Mike Stoops fired in Arizona

This monday, Mike Stoops was fired as the Wildcats head coach. They have played terrible this season, and they have lost 10 out of their last 11 games. Defensive coordinator, Tim Kish, will be the head coach until a replacement is found. But who will his replacement be?

Mike Bellotti
The former Oregon Ducks coach knows how to operate a West Coast Offense. He was a huge success in Oregon, and had a terrific record at 137-82. That speaks for itself. In the 14 years he had at Oregon, they played in 12 bowl-games. He would be a great signing for the Wildcats.

June Jones
He is indeed a mastermind, when it comes to creating an efficient passing-game. His Hawaii team destroyed teams and records, and they brought a whole new standard for offensive production. June also has some NFL experience. He was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 94-96.

Ricky Hunley
He would be an excellent choice, if Arizona wants a defensive-minded head coach. He's also a former Arizona Wildcats linebacker and bit of a legend in Wildcats, so the fans would be pumped to see him as their head coach. He's currently the assistent linebacker coach for the Oakland Raiders. He has never been head coach before, so this would be a gamble, but it might be the perfect gamble for Arizona Wildcats.

Heisman Watch

From the week and on, I will focus on some of the players, with one eye on the Heisman Trophy. The Heisman Trophy can't be won in week 6 of the regular season, but it can be lost, if you have a bad streak on only two games.

Landry Jones - QB of Oklahoma Sooners - Stock up
There has been many doubters of the Oklahoma quaterback, but he just had a game against Texas Longhorns, where he kind of said "Fuck you" to all of the doubters. Before this game, Landry just won the games. He won against Florida State on the road, and a bunch of weaker non-conference teams. But he didn't have the big stats. But yesterday, he did. He was the star of the game, with 31-of-50 completions for 367 yards and 1 touchdown with 0 interceptions. When you're the star of Red River Rivalry, you're stock will automatically go up.

Marcus Lattimore - RB of South Carolina - Stock down
Lattimore is having a great season, but his last two games has ruined his chances at winning this years Heisman Trophy. Last week, he only ran for 68 yards on 17 attempts finding the endzone only once, and that's against a horrible Auburn Tigers' run-defense. Yesterday, while the offensive weapons for South Carolina were having a huge game, Lattimore didn't. He only had an "okay" game. He ran for 102 yards finding the endzone 0 times. He should have had a 150+ yards game, but he didn't, and now he don't have a chance at the Heisman Trophy.

Geno Smith - QB of West Virginia - Stock up
You may never have heard of him, and don't feel bad, a lot of people never heard of him. It's weird, because he's an excellent player. Yesterday he went off against the Huskies. He had 27-of-45 completions for 450 yards and 4 touchdowns. With a game like that, you're guaranteed some talk about the Heisman Trophy. He's no. 3 on passing yards with 1709 yards, and he has made 12 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. If he continues like this, his name will be mentioned a lot more in the same sentence as "Heisman Trophy"

LaMichael James - RB of Oregon Ducks - Stock down
I know, if there's any Ducks fans reading this, you will have my head on a plate. But let's be a bit rational, if this injury is as bad as expected his shot at the Heisman Trophy is gone. Before he left the field with an injury, he had an amazing game! He ran for 239 yards on 30 attempts for 3 touchdowns. If it wasn't for the injury, his Heisman Trophy stock would have gone up, but it's only because of the injury, I will have to say, that he's not in the talks anymore.

Tajh Boyd - QB of Clemson Tigers - Stock down
Another player with an injury. Tajh had a great game against Boston College, but had to leave the field with a hip injury. It shouldn't be so bad, but for now his stock has dropped. He's still the leading Heisman candidate for the Clemson Tigers, with 1459 passing yards for 14 touchdowns and only two interceptions. I believe, he will be playing again next week against Maryland, and if that's the picture next week, his stock will rise again quickly.

Denard Robinson - QB of Michigan - Stock up
This was another week of big numbers for the Shoelace. Many people hate him, many people love him, but he keeps on putting great stats on the board, while he leads his Michigan team to wins. Against Northwestern yesterday, he was responsible for four out of Michigan's six touchdowns. He passed for two and rushed for two. He's the entire Michigan offense. Against Northwestern, Michigan had 529 total yards, and Denard was responsible for 442 of those yards. Yeah, he's the ENTIRE Michigan offense.

Trent Richardson - RB of Alabama - Stock down
He had a mediocre game against Vanderbilt, and if he has more of them, he will not have a shot at the Heisman Trophy. He had to split carries with sophomore, Jalston Fowler, and though it's great for the Alabama offense to have another running back in form, it's bad for Richardon's Heisman stock. He will still have many chances to improve his stock, but this weekend, there's no other way than down.

Andrew Luck - QB of Stanford - Stock up
Luck had another game, where he threw for over 300 yards and 3 touchdown in yet another Stanford victory. So far this season, Luck has thrown 14 touchdown with only 1 interception. It's no surprise, given his high touchdown completion-rate, Stanford has won all of their games by at least 26 points. Luck should have another big game with huge numbers next week as Stanford travels to Washington State, where they will face a horrible Washington defense.

Kellen Moore - QB of Boise State - Stock up
Kellen will be a Heisman Trophy candidate until the end of this season. He will face weak opponents, where he will have some big numbers, and it's not his fault. Kellen is just a terrific quarterback, who happens to play against lesser talented guys. For example, he had a great game against Fresno State. He completed 23-of-31 for 252 yards and 3 touchdown. Those are great numbers, and they will keep on coming until the end of this season.

Tajh Boyd injured for the no. 8 Clemson

Clemson quarterback, Tajh Boyd, left the game in the third quarter, after he received a huge hit against Boston College. The pains came from his left leg, and he couldn't stand up, though he tried. Just after the hit, Boyd was determined to get up, but he rolled back to the ground, because of the pain. Coaches and trainers helped him get off the field, holding his left leg in the air.

According to Clemson's official website, it's a strained hip, and he will be termed questionable at this point. There will be more on this story later this week, when I know more. There will for sure be spotlight on Boyd's injury. If Boyd doesn't make it 'till next week, they will have to start Cole Stoudt, and though Stoudt is a decent quarterback, it will be a huge blow for the Tigers.

Boyd had completed 16-of-26 passes for 283 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 37 yards and a touchdown, so you could say, it was a pretty good game for Boyd before he had to leave the field.

Case McCoy - Can he live up to Brother's legend?

Case McCoy, quarterback of the Texas Longhorns, has a rather big shadow over him. Like it or not, he will always be compared with his older brother Colt McCoy, who was a huge star at Texas Longhorns. With Colt under center, they could win every game, and they didn't have to fear anybody. Colt only had 8 defeats in his Longhorn career, and he passed for 13,253 yards and made 112 touchdowns. He was the real deal. No matter who you are, that will be hard to live up to.

This is the first season, with Case McCoy under center for the Texas Longhorns, and he only completed 26 passes for 335 yards. That's not good enough as a Texas quarterback. Yesterday against the Sooners, he just looked scared. I expected him, to have a decent performance, if not a good performance. I thought, he would reach down into the family tree, and pick up some of Colt's experience, but he didn't. He just looked silly in the smackdown. He completed 9-of-16 for 116 yards. He fumbled the ball twice, one of which was taken back as a touchdown.

This was not the perfomance I and everybody else had expected, and it certainly isn't the perfomance older brother Case would have given. It may be unfair comparing him to Case, but like it or not, those are the expectations he has to live up to.

Connor Shaw - The answer!

I bet, there was nobody out there, who believed Connor Shaw would have a game, like he had yesterday. He threw 26-of-39 for 311 passing yards and 4 touchdowns. That's incredible for a guy, who never started before. He was sacked three times, but who can blame him? He's playing behind a o-line, he's not totally comfortable with yet.

He was such a leader on the field. He called some plays, and made audibles, just like a young Manning for Tennessee. They ran plays flea flicker, a play South Carolina has never used before with Garcia. It's like there's more diversity with Shaw under center, and that allowed Spurrier to open the playbook, and dust some of the old play off. I know they only played a mediocre Kentucky-team, but it's a good sign. When they can get the offense floating, and making some first downs, they have a possibility to do that against any team out there (Perhaps not Alabama and LSU, their defenses are inhuman).

Connor Shaw is clearly the key to another SEC East title for the South Carolina Gamecocks, and Spurrier knows, if he wants to have a shot at the SEC Championship, he will have to start Shaw instead of Garcia, there's not doubt about that. Garcia sat on the sideline, encouraging Shaw, and Garcia showed, that he's a class act, even when everything aren't going his way. Everybody like him, and there's a reason for that. He's a truly great guy.

Connow Shaw is the future of South Carolina Gamecocks.

How can Oregon make up for LaMichael James' injury?

LaMichael James will be out for a few weeks, and that's a loss of the Oregon Duck's biggest weapon on offense. Without LaMichael, other talented guys will have to step up to the plate, to make up for this tough loss. You can ask yourself, why LaMichael even were on the pitch, after running for 237 yards in a 36-15 lead. That doesn't make any sense in my head.

De'Anthony Thomas will have to step up. Without LaMichael as a running back, he will be starting for the Oregon Ducks. He has the talent to do so, and he has been nothing short of sensational so far this season. He's just 18 years old, so it's a lot of pressure on a young guy, but I believe he can handle it. He will be a huge weapon, when LaMichael is watching on the sideline. Kenjon Barner will also play a huge part on the Oregon offense. Over the last two seasons, he has been able to perform under the huge shadow of LaMichael James. But with LaMichael out, he will have to show his talent with De'Anthony Thomas.

Their QB, Darron Thomas, also need to take more responsibility. He's in a even bigger spotlight now, when they don't have 170 yards guaranteed. He's not at all a bad quarterback, he's just in the shadow of LaMichael, who can almost overshadow anybody in the country. Without LaMichael, it's a possibility, that their will be much more focus on Oregon's passing game, and can Darron handle that? We will see against Arizona State.

Last, but especially not least, Chip Kelly needs to come up with a game plan without their star running back. It will be the toughest decision of his coaching career. They can't run first, pass afterwards without LaMichael playing, it simply can't work.

It will be exciting to see, if the Oregon Ducks can handle their big loss. I'm looking forward to their game against Arizona State.

California Golden Bears vs Oregon Ducks - Preview

Last season, California came close to beating Ducks, but they fell short. The Ducks are favoured by 24 points tonight, and I believe that is reasonable. The Ducks will dominate California tonight, no doubt about that. Oregon's offensive attack is almost impossible to contain, and that will be displayed. There's no doubt, that Oregon possesses one of the most dangerous offenses in the country.

The Ducks have mainly relied on their running game, and with good reason. Their running game is averaging almost 300 yards pr. game. Cal's defense comes into this game ranked no. 9 in running defense, but they haven't seen a running game that can even come close to Ducks' running game. They have possibly the best running back in NCAA, LaMichael James, and they can also use Kenjon Barner and De'Anthony Thomas.

The Oregon offensive line isn't as strong as it was last year, so the Cal defensive line could cause Oregon's offensive line some problems. Especially their DE, Trevor Guyton, could and I think he will, cause problems. Not to say they will dominate this game, because Oregon's o-line hasn't allowed a single sack this season. That is really impressive, so though the Oregon o-line isn't as good as last season, they are impressive.

Oregon's passing attack will be up against one of the worst pass defenses in the country. They are utterly terrible. Nothing short of terrible! They are ranked 80th in the country in pass defense, and that's against poor competition. Oregon hasn't passed much this season, but their quarterback Darron Thomas is really not bad, and against this pass defense, he can destroy them. His options on offense is amazing. De'Anthony Thomas, Josh Huff, Lavasier Tuinei and Justin Hoffman. They are pure speed, and they will cause a huge threat.

Cal's starting quarterback, Zack Maynard, has a history of throwing interceptions. Those interceptions mostly come against a fast secondary, and I don't believe there is a faster secondary, than the secondary Oregon will bring. I will watch Cliff Harris, Eddie Pleasant and John Boyett tonight, because they will force turnovers tonight. They have all missed time this season, but they are back, and now the Oregon defense is almost complete.

This game will be all about payback. The Ducks are out for blood, and it will be a brutal game. In their last match-up the Cal players began faking injuries, so they could slow down the Oregon offense. Oregon fans certainly haven't forgotten about the game last year, so Autzen Stadium, which is a scary stadium, perhaps one of the scariest in the nation. There's no doubt all of the Oregon fans hope, the Ducks will smash Cal hard.

Florida Gators QB Brantley will miss LSU game

John Brantley, quarterback of the Florida Gators, will not play in Saturday's game against the LSU Tigers. We all know, the Alabama defense is brutal, and it was a sack by them that injured Brantley. It has been reported that it's an ankle sprain. There will be reports on, when he will return to practice.

At the moment it will be Jeff Driskel who will be under center, but according to coach Muschamp, the practice will decide who will start this game. I will say, that either Jeff Driskel or Trey Burton should be happy they are facing the LSU defense instead of the Alabama defense. LSU's defense is human, when you have multiple strings to play on. But if Flordia don't put points on the board, the LSU offense will, there's no doubt about that. So there's a lot of pressure on whoever will start as quarterback for the Florida Gators.

They will be thrown to the Tigers, so to say.

Garcia benched - Connor Shaw as their new starter

Many have said it, but now it became a reality. Stephen Garcia will be benched and replaced by Connor Shaw in their week-game against Kentucky. Steve Spurrier has said, "This is his gime, it's his opportunity to go play and we think he's ready". It's a great game for Shaw to have his second start in. LSU just rolled over Kentucky, and with Lattimore as Shaw's runningback, they will no matter what win this game.

So, if any of you are thinking about, why Garcia is benched, I can tell you. Garcia has thrown 6 interceptions the last two weeks. As far as I know, that's most in NCAA over the last two weeks. He should have perfect opportunities for a perfect passing game. His runningback is possibly the best in NCAA, and he has a star receiver in Alshon Jeffery. But he can't complete the simple passes, and he's just too mistake-prone.

I will look forward to see Shaw in his second start for the Gamecocks.

Clemson - Ready to enter top 10?

In the preseason, Clemson didn't receive a single vote in the preseason AP poll. So you can say, they have moved some things in the NCAA. They won against their third ranked opponent in a row, and that almost says it all. They believe in them self, even though they only had a 6-7 record last season. They are now 5-0, with two ACC-wins.

They have all season long been a offensive-team, with a defense, who didn't stop the opponents offense enough. But saturdays game against Virginia Tech was a completely other story. When Boyd didn't have his best game, the defense stepped up. They kept a Virginia Tech offense to only 3 points, that's by far the best defense, they played all season long.

If we go back to the discussion, Clemson in the top 10, I would say yes. They just smashed the no. 11, Virginia Tech, and before that, they won over the at the moment no. 11, Florida State. I don't believe, they will move ahead of Oregon, but just behind them at no. 9. Oregon didn't play this week, and their only defeat was against LSU, the now no. 1-team.

Boyd has said to ESPN, "Coach Swinney calls it the 'Shock World Tour'" Mission accomplished, Clemson.

Ryan Tannehill - Not a first-round draft prospect!

I know, there's a long time 'till the 2012 NFL draft, but quarterbacks and other prospects are beggining to build up their draft stock. One of them is Ryan Tannehill, QB of the Texas A&M, but in my opinion, he won't be a top name in the draft. In this post, I will argue for, why he won't be named in the first-round.

Ryan's decision making is really bad, so I'm worried how he will do in the NFL, where everything is much quicker and you don't have the same time as you do in college. He forces throws, which often results in turnovers. His delivery is not consistent enough, so sometimes he under-throws a ball, when it should be a sitter, when I say that, I'm especially thinking about his deep accuracy. He struggles with the deep passes, and in many games he will just produce some short and medium-range passes.

Many experts believed he would be a wonderful quarterback, because his struggles came from things that could improved with more experience, but I don't think he improved yet. He still struggles when defenses come at him with pressure, and he still struggles with the deep passes. That's the same struggles as he had last season. An example would be Texas' game a week ago against Oklahoma State. Ryan often threw the ball into coverage. He also locks down on a target, when he feels they are open. That gave him some early completions, but the defensive backs read it, and they made a interception, clearly because he locked down his target.

I still think, Tannehill is an exciting player. The NFL-teams will see his physical abilities, but also recognize his lack of experience. He should be considered as a decent fourth or third-round pick, but not be in consideration as a first-round pick. He should be picked by a team, with an aging quarterback, so he can learn from him, and take his time to get ready.

Game-changing athletes

If you watch the NFL, you will know that football is a team-game. There's not many guys like Peyton Manning, who you can expect to win game after game alone. In college, it's a whole 'nother story. If you have one or two playmakers, the season can change completely. You can go from a terrible season, to a National Championship season. 

Michael Floyd - WR - Notre Dame

- If you take your eyes of Notre Dame's ongoing crisis, you will find a player, who consistently has been the Irish's best weapon on offense. He was projected as a first-round pick in the 2011 NFL draft, but he stayed for his senior season. Floyd has played three seasons, and his numbers just yell "first-round pick" at you. 206 receptions caught for almost 3000 yards and 30 touchdowns. That's with the fact, their opponents always keep an extra eye on him, because of Notre Dame's pass-happy system. When Floyd enters the 2012 NFL draft, the Irish will need a playmaker like him. Floyd is an outstanding wide receiver. 

Andrew Luck - QB - Stanford University

- Luck's value to the currently undefeated Cardinal is unquestioned. He had a solid season in 2009, only to shine in 2010. He had 32 touchdowns, with only eight interceptions. His completion percentage was 70 percent, and he finished third overall in quarterback rating. In this season, Luck has picked up fast to repeat his 2010 perfomance. Already has eight touchdowns and only one interception with a 67 percent completion percentage. 

Tajh Boyd - QB - Clemson

- Boyd was a five-star recruit of Clemson's 2009 recruting class. Boyd spent his 2010 season as the backup of turnover-prone Kyle Parker. But this season, the Tigers became Boyd's team, and they're undefeated with him under center. Boyd didn't throw a interception his first 120 throws this season, and his first interception could have been avoided. He has 14 touchdowns with two interceptions, and he passed for 1450 yards. Boyd's standout play has also helped a new freshman star to shine on the Tigers offense, Sammy Watkins.

Tyrann Mathieu - CB - LSU Tigers

- He is clearly one of the NCAA's premiere players on defense, and that is just in his sophomore season. His creating game-altering turnovers wasn't just a fluke in his first season at the LSU Tigers. Against Oregon he recovered a fumble for a touchdown, and against West Virginia he forced a fumbled, which was his seventh forced fumble, tying the LSU-record. He also intercepted a pass, his third interception. Tyrann has made LSU fans forget all about the seriously talented Patrick Peterson. Tyrann holds a part of LSU being the no. 1 team in the nation.

Christine Michael - RB - Texas A&M

- I know, you guys didn't expect that, but he's on the list, because of his average yards pr. carry in his games this season. Against Oklahoma State he had more than 10 yards pr. carry in the first half, but they simply stopped giving him the ball. I don't know why, and they lost the game, because of it. Against Arkansas, he was simply outstanding. 230 yards on 32 carries, that's an average on 7,2 yards pr. carry, and that was with only a few carries in the last quarter, because they stopped giving him the ball yet again. If Texas will use him a bit more, he can destroy defenses all over the nation.

Robert Griffin III - QB - Baylor

- Baylor doesn't have a standout running back, so they lean almost entirely on Griffin, and he carries the team with him. There has been sharp improvement from his 2010 statistics, and at the moment he holds the highest quarterback rating in the NCAA. With a completion percentage at 82,3 percent, that's just insane! He has 20 incompletions and 18 touchdowns, last week he had 13 touchdowns with only 12 incompletions, seriously! That's impressive. 

LaMichael James - RB - University of Oregon

- You can't have a playmaker-list without LaMichael. Last year he led NCAA in rushing yards with 1,731 yards and 21 touchdown. He hasn't slowed down this year with already 613 yards in just four games, and he's averaging 9,4 yards pr. carry. He's a outstanding RB, but not the best in the NCAA, I will present you for the best running back, in a while.

Case Keenum - QB - Houston Cougars

- In 2009, Keenum was the best quarterback of the NCAA with his 5,671 passing yards, 44 touchdown and a completion percentage at 70 percent. That was way higher than Matt Ryan, Tim Tebow, Kellen Moore and Jimmy Clausen. Keenum's 2010 season ended quick, and Houston only won three games without him. That shows his huge value for this team. This season, Keenum is back, and he hasn't slowed down since his injury. He's top five in passing yards, touchdowns, completions and passing attempts, and in top 10 of most other statistics. 

Marcus Lattimore - RB - South Carolina

- Heisman trophy frontrunner, Marcus Lattimore, is currently at second place in rushing yards in the NCAA. He has carried his teams to a 4-1 record, with only Auburn to shut down his rushing abilities. If the Gamecocks didn't have Lattimore, they would drop game after game, because their quarterback Stephen Garcis is terrible. Lattimore is close to topping Garcia's passing yards with his rushing yards. If I were a Gamecocks fan, I would pray to god, that this guy stays healthy. 

Texas A&M vs Arkansas Razorbacks - Review

Texas started out hard. They got 5 TDs in the first half, all on the ground. It looked like Texas finally found their balance between passing and running the ball, but yet again, they suck. In the second half they stopped feeding the ball to Michael and Gray, even though they were on a streak. Michael had 3 TDs in the first half, and Gray had 2, but there were none in the second half. But it was clear that the defense, who had just allowed one rushing touchdown all season, came out of the locker room and ready to kick some Texas ass.

Arkansas, on the other half, broke some personal school-records today. Tyler Wilson threw for 510 yards, and Jarius Wright caught 13 passes for a school-record 281 yards. They were a huge part of The Razorbacks turning an 18-point halftime deficit, into a 42-38 victory. Last week Texas did just the same, as they did today. I can only say to all you Aggies fans out there: Next season, it will happen over and over again.

It was a really close game at last, and The Razorbacks came out victorious, as they did the last three times as well. Perhaps some Aggies fans regret the fact that they will meet teams like Arkansas week after week next season. I would, if I were an Aggies fan, but I don't know about you guys.

There will be reviews of Clemson vs Virginia Tech and Wisconsin vs Nebraska. 

Texas A&M Aggies vs Arkansas Razorbacks - Preview

The no. 14 Texas A&M will take on the no. 18 Arkansas Razorbacks in a non-conference showdown at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. This will be Texas' last non-conference game against Arkansas, because they just got transfered to their division, the Southeastern Conference. Both teams lost their last games, Texas lost 30-29 against Oklahoma State and Arkansas got spanked 38-14 at Alabama.

For Texas, this game will be very similar to their last game against Oklahoma State. It's a solid passing game, with some great receivers. Arkansas' quarterback, Tyler Wilson, has a nice flow to his game. He's filling in admirably after their last quarterback, Ryan Mallett.

Texas will need to lock down Arkansas' running game, as they have done all season long, allowing under 2 yards pr carry. This will make Arkansas' offense very one-dimensional. I have my doubts on Texas' secondary. They really struggled against Oklahoma State, and the receivers Arkansas will bring can really hurt this defense.

When Texas is on offense, they NEED to balance the pass and run game, like they did in the first part of the season. Last game against Oklahoma State, they stopped running the ball in the second half, and then they lost the game. Same thing can happen today. Christine Michael averaged more than 10 yards pr. carry against Oklahoma State, but they stopped giving him the ball in the second half. Texas' o-line has played great all season, but they need to bring their a-game. Arkansas will bring a very talented front-seven, and they need to give Tannehill some room to make his decisions.

I like Arkansas' defense. Their linebackers, Jerry Franklin and Alonso Highsmith, and they lead the Arkansas defense in tackles. Their d-line is very talented, and I believe they will sack Tannehill some times today. Their secondary has been very solid, without winning any games for the team, but you can't commit to the throw only against Arkansas' secondary.

My prediction
- I think, Texas will win this game. It will be close, so I will say a three point margin-win to Texas.