College Football Week 6 Recap

PSU/Purdue
Ahad: PSU came away with a solid win in a potential trap game. The offense didn’t put on the show that it has been so far, but the defense played well and that is huge considering the upcoming schedule.
Evan: I only saw the highlights, but i thought it was the Big 10 version of the UF/Arkansas game, so see below. I’m very excited about the next three weeks for Penn State. If they come through that stretch unscathed I think they should be in the top 3, behind only Alabama and Oklahoma assuming those two stay undefeated.
Mike: Too close for Penn State. A few things held them up from a blowout: Poor Tackling, Slipping on the turf, No Jordan Norwood. I’m curious to see how Purdue handles the QB situation the rest of the season. Also, ESPN’s coverage was terrible, possibly the worst I’ve ever seen. Andre Ware has coverage PSU games in the past but you’d be shocked by listening to him. He was bad the whole game but his worst error was saying that Josh Hull was one of the best middle linebackers we’ve had in a long time. Really? No recollection of Dan Conner, Paul Posluzny, or Sean Lee (who Hull had to step in for due to injury)? The actual presentation was bad too. They missed a number of snaps and then missed an entire play. It was the first down that put the game away for certain.
Matt: I believe it is very possible that Andre Ware could be more worse as a broadcaster than he was as an NFL quarterback. That team covering the game was god awful! I am glad you touched on it, Mike, because when he made that comment about Josh Hull, I was flipping out! On top of that, they had a discussion about the fact that Purdue’s blackout was better than PSU’s whiteout. Say what? They argued that Purdue had it right because their home uniforms are black, and thus, the blackout made sense. Penn State goes with the blue uniforms at home, and they thought it should be a blue-out. I wanted to throw the remote at the screen throughout the entire game. Anyways, back to the players on the field. The game was closer on the scoreboard that it was on the field. We dominated both sides of the ball, but we just couldn’t score points. I felt the offense got a little too pass happy in the game. I felt we should have run the ball a little more than we did, but only if our skill people would have changed their spikes. They were falling down everywhere, and a couple of those slips probably cost us two touchdowns. The defense played well, but they need to keep that up over the next 3 weeks.

UF/Arkansas
Evan: The Gators offense was pretty pedestrian for most of the game. Our defense played great, and we finally picked up near the end. Tebow’s decision making and accuracy are a concern for me at this point. They will have to play much better to have a chance against LSU next weekend.

Big 12 vs SEC
Ahad: The Big 12 is making a push for the title of best conference in the NCAA. Personally, I prefer the Big 12 to the SEC. This weekend brings the highly anticipated Red River Shootout (I refuse to call it by its new name). Now is when the top teams in the Big 12 will start beating up on each other, just like the SEC has been doing. All those BCS haters out there will be hoping that no one comes out undefeated and we are left with chaos again.
Evan: No surprise that I disagree with Ahad. I agree the Big 12’s “big 3” are as good as any other conference’s top 3 teams (which is arguable in itself – Alabama, LSU, UF, Georgia, and Vandy could all make a case). Depth wise I still give a huge edge to the SEC. Rarely will you see an in-conference blow out in the SEC as you would when Oklahoma and Baylor go at it.
Mike: As a whole the SEC is far superior. They may have 5 Top 10 teams but none of them may actually be a Top 4 team this year The Big 12 falls off quickly after those top 3.
Matt: I will agree the SEC has more depth and is the better overall conference. The Big 12’s Top 3 are all very good, but I would be hard pressed to say they have really been challenged yet (save Missouri against Illinois). We will just have to wait and see how everything shakes out at the end.

Ohio State/Wisconsin
Ahad: Is Pryor the real deal at QB? I think the offense has been tailored to fit his strengths, but this team will need Beanie to be at full strength if they are to contend for the Big 10 title. Pryor is still very inconsistent and Beanie takes a lot of pressure off of him.
Evan: Facing Purdue and Michigan State should give Pryor decent experience to be ready for Penn State. I think he will be one of the most successful freshman QBs we’ve ever seen, and it really pains me to say that. I am putting Wisconsin’s loss squarely on the shoulders of the Band, who through their reckless and irresponsible behavior (in other words, acting like the rest of the student body at any college in America) sucked all of the energy out of Camp Randall.
Mike: I’m with Evan, when I heard Saturday morning that the band was suspended that caused great concern. I do need to go to Madison and have a Scrambler. I haven’t liked Blackledge’s in the past but the breakfast place in Madison looked amazing.
Matt: I didn’t get to see any of this game because the USC/Oregon game had priority. From the looks of it, it appeared to be a defensive struggle. I only heard some brief discussions about the Wisconsin band’s suspension. Could someone fill me in?
Mike: Matt, here is an article on the suspension. Looks to be issues dealing with hazing. Sounds like this has been going on for some time. My question is, why is Wisconsin-Madison’s newspaper called The Daily Cardinal?

Vandy/Auburn
Evan: It was pretty cool to watch this game, especially with Gameday making their first trip there. It is the first time I have seen that stadium sold out. In fact, I didn’t even know it had lights until Saturday night. I think it’s a great win for Vandy, but also shows just how poor Auburn’s offense is.