2010 College Football Midseason Report: Is It Too Early to Claim a Champion?

Four downs and a little OT.

First Down

Besides Ohio State, which team deserves to be ranked No. 1 right now?

The eyeball test suggests Oregon might be playing as well as anyone. The Ducks’ defense is still suspect, but their offense is incredibly productive.

Based on schedule, Oklahoma might be No. 1. The Sooners throttled Florida State and have beaten Air Force, Texas, Utah State and Cincinnati. Their games have been tight, so there might be reasons to rank them lower, but the Sooners have earned consideration.

How about Auburn? Wins over Clemson, South Carolina and Mississippi State look pretty good, and Cameron Newton is on fire. The close game against Kentucky is the only blemish on an exciting first half of the season. If Auburn beats Arkansas on Saturday, they might vault up the polls.

Boise State has two impressive wins over Virginia Tech and Oregon State, but is this enough to put them at the top right now? The problem with Boise is we all know they are good; we just think they would drop a little if they faced an SEC, Pac-10 or Big Ten schedule. That bias hurts them.

The answer is actually irrelevant. Polls at this point are just a starting point. With six weeks remaining in the regular season, most of the teams will drop a game or two, eliminating them from consideration. With that said, if not OSU, then Oregon should be No. 1.

Second Down

At the midpoint of the season, which conference looks the strongest?

This is best analyzed by looking at the top six teams in each conference.

The SEC has LSU, Auburn, Alabama, South Carolina, Arkansas and Florida.

Two undefeated teams and six ranked teams, but Florida seems unworthy of it right now. Non-conference resume is decent, but the wins over WVU, NC, Clemson, Texas A&M and Penn State look weaker now. Furthermore, some of the six will drop after the head-to-heads over the next two weeks.

The Big Ten has OSU, Iowa, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Michigan and Northwestern.

Two undefeated teams and four ranked teams  Non-conference resume looks average, especially with Miami’s loss to Florida State. Unless Wisky pulls the upset this week in Madison, this is a three-team conference.

The Big 12 has Oklahoma, Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Texas and Kansas State.

Four undefeated teams and four ranked teams. Non-conference resume is good with wins over Air Force, Washington, FSU and Illinois.

Ok St, Texas and KState are unlikely to make any noise in the second half of the season, and Mizzou has the Sooners and Cornhuskers over the next two weeks. Lose both, and the Big 12 becomes what everyone already believes it is—a two-horse race. 

The Pac-10 has Oregon, Stanford, Arizona, USC, Cal and Oregon State.

One undefeated team and four ranked teams, but Oregon State has no business being ranked right now with losses to TCU and Boise. 

Non-conference record is decent with wins over Texas and Iowa, but Cal’s loss to Nevada coupled with the Beavers' two losses are not good. The Pac-10 is similar to the Big Ten: one elite team and a few really good teams that may contend for the title. The rest are just playing for the Sun Bowl invitation.

**For obvious reasons, the ACC and Big East are not in consideration. If it is not obvious, go back and look at FSU’s loss to Oklahoma, Miami’s loss to OSU, Va Tech’s loss to Boise and WVU’s loss to LSU. If you still have questions, you are not paying attention.

Based on ranked teams, non-conference records and watching all the teams play, it appears that the SEC is still the toughest, but not by much. The Big Ten and the Pac-10 look equally loaded at the top.

Third Down

Is it that hard to properly discipline a player who breaks the law?

The latest was Urban Meyer reinstating Chris Rainey. Last month, Rainey told his girlfriend to prepare to die. He was properly arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault.

Meyer suspended Rainey, but he should have been kicked off the team. With at least 25 arrests under his tenure, Meyer refuses to draw a line in the sand when it comes to breaking the law.

Apologists will argue that Rainey’s girlfriend did not want him to be arrested and that sitting out six games is already justifiable punishment, but they are wrong. If Meyer says, “Enough’s enough,” and then backs down a few weeks later, the message received is, “If you can help me win, I’ll let it slide.”

Georgia and Tennessee have also had a bad year in terms of player arrests. Caleb King was the 11th Bulldog player arrested this year—not under Mark Richt’s tenure, but this year. Richt is on the hot seat for his team’s play on the field, but he should be on it for some of his player’s actions off it.

LaMichael James pleaded guilty in March for physical harassment and received 24 months' probation. Chip Kelly’s punishment was beyond weak. One game. Wow—good lesson taught there.

The judge and jury cannot be the coaches/universities who have a direct conflict of interest with these players. The NCAA needs to step in to clean up the abuse.

Fourth Down

Is it fair that Alabama has to play so many opponents this year who are coming off a bye week?

Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, Miss St., South Carolina and Tennessee all get two weeks to prepare for the Crimson Tide. Bama’s probably going to be the best three-loss team ever at the end of the season.

OT

The only thing worse than jockeying for poll position right now is the weekly Heisman discussion. Denard Robinson was a shoo-in until he ran into a legitimate defense. Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson were possible locks until the Gamecocks held both to 64 yards. Now James, Newton and Terrelle Pryor are at the top of the list. 

The real candidate will emerge in November. Right now that looks like James, or is it Taylor Martinez?