Seperating the Men From the Boys
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Kevin Ezell
By Kevin Ezell
Published on 09/25/2006
With seperation Saturday in the books, Atomic Sports columnist Kevin Ezell breaks down the winners and losers, and clears up the college football landscape.
With seperation Saturday in the books, Atomic Sports columnist Kevin Ezell breaks down the winners and losers, and clears up the college football landscape.
Seperating the Men From the Boys
After taking in an exciting day of college football action, here a few thoughts on the games and teams that made huge statements on “Separation Saturday.”
-Auburn clearly is the second best team in the country. Hopefully if they finish the year undefeated, the Tigers will not be left out of the national championship game again (they were left out in 2004 when they went undefeated). Auburn displayed it had enough offense to get past an extremely physical team in LSU and managed to only give up three points to a top-10 team. I like Auburn’s chance to run the table and play in the title game.
-Is this the year for Michigan? The way it ran Notre Dame off the field, it very well could be. Michigan showed that when it is focused, Big Blue can play with anybody. Chad Henne played extremely well and the defense shut down the very explosive Notre Dame offense. They made Brady Quinn look very pedestrian and caused five turnovers that they turned into points. I like Michigan’s chance to compete for the Big Ten title.
-Larry Coker might want to be looking into some retirement plans or start to update his resume because he will not be in Miami next year. Coker was lucky enough to get off the hook with the Hurricanes’ embarrassing loss last year to LSU in the Peach Bowl (40-3). Miami is a top program and it looked horrible against the Louisville Cardinals. The ‘Canes have no offense in Kyle Wright and the defense supposedly one of the best in the country gave up 31 points. Miami could very well be looking at a four- or five-loss season which will not be accepted. We all know when expectations aren’t met, people lose their jobs.
-USC continues to churn out NFL talent year after year. John David Booty already looks very comfortable running the offense. Dwayne Jarrett is easily the best receiver in the country. The Trojans’ defense is a little susceptible but with the stars on the offense, it really does not matter. USC also has the privilege of playing in the soft Pac-10 conference. USC will be in the national championship talk all year long and is very deserving.
-Auburn clearly is the second best team in the country. Hopefully if they finish the year undefeated, the Tigers will not be left out of the national championship game again (they were left out in 2004 when they went undefeated). Auburn displayed it had enough offense to get past an extremely physical team in LSU and managed to only give up three points to a top-10 team. I like Auburn’s chance to run the table and play in the title game.
-Is this the year for Michigan? The way it ran Notre Dame off the field, it very well could be. Michigan showed that when it is focused, Big Blue can play with anybody. Chad Henne played extremely well and the defense shut down the very explosive Notre Dame offense. They made Brady Quinn look very pedestrian and caused five turnovers that they turned into points. I like Michigan’s chance to compete for the Big Ten title.
-Larry Coker might want to be looking into some retirement plans or start to update his resume because he will not be in Miami next year. Coker was lucky enough to get off the hook with the Hurricanes’ embarrassing loss last year to LSU in the Peach Bowl (40-3). Miami is a top program and it looked horrible against the Louisville Cardinals. The ‘Canes have no offense in Kyle Wright and the defense supposedly one of the best in the country gave up 31 points. Miami could very well be looking at a four- or five-loss season which will not be accepted. We all know when expectations aren’t met, people lose their jobs.
-USC continues to churn out NFL talent year after year. John David Booty already looks very comfortable running the offense. Dwayne Jarrett is easily the best receiver in the country. The Trojans’ defense is a little susceptible but with the stars on the offense, it really does not matter. USC also has the privilege of playing in the soft Pac-10 conference. USC will be in the national championship talk all year long and is very deserving.
Seperating the Men From the Boys
-I do not believe we will be hearing much Brady Quinn-for-Heisman talk for the rest of the football season. He played absolutely terrible on Saturday. Heisman trophy quarterbacks do not allow their team to get beat down on their home turf. His performance consisted of three interceptions and a fumble while only completing half of his passes. I believe the Heisman will be Troy Smith’s to lose. He is the best quarterback in the nation because, not only does he have a great arm, but he is a born leader. The Buckeyes will ride him all the way to the national championship game.
Here is a quick top ten after this Separation Saturday
1. Ohio State- Easily the best team in the nation. They have the best quarterback in Troy Smith and the best head coach in Jim Tressel. Even though the defense is young, they get after the ball and will only get better with time.
2. Auburn- I am a believer that the SEC is the strongest conference in college football. Great teams to me win tight games and it didn’t much tighter for Auburn when LSU fell five yards short of a victory.
3. USC-The talent this team has is unbelievable. Pete Carroll is the only coach who could lose two Heismen players and not miss a beat. John David Booty will only get better and with the talent around him; that is plain scary.
4. West Virginia-Steve Slaton is a lot of fun to watch, he really took to Maryland this week. There is a question of defense but with their schedule, they should not be tested that often.
5. Michigan-Lloyd Carr really got a monkey off his back this year. He had not won in South Bend since 1994 and he absolutely dismantled the Irish in South Bend. This team is for real and is the only threat Ohio State will have for the Big Ten crown.
6. Florida-Chris Leak is a really good quarterback and it does not hurt that Urban Meyer is calling the plays. These Gators have some tough games ahead of them but I think they can play with anyone.
7. Louisville-A very impressive win over the Hurricanes this week. They were not intimidated and just took it to a feared Miami defense.
8. Georgia-Another SEC team with a great defense. I am a little concerned with their young quarterback, Matthew Stafford so they need to run the ball well to keep the pressure off Stafford.
9. Oregon-How can you not like the Ducks after that huge win over Oklahoma? I know Sooner fans will blame bad officiating but I still was very impressed because the Ducks did not quit.
10. Virginia Tech-I am still not sold on the Hookies but they have won three games. They will need more consistent play from their offense. A huge plus is they have a proven winner in Frank Beemer, so they should be fine.
Here is a quick top ten after this Separation Saturday
1. Ohio State- Easily the best team in the nation. They have the best quarterback in Troy Smith and the best head coach in Jim Tressel. Even though the defense is young, they get after the ball and will only get better with time.
2. Auburn- I am a believer that the SEC is the strongest conference in college football. Great teams to me win tight games and it didn’t much tighter for Auburn when LSU fell five yards short of a victory.
3. USC-The talent this team has is unbelievable. Pete Carroll is the only coach who could lose two Heismen players and not miss a beat. John David Booty will only get better and with the talent around him; that is plain scary.
4. West Virginia-Steve Slaton is a lot of fun to watch, he really took to Maryland this week. There is a question of defense but with their schedule, they should not be tested that often.
5. Michigan-Lloyd Carr really got a monkey off his back this year. He had not won in South Bend since 1994 and he absolutely dismantled the Irish in South Bend. This team is for real and is the only threat Ohio State will have for the Big Ten crown.
6. Florida-Chris Leak is a really good quarterback and it does not hurt that Urban Meyer is calling the plays. These Gators have some tough games ahead of them but I think they can play with anyone.
7. Louisville-A very impressive win over the Hurricanes this week. They were not intimidated and just took it to a feared Miami defense.
8. Georgia-Another SEC team with a great defense. I am a little concerned with their young quarterback, Matthew Stafford so they need to run the ball well to keep the pressure off Stafford.
9. Oregon-How can you not like the Ducks after that huge win over Oklahoma? I know Sooner fans will blame bad officiating but I still was very impressed because the Ducks did not quit.
10. Virginia Tech-I am still not sold on the Hookies but they have won three games. They will need more consistent play from their offense. A huge plus is they have a proven winner in Frank Beemer, so they should be fine.