College football weekend observations

by WCT, The Ship of Fools

Pic:AP

I hope you enjoyed it SEC fans, because, at least for the moment, it is over.

By "it," I mean the mantra that "the SEC is the best and deepest conference in college football." We have been reciting that statement ad nauseum for about a decade now, and nobody could really argue the point. We just accepted it as empirical fact. No longer.

Not that the SEC has taken a huge step backward (although, don't look now, but it has taken at least a small step backward), but the Big 12 has emerged as, by far, the best and deepest conference in the nation. We all know about Oklahoma, the deserving #1 team in the nation, and their opponent for this weekend, Texas, who is undefeated and ranked #5. Then there is Missouri, the undefeated team that weekly embarrasses whoever attempts to stop Chase Daniel and their ridiculous offense. But don't forget the Tigers' opponent this weekend, Oklahoma State, who is also undefeated, and as unstoppable as Mizzou's offensive attack has been, the Cowboys basically have an identical points per game average. Then there is Texas Tech, also undefeated, and ranked #7. And we can't forget about 4-1 #16 Kansas, who had a miraculous win in Ames over Iowa State on Saturday.

6 ranked teams, 3 of the top 7 (including the nations #1 team), 6 of the top 10 scoring offenses in Division 1-A (think about that, half of the conference is in the top 10 in scoring nationally), and 4 of the top 5 QBs by efficiency rating in the nation. The conference is simply stacked.

- I admit it, I am slow to adapt to change. So at first, I was not a believer in Vanderbilt. Not anymore. The Commodores are legit. They play Georgia in two weeks and Florida next month, so we still have a lot to learn about this team, but they were very impressive in beating Auburn in a hard-fought 14-13 game Saturday night.

- Speaking of Florida, something looks a little off with the Gators. Its tough to describe, but they just don't seem to be clicking the way they have in the past. Yes, they won 38-7 over a disastrous Razorback team (how is that move back to college working out for you Petrino? Dick.) but that game was in doubt deep in the second half, before the Hogs self-destructed in the fourth quarter.

- Just when you thought Maryland might be developing into an ACC contender, they go out and get destroyed 31-0 by Virginia of all people.

- Just when you thought Connecticut might be developing into a Big East contender, they go out and get destroyed by North Carolina of all people. No, the loss won't hurt them in the Big East standings, but it certainly isn't a good omen.

- No way Phil Fullmer comes back next year, right? We're all in agreement on this one, right? The Vols squeaked by Northern Illinois 13-9, at home, at night, on Saturday. Tennessee is now 2-3, with its only wins coming in this week's escape, and a home win over UAB. Is there another team in the nation that consistently is talented, but consistently underachieves to this degree? Ok, besides Clemson?

- If Terrelle Pryor ever ends up realizing the huge potential that he has, we will look back on Saturday night as the time when it all started. With 6 minutes left in the game and the Buckeyes behind 17-13 in Madison, Pryor drove Ohio State down the field, converted key 3rd downs, and scored the winning TD with just over a minute left.

- Staying in that game, the season seems to be falling apart for a Wisconsin team that a lot of people thought would be pretty good this year. The Badgers, now 0-2 in conference, face Penn State next Saturday, and the realistic possibility of an 0-3 conference start, and a 3-3 record. How big does that second-half collapse in Ann Arbor look now? However, despite all that, the Badgers inexplicably remain ranked in the coaches' poll.