NCAA Football Report (Week 10)
The NCAA season continues to get more and more intense as the weeks move closer to the bowl season. The league has not been the most exciting this year but with the bowl season only around the corner everything is getting better. It has been a theme of the last few weeks as the NCAA continues to become more intense as the weeks come. The top teams in the league are now facing their toughest fights of the season and for a team that cannot pick up a win it can be devastating. The NCAA is a league where every loss makes it that much more difficult to move on to the BCS bowls. Over the last few years the NCAA has become a much more even league and the undefeated seasons have slipped away. Before recently the BCS was dominated by the undefeated teams as a team could only think of competing for the National Championship with a perfect record. The top two teams with an undefeated record would make the National Championships but there were always more than just two undefeated teams. Now the league has become different as the top teams are lucky to escape the season without at least one loss on the season. It has become more difficult for everyone in the league to get through as season without losing a game. With the entire league coming closer together a lot of teams are dropping away from big games instead focusing on smaller programs to earn wins. Many of these teams can have very good seasons in terms of their record as they easily beat the smaller programs to go undefeated. The problem with these smaller schools is that they do not prepare the teams for the competition that they will never be able to avoid. For most teams at the top of the rankings the heart of the season is coming up as they begin to face their conference rivals to end the season. The top teams can no longer avoid the biggest games of the season for them as they now have to face the best teams in their conferences. It is the time when the top teams can either prove that they belong at the top or will fall fast. One team would prove the former in their biggest matchup of the season as the Florida State Seminoles would get by the Miami Hurricanes. The win would continue their run at the National Championship escaping two of the biggest games on their schedule. For two more teams at the top of the rankings the biggest games have yet to come with the Alabama Crimson Tide and Oregon Ducks waiting on their big matchups. The Ducks will have to get through the Stanford Cardinal if they hope to remain in the #2 spot in the BCS and in the National Championship picture. The Tide will look to their game next week against the LSU Tigers in what has become a modern rivalry that many times determines the SEC. The Tide and Ducks will need these games as a loss in either game will change the look of the National Championship likely for the rest of the season. There are not many weeks remaining for any team and so any loss will force a team to fall in the rankings without any time to come back to the top. Teams are heading towards the most important games of the season for all of them and the limited amount of time to recover makes every game that much more important. The season continues to move to the most important part of the season and every play is more scrutinized and more watched than ever. It is time for the stretch run of the season and for fans that only means good things as everything becomes more important with bowl implications in almost every game.
Heisman Watch:
1. Marcus Mariota, QB (Oregon)
Mariota is the leader of the most potent offensive attack in the NCAA and for that he has earned his spot at the top of the Heisman race. He is far from safe though as big games are coming up for the Ducks and stumbling through any of them can mean a fall from the top. With new challengers emerging every week and top contenders struggling every week the Heisman race is one of the best in recent memory. Mariota is hoping to come out on top through the rest of the challengers by leading his team to the National Championship. With the Stanford Cardinal coming up next week Mariota will have his toughest test yet against the biggest challenger in the Pac-12 conference. Mariota does not have to have the dominant force he has been but he does need to lead his team to a win if he hopes to stay at the top of the Heisman Race for another week.
Stats (8 Games):
64.0% (56 rsh)
2,281 yds (511 rsh yds)
20 TD (9 rsh TD)
0 INT
2. Johnny Manziel, QB (Texas A&M)
It is almost becoming more expected than surprising that Johnny Manziel will get through everything with a great performance. The Aggies would not have the best start in their game against UTEP leaving many to wonder what Manziel had up his sleeve. All that Manziel would do is end up with 273 yards passing and four passing TDs while running for 67 yards and 2 TDs. It was another great performance for the defending Heisman winner as he would continue to hang in the fight to repeat. As has been said many times before though a repeat is a tough thing to accomplish as breaking another barrier in the NCAA could be too tough for the young QB. Next week he will look to remain in the conversation once again when he leads the Aggies against Mississippi State where he looks to put up another great week.
Stats (9 Games):
72.5% (96 rsh)
2,867 yds (564 rsh yds)
26 TD (8 rsh TD)
8 INT
3. Jameis Winston, QB (Florida State)
The freshman QB would have another chance to show what he had on national TV in one of the biggest games of the week. Winston would take on the Miami Hurricanes in a game that would either make or break the Seminoles and the Heisman hopes of Winston. The game was not the best for Winston though as he would struggle against the Hurricanes. It was not the best showing for the young QB as he would not be able to get the offence going. The passing yardage was good as he would have 325 yards passing but would only be able to produce 1 TD. He would also have 2 interceptions on the night in two big mistakes that would result in points for the Hurricanes. The performance would not do a lot to help Winston in his attempt to win the Heisman. He would still get the win though and will need to improve against Wake Forest next week if he hopes to stay among the favorites in the Heisman race.
Stats (8 Games):
70.3% (50 rsh)
2,502 yds (153 rsh yds)
24 TD (3 rsh TD)
6 INT
4. Bryce Petty, QB (Baylor)
Stats (7 Games):
69.3% (28 rsh)
2,453 yds (73 rsh yds)
18 TD (6 rsh TD)
1 INT
5. Tajh Boyd, QB (Clemson)
Stats (9 Games):
65.8% (100 rsh)
2,620 yds (194 rsh yds)
20 TD (7 rsh TD)
6 INT
BCS Rankings:
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (1)
2. Florida State Seminoles (3)
3. Oregon Ducks (2)
4. Ohio State Buckeyes (4)
5. Stanford Cardinal (5)
6. Baylor Bears (6)
7. Clemson Tigers (8)
8. Missouri Tigers (9)
9. Auburn Tigers (11)
10. Oklahoma Sooners (10)
11. Miami Hurricanes (7)
12. South Carolina Gamecocks (14)
13. LSU Tigers (13)
14. Oklahoma State Cowboys (18)
15. Texas A&M Aggies (12)
16. Fresno State Bulldogs (16)
17. Michigan State Spartans (22)
18. NIU Huskies (17)
19. UCLA Bruins (20)
20. Louisville Cardinals (19)
21. UCF Knights (23)
22. Arizona State Wildcats (–)
23. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (25)
24. Wisconsin Badgers (24)
25. Texas Tech Red Raiders (15)
Key Scores:
#18 Oklahoma State Cowboys 52 – 34 Texas Tech Red Raiders #15
– Two of the best offensive teams in the league would face off in a game that many thought would be a shootout and for one team it was as the Cowboys would put up 52 points on their way to a win and to a bump up the BCS rankings
Georgia Bulldogs 23 – 20 Florida Gators
– They may not be ranked but that wouldn’t end the rivalry in The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party and the rivalry would live up to the hype as the Bulldogs would win the game by holding on to the lead in the second half
#21 Michigan State Spartans 29 – 6 Michigan Wolverines #22
– The battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy was a bit of a surprise this year as the Spartans would come out on top with a defence that would stifle the powerful Wolverines offence only allowing six points and earning bragging rights in the state
#3 Florida State Seminoles 41 – 14 Miami Hurricanes #7
– It was an important game for more than one reason as the winner would take another step to the ACC championship along with a step towards the National Championship and in the end it would be the ‘Noles who would take the win and everything that went with it
Next Week:
#10 Oklahoma Sooners vs. #6 Baylor Bears (Thursday November 7th; 7:30 pm ET)
– The Bears are moving fast up the rankings and they are trying to continue their rise with a win over the Sooners who will be the biggest challenge that the offence of the Bears have faced with a win moving them up the rankings and closer to a BCS berth
#3 Oregon Ducks vs. #5 Stanford Cardinal (Thursday November 7th; 9:00 pm ET)
– The Ducks are heading for a National Championship berth with their powerful offence but tot get their the Ducks need to get by the Cardinal to take another step towards the Pac-12 championship and to the National Championship
Kansas State Wildcats vs. #25 Texas Tech Red Raiders (Saturday November 9th; 12:00 pm ET)
– The Red Raiders have had a great season but a loss to the OSU Cowboys has put their season on hold for the time being as they try to get back against the Wildcats who are trying to salvage a bad season
#13 LSU Tigers vs. #1 Alabama Crimson Tide (Saturday November 9th; 8:00 pm ET)
– The game between the Tigers and the Tide have been some of the best over the last few years with both teams constantly in the hunt for the National Championship but this year the Tigers will be looking to play spoilers more than trying to earn a spot in the National Championship
The Sport Addiction 