On second thought, it doesn't look like Northwestern-Minnesota is going to have any bearing on the Big Ten title chase. Indiana's one-man SWAT team Antwaan Randle El took care of that last Saturday.
The dazzling junior QB for Indiana danced his way all over Minnesota's Rose Bowl hopes en route to a school-record 473 yards of total offense. The Gophers managed 475 total yards -- as a team. It was the season's top individual effort, and proof of why the one-time IU basketball player/Cubs farmhand is the scariest college football player this side of Michael Vick.
Randle El is only the second Division I-A player (NFL return man Brian Mitchell was the first) to pass for more than 5,000 yards and run for more than 2,000 yards.
Before last weekend's game, Gophers defensive coordinator David Gibbs, one of the brightest minds in the business, appeared to throw some heavy praise Randle El's way. "He's the best athlete in the conference, second-best player in the conference, in my opinion, and not far behind (Purdue quarterback) Drew Brees," Gibbs said of the IU quarterback. "He totally dominates the football game and he has his hands on the football every play."
If Randle El has a few more performances like Saturday's, he may narrow the gap by mid-November, when the Hoosiers visit Purdue with a shot of ruining the Boilers hopes of spending the holidays in Pasadena.
Randle El headlines this week's most list, as in the most dangerous player in the nation, the guy most likely to single-handedly pull an upset. Or less poetically, the best player on a bad team.
The 'most' list
|  | | DeRonnie Pitts has been head-over heels the best receiver for Stanford this season. |
DeRonnie Pitts, WR, Stanford: Not fast or explosive or the beneficiary of a great quarterback, Pitts is just ultra-productive. And as smooth a receiver as there is in the college game. The most impressive part is that he doesn't have Troy Walters to threaten defenses on the other side.
Pitts keyed Stanford's big upset vs. USC last Saturday with a career-high 13 receptions, while moving into fourth place on the Pac-10 career receiving chart with 202 catches. He is also leading the Pac-10 in receiving by a large margin with 51 catches (runner-up Freddie Mitchell of UCLA has 43).
Deonce Whitaker, RB, San Jose State: Though his team is decent, a respectable 5-3 playing in the WAC, few know this explosive 5-6, 180-pounder outside of northern Cal (or Nebraska). The Huskers got familiar with Whitaker after he knifed through them for 150 yards. Whitaker is third in the nation in rushing and averages a gaudy 8.3 yards per rush. Although the best news for him may be the emergence of RB Jamar Julien, who should lighten some of the load on Deonce.
Quinton Caver, LB, Arkansas: The 6-5, 240-pound senior has been one of the few bright spots on a dismal, injury-ravaged season for the Hogs. Caver, has been touted as a great blitzer, but he is much more than that. In Arkansas' upset of Alabama a few weeks ago, Carver had 22 tackles.
Dwight Smith, CB, Akron: He plays on a 4-4 team that's last in the MAC in defense, but don't take Smith lightly because NFL scouts aren't. The physical 5-11, 205-pound corner with a 410-pound bench flashed on to the radar in the Zips opener when he held Virginia Tech game-breaker Andre Davis to one catch for eight yards. Smith, who also doubles as a WR and return man, leads the nation in picks with eight.
Quick slants
In a conference loaded with great D-linemen, Tennessee's John Henderson is playing better than anyone in the SEC. The 6-7, 292-pound junior has learned to use his hands better while also staying low. Teams used to cut the former basketball star all the time, but now Henderson has become virtually unblockable. At season's end, Henderson will have a tough decision to make about whether to stay in Knoxville or jump to the NFL.
Santana Moss is from Miami. So is FSU's Snoop Minnis. But the best WR from South Florida this year has been Pittsburgh's Antonio Bryant. The flashy 6-3, 185-pound sophomore (who is from Snoop's alma mater Miami Northwestern) leads the nation in receiving yards, while averaging over 20 yards per catch for the surprising Panthers. He also has brought a dose of major league attitude to a program that was in dire need of a confidence boost.
Coolest note of the week: (courtesy of a reader named Troy in Hawaii) Honolulu's St. Louis High, one of the nation's top prep football powers, has three alums starting as QBs at I-A schools: Utah's Darnell Arceneaux, who is fourth in the Mountain West in passing. Washington State's Jason Gesser, who also leads the Pac-10 in passing yards (1,828), completion percentage (.556), pass efficiency (148.5) and total offense (266.3).
And Hawaii freshman Timmy Chang, who leads the WAC in passing and total offense. So for those of you sick of hearing about the Subway Series, consider that a high school in Hawaii has produced more big-time QBs than the entire state of New York.
Syracuse didn't upset Virginia Tech, but it came close. SU defensive coordinator Chris Rippon says the key to slowing down Michael Vick was confusing him early with some stemming up front, while mixing up man and zone coverages and taking away the Hokie running game.
Although most teams may have a hard time duplicating what Rippon's guys did since the Orangemen have one of the top front seven in the nation. DE Dwight Freeney, who had 4.5 sacks Saturday, now has 13 sacks on the season and 18 tackles for loss. "He's really come on," says Rippon. "Dwight's as a quick as a cat and really has great leverage turning the corner." Too bad Freeney can't play quarterback.
Best bets of the weekend
Michigan State will get back on the winning track as T.J. Duckett runs all over the young Illinois defense.
Josh Heupel's Heisman hopes come to an end as Nebraska's defense finally realizes the season has started.
Tennessee and John Henderson shut down Gamecock stud Derek Watson and South Carolina.
Michael Bennett rushes for 300 yards as Wisconsin steamrolls Iowa.
Bruce Feldman is a staff writer for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him questions and comments at bruce.feldman@espnmag.com and read the responses Thursdays at espnmag.com.
| |
ALSO SEE
Wojciechowski: Movers and Shakers
Tirico: BCS best system out there
What you might have missed
|
