Week 6 College Football Recap: Rankings, Heisman, BCS Projections

There were definitely some interesting developments in week 6. Ohio State flirted with a loss on the road under the lights. Washington lost to Stanford, but maybe proved to the rest of the country that they are a bonafide top 10 team. If not for an opening kickoff returned for a touchdown, I am not sure Stanford would have ever gotten into the end zone. Baylor and Oregon continue their record point scoring. Florida State showed just how schizophrenic college football can be by dropping a 63-0 whooping on recently-ranked Maryland. Georgia cannot catch a break on offense, now having lost their top three receivers and top two running backs. We are almost at the midway point of the season. We are starting to really get to know what these teams are made of. Check out my recap of the action:

Top 25 Poll

Others receiving votes: East Carolina, Houston, Michigan State, Missouri, Notre Dame, Rutgers, UCF, Wisconsin

Dropped from the rankings: Mississippi (21), Arizona State (24), Maryland (25)

25 (NR). Virginia Tech (5-1) – They have quietly rolled off five wins since their opening season loss to Alabama. They could make a bit of noise in the ACC.

24 (NR). Florida (4-1) – In a game that people were calling for a potential upset, the Gators ended Arkansas early on. If they can score, they will get their share of wins again.

23 (23). Northern Illinois (5-0) – The Huskies pulled another dominating win in the MAC. Look out BCS…

22 (NR). Nebraska (4-1) – The Huskers have been totally solid, even without their starting quarterback. Oh, except for that one half against UCLA. They will get it together with another bye week coming up after an easy trip to Purdue.

21 (20). Oklahoma State (4-1) – They survived a pretty tough matchup with the quietly improving K-State squad. Last week was a fluke.

20 (18). Northwestern (4-1) – The Wildcats were in position to win several times. The program is legit now. They just need that signature win that frequently eludes them.

19 (22). Michigan (5-0) – The bye week treated the struggling Michigan team well, who blew out an inspired Minnesota team in the Big House.

18 (15). South Carolina (4-1) – They somehow can keep winning, while looking less and less impressive doing it. The Cocks won a close one against terrible Kentucky.

17 (19). Fresno State (5-0) – The offense led by future NFL player Derek Carr is scary good. There might not be a team remaining on their schedule who can keep up.

16 (16). Texas Tech (5-0) – This team is so up and down. They could put up 50 on anyone, or they could put up 5 turnovers against anyone. I will just leave them here.

15 (17). Miami (5-0) – The Hurricanes might just be the team that comes out of the ACC if they continue to play offense this way. No one could have expected that coming into the year.

14 (12). Texas A&M (3-1) – IDLE. Next week: at Mississippi.

13 (14). Oklahoma (5-0) – The Sooners seem to take a misstep at this point in the year ever season. It hasn’t happened yet. Red River Rivalry upset next week?

12 (11). Georgia (4-1) – They lose another handful of starters in another win without much defense. I don’t know what to think of this team. Flirting with a loss to Tennessee? Really? Yeah, the SEC is totally better than the Pac-12. *sarcasm*

11 (13). LSU (5-1) – LSU has really developed into one of the more solid and balanced teams in the nation. I think they will eventually take down Alabama.

10 (10). Louisville (5-0) – Yeah, they can score against Temple. Cool.

9 (5). Washington (4-1) – If this were a power ranking, then they would not have dropped. They proved against Stanford that they were the better team overall yesterday.

8 (9). UCLA (4-0) –Playing in Utah is one of the biggest hurdles for any team in the Pac-12. It is just one of those places where teams go to die. The Bruins came out alive.

7 (7). Ohio State (6-0) – A few bounces go their way, and they remain unbeaten under Urban Meyer. They are not losing this season.

6 (8). Florida State (5-0) – Just when people wanted to buy into Maryland, the Seminoles go and do that. Wow. Jameis Winston for Heisman?

5 (4). Clemson (5-0) – They obliterated Syracuse on the road, which is always impressive. That is another one of those sites that favorites seem to struggle.

4 (3). Stanford (5-0) – They just do not lose with Kevin Hogan at QB. I cannot wait for that high-powered Oregon attack to take on the Cardinal.

3 (2). Alabama (5-0) – They had a scrimmage against Georgia State, and they looked good. Nothing really to take away from that.

2 (6). Baylor (4-0) – 73 more points. Wow... I would love to see what they can do when they aren’t up 50 points in the second half.

1 (1). Oregon (5-0) – …just like this team. Will they be tested next week in Seattle? We will see if Washington can lick their wounds after a gut-wrenching loss in Palo Alto. It could be quite s show.

Top 5 Games for Next Weekend

5. Oklahoma (#13) vs Texas, 9:00AM ABC – The Red River Rivalry is going to be an entertaining game. There is a clear favorite this year, which make me think that there could be a big upset.

4. Missouri at Georgia (#12), 9:00AM ESPN – Does anyone know anything about unbeaten Missouri? Yeah, I didn’t think so. We find out next weekend.

3. Rutgers at Louisville (#10), Thursday 4:30PM ESPN – Louisville has a home game, but these Thursday games are always a little funky. Rutgers has the talent to keep up. Can they?

2. Florida (#24) at LSU (#11), 12:30PM CBS – These types of matchups seem to come weekly in the SEC. People will call for another defensive struggle, but these teams will put up some big numbers. Too bad it is at the same time as…

1. Oregon (#1) at Washington (#9), FS1 1:00PM – This is maybe the best and most physical rivalry in the conference. The teams simply despise one another. If there is any team that could go score for score with the Ducks in the Pac, it is Washington. It’s going to be loud. This is a must-see.

Heisman Trophy Watch

5. Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville – He may not be multi-dimensional like the other quarterback contenders, but if the voters want a throwback pocket passer to win the award again, then this guy is as good as it gets.

4. Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M – He had the week off, but he still has a bunch of spotlight games this year to remind us how electric and exciting he and his offense are.

3. Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State – He has the ESPN hype behind him. His passing numbers are maybe the best ever for a freshman at this point in the season. They might not lose a game.

2. Lache Seastrunk, RB, Baylor – If he ever has to play an entire game and get 30 carries, then he is going to put up some ridiculous stats. He is a freak, and we are all still wondering what this would look like if he hadn’t screwed up at Oregon…

1. Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon – He continues to dazzle in every game. Next week he has Washington. Stanford is coming up soon. We will see what he is truly made of against two of the five best defenses in the nation.

BCS Projections

Rose Bowl – Stanford over Ohio State

Orange Bowl – Alabama over Clemson

Sugar Bowl – LSU over Northern Illinois

Fiesta Bowl – Florida State over Louisville

BCS Championship Game – Baylor over Oregon

What did you think of this weekend? What games are you most wanting to see? Let me know!

Week 4 College Football Recap: Rankings, Heisman, BCS Projections

It was a fairly lame weekend for matchups, so the top 25 does not have too much shifting this week. Most teams were either playing cupcakes in preparation for conference games coming up, or they just took the week off. Next week starts the beginning of the games that matter. Check out my recap of week 4 below.

Top 25 Poll

Others receiving votes: Florida, Georgia Tech, Nebraska, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame

Dropped from the rankings: Notre Dame (25)

25 (23). Miami (3-0) – Savannah State is always a good team to schedule if you need some confidence. They have an easy ACC schedule with the exception of Florida State. They need to look impressive every week if they really want to get back to being a legitimate title contender.

24 (NR). Fresno State (3-0) – They showed off their high-octane offense against Boise State in a thriller. This team probably will not lose this year.

23 (22). Oklahoma (3-0) – Oklahoma definitely has their quarterback. They head to Notre Dame next weekend, which will likely be his stiffest test this year.

22 (20). UCF (3-0) – They had a perfectly-timed idle week before South Carolina goes to Orlando.ThaIt is an intriguing matchup for sure.

21 (16). Michigan (4-0) – How exactly does a team go from unstoppable to squeaking out wins against 2 of the 5 worst teams in the nation? Watch the 2013 Michigan Wolverines.

20 (24). Wisconsin (3-1) – Their running game is absurd, averaging close to 10 yards per rush seemingly every game. They might be the best team in the conference.

19 (15). Arizona State (2-1) – The Sun Devils had a tough loss against the physically-superior Stanford team, but they still look like a team to be reckoned with in the Pac-12 South.

18 (21). Northwestern (4-0) – They had maybe the toughest non-conference schedule to manage of any team, but they now get a big week off before they welcome Ohio State to town.

17 (18). Mississippi (3-0) – How good is Ole Miss? We do not know yet. But we will after Saturday when they travel to Tuscaloosa.

16 (14). South Carolina (2-1) – The Gamecocks would be unwise to look past an upset-minded and very talented UCF team before conference schedule really kicks in. It is even a road game. I kinda like UCF in that one…

15 (19). Texas Tech (4-0) – The Red Raiders get their first week off next weekend. It seems like very good timing so that their young QB can regroup and prepare for a tough Big 12 schedule.

14 (13). Oklahoma State (3-0) – We will see what kind of guts Oklahoma State has in their next few games against substandard teams.

13 (12). Georgia (2-1) – The Bulldogs have a quality loss, but they need to basically go undefeated in conference to play for an SEC title. That journey takes another step when LSU comes to town next weekend in a monster matchup.

12 (11). LSU (4-0) – That game at Georgia is huge for this team. The offense has improved, but we will see if they can win a shootout in Athens.

11 (19). Texas A&M (3-1) – This team seems unstoppable on offense. With a lack of overly dominant teams this year, that might just be enough to make a title run.

10 (10). Louisville (4-0) – There is not a game remaining on their schedule that they should lose / be favored by less than 17 points. It will be a massive disappointment if they do not run the table.

9 (8). UCLA (3-0) – The Bruins have a couple easy games before heading to Stanford and Oregon in consecutive weeks. Let’s see if they can avoid looking too far ahead.

8 (7). Ohio State (4-0) – Yeah, it seems foolish now thinking that Miller’s injury would hurt this team. Guiton is just a better player.

7 (9). Baylor (3-0) – 69, 70, 70…those are point totals for Baylor. They have given up 23 points this year. No one wants any part of this scary team.

6 (6). Washington (3-0) – This team looks like it could be the most complete and balanced team in the nation. We will see how much they have grown up as the brutal 4 game stretch commences against Arizona next week.

5 (5). Florida State (3-0) – The Seminole offense is looking just as good as its defense. That does not bode well for the defense-deficient ACC.

4 (4). Clemson (3-0) – Clemson flirted with a predictable trap game loss at NC State, but they were able to take over. Their schedule is soft until they play Florida State, but they cannot overlook anyone.

3 (3). Stanford (3-0) – Stanford looked impressive in a physical win over Arizona State. The Cardinal have finally shown up.

2 (2). Alabama (3-0) – Alabama has not really been lighting up the scoreboard, but they are still hammering teams. They get a nice test next week in Ole Miss.

1 (1). Oregon (3-0) – The Ducks got the week off to prepare for the worst defense in the country when the Golden Bears head to Eugene. Can they score 100?

Top 5 Games for Next Weekend

5. Oklahoma (#23) at Notre Dame, 12:30PM ABC/ESPN2 – This seems like a game that will tell us a great deal about both teams. I cannot even begin to make a pick here.

4. South Carolina (#16) at UCF (#22), 9:00AM ABC – This is one of those weird games where a powerhouse travels to a non-AQ team’s building. I love this matchup on paper. Hopefully it lives up to it.

3. LSU (#12) at Georgia (#13), 12:30PM CBS – This is the big SEC headliner, but not the most intriguing matchup on the slate. Neither team has much of a defense, so this will be one of those offensive shows that the “experts” think are myths in the SEC.

2. Mississippi (#17) at Alabama (#2), 3:30PM ESPN – Alabama has not played a spread attack like Ole Miss yet this year. If there is a team that could jump out to a lead on them, it is the Rebels. This one smells like an upset.

1. Wisconsin (#20) at Ohio State (#8), 5:00PM ABC – This has become one of the better rivalries in the country. Both teams have been putting up huge offensive numbers. The winner probably takes the conference.

Heisman Trophy Watch

5. Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville – Their 70+ point win proved that they just do not care who or where they are playing, they are going to run up the score whenever they can. That bodes well for the preconceived #1 QB on the big board.

4. Lache Seastrunk, RB, Baylor – His rushing numbers are just silly in that offense. I cannot even fathom what his numbers will look like by season’s end.

3. Tajh Boyd, QB, Clemson – He has had the signature wins already. If he continues to put up these kinds of numbers in the ACC, then he could give the trophy a run.

2. Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M – He is going to be able to do whatever he wants all year. He needs to avoid losing a couple more games for him to have a real chance at being the second two-time winner ever.

1. Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon – He had the week off, yet no one was able to hop up and take the top spot. He could be here for the long haul.

BCS Projections

Rose Bowl – Stanford over Wisconsin

Orange Bowl – Florida State over Louisville

Sugar Bowl – Alabama over Oklahoma

Fiesta Bowl – Texas A&M over Baylor

BCS Championship Game – Oregon over Clemson

What did you think of this weekend? Thoughts? Give me your rankings in the comments!