College Football Review Week 2

Game of the Week: Georgia vs. South Carolina

            Aaron Murray was rung through the ringer last week after another loss to a BCS contender. Murray’s reputation in big games was becoming as slimy as Miley Cyrus at a rap concert. But Murray rebounded nicely as the Georgia Bulldogs were able to pull off the upset over no. 6 South Carolina Gamecocks. In what was supposed to be a hard-fought, defensive battle, with both teams trying to matriculate the ball down the field, fireworks were exploding all over the places as big play after big play became common in this SEC showdown.

            Aside from the highlights, there was a lot to take away from this game once the game ended, which is why it wins the distinction of being the game of the week.

1) Aaron Murray is not that bad: He will not be a top NFL pick, he most likely will not be selected until the 4^th round at the earliest but Murray is an above average college quarterback. He has the athleticism to make plays with his arms and feet, and as a senior he has the intellect to analyze defense and be instinctive. The roll-out to his non-throwing side bomb to Justin Scott-Wesley to pu the game away demonstrates why Georgia still has a chance to be a factor in the SEC. (17-23, 309 yards, 4 TDs)

2) Jadevon Clowney is losing millions: Its not really his fault, the double teams, and the way teams are game planning against him is slowing him down, but that’s what happens to most defensive ends, especially in the college level. The college game is too gimmicky for a defensive end to really flourish, which is why a lot of defensive ends are not selected in the top 5, or top 10 for that matter. Clowney will still be an above average player in the NFL but he is not worth a top 5 pick.

3) Todd Gurley is the best running back in football, period: Two straight weeks, in primetime affairs, Gurley has stolen the show with his sheer ferocity and vision as a running back. He is a bigger version of Marshawn Lynch and he is still young enough, that there is not a lot of tread on the tires.

4) We can stop talking about South Carolina: Georgia was able to put up 41 points after losing their best WR with a torn ACL. Clowney or not, the South Carolina defense is not that good, and granted their schedule is a joke for an SEC schedule, the Florida defense will slow down the offense and Clemson will run it up against the Gamecocks. We can officially count South Carolina out of the national championship picture.

Player of the Week: Devin Gardner, QB, Michigan

            Gardner threw for 294 with 4 touchdowns, and led the team in rushing with 82 yards and 1 touchdown as Michigan was able to out score a formidable opponent in Notre Dame (something only Rich Rodriguez could dream about). Gardner has the potential to be better than Denard Robinson and led the Wolverines to higher aspirations than the Sugar Bowl team, D-Nard was responsible for in 2011. Michigan has a manageable schedule all the way to November, and that is when the defense, the one weak point Michigan had last night, will be healthy. Michigan has a legit mate chance to contend for the Big 10 title.

Disappointment of the Week: USC

            I just don’t understand why coaches go into a season with two quarterbacks?  Can anyone recall a situation in which a team in either the NFL or College has gone into a season, still unsure of whom the quarterback is and just decided to let the season figure out who is better, and that team would still contend? But what makes this quaterback carosel even worse is that, its USC, a program in recent memory who had the reputation for boasting the best quarterbacks in the country, and the fact that you lost to Washington State…at home! This should be the end for Lane Kiffin’s tenure at USC and it should be interesting to see what the university does if they fire Kiffin either during or at the end of the season. USC is still one of the most desired locations for any coach because of the recruiting pipelines, facilities, and with the NFL still unable to land a team in L.A. the Trojans , when good, is Hollywood. Who would be a good fit for USC? Here are my contenders:

1) Steve Sarkisian: The Huskies could be a dark horse in the PAC-12 and Sarkisian has USC ties having worked under Pete Carroll during the Trojans golden age in the 2000s. Washington is not exactly a college power house, and Sarkisian is a good enough coach, that with the right blue chip players, could bring USC back in to the title picture.

2) Chris Peterson: I know Peterson seems to be entrenched at Boise State, but with all of these super conferences forming and the Big East, which was supposed to be Boise State’s destination and ticket to the tile game is no more, one would have to figure that Peterson would want to coach at a school who has a chance to get to a National Championship game. He has west coast ties, and is still regarded as one of the best coaches in the country

3) Ken Whisenhunt: This is my dark horse candidate. USC loves hiring former NFL coaches and don’t forget that before they brought in Pete Carroll had zero connections to the school and the West Coast, other than he grew up in San Francisco. Whisenhunt would be a high profile hire that would satisfy the boosters being that he led the Arizona Cardinals, of all teams, to the  Super Bowl,  in 2009.

Game To Watch: Texas A&M vs. Alabama

            This is “the game” of the year to watch. Nick Saban has had this game circled on his calendar since last year’s debacle, and to top it off he had the week off to prepare for it. It will be interesting to see all the different dynamics, of Saban and Johnny Manziel, but what will be really intriguing is what nobody seems to be saying…what if Texas A&M can do it again and beat Alabama? It would completely change the football landscape and open it wide up.

Top 12 Mock 2014 Draft

Pick	Team	Player	Position	College
1	Oakland	Teddy Bridgewater	QB	Louisville
2	Jacksonville	Tajh Boyd	QB	Clemson
3	Cleveland	Sammy Watkins	WR	Clemson
4	Tampa Bay	Tyler Lewan	OT	Michigan
5	NY Jets	Marqise Lee	WR	USC
6	Pittsburgh	Jadevon Clowney	DE	South Carolina
7	Tennessee	Cyrus Kouandijo	OT	Alabama
8	Philadelphia	Anthony Barr	DE/OLB	UCLA
9	Buffalo	Khalil Mack	DE/OLB	Buffalo
10	Carolina	Austin Seferian-Jenkins	TE	Washington
11	San Diego	Jake Mathews	OT	Texas A&M
12	Miami	Aaron Lynch	DE	South Florida