Exposed: Auburn, Wisconsin. Tigers and Badgers take hard falls back to reality. Enjoy your December bowl, boys!
Workmanlike: Florida. Gators don't show lots of flash, but lots of grit in win over LSU. I saw a stat near the end of the game: Florida's defense has allowed just 2 touchdowns all year. That'll do.
Surprising: As in, most surprising result of the week: Virginia 47, Indiana 7. Cavaliers lost to William & Mary in September, Indiana took Michigan to the wire 2 weeks ago in the Big House - you'd have thought that one would be much closer.
Emerging: As legitimate national title contenders: Virginia Tech, Nebraska, Oregon. All very good one loss teams, and we're in an era where you don't need to go undefeated any longer to win a title. The Hokies have been destroying the ACC, and as Alabama continues to roll, their loss to the Tide in the opening week looks better and better. Nebraska's only loss was a one-pointer at Virginia Tech, in a game they controlled and honestly should have won. After Miami and Boston College were dispatched forcefully in Lane Stadium the past 2 weeks, that Cornhusker near-miss looks awfully impressive. Oregon has left their ugly loss to Boise State well behind them and has the tools to run the Pac Ten table.
Impenetrable: The defenses of Alabama (the best in the country) and Ohio State (second best). If I were an offensive coordinator, I'd be losing lots of sleep at the prospect of facing these units.
Comical: The spread offense. Not the offense itself - it's effective and has moved way past the point of being gimmicky. But the pre-snap routine of many of the schools who run the spread, particularly the no-huddle version (Florida, Oklahoma State, Missouri, to name a few) strikes me as funny. Here's how it plays out: the team lines up in formation, everyone gets set, then in 4 out of 5 plays the coaching staff freezes them to call in an audible or a new play. So what happens is that the entire team's heads pop up, not all at once usually, but in short succession as they all look for the signals from the sidelines. It reminds me of the nature videos when you see prairie dogs popping up out of their holes, heads darting from side to side. The whole scene makes me chuckle. In fact, I'm going to label it the "Prairie Dog Offense" from now on.
Inspired: Florida State. As I'm writing the 3rd quarter is ending and the Seminoles find themselves trailing, but the team rallied around Bobby Bowden amid calls for him to step down. The team marched out in unison behind their coach and the offense was unstoppable in the first half. Inspired football. It may not end in a win, but the message was clear: Bobby Bowden is our coach and we want him here.
Lurking: Texas. I get the sense that we've not seen anything close to the full strength of the Longhorns. They seem to be biding their time, walking at half-speed through opponents who can't truly test them. We'll see what they really have next Saturday at the Cotton Bowl.
Boring: The general tone of the week. Upsets subsided, few last-minute finishes, the kind of week easily forgotten in the grand scheme of the season.
Vindicated: Me. After 2 weeks of mediocrity I struck gold, sitting at 12-2 with Georgia Tech looking stronger and stronger by the minute (just went up 49-38). I guess I can do this. Never mind that a fruit bat could have gone above .500 in this predictable week.
Wrong: Me, about LSU. Sure, the Tigers only managed a field goal, but they showed they belonged on the same field with mighty Florida.
Tired: Me, after a long day installing a new outside door. I'm off to bed, I'll have to see how the GT-FSU game ended tomorrow.
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