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| Friday, October 27 Don't worry, BCS will sort itself out shortly By Kirk Herbstreit Special to ESPN.com | ||||||
The BCS standings It's late October and the first release of the BCS standings is official. There are no big surprises. If you are a fan of a team you think is being slighted, relax. It's very early in the game and there is a long way to go. The top seven teams all play each other in the next six weeks. Any questions will be settled on the field. The picture will clear, even for teams that seem like they're behind the eight ball right now. No. 1 Nebraska plays No. 2 Oklahoma on Saturday. Next Saturday, it's No. 3 Virginia Tech against No. 4 Miami, and No. 5 Florida State against No. 7 Clemson. The Florida Gators could make a big move. Surprisingly, they sit at No. 6 -- ahead of undefeated Clemson. If you look at the potential points they could gain -- not only in the computer rankings but in both polls -- it's frightening. They play Georgia, South Carolina, Florida State and, potentially, the SEC Championship game. If the Gators run the table, they will have a strong argument for taking the top spot in the standings. And 10. Last Week's Stars Unsung Heroes Oregon defense Since Mike Bellotti has been the head coach of the Ducks, they have the best record in the Pac-10. In a typical year, Oregon has had to outscore teams to beat them. This year has been a complete turnaround. In the past, we have ridiculed the Pac-10 on GameDay for their lack of defense. This year, the entire conference has been playing better defense and the Ducks are setting the tone. In big games, especially at home, the Oregon defense thrives. They sacked the athletic Ortege Jenkins eight times and held Arizona to 2-of-16 in third-down conversions. The Oregon offense didn't score a point in the second half, but the defense preserved a 14-10 victory over the Wildcats. The front seven are extremely quick. Rashad Bauman is a great cover corner who can be counted on to lock down the opponent's receiver. And Steve Smith is becoming one of my favorite players. Smith is the epitome of a team player. He was fighting for a job early in the season and is now an MVP candidate for this defense due to his versatility. He is asked to play the physical rover position at times and the fleet cover man at others. He has excelled at both and become a dominant player. 7. And down the stretch they come Even though there are six weeks left in the season and a number of marquee matchups left to determine who goes to the Orange Bowl, my feeling is the same today as it was back in August. The Miami Hurricanes, because they get Virginia Tech at home, will end the season 10-1 and play for the national championship. A game Miami have to be careful of is at Syracuse. It follows the Virginia Tech game, and the Canes need to guard against a letdown in at the tough Carrier Dome. Nebraska, win or lose Saturday, will also be able to get to Miami in January. They will still have games against Kansas State and a likely rematch with Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game. Winning those games will put them in a position to get to the Orange Bowl. 6. Heisman hopefuls Michael Vick's play has allowed other candidates to step to the forefront of the Heisman race. Vick has not played poorly, but he hasn't been able to live up to the lofty expectations set for him by some people in the media. He hasn't put up the numbers, but he has made some unbelievable plays. Vick has made spectacular Heisman-like plays, and he's a spectacular Heisman-like athlete. If Virginia Tech runs the table, Vick will have just as strong a case as Drew Brees. Regardless, Vick could still be the guy to beat. If he puts together another good game and beats Miami, that will be, in some people's minds, enough for him to win the Heisman. Vick has had a solid seasons thus far. His inability to totally dominate the way people expected him to is the reason there is now a debate. Brees' consistent play all year makes him the current frontrunner in the Heisman race. When Purdue lost two games early, a lot of people cooled on Brees as a Heisman contender. But those losses had nothing to do with Brees' performance; they came as a result of special teams blunders. Brees had a great game against Michigan and he was right back in the Heisman race. Since then, he's been terrific, and more importantly, his team has been winning. If Brees continues to play the way he's been playing, but Purdue fails to make it to the Rose Bowl, the story loses some of it's charm. It's not about Brees putting up good numbers, everybody expected him to put up good numbers. It's about Brees having the potential to lead his team to the Rose Bowl, a place they haven't been since 1967. For Brees, the road to the Heisman trophy goes through Pasadena. And don't forget about Santana Moss. His total yards will continue to wow people as he returns punts, takes reverses for big yards and makes big catches for touchdowns. Miami's upcoming schedule will allow Moss to get some national exposure. He also has a few games remaining where he will dominate because of his speed. If the Canes keep winning, Moss' Heisman campaign could gain a lot of hype. 5. A big-time clash in West Lafayette Purdue and Ohio State each control its own destiny in the race for the roses. Ohio State defended Brees pretty well last year. The Buckeyes allowed him to move the ball until he got into the red zone, then they put the clamps on him, made the Boilers kick field goals and the Buckeyes got the win. Ohio State's goal will be the same this year: slow down Brees inside the red zone. This will be tough, because Purdue has a new package that involves their tight ends and have been much more effective in the red zone. Ohio State's best defense this week could be its own offense: control the ball, eat the clock, and keep Brees and the Purdue offense off the field. Offensively, Ohio State is finding rhythm and balance, with quarterback Steve Bellisari coming off the best game of his career last week. In August, I said the Buckeyes have the ability to beat any team they play, and I still believe that. The question mark is will they show up highly motivated and excited to play? The Buckeyes seem to play better when they feel threatened. They will certainly feel threatened going on the road to take on a talented and touted Boilermaker team. Ohio State should win in a close game. But if Purdue is able to pull off a victory, not only will they go to the Rose Bowl, their quarterback will win the Heisman trophy. 4. Cocktails for everyone Since it lost to Mississippi State, Florida has played much better and the Gators have found their quarterback in Rex Grossman. Steve Spurrier is a happy man, and it's not just because Grossman leads the nation in passing efficiency. The Gator offense is not turning the ball over, and the defense has been able to swarm and cause turnovers for opposing teams. With Quincy Carter coming off an injury, the Gator defense will have to apply a lot of pressure on the Dawgs. The Gators have to get in Terrence Edwards' face and make Georgia spread the ball around. Georgia has been more physical, running the ball from the I-formation, which may not be enough against Florida. The Dawgs will need to throw it around more. Florida's offense will be difficult to stop. Georgia's defense had been playing great all year, but gave up over 500 yards total offense against Kentucky last week. The scary thing for Georgia is Florida runs an offense similar to the Wildcats', but with better skills. The Gators will win with Grossman throwing the football, the defense creating turnovers and forcing Georgia into uncomfortable situations. 3. Amato vs his mentor Chris Weinke's foot may still be an issue. He needs to be 100 percent and ready to go in Saturday's game against N.C. State. Former Florida State assistant Chuck Amato will have the Wolfpack in a frenzy. The fans have been waiting for this game since their turnaround and the N.C. State players are looking forward to the chance to play the defending national champion on primetime TV. Florida State is used to this kind of pressure; every week their opponent wants to take them down. The difference this week is that there is actually skill on the other side of the ball that could match the Seminoles skill. N.C. State wide receiver Koren Robinson will be difficult to handle. The Noles best hope for stopping Robinson will be to pressure Phillip Rivers -- look for Jamal Reynolds to be turned lose on the young freshman. N.C. State won't be able to entirely slow down FSU. Expect the electricity of the crowd and the emotions of Amato playing his former team to keep this one close early. But Florida State's abundance of skill will eventually wear down the Wolfpack. 2. Upset Alert: Games with the potential for an upset Texas A&M over Kansas State?: Mark Farris has the Aggie offense looking good. Will K-State have enough offense to slow down the Aggie D in the hostile atmosphere of Kyle field? Pitt over Virginia Tech?: The Hokies are tough to beat at home, but Walt Harris has a quick-striking offense and his upstart defense has been a big surprise. 1. Rivals Return In Oklahoma's win over K-State, the defense tried to take Jonathan Beasley out of the game. The Sooners will try to do the same thing to Eric Crouch. Initially, Nebraska's offense will have to show other ways of moving the ball: which might mean the power game of Dan Alexander, or throwing the play-action to Tracy Wistrom or Bobby Newcombe. The Huskers will have to come up with different ways to show a threat and make the Sooner defense respect that aspect of their game. Then they can go back to Crouch. Nebraska can not just line up, run Crouch on the option, let him scramble and think they're going to win this game. Oklahoma's defense is young and aggressive, and will be completely sold out at the line of scrimmage. They will have eight or nine guys trying to force Nebraska to throw the football, and it will be interesting to see what the 'Huskers can do. This game will ultimately come down to Nebraska's ability to keep the ball away from Josh Heupel. Heupel is the real deal. I fell in love with this kid when I saw him in person two weeks ago against K-State. He's got tremendous poise, is a great leader, understands the game and the Sooners system. The only way Nebraska can slow Oklahoma down is by pressuring Heupel. Oklahoma's only offensive weakness is the youth on their offensive line. Expect Nebraska's defense to sell out. They will blitz Heupel and do everything they can, taking their chances to see if their speed and aggression can get to Heupel before he can get the ball out of his hands. Frank Solich's teams need to prove they can win on the road against ranked teams. They have been much maligned against quality programs the last few years. As for the Sooners, they haven't had this kind of excitement in Norman since the Boz was on the sidelines. The expectations and emotions for this game will be off the charts. How will Nebraska, an experienced program that is used to playing in big games, handle the momentum constantly being in OU's favor? Will it be a challenge they welcome or something that gets the best of them? The winner will be ... tune in to College GameDay, live from Norman at 11 a.m. ET. Kirk Herbstreit is a football analyst on College Gameday and his First ... And 10 will run every Friday. | ALSO SEE Chat wrap: Kirk Herbstreit Gilmore: Viewer's Guide Fowler: New look to old rivalry Corso: Not So Fast, My Friends | |||||
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