“College Football Week 12: Has it really been 3 months?”

Texas A&M quarterback, Ryan Tannehill (pictured above), has been absolutely stellar since taking over the quarterback reigns for the Aggies. Can he spoil Nebraska's final season in the Big 12?

 College Football is entering Week 12.  Yes, the season has already spanned 3 months.  Yes this season has had its fair share of drama.  Just ask Auburn, Gene Chizik, and Cam Newton.  But this year has also had its fair share of stellar play.

 

 

 

See Auburn, Oregon, TCU, and Boise State.  All of these teams look to be contenders to play in the National Championship game out in Arizona come January 10th. Here is a look at the marquee matchups:

Ohio State at Iowa:  Ohio State has won 5 straight Big Ten Titles.  Lose this game, and that reign ends.  Win this game.  And they put themselves in position to at least share the title with a win over rival Michigan in the regular season finale.  This Ohio State team has had almost unreasonable expectations placed on it since the preseason.  The majority of the country, including myself, were shocked when they went down in Camp Randall on October 16th.  Due to Michigan State going down to Iowa, the Buckeyes regained new life.  Now the Buckeyes look to show Iowa thanks by beating up on them in Iowa.  Senior Quarterback Ricky Stanzi has had a stellar career for the Hawkeyes.  Both of these teams really playgreat defense in every sense of the word.  The only difference is Ohio State also puts up 41.6 points a game.  Ohio State will have a little bit too much offensive firepower in the end as they grind out a hard fought victory on the road at Iowa by 3.

Virginia Tech at Miami (FL):  The top 2 teams from the ACC Coastal Division square off in South Beach in a game that always has huge implications regarding the ACC Champion.  VTech started out slow this year and suffered back to back losses to Boise State and James Madison to open up a year in which many had them as a big time National Title Contender.  Miami on the other hand has been a mar of inconsistency.  This team has not pulled together a 3 game win streak the entire season.  Could they put together their first this week?  I would have given the U a chance at home had Jacory Harris been available to play.  But sadly, Jacory, who is extremely inconsistent in his own write will be unavailable for the Canes on Saturday.  Frank Beamer has led to the Hokies to 10 or more wins 6 consecutive years, and 11 of the last 15 years.  The man flat out knows how to win.  Look for Beamer to ride a very balanced offensive and defensive attack to an ACC Coastal clinching victory over the U.  Hokies by 6 on the road.

Arkansas at Mississippi State:  So what if both of these two teams take up 2 of the bottom 3 spots in the SEC West.  This half of the SEC has been insanely good this year.  No Conference even touches the competitiveness and ability of the teams in this half of the SEC.  All of the teams have 7 or more wins for crying out loud.  Either way, both of these teams are still looking to place themselves into a solid Bowl Game.  The Razorbacks are currently riding a 4 game win streak in which they have scored 38 or more points in each contest (which is not surprising in that average 37.9 points a game on the year).  Mississippi State on the other hand was riding a 6 game win streak until they got “Rolled” by the Tide last weekend.  Though the Bulldogs have rode a solid defensive unit to a very successful season thus far, Greg McElroy exposed the Bulldogs secondary last week.  Expect Ryan Mallett to do the same with his 3rd ranked passing attack in the entire country.  Razorbacks by 3 on the road in a tough SEC battle.

Nebraska at Texas A&M:  Nebraska is looking to bring home a final Big 12 title before they depart for the Big Ten.  Though the rest of the conference may be bitter towards the Cornhuskers, they have not really done too much about it.  Nebraska currently sits atop the Big 12 North and is looking to clinch a spot in the Big 12 Championship game.  Minus a hiccup against Texas, this Nebraska team has been one of the country’s elite, riding a very strong rushing attack and an amazing defensive unit.  Texas A&M is also having a great season in their own right.  Since turning over the quarterback reigns to, Ryan Tannehill, the Aggies have really gelled and are currently riding a 4 game winning streak.  Will the new school pass first Aggies be able to take care of business against the old school running Cornhuskers?  Not on this day.  Look for Nebraska to punch their spot in the Big 12 Title Game with a tough 3 point win on the road.

So there you have my look at this week’s marquee games.  I will admit that I did not call too many upsets this week.  Though I did go with all road teams to come out victorious.  But I am sticking with my gut on these games.

Enjoy the great slate of College Football games this weekend.

Stay tuned for the next edition of TheSportsKraze.

-TheSportsKraze

 

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“The Magical Mystery Man”

Troy Smith, pictured above, was the last Buckeye to bring home the Heisman Trophy. Could Terrelle Pryor bring the prestigious trophy and a National Championship to Columbus this year?

Who is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy this year?  Who is the man garnering all the accolades in publications such as Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine, and USA Today?  Who is the leader of a team expected to have a great shot at capturing the National Championship and bringing back national respect to the once proud Big Ten?

Who is, Terrelle Pryor, Mr. Trebek.

Well the journey for the 21-year-old phenom began in a little place called Jeannette, Pennsylvania.  The kid took the whole state by storm with his amazing football and basketball prowess.  It was the beginning of an astonishing roller coaster that could only occur in this day and age of amazing social media and unlimited sports coverage.  Ironically, Pryor originally committed to play basketball at Pittsburgh under Jamie Dixon.  Yes, the kid had his choice of pretty much any school in the country for basketball as well.  But eventually, it was known that Pryor would be playing football at the next level.  And he still hoped to be able to do basketball as well.  The lucky schools that made his Final Four list were Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, and Ohio State.  By the February 6th signing day of his senior year, he was still not ready to sign, and made the country wait for the “Decision” before “The Decision (Lebron).”  On March 19th, of 2008, he signed to take his talents to the Horseshoe, the house of Jim Tressel.

Since March of 2008, I cannot remember a College Football player in my lifetime have higher expectations placed on his shoulders.  People were already clamoring for the Buckeyes to bring home multiple National Titles during Terrelle’s “stay” in Columbus.  I mean nobody expected Pryor to stay a Buckeye the full 4 years, and figured he would be the number 1 pick in the NFL Draft following his junior year.  And frankly, that expectation remains the same as he gets ready to take place under center for his junior season.

The amazing thing to me is.  This kid has been criticized more than any player in the country over the past couple of years.  He has been called a underachiever.  A guy who was blinded by the hype.  A man who could not play quarterback at a big time program.  Fans clamored for a position change for the kid.  Fans said that either him or Tressel had to go.  Things came to a fevered climax following the Buckeyes embarrassing loss to lowly Purdue in the 7th game of the season last year.  Pryor had appeared to have gotten worse over the course of his time in Buckeye Nation.  He needed a pep talk from Brutus the Buckeye.  And I will admit, after watching the kid play multiple times, I did not know if he could ever be a pro style quarterback or lead the Buckeyes to a National Championship.

Tressel kept Pryor under center.  And little by little fans began to regain confidence in the kid.  He really did not put on any big time performances.  Sure he played a solid game at Penn State, but no games where he lit up the stat sheet.  The Buckeyes still managed to win a 5th straight Big Ten title and were on the prowl for their first BCS Bowl victory in some time.  Pryor finally answered the cynics, putting on arguably the best performance of his College career and helped lead the Bucks to a Rose Bowl victory over Oregon.

Want to know what Terrelle’s stats were last year?  He had a 56.5% completion percentage, while tossing for 2,087 yards.  Also he had 18 TDs versus 11 INTs.  Want to know what Greg McElroy’s (Alabama’s returning senior QB) stats were?  He threw for 2,508 yards, with 17 TDs and 4 INTs.  He had a completion percentage of 60.9%.  How about Kellen Moore (Boise State’s returning QB)?  Moore tossed for 3,536 yards with 39 TDs and 3 INTs.  Also he had a 64.3% completion percentage.  Lastly, how about Case Keenum, the returning starting quarterback at Houston?  The kid threw for an outrageous 5,671 yards, with 44 TDs and 15 INTs.  His completion percentage was 70.3%. And these are all just QBs returning on teams that were ranked highly last year.

So as you can tell, comparing Pryor’s stats to returning QBs does not make the kid stand out by any means.  Sure he is more of a dual threat than any of these guys, and rushed for way more yards than all of them combined.  But there is something about this kid.  There is something about this Terrelle guy that has made him stand out to people for years now.

It is not arrogance or a sense of entitlement.  Just an air of confidence about him that is unquestioned.  Maybe the best way to describe it would be “swagger.”  Whatever it is, he has made believers out of the country.

So I am honestly not sure why many are billing him as the favorite to bring home the Heisman.  But I will admit, I am sold as a believer on this guy.

And it is still an enigma to me why.

Stay tuned for the next edition of TheSportsKraze.

-TheSportsKraze

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