The highest individual honor in American sports will be awarded to the most outstanding player in college football Saturday Night. If I had a vote, it would go a little something like this…
1. Montee Ball, RB Wisconsin
Wisconsin RB Montee Ball deserves the Heisman Trophy - 38 TDs should do it, and the pose above is further proof (Icon SMI)
If Wisky is 13-0 he seems like a shoe-in for the award, 38 total TDs? and he was at his best against the toughest teams on the schedule. 4 TDs against such vaunted defenses as Nebraska and Penn State. 4 TDs in the Big Ten Title game. He even had 2 TDs in each of the losses. Montee Ball did his part to earn the award.
The Badgers were thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis close to staying perfect this season, on a last second bobbled richochet hail mary loss to Sparty and another last second loss to Ohio State on a busted coverage deep after a long QB scramble. Hell, even with only one of those wins the Badgers might have gotten in over Alabama. one thing is for sure, those losses cannot be pinned on Montee Ball in any way, shape, or form.
Ball has never averaged less than 5.0 YPC in any game this season and has scored at least twice every week. He is also so versatile, registering a catch in 11 games and a receiving TD in 6 games, leading all RBs (with atleast 75 carries) in TD grabs.
Two-thirds human. One-third computer model. Three-thirds controversy. 100% needed in a season with out two lone undefeated teams from major conferences.
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) exists to ensure the two best teams meet in the National Title Game. That title game cycles through four sites and bowl committees, as such has some relevance as to selection for those games each year – Rose, Fiesta, Sugar and Orange.
The BCS was designed to balance out the human voter biases by introducing computer rankings, which of course just led to different arguments after settling the original ones. In other words, there is no perfect system so the BCS is about as well constructed as it can be. The only hole in the deus ex machina is the USA Today’s Coaches Poll, widely derided since no coach has the time to watch enough games to make an informed decision – they have their own team and next opponent to worry about!
So how does this system affect this year’s top six teams and their fans so deeply committed to them? Brought to you in partnership with research director Matt Ryan, pros and cons below:
Oklahoma State @ Iowa State
It’s tough not to feel sorry for the Cowboys, suffering a school tragedy (plane crash killing women’s basketball coach plus three others), then missing a FG by the narrowest of margins to end regulation, only to lose a game in overtime where they had been 27 point favorites. Thus likely died their BCS Championship hopes. Brandon Weeden threw for 476 yards and 3 TDs, but also 3 costly interceptions. Justin Blackmon had 99 yards and a TD, while Josh Cooper had 128 yards and 1 TD, and Tracy Moore had 96 yards and 1 TD on just 5 receptions. Jared Barnett lead the way for the Cyclones, throwing for 376 yards and 3 TDs while also gaining 84 yards on the ground. His leading target, Albert Gary, had 109 yards and 1 TD. Read the rest of this entry →
Missouri @ Texas A&M: The Aggies found a new way to blow a double digit halftime lead, this time scoring just a FG in the second half to lose 38-31 in overtime. Ryan Tennehill had a big game with 317 yards and 3 TDs passing, and scored on a short run as well. Forr Mizzou, it was the 1-2 punch of James Franklin (198 yards passing, 1 TD, 97 yards rushing, 2 TDs) and Henry Josey (162 yards rushing, 1 TD) that were just enough to get the job done.
Oklahoma @ Kansas State: With under 15 seconds to go in the first half, Kansas State had shocked many viewers by sticking around, trailing OU just 20-17. Then they lost 58-17. In the process, Landry Jones went over 500 yards passing (505, 5 TDs), Ryan Broyles (171, 1 TD) and Kenny Stills (101) both topped 100 yards, and Jaz Reynolds caught a pair of TD passes to give him a good week despite having just 51 yards receiving. Collin Klein rushed for 92 yards and 2 TDs – not a bad afternoon there – but was held to just 58 yards passing, and the rest of the offense was completely shut down. Read the rest of this entry →
QB Collin Klein looks to run KSU into the Top 10 (Icon SMI)
Kansas State @ Kansas
This in-state rivalry features teams on two very different trajectories, as Kansas State finds themselves on the outskirts of the top 10 after seasons of conference irrelevance. KU, on the other hand, has been in a state of steady decline ever since their dramatic Orange Bowl victory in January 2008. I don’t expect this game to be particularly good, and the only player I’d consider starting is KSU QB Collin Klein, who has 10 of his team’s 12 rushing TDs. Read the rest of this entry →
