Fourth and inches … (game week of Oct 24, 2009)

By Todd Erickson  |   Saturday, October 24, 2009  |  Comments( 2 )

College Football
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Utah Senator Orrin Hatch renews his ill-advised and embarrassing fight to quash the BCS … considering all the other problems that need to be solved with the economy, domestic security, and foreign relations, there couldn’t be a bigger waste of government time and resources … If Senator Hatch actually had a clue, he would understand that if the BCS was shut down by the government, we’d see a quick return to the old bowl game system that existed pre-BCA (Bowl Championship Alliance) -- the organization that preceded the BCS.

Most fans might disagree, but I’m all for it. It beats a playoff, which will never happen anyway. However, the best scenario would be a true Plus-one system, where four or five BCS bowl winners would be re-ranked and the top two teams would play for the national title. That wouldn’t be much different from the system we have now, except we wouldn’t know who was playing in the title game until the dust had settled on January 2nd.

It’s important to note the timing of Senator Hatch’s latest effort. Funny how his letter to President Obama urging anti-trust investigations into the BCS was delivered at the beginning of this week. It's no coincidence that a wave of national hype began swirling this week around the contest between undefeated AP No. 10 TCU and 1-loss No. 16 BYU taking place in Provo, Utah with BCS bowl implications on the line for the eventual conference champ.

Good luck finding the TCU-Brigham Young game on the tube. You'll need to have either Comcast cable or Dish TV to get the Versus channel, since DirecTV pulled the plug on Versus nearly two months ago.

My midseason All-America Offensive picks:

QB: Tim Tebow, Florida
RB: Mark Ingram, Alabama
RB: Toby Gerhart, Stanford
WR: Eric Decker, Minnesota
WR: Golden Tate, Notre Dame
TE: Dennis Pitta, BYU
OL: Jeff Byers, USC
OL: Sergio Render, Virginia Tech
OL: Mike Johnson, Alabama
OL: Sean Bedford, Georgia Tech
OL: Maurkice Pouncey, Florida

Heisman Trophy top contenders: I can’t recall a season when there has been such a revolving door of potential winners. Of the original top 3 contenders, only Tim Tebow remains on my list. Joining him are Alabama running back Mark Ingram; Stanford running back Toby Gerhart, and TCU defensive end Jerry Hughes. Colt McCoy is a long shot at this point and would have to put up some gaudy numbers the rest of the season without a Longhorn loss.

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

Is there a record in college football that can never be broken and only tied? On October 28, 1950, Nevada punter Pat Brady booted an NCAA record 99-yard punt against Loyola Marymount. The Wolf Pack lost to the Lions at home, 34-7. Loyola Marymount hasn’t fielded a football program since the early 1970s. (Courtesy of The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame).

This week’s crazy 8 picks…

No. 10 Texas Christian at No. 16 Brigham Young University. The Cougars have home field advantage and the revenge factor. TCU has the wheels and a chance at a BCS bowl game. The only time the Frogs have won in Provo (51-50 in 2005) came on an official’s incorrect call on a fumble on the last play of the game without the benefit of instant replay. Cougars by a whisker.
Clemson at No. 8 Miami. This ACC contest is crucial to Miami (aren’t they all?) and the Hurricanes won’t disappoint the home crowd.
No. 25 Oklahoma at No. 24 Kansas. The Sooners and Jayhawks are both coming off narrow conference losses. Oklahoma held Colt McCoy to 127 yards passing last week. Look for them to hand Todd Reesing and Kansas a second consecutive defeat.
South Florida at No. 20 Pittsburgh. Hard to imagine Dave Wannstedt allowing the Panthers any chance of a letdown. Connecticut will be playing for Jasper Howard.
No. 13 Penn State at Michigan. This will be one of the most intense games this weekend. I’m not convinced this Nittany Lion squad can win on the road against an explosive offense. Expect the Wolverines to rock the Big House.
Boston College at Notre Dame. There is no way the Irish will lose a second consecutive game in South Bend. Not with this offense. Not with a mediocre BC team as the opponent.
No. 12 Oregon at Washington. Will the Quacks get caught looking ahead to USC? I really like what Steve Sarkisian is accomplishing very quickly with the Huskies. There is magic happening in Seattle again. I like the underdog in this one.
Auburn at No. 9 LSU. The Tigers just don’t have the troops to get the job done against the other Tigers in their home lair.

Last week: 4-4 Season: 25-21
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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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