College Football: Three Things We Learned from Week Seven

College Football: Three Things We Learned from Week Seven

Weis Won’t Capture a Signature Victory this Year

After Notre Dame’s upsetting loss to USC this past weekend, 34-27, fans and writers still wonder if Weis will be able to sign the dotted line for a signature win against a valued or rival opponent.

Not this year.

After the loss to USC, Notre Dame is now 4-2 this season without a win against a ranked-opponent and their remaining schedule only has one top 25 team—on the road against Pittsburgh. Notre Dame can only hope Pitt beats its conference foe South Florida next week to remain in the top 25 when facing them Nov. 14th.

With only one convincing win against Nevada (35-0), Notre Dame must win and win big at home against weaker opponents like Boston College, Washington State, and Navy along with beating Pitt to be considered for a “fruitful” Bowl Game. However, I don’t see this happening, and thus Weis won’t be able to add a signature win to his career this year.

Without a signature victory, can we consider Weis’s five-year tenure a success?

Yes and No.

During Charlie Weis’s first two years, he took the Irish to two BCS Championship Games. But getting there is only the first step especially for a highly-regarded program like Notre Dame. His first year, he lost to Ohio State 34-20 in the Fiesta Bowl and the following year was outmatched and out coached by LSU, losing 41-14 in the Sugar Bowl.

Wies finally got his first bowl win against Hawaii 49-21, ending the Irish's NCAA record nine-game bowl losing streak. However, a win in the Hawaii Bowl is no huge accomplishment, and during his next two years the Irish finished 9-15 overall. Weis did receive a personal achievement his first year as head coach, becoming the second Irish coach to receive the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, after Lou Holtz did it in 1988.

The SEC Still in the Driver seat; Other Conferences Take Backseat

With the conclusion of week seven being the first week for BCS Standings to come out, the SEC is still the conference to be reckoned with, containing three teams in the top 10 (No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Alabama, No. 9 LSU), while other competitive conferences like the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and Pac-10 have only one considered in the top 10.

Florida and Alabama still hold their destiny in their hands, and if both win out like expected, they will play for the SEC Championship Game with the winner advancing to the BCS National Championship Game. No other conference is making it difficult for readers and writers, like myself, to even think of other conferences as solid contenders against the best from the SEC, which makes me wonder...If Florida and Alabama both go undefeated through the regular season and make it a close and exciting game in the SEC Championship, why not give them a second chance to duel it out in the National Championship?

There are only two teams now in the top 10 that will be able to compete with the Gators and the Crimson Tide’s physical presence and ability in a high-magnitude game. Those teams are No. 3 Texas and No. 7 USC.

No. 5 Cincinnati lost their best player and Heisman hopeful QB Tony Pike to injury. No Big Ten team should be allowed to play in the Title Game, especially because of how they performed in past BCS Bowl Games. No. 4 Boise State will have an opportunity for a big Bowl Game, but not the National Championship because of their strength of schedule. No. 8 TCU and No. 10 Miami don’t have the physical manpower to keep up with top defenses.

If Texas wins the Big 12, they deserve to play in the National Championship Game especially after last year, and if USC wins out, they will move up the polls in the top five and should be considered. If these two teams cannot do this, I say the SEC Championship Game No. 1 Florida vs. No. 2 Alabama should play to smell the roses for the National Championship.

I can’t wait for TCU and Boise State to be the only undefeated teams at the end of the regular season. Now, what do you do!

There is a Place for Mallet in the NFL

Arkansas QB Ryan Mallet has all the physical qualities you look for in a young college quarterback. He has the athletic ability to move well in and out the pocket (good pocket presence), his tall 6'7" frame gives him an advantage to see over lineman, and he has a cannon of an arm. This was most evident in the game against No.1 Florida when he threw two 40-yard strikes on line with his second deep ball going for a go ahead TD.

Both of his throws were that much more impressive because they came against the best defense in the country in a hostile environment. Nothing against his first throw at the end of the first half that split a speedy secondary, but his second 40-plus-yard strike showcased not only his ability to step up and evade pressure from Florida’s fast front, but to throw it off his right foot (his opposite foot) and keep his receiver in stride.

If Paterno wouldn’t have taken the ball out of Mallet’s hands with a 3rd-and-4 toss into the teeth of a Florida blitz—duh!—he might of beaten Florida (his following play was a 38-yard field goal miss, Tejeda’s second of the day).

In only his second year—first year as a full-time starter—Mallet has improved from doubling his touchdown throws from seven to 14 and has thrown two less interceptions with more than 46 attempts from his first year. I am not trying to say he will be the next Dan Marino or John Elway, although he does have the arm to match them, but his NFL future looks more prosperous than other top Arkansas quarterbacks. By the time he is ready to come out, he will be considered a top QB in the draft.

Other Arkansas QB Notables:

Tarvaris Jackson—Vikings, 2006-2009

Clint Stoerner—Cowboys, 2000-2001

Joe Furgeson—Bills, 1973-84; Lions, 1985-86; Buccaneers, 1988-89; Colts 1990

Lamar McHan—Cardinals, 1954-1958; Packers, 1959-1960; Colts 1961-1962 49ers, 1963