College Football Weekly Awards: Nebraska Flexes Muscle, Arizona Gains Respect
It is time again for weekly awards and during Week 3 we saw a bit of everything.
From the toppling of a top-10 team to an improbably fake field goal that solidified a win, the third week of college football had several jaw-dropping moments and, in turn, produced a bevy of candidates for this week’s awards.
This week, I decided to take a different route with the award types. Instead of providing awards to each positional player, I have consolidated it to one offensive and one defensive player. This allowed me to add awards like Upset of the Week, Buzz Kill of the Week, and a couple others that will hopefully grab the attention of the B/R faithful.
Let’s take a look at the highs, lows, and in-betweens that occurred over the past week of college football.
Team of the Week: Nebraska
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Many believed that a trip to Seattle for Nebraska had the potential to be a trap game. However, Bo Pelini showed the nation that his Cornhuskers can dominate play on both sides of the ball, no matter how talented the opposition might appear.
Jake Locker, a heavy favorite to be the next No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, looked more like a high school quarterback facing Nebraska’s authoritative defense. The “Black Shirts” held this future NFL star to only 71 yards passing and picked him off twice. They also kept Washington’s entire offense to less than 300 total yards.
Nebraska’s offense also exploded all over this slightly overhyped Washington squad.
Freshman quarterback Taylor Martinez simply devoured the Huskies defense, rushing for 137 yards and three touchdowns and passing for 150 yards and a touchdown.
The Cornhuskers put up three runners with at least 100 yards rushing (Martinez, Roy Helu Jr., and Rex Burkhead), with each back scoring at least one touchdown.
Nebraska looked outstanding against this talented BCS opponent and teams in the Big 12 should take note and be happy that this is their last year in that conference.
Offensive Player of the Week: Ryan Mallett, Arkansas
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A tough road test for the Arkansas Razorbacks allowed Ryan Mallett to display exactly what he has in his bag of tricks.
Against a scrappy Georgia Bulldog team, Mallet completed 63.6 percent of his passes, tossing three touchdowns and averaging 11.5 yards per attempt.
With less than a minute to play and the score tied, Mallett orchestrated a three-play drive, completing three straight passes, culminating in a 40-yard pass down the sideline to Greg Childs and scoring the go ahead score with 15 seconds left on the clock.
This last-minute, game-winning drive exemplified the poise and composure that Mallett has at the quarterback position. Given the opportunity, he can change the outcome of a game with one perfectly laced ball down the field.
Defensive Player of the Week: Justin Washington, Arizona
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Down by seven with a shade under four minutes left in the game, Iowa had an opportunity to put together a last-minute, game-tying drive.
However, Arizona’s freshman defensive lineman Justin Washington put the kibosh on any miraculous comebacks that the Hawkeyes might have been desperately seeking.
On that final drive for Iowa, Washington came up huge, sacking Ricky Stanzi twice for a total of 16 yards, with the last sack forcing a turnover on downs.
The two sacks elevated Washington to third in the FBS with four sacks and 21st with five tackles for loss. The "Bear Down" defense for Arizona appears to be making its way back into the spotlight and Washington is playing an enormous part.
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Coach of the Week: Mike Stoops, Arizona
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Arizona’s Mike Stoops had the Wildcats mentally prepared to contend with No. 9 Iowa.
They came out of the gates firing, never playing from behind and creating a suffocating atmosphere for Iowa with a swarming defense and a fairly consistent offense.
Stoops didn’t waste time running the ball into Iowa’s stout defensive line and instead attacked various weaknesses in the Hawkeyes secondary.
On defense, blitzing schemes and stunts allowed the Wildcats to put a great deal of pressure on Ricky Stanzi, disrupting his timing and creating a hostile environment in the pocket.
Stoops game plan to take down a top-10 team worked to perfection and allowed the Wildcats to catapult their way up this week’s AP rankings.
Conference of the Week: SEC
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The six ranked SEC teams (Alabama, Florida, Arkansas, South Carolina, LSU, and Auburn) flexed some serious muscle in Week 3. Five of the six teams faced BCS conference opponents, three of the six squared off against in-conference foes, and all of them came away with a win.
The six ranked teams averaged 37.4 points for, while only allowing an average of 17.4 points against, in Week 3.
As a whole, the SEC tallied an 8-4 record in Week 3, with all four losses coming against teams within the conference.
Auburn, Arkansas, and Florida had a tough test that they eventually overcame, and in the process proved that they are durable and rapidly maturing with every hard-fought battle.
Upset of the Week: No. 24 Arizona 34, No. 9 Iowa 27
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Six days before kickoff, Iowa was favored by a three-point margin to beat the Wildcats.
The gambling masses believed otherwise and moved the line so far that by kick off Vegas adjusted the line to make Arizona the three-point favorite.
While the nation might not have considered this an epic upset, a top-10 team losing to a team clinging on for their AP-ranked lives is pretty huge.
Iowa was believed to have the stronger offensive line, which was supposed to allow them to control the ball and the game. However, Arizona surprised the world with a defense that produced unbelievable amounts of pressure on Iowa’s quarterback, Ricky Stanzi, forcing multiple turnovers and bringing down the QB six times.
The Hawkeyes tried to make a late run (scoring 20 consecutive points in the second half), but when it mattered most, Arizona’s defense bore down and forced a turnover on downs that essentially clinched the game.
Arizona pulled off a pretty big upset and it certainly deserves recognition from all college football fanatics.
Buzz Kill of the Week: Jake Locker, Washington
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Mel Kiper, Todd McShay, and every other person with a 2011 NFL Draft board have Jake Locker somewhere in the top two. His talent is undeniable and he is considered to be the prototypical NFL quarterback.
The buzz surrounding this kid is hard to ignore, but after the wet fart of a performance that Locker put on against Nebraska, it is hard not to be slightly hung over from all the sweetness being thrown his way.
Locker completed an abysmal 20 percent of his passes against a defense that runs very similar schemes to an NFL team. He completed a career low four passes and the 71 yards that he collected was the lowest in any game in which Locker played at least two quarters.
While Locker did show off some excellent footwork on a couple rushing breakouts, this hardly made up for the horrid day that he had when trying to produce from within the pocket.
Locker shouldn’t lose too much ground on those draft boards, but his reputation certainly took a hit after this laughable showing.
The WTF Game of the Week: California 31, Nevada 52
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Entering the game as a slight home underdog, Nevada’s high-powered offense was thought to be a product of a weak schedule. The masses would have to you to believe that California’s BCS-caliber defense could contain this no-named WAC offense.
Instead, Nevada stomped all over Cal, leaving many in awe.
After this WTF moment, Cal fans will definitely remember one name: Colin Kaepernick.
Thanks to Kaepernick, Nevada demolished the Bears, taking an early lead and never relinquishing it.
Kaepernick completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns, but that’s the boring part of the story. The dual threat also rushed for 148 yards and three more touchdowns in what turned out to be somewhat of a rout.
Cal’s midseason breakdown has come a little early this year and this should turn up the thermometer on Jeff Tedford’s already-balmy seat.
Great Escape of the Week: Michigan 42, UMass 37
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After the first two weeks of the season, Denard Robinson had convinced many of the Michigan faithful that he could be their ticket back to the Rose Bowl.
But in Week 3, images of that Appalachian State nightmare quickly rushed back into the minds of fans watching the Wolverines take on UMass.
In what was a comedy of errors on defense, Michigan trailed UMass 17-7 at one point in the second quarter and seemed to score at will late in the fourth quarter.
This time around, the Wolverines escaped with a victory and once again Go Blue Nation has their savior quarterback to thank.
Despite a rather epic breakdown by the Wolverines defense, Robinson unleashed his uncanny talent all over UMass, scoring on five straight drives that started in the second quarter and went well into the fourth.
Without Robinson, this could have been yet another blockbuster loss for the Wolverines. Michigan escapes, however, and begins the season 3-0 for the second straight season.
“Cojones De Grande” Call of the Week: Fake Field Goal by Michigan State
10 of 10Calling a fake field goal is ballsy pretty much any time during a game. Making the call down by three in overtime on national television takes a pair of cojones bigger than any normal size of boxers one might be able to carry.
Mike Dantonio did just this against Notre Dame in Week 3.
The “Little Giants” play (as Dantonio named it) was called after the Spartans went three-and-out on their turn in overtime. Instead of going for the tie and attempting a 46-yard field goal, Dantino had his boys line up for a field goal and had punter Aaron Bates launch a 29-yard ball to wide open tight end Charlie Gantt for the win.
Dantonio said that Michigan State had practiced this play early in the week and it worked every time.
It took a huge set to call this play at this particular juncture of the game, and it is definitely one of the gutsiest calls so far this season.
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