Saturday Spotlight: Week Four
by Matt Miller
Out of conference play is winding down for some, while the SEC is kicking off big match ups with LSU. Georgia, Florida and Tennessee. Matt Miller guest writes this week’s Saturday Spotlight.
With conference play starting next week, most programs decided they would rather host Sam Houston State or UMass this week than scheduling an Ohio State-USC match up. There were big games to watch involving the SEC, and an upstart Cinderella from East Carolina.
Quick Hits:
- Has a top 15 team ever played an easier schedule than Texas Tech? Eastern Washington, Nevada, SMU and UMass. How is this the team that experts picked to upset Oklahoma and Texas in the Big 12 South? Anyone who thought Texas Tech had the defense or running game to stand up with the top teams in the Big 12 is crazy.
- How good is Chase Daniel? Buffalo gave the Tigers an early scare yesterday, but Daniel was as poised as ever, completing 20 straight passes at one point. Chase put up 439 yards passing against a pretty solid secondary yesterday.
- The laptop controversy at Notre Dame should be the least of their worries after watching Javon Ringer run all over the place Saturday. Ringer is possibly the best running back in college right now, but that is no excuse for the Fighting Irish defense. There are legitimate concerns along both the offensive and defensive lines in South Bend today.
- How great would LSU be with Ryan Perrilloux at quarterback? That thought alone could keep SEC coaches awake at night. This Tigers team is loaded with talent, even after losing a top-5 pick to the NFL Draft. Les Miles and co. would have a claim to a repeat championship if they could get consistency under center.
- Welcome to college football, Terrelle Pryor and Darrell Scott. The two biggest names in High School football last fall made an impact Thursday night and Saturday afternoon respectively. The two stars are the future of football on Saturdays.
Upset Alert:
After knocking off top 10 Virginia Tech and West Virginia in week one and two, East Carolina looked like the media darling Cinderella. The Pirates started to come back down to Earth after squeaking out a win over Tulane last week, but no one imagined North Carolina State giving them their first loss. The Wolfpack running game was strong, led by Andre Brown, whose 10-yard touchdown run in overtime sealed the only upset of the weekend.
Saturday Spotlight: Game of the Week
There are not many games bigger all year than LSU vs Auburn. The two schools are rich in tradition and NFL draft picks. The two teams are very similar in 2008, with strong rushing attacks and stout defense, but inconsistency at quarterback. This match up would come down to who won the battle in the trenches, and on this week it was LSU. Oddly enough, it was a touchdown pass that sealed the deal. Auburn’s defense, which had surrendered only 15 total points before Saturday, allowed 178 yards rushing and 26 points to the in-conference rival.
Most Valuable Player:
His play didn’t come in a monumental conference game, or a down to the wire nail-biter, but the play of Colt McCoy Saturday night was down right impressive. McCoy completed 19 of 23 passes for 329 yards, added 83 yards of his own on the ground, and broke the Texas school record for passing touchdowns at 62. McCoy has been on a mission all season long to prove the poor performance of 2007 was only a sophomore slump, and with 11 touchdown passes in 3 games and a rating of 206.51.
Least Valuable Player:
It is hard to pick out a college student-athlete who plays worse than his peers. However, the entire Notre Dame offensive line played horribly against Michigan State. The line only gave up 5 sacks for negative 31 yards, but the inability to run the ball dictated the entire game. Jimmy Clausen was never able to get comfortable in the pocket yesterday, and even a late surge by Golden Tate and Clausen could not overcome the porous play of the ND offensive line.