College Football Roundup: Wild, Wild Saturday

Ohio State was impressive in their 33-14 victory over a hot Washington Huskie squad.

Going into the game, Washington was one of the most talked-about teams in the country, fresh off a 24-10 romp over a ranked Boise State squad. The oddsmakers didn't show the Buckeyes much respect, only making them slight favorites.

After the win, I'm no longer having second thoughts about ranking the Buckeyes in my top 10. 

The OSU defense is an outstanding unit with great athleticism—the type of defense that's going to always give this team a chance.

Today was my first glimpse of freshman Washington QB Jake Locker, and I was in awe of his physical tools.

Locker's a marvelous talent with tremendous running skills, and has the potential to develop into a solid pocket passer. He's got a great feel for how to run the football—he protects his body well and doesn't leave himself open to the big hit.

Ohio State RB Chris Wells is another elite talent. He's got quick feet and a surprising burst for a back of his size. Wells is easily the most important player on the OSU offense, and he'll have to consistently show up if this team is going to win the Big 10.

What a statement by the Florida Gators. Going into this weekend, I was starting to think that Florida might not be on the level of LSU, USC, or Oklahoma. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Tim Tebow continues to come of age. I've never seen a QB double as a FB—I'm not sure how he pulls it off.

As fun as his power running is to watch, though, it's not going to fly in the NFL. He won't last half a season throwing his body around like that, and the team that drafts him will have to readjust his running style. 

Still, Tebow is fast becoming a very smart player—there's also no substitute for playing in the SEC.

Watching the game opened my eyes to just how much talent and speed the Gators have on offense. Of course, we all know about Percy Harvin—perhaps the most dangerous open-field runner in all of college football. But there's so much more to the Gator offense than Tebow and Harvin.

TE Cornelius Ingram is extremely talented, with the quickness and speed of a wide receiver and some great hands. RB Kestahn Moore has good size, the jets to bounce it outside, and a very nice compact running style.

Another player who really jumped out at me was RB Jarred Fayson. When he ripped off a 28-yard run in the third quarter, I thought he was Harvin. Fayson has really nice size (6'0", 207 lbs.), particularly for a player with his explosive skill set.

The Alabama Crimson Tide pulled off a huge upset against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Just a couple days ago, I wrote that there was "no way" Alabama could be a dominant force in the SEC West this year.

Oops.

Bama's victory puts them in great position in the SEC West race, but they've got a tough row to hoe with games against Georgia, Tennessee, and LSU on their plate.

Arkansas isn't out of contention, but they're going to have to run the table to win the West.

The Tide offense is an impressive unit—QB John Parker Wilson is emerging as a top-flight passer, and the two-headed running attack of Terry Grant and Glen Cofee is more than enough to keep defenses honest.

The Bama secondary is a solid unit, with typical SEC athleticism. As for their run defense—the stats from last night's game aren't pretty, but the numbers are more attributable to running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones than to a questionable effort from the Bama front seven.

Speaking of McFadden and Jones...

Wow. Just plain wow.

I'm beginning to think that McFadden might be one of the top 10 draft prospects in history. He's certainly the top eligible talent for the upcoming draft—that really isn't up for debate anymore.

The junior racked up 195 yards on 33 carries, manhandling the Tide defense the entire night. He's a cut above everyone else physically—have you ever seen him lose ground after contact?

I don't think I have.

Add in his speed and explosiveness, and it just isn't fair for opposing defenses. At this point, McFadden's a shoe-in at the top of my Heisman list.

And the more I watch his sidekick, Felix Jones, the higher and higher I get on him.

He's got McFadden's burst, and he's a smart, smart runner with great vision. He's not the same inside runner as McFadden is, but he's got enough size (6'0", 207 lbs.) to fight for extra yardage between the tackles.

There were two other major upsets on Saturday—UCLA was routed by Utah, 44-6, and Louisville was beaten by Kentucky, 40-34.

Kentucky QB Andre Woodson looked like a future first-round pick, dissecting the hapless Louisville secondary to the tune of 275 yards and four TDs.

He put himself in the thick of the Heisman race with that performance.

Texas narrowly avoided an upset at the hands of UCF. I'm officially done putting faith in the Horns, and they're no longer a top 10 team in my book.

Their D is playing very mediocre right now, and Colt McCoy just isn't quite as sharp as he was a year ago.

The beat keeps going for Oklahoma freshman signal caller Sam Bradford, who completed 19 of 25 passes with three TDs and an INT (his first of the season).

I can't believe how well this guy is playing.

Bradford is composed in the pocket and devastatingly accurate. His completion percentage on the season is 80 !!@#$ percent.

If Bradford continues to dominate, he may well challenge McFadden (or whoever else) for the Heisman. I hope the fact that he's a freshman doesn't hurt him too much.

In addition to Bradford and WR Malcolm Kelly, the Sooners have one of the nation's least-known and most talented 1-2 running back punches in senior Allen Patrick and freshman DeMarco Murray.

Both are home run threats with impressive top-end speed, and make the Oklahoma offense absolutely scary—perhaps the best in the country.

Boston College looks like a team poised to win the ACC. QB Matt Ryan had a career day vs. Georgia Tech, throwing for 435 yards.

The Eagles defense was quite impressive, too, limiting a powerful Tech offense to 267 yards. RB Tarshard Choice gained only 31 yards on the ground.

Finally, I'm quite confused as to what's going on with Clemson's offense.

More specifically—what's with the lack of carries for James Davis and C.J. Spiller?

Now, the results have been more than fine, and Cullen Harper is playing lights-out...but I still don't get the strategy.

I doubt Harper will be able to dominate tougher ACC defenses through the air. Clemson is going to need Davis and Spiller in a big way very soon.

Spiller in particular can't be happy, considering that he was set to jump ship to Florida last spring but was talked into staying by coach Tommy Bowden.