and that would leave Boise on the outside looking in.

Orange Bowl

Georgia Tech vs. TCU

The next pick would go to the Orange Bowl to find a team to play the ACC Champion which will be the winner of Georgia Tech and Clemson. I think the Yellow Jackets win that game and earn a spot in the Orange Bowl. I see TCU being the pick over Cincinnati and Boise State .

Rose Bowl

Oregon vs. Ohio State

This seems to be the only BCS bowl game set. Ohio State has already clinched their spot in the Rose Bowl because they won the Big Ten. Oregon hasn’t clinched their spot yet -- the Civil War on Thursday will decide whether Oregon or rival Oregon State plays the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl. I think Oregon will beat the Beavers in their rivalry game and play in their first Rose Bowl in fifteen years.

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BORDER WAR VICTOR BOOKS TRIP TO ALBUQUERQUE

by Zach Bigalke

In the Rocky Mountains , football power is of a cyclical nature. Despite toiling away until recently in relative obscurity, there has always been a strong pigskin tradition in these parts. And despite the rise in prominence of the non-BCS conferences as a whole and the Mountain West Conference in particular, the oldest interstate rivalry game west of the Missouri River remained obscure this season once more. But the final result, even if noted by so few, could potentially have augured in a new power cycle in the century-old rivalry between Colorado State and Wyoming .

The Rams had owned this series over the previous decade, winning eight of ten games in the series since Dana Dimel was the last Wyoming coach to come into Fort Collins and earn the right to carry the Bronze Boot over the border back to Laramie back in 1998. Since that game, which the Cowboys won 27-19 in the final season of both teams’ participation in the WAC before defecting to form the Mountain West, Colorado State has seen the culmination of Sonny Lubick’s career as a coach result in three ten-win seasons, six bowl appearances in a seven-year span and the passing of the torch upon Lubick’s retirement to Steve Fairchild. Wyoming , meanwhile, saw Dimel leave after just one more season in Laramie , bolting for the seemingly-greener pastures of Houston ; the Cowboys are now on their third coach since Dimel bolted ship in the tradition of previous successful Wyoming coaches Dennis Erickson and Joe Tiller. But after Vic Koenning and Joe Glenn flamed out, it seems as though Wyoming might have discovered a guy with surging talents for the job.

The Cowboys have always lived and died as an offensive juggernaut. The highest Division I-A campus in the nation, the University of Wyoming affords the ability for coaches to run opposing defenses ragged with a mixture of power running and aerial attacks to dazzle the assembled believers at War Memorial Stadium. And after being treated to the exploits of Erickson, Roach, Tiller and the like, the mastermind behind the offensive explosion by Chase Daniel and the Missouri Tigers over the past couple seasons has come to town in his first head-coaching gig and done a masterful job with an overachieving roster that was expected to contend only for a cellar slot.

Last year, after Colorado State capped a 7-6 season with a 40-35 win over Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl in Steve Fairchild’s first season in relief of Lubick, it appeared that the Rams were about to right their own ship after Lubick’s stewardship of the program stalled in his final few years. Now, after the tightest of victories, it will be Christensen who gets the chance to use the New Mexico Bowl as a springboard for further Mountain West success....   CONTINUE

ALABAMA WINS IRON BOWL WITH FINAL DRIVE

by John Mitchell

Alabama only led for 1:14 of the 2009 Iron Bowl, but it was the 1:14 that counted most as the Tide won 26-21 for their second consecutive Iron Bowl victory. After losing six straight Iron Bowls, the Tide won the 2008 version of the rivalry 36-0. In 2009, Auburn kept it much closer but the Tide was still able to prevail.

On a day where Mark Ingram was held to just 30 yards rushing and likely ended his Heisman hopes, the Tide was still able to defeat their archrival Auburn on the road Saturday.

The game couldn’t have started worse for Alabama as Auburn took a 14-0 lead just 10 minutes into the game. Terrell Zachery put the first points on the board with a 67-yard touchdown run off of a reverse to put the Tigers up 7-0. Then Auburn responded with an onside kick that caught Alabama completely off guard and they were able to recover. Auburn would take it 58 yards on 12 plays, capped off by a 1-yard touchdown pass from Chris Todd to Eric Smith to give the Tigers a two-touchdown lead.

Alabama was dazed and confused and in a deficit early in the game. Auburn had thrown things at Alabama that they hadn’t seen before thanks to the two weeks they got to prepare for the Tide.

What we didn’t see on the Alabama sideline was panic. They still looked calm and collected although the first quarter ended with the Tide still down by that 14-0 score.... CONTINUE

UPSET OF THE WEEK

by Matt Strobl

So many to choose from... 

Do I go with Dan Mullen’s Bulldogs knocking off Ole Miss?  The Rebels were thought to be an SEC powerhouse at one point this season, but they, like their golden boy Jevan Snead, fizzled.

Do I go with Georgia beating Georgia Tech?  The Yellow Jackets were abominable defensively, yielding nearly three games’ worth of rushing yards to a mediocre UGA.  And Paul Johnson calling three consecutive deep passes on the final drive of the game was simply inexplicable.

Do I go with South Carolina over Clemson?  The Gamecocks destroyed the Tigers and rendered C.J. Spiller all but inert.  So much for Clemson’s winning streak.

Do I go with NC State over UNC?  How inconsistent can a team possibly be?  The Tar Heels are maddeningly impossible to understand, beating Virginia Tech one moment and losing to Virginia the next.  But this loss was atrocious -- not only did they fail to beat a much poorer Wolfpack team, they also failed to avenge last year’s upset.  What a lack of pride.

Do I go with West Virginia over Pitt?  Technically, this wasn’t an upset.  Somehow WVU was favored in this edition of the Backyard Brawl.  Still, the performance from the Panthers was lousy.

No… each of these was impressive in its own way, but my Upset of the Week has to be Oklahoma over Oklahoma State .  Now I know what you’re thinking.  OU was favored -- on paper, this can’t qualify as an upset.  With all due respect to the oddsmakers, that’s crap.  OSU came into this game ranked 11th in the nation and sporting a 9-2 record.  Oklahoma was 6-5, and looked horrible in their losses to Nebraska , Texas Tech, and Texas .  In other words, each time the Sooners faced a quality Big 12 opponent, they folded.  Badly.  Nothing of what we had seen in 2009 warranted the Sooner being the favorite in this year’s Bedlam rivalry.  And yet at the end of the game, the score stood at 27-0.  That’s right Cowboys -- you failed to put up a single, solitary point against a team that has had a downright embarrassing year. 

I fail to understand how on earth Oklahoma State could play with such an utter lack of inspiration.  The team had its star QB back from injury.  OSU should have at least made this competitive.  Instead, they suffered a colossal failure.  Frankly, it’s a good thing for college football.  Now there’s no chance of OSU taking a BCS berth away from a team that actually deserves it.  But while I’m personally satisfied with the outcome, it was still a shocking result.

THE HOT SEAT WATCH

by John Mitchell

With some coaches being fired this week, I want to take a different approach with The Hot Seat Watch. I want to offer my take on the coaches that were fired along with possible candidates to replace those coaches. Then I’ll give the remaining coaches on the Hot Seat.

Notre Dame

It was announced early on Monday that Charlie Weis had been let go as the Notre Dame Head Coach following the loss to Stanford on Saturday to drop the Irish to 6-6 on the season. The move came as no surprise considering Charlie Weis’ career winning percentage had dipped below Ty Willingham and Bob Davie in his five seasons at the helm in South Bend .

• Possible Candidates
• Bob Stoops—Bob Stoops has had a very successful 11 year run in Norman , but if he wanted to leave this would be the time. Oklahoma went just 7-5 this season and with Sam Bradford headed to the NFL along with some other stars on this team, this would be the best time for Stoops to leave if he ever does. Stoops has denied reports that he may leave Oklahoma , but you can’t always believe coaches.
• Brian Kelly—Kelly has built a winner wherever he has been. Whether it is Grand Valley State , Central Michigan , or now at Cincinnati . With a win over Pittsburgh , he will have led the Bearcats to an undefeated regular season and a Big East title. He would be a solid choice for the Irish.
• Brian Billick—If the Irish want to go after a coach with NFL pedigree and a proven winner, then Notre Dame could go after Brian Billick. Billick won a Super Bowl with the Ravens but has never been a Head Coach in college, and hasn’t coached at the college level since 1991.
• Urban Meyer—Meyer’s name has surfaced as a possibility for Notre Dame, but I don’t see any reason why he would leave Gainesville . He has a chance this year to win his third National Title in four years at Florida , and he won’t have that much success anywhere else. It would be great for Notre Dame, but I can’t see any reason why Meyer would take the job.
• Prediction: Brian Kelly

Louisville

Steve Kragthorpe was fired by Louisville following the loss to Rutgers on Friday. The Cardinals went 4-8 this season and were just 15-21 in Kragthorpe’s three year tenure as the coach at Louisville that never garnered a postseason appearance. Kragthorpe had very high expectations with Louisville coming in after Bobby Petrino left following an 11 win season and a Big East title.

• Possible Candidates
• Philip Fulmer—The Cardinals could be looking to excite their fanbase with a big name higher and Fulmer would definitely be a big name. Fulmer would bring in a National Title pedigree coming from Tennessee . He took this season off following his dismissal from Tennessee but is ready to coach again. He already has a staff assembled.
• Tommy Tuberville—Tuberville is another big name coach that could excite the Cardinals fanbase. Louisville renovated their stadium to hold 60,000 people, and they had a little over 20,000 in attendance against Rutgers in the final game of the season. Tubberville was pretty successful at Auburn , and I believe he was terminated too early.
• Kevin Sumlin—If Louisville is looking to reestablish a high powered offense then Kevin Sumlin would be the guy to go after. He coached under Bob Stoops at Oklahoma and has spent the last two years as the Head Coach at Houston with an 18-7 record. I’m not sure Sumlin would make the jump from Houston to a school like Louisville but the lure of playing in a BCS Conference might be too much to pass up.
• Gary Barnett—Barnett has been out of coaching since 2005, but could be looking at getting back in the game. He was successful with Northwestern and Colorado during his coaching days. He led Northwestern to the 1995 Rose Bowl, and went 49-39 in seven years at the helm of Colorado with a 2001 Fiesta Bowl bid. Colorado hasn’t had the same success since Barnett’s tenure ended.
• Charlie Strong—Strong has served as the Florida defensive coordinator since 2002 and is more than deserving of a shot at being a Head Coach. Strong is one of the best coordinators in college football but has never been offered a Head Coaching job. This would be a smart hire by Louisville , but not the big name they may be looking for.
• Prediction: Philip Fulmer

Virginia

After a 3-9 season, Virginia decided that it was time to go in a different direction. Groh was the Head Coach at Virginia for 9 seasons and compiled a 59-53 record with the Cavaliers. Groh had success with Virginia leading them to five bowl berths. After a 9-4 season in 2007, Virginia went a combined 8-16 over the past two seasons and they have decided to go in a different direction.

• Possible Candidates
• Al Golden—Golden’s name has emerged thanks to his Virginia ties. He as a graduate assistant with the Cavaliers from 1994-1996 and served as the defensive coordinator for Al Groh from 2001-2005. He took over as the Temple Head Coach in 2006 and had three mediocre seasons going 10-26. But this season, Golden led the Owls to a 9-3 season and has them in position for just their 3^rd bowl game in program history and their first since the 1979 Garden State Bowl.
• Mike London— London is another name that has emerged because of ties to the university. He coached the defensive line for the Cavs from 2002-2005 and served as the defensive coordinator from 2006-2007. He’s spent the last two seasons as the Head Coach at Richmond going 24-4.
• Jim Grobe—This is a bit of a stretch, but it’s not out of the question. Grobe played at Virginia and was a graduate assistant. He has spent the last nine seasons as the Head Coach at Wake Forest going 59-51 in his tenure. He led them to the 2006 ACC Championship and Orange Bowl. He may not want to leave Wake Forest especially for another team within the conference, but I wouldn’t be surprised by the move.
• Prediction: Al Golden

Coaches Remaining on the Hot Seat

• Ralph Friedgen/Maryland—Friedgen started his Maryland coaching career with three consecutive ten-win seasons but hasn’t reached that since then. He has coached the Terps for nine seasons and has gone 66-46. This season Maryland went 2-10 and that could cost him his job. Personally, I think Friedgen deserves one more year.
• Mark Mangino/Kansas— Kansas ’ colossal collapse in the second half of this season has Mangino on the Hot Seat. After a 5-0 start the Jayhawks lost 7 straight games to finish the season 5-7. Mangino’s poor clock management against Missouri may give Kansas the fuel they need to let Mangino go especially with the investigation of his mistreatment of players still looming.
• Bobby Bowden/Florida State—Bowden’s future at Florida State is still up in the air. Following a 6-6 season in 2009, there has been a lot of pressure on Bowden to retire. He has won 315 games at Florida State but that may not save him. Florida State is ready to usher in the Jimbo Fisher era. They would like Bowden to stay on, but would rather he take a role other than Head Coach.
• Paul Wulff/Washington State—Wulff may get one more chance considering he has only had the reigns with the Cougars for two years, but his 3-22 record isn’t near good enough. Three wins in two seasons could spell the end of Wulff, but I expect him to get one more year.

BCS BUSTER POWER RANKINGS

by Zach Bigalke

The two hold firm in their spots at the top of the rankings and firmly entrenched in their respective spots in the top six of the BCS standings, an unprecedented feat for BCS Busters all around. Now all that really remains to be seen is whether or not the BCS powers that be have the decency to follow through on their implicit duty to match the best bowl games with the best possible matchups...

TCU did its job, finishing its season with a big stomping of New Mexico at home. Boise State still has one game left at home, fittingly against the other university from the Land of Enchantment -- which means that the score should look a lot like what the Horned Frogs pulled off against the Lobos in Week 13. With just six undefeated teams left in college football and no others with fewer than two, common sense dictates that both TCU and Boise State should get berths as the conference champions of the Mountain West and WAC respectively. But common sense doesn’t always dictate things when it comes to college football...

The Horned Frogs rolled over the last obstacle standing in their path of a perfect season and a top-five finish in the regular-season BCS standings. At home against hapless Mountain West bottom-feeder New Mexico , TCU displayed both its vaunted defense and its underrated offensive attack in a 41-point drubbing of the Lobos. With Boise State unlikely to pass the Mountain West champion in the standings, all that remains for the Horned Frogs is to wait and see who they are paired against and in which BCS bowl -- the Fiesta, the Orange or the Sugar. Gary Patterson will have his guys ready no matter where the selectors send them...

In a matchup that amounted to the de facto WAC championship game, the Broncos hosted Nevada in Boise . Chris Petersen's team pulled out to an early lead, up 20-0 at the end of the first quarter. But Chris Ault rallied his Wolf Pack, easing the deficit to 27-16 at halftime. Nevada , with the top-ranked rushing attack in the nation, was held 130 yards below its season average on the ground and could never really get QB Colin Kaepernick feeling comfortable enough to execute as was necessary. With one remaining WAC game, against a New Mexico State team that poses little threat, the Broncos will finish with a 13-0 regular season record and wait to see whether the BCS has enough decency to give the WAC champion its due. One final fun fact: Boise State, currently #6 in the BCS, is the only undefeated BCS school with a win over a team currently also in the top ten -- they beat #7 Oregon at home 19-8 on opening day, lest we forget...

HONORABLE MENTIONS

THE TAILGATER HEISMAN WATCH

by Matt Strobl

Last week, we pared the list of Heisman hopefuls down to the few who have a legitimate chance of receiving the award.  Now, with only a handful of games remaining, it’s time to cull this group even further.  At this stage, I’m presenting the players in order of their likely standings with the voters.  As you’ll see, this order does not necessarily reflect my personal opinions.

Still In…

#1.  Colt McCoy (QB/Texas) – All McCoy has to do is have a good game against Nebraska , and the trophy is almost certainly his.  He was denied last year- a fact that won’t be lost on the voters.  And he has his team in the National Championship game barring a disastrous and unlikely upset.  Moreover, the Longhorns’ success is due primarily to his efforts.

#2.  Toby Gerhart (RB/Stanford) – Gerhart is my choice to win the award.  He’s been the best tailback in the nation and has guided his team to three significant wins.  Yes, Stanford finished just shy of a Pac-10 title.  But bear in mind that this is a young team that shouldn’t have been anywhere near teams like Oregon and USC, much less beating them.  As my Tailgater colleague put it, Gerhart is a tank.  It’s just that simple.  Without him, the Cardinal would never have enjoyed this kind of success.  True, the same could be said of McCoy and Texas .  But Texas has played what I consider to be a very easy schedule, and McCoy’s numbers are exactly what they should be against the opponents he’s faced.  Gerhart, on the other hand, has done as much with far less around him.  He has exceeded all expectations.

#3.  Tim Tebow (QB/Florida) – We can’t rule out Superman.  Just the name Tebow cuases voters’ hearts to flutter.  Even though the numbers aren’t there this year, Tebow will be- expect to see him at the Downtown Athletic Club even though he’s not the favorite this time around.

#4.  Kellen Moore (QB/Boise State) – Realistically, Moore needs a lot of help here.  The guys in front of him would all have to have significant stumbles for him to have a hope of winning the award, which is unfair.  He’s been a far better QB than either McCoy or Tebow, but Boise ’s perceived strength of schedule works against him.

Hanging by a thread…

• Mark Ingram (RB/Alabama) – Ingram was virtually invisible in Alabama ’s comeback win over Auburn in the Iron Bowl, partially because of a wrist injury.  It remains to be seen whether or not that will impact his availability or performance against Florida in the SEC title game.  Whether it does or not, his didn’t really show up in a rivalry game that just happens to be the regular season finale for the Tide.  That’s going to stick in the minds of voters.
• Jordan Shipley (WR/Texas) – Shipley is still the most likely candidate among wide receivers.  But that’s not saying much.  He has virtually no shot, but he continues to play well enough to warrant what is likely a final mention.
• Case Keenum (QB/Houston) – Keenum was out of the picture after a loss to UCF.  But college football is a world of what have you done for me lately?  Now that the Cougars have won the Conference USA West, Keenum has a very slim chance to re-insert himself into the conversation by giving a dominating performance in the title game.  He won’t win, but the sheer enormity of his numbers demands that he at least be considered.

Out…

• Bill Stull (QB/Pittsburgh) – Stull was ineffective in Pitt’s loss to West Virginia .  The Backyard Brawl went to the underdog once again, squelching Stull’s already slim chances in the Heisman race.
• C.J. Spiller (RB/Clemson) – Spiller was completely shut down by South Carolina this week.  It would take an absolute miracle for him to vault back into this race.  I don’t see that happening.

PRIME CUTS AND CHARRED REMNANTS

by Zach Bigalke

There’s nothing sweeter than beating a rival... and there’s nothing that stings more than putting in a stinker of a performance against the one school to which losing stings worse than any other. So in that spirit, let’s conclude this week by saluting the prime performances and exposing the dregs of rivalry-soaked ineptitude... and, in the spirit of the week, let’s bring back one of Matt’s old favorites -- those select few who, while their team might have fallen this week, were not beaten, putting in huge performances despite ending up on the short end of the score.

Prime Cuts

• Colt McCoy (QB/Texas) -- McCoy might just have cemented his Heisman campaign with his win in the Lone Star Showdown against Texas A&M. The senior quarterback threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns, completing 24-of-40 along the way. He also danced all over the Aggies’ rushing defense, carrying 18 times for a whopping 175 yards -- including a 65-yard touchdown run at the beginning of the second quarter. It is highly probable that the early-season struggles of the Texas legend are forgotten by Heisman voters and performances like this rivalry gem will be remembered fondly.
• Washaun Ealey and Caleb King (RBs/Georgia) -- The Yellow Jackets were supposed to be the team with the far-superior rushing attack coming into this venting of a little Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate, but Mark Richt silenced all his critics with a two-headed tailback monster that gashed Georgia Tech for its second loss heading into its ACC Championship Game clash with Clemson. The freshman Ealey led all rushers with 183 yards on 20 carries; King, a sophomore, was right behind with 166 yards on 18 carries (an identical 9.2 YPC average). King also scored twice in the 30-24 Bulldog victory.
• Russell Wilson (QB/NC State) -- With North Carolina getting the lion’s share of the national ink in college football this year, the victory by NC State is that much sweeter. For the oft-maligned Wilson , who as a sophomore has shown flashes of brilliance but has been inconsistent, shone brilliantly in the derby victory. Wilson finished with four touchdown passes and 259 yards on 20-of-27 passing. Once Tom O’Brien finds a way to reintegrate more of Wilson ’s running ability into the attack, his renewed accuracy could lead to greater Wolfpack success in 2010.

Charred Remnants

• Max Hall (QB/BYU) -- Yes, Hall technically came out a winner when his Cougars prevailed at home in the Holy War over in-state rival Utah 26-23. But Hall, who came into the season as a man on many Heisman watch lists and put up big numbers throughout his senior season, was outdueled by Utah ’s freshman quarterback Jordan Wynn. Hall finished his final home game abysmally, completing just 12-of-32 for 134 yards. Yes, he had two touchdowns, but he also had a penchant for exhibiting vitriol that would seem more in character had it come out of another former BYU quarterback’s mouth: “I don't like Utah . In fact, I hate them. I hate everything about them. I hate their program, their fans. I hate everything. It felt really good to send those guys home....”  Classy in victory, Max... real classy. That’ll char you every time...
• Zac Robinson (QB/Oklahoma State) -- With a BCS berth still technically on the line for the Cowboys, Robinson came out for the Bedlam Game against Oklahoma and led a flat offense to a flat performance against a keyed-up Sooner defense smarting from a season they were determined to keep from ending at .500. Completing just 9-of-21 for 44 yards and an interception, and running backward six yards on eight carries, Robinson buried his team’s chances on the Memorial Stadium turf in Norman .
• C.J. Spiller (RB/Clemson) -- Ahead of the ACC Championship, the Tigers would have loved to walk out of the Battle of the Palmetto State one step closer to a double-digit-win season. After nineteen seconds, it appeared that Clemson was on their way to victory and Spiller was on the path toward solidifying his Heisman credentials. But after Spiller returned the opening kickoff 88 yards, 19 seconds and six points later, he disappeared from the rest of the game. For the final 59:41 of the game, Spiller carried nine times for 18 yards, caught three passes for 19 yards, returned one more kickoff 14 yards and a punt 2 yards -- failing in fourteen plays to match his production on the first play. Spiller kissed his odds of hoisting the Heisman goodbye with his disappearing act last weekend.

Not Victorious, But Not Beaten

• Jerrod Johnson (QB/Texas A&M) -- Johnson might’ve lost this battle against Colt McCoy, but he performed admirably and demonstrated that the Aggies indeed might be on the right track under Mike Sherman. Johnson was more accurate than his counterpart for the Longhorns, completing 26-of-33 for 342 yards and four touchdowns. He also carried 14 times for 97 yards, ending the game having contributed to a huge exposure of the Texas defense as less than the numbers might suggest despite not cracking it enough to win outright.
• Dion Lewis (RB/Pitt) -- While the Panthers missed out on their chance to go into next week’s game against Cincinnati with just one defeat on their record, the freshman tailback did everything in his power to prevent the loss in Morgantown in the Backyard Brawl. Lewis ended the game with 155 rushing yards on 26 carries and caught two balls out of the backfield for 14 yards. The only place West Virginia could stop Lewis was at the goal line -- the back failed to score a touchdown for the first time in six weeks since playing Connecticut.

Submitted 12/01 

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