Fourth and inches … (game week of Sept 26, 2009)

By Todd Erickson  |   Friday, September 25, 2009  |  Comments( 0 )

College Football
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Florida State knows how to get away with the big cheat… Watch the replay of FSU’s thrashing of BYU in Provo last weekend and a couple things become very apparent. The Cougars would’ve been in a shootout with the Seminoles like I predicted if they would’ve held on to the ball better. But, FSU also knows how to cheat very well.

In their first possession, the Seminole offensive line took out Cougar nose tackle Russell Tialavea with a ruthless chop block. Tialavea didn’t play the rest of the game and is out for at least the next four weeks with a grade 3 MCL sprain, probably longer. Tialavea is a quality defensive lineman that takes two blockers to handle every play, so it’s easy to see why the ‘Noles had a rather easy time of rushing up the gut the rest of the game.

Another play that stands out in the replay is Greg Reid’s interception and TD return of a Max Hall pass at the beginning of the second half. Reid grabbed tight end Andrew George’s jersey and slingshots himself toward the ball while knocking George off balance and unable to fight for the ball.

Both plays should have been caught and penalized by the officiating crew, but the Stripes didn’t start flagging the Seminoles until the game was out of reach in the final quarter.

Does chop blocking deserve an automatic two-game suspension for the perpetrators? Go to YouTube and search under “Glenn Dorsey Auburn chop block.” Watch the 18-second video. Then persuade me that the guilty parties should only get a 15-yard penalty, if in fact, the officials happen to catch it. This type of cheating should be held accountable under post-game replays. Conference commissioners need to get tough and crack down on cheats like those seen in this video, otherwise they’re just rewarding those who perfect cheating and getting away with it.

Heisman Power Meter: Cal’s Jahvid Best notched all of the Golden Bear scores in a 35-21 win over Minnesota on the road. Miami QB Jacory Harris was 20-25 for 270 yards and 3 TDs in a big ACC win over Georgia Tech. Cincinnati QB Tony Pike was 31-49, 332 yards, 2 TDs, with another rushing TD in an impressive road win over Oregon State.

Conference Pre-Season Power Meter: 1. Big XII. 2. SEC. 3. Pac-10. 4. Big Ten 5. ACC 6. Big East. 7. MWC. 8. C-USA. 9. WAC. 10. Sun Belt.

The most intriguing games this weekend and why:

No. 15 Texas Christian at Clemson. We’ll find out if TCU can dream of a BCS postseason with a solid win over the Tigers. Clemson can match the Horned Frogs in team speed and their home field advantage is worth a pair of field goals. Still, I like TCU’s discipline and veteran QB in this contest.
No. 4 Miami at No. 17 Virginia Tech. Stingy defense tries to protect he home field against the flashy firepower of the invading Hurricane hordes. I’ll take Miami and the points, please.
No. 8 California at Oregon. Jeff Tedford and the Golden Bears can look back to last weekend and thank Minnesota’s stubborn resistance for helping battle harden them for this game in Eugene. Look for Cal to pull this one out which will set up a monumental Pac-10 showdown at home with USC next week.
Texas Tech at No. 16 Houston. Two prolific spread offense juggernauts go head to head in what is guaranteed to be a high scoring shootout. The Red Raiders have been down this road before, so expect Mike Leach’s troops to pull this one out.
No. 24 Iowa at No. 5 Penn State. All you need to know about this game is that the Nittany Lions have revenge on their minds, they have home field advantage, and the weather is supposed to be miserable.
No. 8 LSU at Mississippi State. I see this as a trap game for LSU. They have Georgia, Florida and Auburn to worry about in the next three weeks. If they win, it won’t be by a large margin.
Colorado State at No. 20 BYU. The Rams come in undefeated and eager to regain the swagger they used to have in the Mountain West Conference from 1998 to 2004. The Cougars are trying to recover from shell-shock and make something of their season in the wake of the Seminole Nation invasion. I like BYU to bounce back in this conference opener for both teams.
Washington at Stanford. This is a great test for Washington. It’s their first road game of the season and Stanford is a deceptive, battle-tested unit. After last week, the Huskies need to learn how to keep their killer instinct week after week. They’ll learn that the hard way on Saturday.

Last week's picks: 7-1.

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About Todd Erickson

Todd Erickson is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and pens the RealFootball365 Top 25 college football power rankings and "Fourth and inches..." weekly columns from August thru January. He is currently working on the second edition of Road to the Rose Bowl ...
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