Trent's Touchdown - Week 3

Here we are at Week 3 of the college football season and the stories around the nation sound more like an old episode of Law & Order instead of a sport played by college kids. Whether players are breaking the law or breaking NCAA rules, there seems to be some sort of issue here. More on this later, now, let’s get to the Touchdown:

1) No. 8 Nebraska at Washington – 3:30 on ABC

I haven’t had a chance this year to write about my man-love for Jake Locker. Thank God for this non-conference game.

Nebraska has probably one of the best defenses in college football. They know how to hit, know how to intercept the ball, and know how to pressure the QB. Last year, they made the best QB’s in the Big 12 look nothing better than ordinary. The offense of Nebraska is centered on running the ball and pass when you have to. If they are facing a defense that is good against the run, they will be in trouble. That would put their freshman QB in passing situations and that doesn’t equal sunshine and puppies.

Washington, on the other hand, is all about the offense. Locker is, arguably, the best QB in college football right now. It’s not just his throwing ability or running ability, but his ability to read defenses. Against Syracuse, he used quick slants to counter the pass rush which lead to the win. While Nebraska has a tough defense, Locker should be able to make adjustments to counter whatever it is they do.

Washington pulls the upset and I try and get my hands on a Heisman ballot to vote for my man Jake.

2) Clemson at No. 16 Auburn – 7:00 on ESPN

Yeah, yeah, I know I only picked this game so high because I’m a huge Clemson fan. So sue me.

Clemson comes into this game after two wins against marshmallow teams trying to find an identity. While Kyle Parker may be a star, he is still a freshman QB with a MLB contract in his back pocket and no named stars around him. He doesn’t have Jacoby Ford or CJ Spiller to fall back on anymore. Expect the Tigers to attack with the running game of Ellington and Harper and give Parker short 3rd down distances. The Clemson defense, on the other hand, needs to stop Cam Newton from doing his thing.

Cam Newton’s thing, is leading the Auburn offense, both through the air and on the ground. The Auburn offense is a bit streaky though and relies on the tough defense for long stretches of time to keep them in games. We could easily be talking about a 1-1 Auburn team if that defense didn’t come up huge time and again against Mississippi State last week.

Expect Clemson to keep it interesting for the whole game, but Auburn’s defense comes up with the stops they need to keep the victory.

3) No. 9 Iowa at No. 24 Arizona – 10:30 on ESPN

Looks like Iowa fans may finally be able to put away the defibrillator. I think the Heart Attack Kids from last year are long gone.

Iowa is more well-rounded this year than last year. Last year, it was all about the defense controlling the game and letting Ricky Stanzi control the offense flow of the game. It’s slightly different this year. The defense is still top notch, but Stanzi has flourished and is now an underrated QB who can hurt you through the air if you pay too much attention to the Iowa running attack.

Arizona’s offense is squarely centered on Nick Foles’ pass happy attitude. Running the ball will be next to impossible against the Iowa defense, so expect Foles to air it out early and often. The Arizona defense, which is very underrated, may be able to keep the clamps on Iowa. The Arizona defense is going to have to be near perfect to give the Wildcats a shot at winning this game.

Defense keeps this game close, but Iowa wins it with offensive balance.

4) No. 6 Texas at Texas Tech – 8:00 on ABC

Before this game, I might queue up “Rock ‘n Roll Train” by AC/DC on my iPod and try a relive the epic Texas/Texas Tech clash of two years ago. Too bad Colt McCoy is in the NFL and Graham Harrell is working the drive thru at McDonalds.

I feel weird about this, but I’m predicting the same thing I did two years ago, Texas Tech wins it. Before you all flip out at me, I’ll explain.

Texas Tech is led by senior gunslinger Taylor Potts, probably the best QB in the Big 12. The running game is mostly for show, so expect Potts to air it out all night long. The frenzied crowd in Lubbock will get the defense going. Plus, Tommy Tuberville has brought a new attitude to Texas Tech, while keeping the high powered offensive schemes.

Texas, on the other hand, is in the middle of growing pains. Texas QB Garrett Gilbert gets his first taste of a hostile Big 12 environment. He’s been average so far this season and relied way too much on the running game. If the running attack gets contained, Texas will be in trouble. While the Texas defense is good, there are holes that Potts should be able to exploit.

It’ll be close, but Potts leads the Red Raiders to a slim victory (man, I hate picking against Mack Brown).

5) No. 10 Florida at Tennessee – 3:30 on CBS

Hey, we’re that “Florida just isn’t that good” bandwagon, because I want to jump on. The SEC East may actually be interesting this year.

Florida has problems. If it’s not their QB being a little overwhelmed, it’s one of their WR’s getting arrested for stalking. Since John Brantley is still getting used to the offense, Florida relies on the running attack to take the pressure off. They need Brantley to get up to speed fast, as the stretch of tough games is coming up. This should be good seasoning for him.

Tennessee has a fairly well balanced offensive attack, but does the same as Florida, using the running game to take the pressure off their inexperienced QB. The Tennessee defense is pretty surprising too, keeping the high powered Oregon offense in check for the first half of last week’s game. The problem with Tennessee is they are young and inexperienced and they get frustrated easy. They absolutely buckled against Oregon last week in the second half.

Florida is just too good and too athletic to lose to a Tennessee team that has trouble closing. All you Florida haters are going to have to wait for the Alabama game for the Gators to get shellacked.

6) No. 18 USC at Minnesota – 3:30 on ESPN

Who’s more pathetic, USC for barely scrapping by Virginia or Minnesota for losing to South Dakota? Plus, USC just had a past star player (what was his name again?) return his Heisman Trophy. I have to say USC. If you’re a Minnesota fan, you’ve come to expect low expectations.

Extra Point:

Last week, while watching the first half of the Oregon/Tennessee game, I was starting to think my statement of “it’s the system, not the QB”, in regards to the Oregon/Masoli issue, was going to make me look as bad as all those times I picked Clemson to beat Georgia Tech. It started me wondering if Oregon fans, if Oregon lost, would think that what happened to Masoli was too harsh.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not supporting Masoli or any other rule breaker, but at what point to we stop supporting a player? It’s easy when a player pulls a Will Cordero and beats his wife. However, I become a fan of Najeh Davenport when I heard he got arrested for….improper use of a laundry basket. So, how many Duck fans were willing to cut ties with Masoli when he got nabbed for burglary and drug possession charges?

I think Georgia fans have a legitimate gripe about A.J. Green’s four game suspension for selling a jersey to a person classified as an agent. He probably got a couple of bucks, it’s not like he got a Cadillac. But again, it’s all about degrees. Where does the line get drawn?

You definitely need a zero tolerance policy or you’re setting a dangerous precedent. If schools don’t treat every infraction the same, they are opening themselves up for accusations of bias, not just on the basis of star power, but on race as well.

The recent Reggie Bush debacle has started to get people thinking about the college system as a whole. Do college athletes deserve a cut of the millions of dollars everyone makes on them? Does the college owe them any more than an education and a three year audition for the NFL? These are questions that need to be answered if schools want to find a way to curb the rash of abuses by players on the field.