College Football Wordplay: From A to Z ("September Surprises")

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

And once again

The month of September has provided surprises, disappointments, huge upsets and injuries to two Heisman trophy winners. Just when you thought you had a grasp of this year’s college football season, the opening week of conference play reminds us all that anything can and will happen.

With a quarter of the season gone, it’s time to re-evaluate what we've learned so far and try to piece together what we can expect to see unfold in the coming weeks.

Big Ten

Despite being much improved from top-to-bottom, with Iowa taking out Penn State for the second straight year, and Ohio State losing to the Southern Cal in week two, the conference looks to be sitting on the outside looking-in of the national championship picture.

Championship anyone?

For the first time in about 10 years, no team has established themselves as the clear-cut favorite to win the championship. Oklahoma, Southern Cal, Oklahoma State and Ole Miss all fell out of the Top-five, Florida “struggled” against Tennessee and has looked vulnerable in the run game, and except for last week against UTEP the Longhorns have failed to put together two good halves in one game.

Surprisingly, Alabama has played the most impressive football in September. So, are the Tide emerging as the team to beat? What about Boise State and Virginia Tech?  

October should help sort this mess out. (See letter "L")

Dodging Bullets:

Sometimes September is all about surviving.

LSU got a gutsy goal line stand on the road against Mississippi State, while Nebraska let an opportunity to finally beat a Top 20 team slip through their fingers.

Jevan Snead couldn’t get Ole Miss’ offense going in time against South Carolina, and Oklahoma State couldn’t put away a pesky Houston squad.

Good teams find a way to put teams away and win close games, while others let victory and Championship aspirations slip away.

Extra-points

Big Ten officials miss calls every year. Last week they botched a call late in the fourth quarter of the Indiana-Michigan game, giving the ball to the Wolverines during a simultaneous catch situation.

You can’t help but wonder if the conference was chasing money, trying to get the Wolverines into the Top 25.

Forecasting

This Saturday is filled with teams getting tested for the first time.  For Texas A&M, you can only creampuff a schedule for so long. Are Auburn a contender for the SEC West? Can Wisconsin and Michigan win on the road against a conference rival to stay perfect on the season?

This week should go long ways in gauging which teams are legitimate contenders in their respective conferences.

Got mail?

Dear Joe Pa,

     Since the whiteout doesn’t seem to be working, should we maybe try a blueout sometime soon?

Sincerely,

Penn State Student Council

Heisman Race

Three players hopes took a huge hit this past weekend: Cal’s Jahvid Best got blasted by Oregon, Jacory Harris was humbled by Virginia Tech, and Tim Tebow got a little taste of what it’s like to be Sam Bradford.

Granted, all three will still have opportunities to get back into the Heisman picture, but at this point it looks like the trophy is Colt McCoy’s to lose.

Impact Freshmen

Newbie’s putting up big numbers this season:

Former Duke point guard, Greg Paulus, has brought some much-needed excitement back to a struggling Syracuse football program. The QB has ‘Cuse fans believing they could go bowling this winter.

Pittsburgh RB Dion Lewis has picked up right where LeSean McCoy left off. The freshman is fourth in the nation in rushing, with 493 yards and has already found the end zone seven times this season.

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