Red Card Top 10 (Thanksgiving Edition)

Posted by Nick Verlaney on Nov 24, 2010 in NCAA Football | 6 comments

- Hey everyone, I’d just like to wish everyone out there a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you get to be with those who are closest to you and enjoy time together, especially over great food and football.

- My music recommendation to you this week is incredibly easy/awesome: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West. Personal feelings about his actions or general outlook on life aside, he is a musical genius. This album was in the works before his last album, 808′s and Heartbreaks, and it really shows. His rhythms, beats, and lyrics are all top-notch. This isnt a light-hearted album like Graduation, it is the darker side of his work, but it is still incredibly on point and relevant. Well done, Mr. West.

- Just a quick thought on the impending ban of 4Loko: personally, I hate the taste of the stuff and refuse to drink it. BUT, if people werent so stupid with the excessive use of it, then we wouldnt be having this discussion of “is it too dangerous?” Sure, apparently a few people died from alcohol poisoning (they consumed 6+ cans in one evening, which is the equivalent to 36 beers+), but those same kids probably would have pushed their limits on another beverage and died of that. RED CARD. Its simple people: dont overdose, and it wont kill you. You can die from drinking too much water too. Just a thought.

- Because it has become a HUGE national issue now, I would also like to touch on the Bo Pelini sideline misconduct issue. Look, he crossed the line in the game against Texas A&M. Period. Anytime a coach get a personal foul penalty because of their interactions with officials, that hurts the team more than the 15 penalty yards. As a Nebraska fan, it wasnt pretty to watch his “conversations” with the officials. Im about as big of a Bo Pelini supporter as there is, and I will say, that even though his passion and emotions get the best of him at times, I prefer this to the laizze faire approach of Bill Callahan. Bo cares. Sometimes he cares too much and in the wrong ways, but he cares. He cares about the young men he coaches. He cares about his assistant coaches. He cares about the entire program. He cares. I will never fault him for his emotions, but I would ask him to show a little more restraint towards officials than he showed last Saturday. Coaches will never win arguments with referees, and that is the only part of the game that he has yet to learn. Ill show Bo a RED CARD for his actions.

- While we are on the subject of officials, lets evaluate the ghastly performance of the officials that Bo was so critical of last week. In all my years of watching football, I have not seen a more lopsided officiated game.

• 16 penalties for Nebraska and 2 for A&M? So youre telling me that Nebraska committed more than 2x their average penalties per game (5.8), and A&M committed 4x less than their average (8.7), which is second highest in the Big XII per game.
• The officiating crew on Saturday was god-awful. The same crew has worked the Texas and Iowa State games as well. Combine all 3 of those games and Nebraska was penalized 32 times for 293 yards, while all 3 opponents combined got penalized 9 times for 100 yards (roughly 3x less).
• Couple that with the fact that the least penalized team in Big XII play is whoever is playing Nebraska that particular week is extremely disturbing. Look, Im not saying there is a conspiracy against Nebraska, especially since they are leaving for the Big 10 next summer. It just looks very biased and borderline unethical from a Husker fans perspective. I know that the Huskers have committed some very dumb penalties this year, but getting penalized at a 2.5x rate than their opponents seems very fishy to me. Make your own deductions about this topic, but be sure that you wont hear the last of it reading this blog. RED CARD.

- Finally, before we get to the Top 10, I would like to show the Lou Groza Award Committee the RED CARD for not selecting Alex Henery as a finalist for the 3rd year in a row. I mean honestly, the guy is by far the best kicker in the nation, and he doesnt get an invitation to be a finalist again? What more can he possibly do to prove himself? Here are some stats to prove my point:

• Holds school records for field goals made in a single-season (24 in 2009) and career field goals (59) while going 174-of-175 on career extra points.
• He also holds the NCAA record for most games (6) with four field goals or more.
• Among the active NCAA leaders in career points (351, second), extra points (174, second) and field goals (59, fourth) and has connected on 59-of-66 career field goals, a rate of 89.39 percent. He is currently ahead of the all-time record for NCAA career accuracy (87.8 percent by Florida’s Bobby Raymond during the 1983-84 seasons). And his percentage is higher, because that was taken after the Oklahoma State game and he has not missed since.

Seriously, Lou Groza committee? How could you possibly overlook these stats? Not only is the guy the best kicker/punter in the country this year, he may be the best ever. He is clutch and the best player on a team that has been ranked in the Top 10 for most of the year. You know what, I take back my original RED CARD and I will show the committee a first ever RED CARD/GET A GRIP/SUCKS TO SUCK.

- Now lets take a look at the Top 10:

1. Oregon. Idle last week. #21 Arizona at home this week should provide an adequate challenge for the Ducks.
2. Auburn. After their bye-week, now they have the Iron Bowl in Tuscaloosa against hated rival Alabama. This game is essentially for a shot at the National Title game.
3. TCU. Had a scare against a very feisty San Diego State team, but still won. Up next: New Mexico St.
4. Boise St. Another boring blowout of a nobody last Friday. Finally they appear to have a test going on the road to #19 Nevada. Win this big, and they may have a legitimate case to jump TCU.
5. Stanford. For my money, they are the best 1-loss team out there. They would be #1 had they beat Oregon earlier in the year. After destroying Cal in The Game, the Cardinal host Oregon St. this week.
6. Wisconsin. The Badgers are right behind Stanford as a 1-loss team. They impress me with their ability to impose their will on a team. Next up: Northwestern.
7. Ohio St. The Buckeyes struggled on the road against Iowa, but came out with a big victory to keep their hopes alive for the Rose Bowl. They will have to destroy Michigan to have any hopes of leap-frogging Wisconsin in the BCS rankings.
8. Oklahoma St. What more can you say about their offense? It is simply explosive. Their defense is steadily improving, but maybe not fast enough with high-powered Oklahoma coming into town for a winner-take-all version of Bedlam in the Big XII South.
9. LSU. See, this team is not the juggernaut everyone is making them out to be. They could, and maybe should have lost to a 4-8 Ole Miss team, at home. They do have a chance to redeem themselves this week against a very talented Arkansas team.
10. Alabama. Look who has creeped back into the Top 10. The Tide are in for a slug fest against Auburn this week, and have a chance to spoil the Tigers National Title aspirations.

- Here is my look at the Heisman Race:

1. Cam Newton, QB, Auburn. After a bye-week, all indications point to him playing this week at Alabama. The Iron Bowl could be the perfect place for him to showcase his leadership skills and immense talent to the Heisman Trust.
2. LaMichael James, RB, Oregon. Also coming off of a bye-week, James and the Ducks have 2 challenging games against Arizona and Oregon State to close out the year. If he wants to be in the same conversation as Cam Newton, he will have to put up huge numbers in blow-out victories.
3. Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford. What a game he had against Cal in The Game. Luck was surgical against the Golden Bears, throwing and rushing at will in the 48-14 blow out.

Knocking on the door: Kellen Moore, QB, Boise St. Terrelle Pryor, QB, Ohio St.

- Now lets take a look at the Rivalry Week showdowns that will affect the BCS picture (all rankings are based off current BCS standings):

• #2 Auburn at #11 Alabama. This is it. The game we have been waiting for all year. Iron Bowl 2.0. After an entire season, it looks like this game will be the 1 final roadbloack to Auburn’s National Championship chances. Win, and they go play a schizophrenic South Carolina team in the SEC Championship. Lose, and the dream season is over. This isnt like 2004, when Auburn got shut out of the title game. They control their own destiny. Unfortunately, Alabama will be provide their toughest test of the year. In a year when the Tide wont make it to the title game, they are looking to play spoiler to their rival’s dream. Look for this to be a war on the gridiron. Prediction: Alabama 35-31. Confidence: 7.
• #13 Oklahoma at #9 Oklahoma St. The may be the biggest Bedlam game ever. Both teams are primed on offense to put up big numbers, but have struggled for consistency on defense. If that wasnt enough, the winner of this game will be crowned Champion of the Big XII South as well. The match up I am looking for is the Oklahoma St offense against the OU defense. Whoever wins this battle will most likely win the game. Also, the fact that Bob Stoops and the Sooners have been in and won big games before helps me give OU the edge. Prediction: Oklahoma  38-35. Confidence: 5.
• #4 Boise St. at #19 Nevada.Well, we have been waiting since Boise St’s first game of the year against Virginia Tech for them to be tested in a game. This may be their last chance to make a push in the BCS eyes to make the National Championship. They go against a very consistent Nevada squad who is led by all-everything QB Colin Kaepernick. He is the only QB in FBS history to run for 1,000 yards and throw for 2,000 yards in 3 straight seasons. Simply put, Kaepernick will be a challenge for the Boise defense to stop. Not to mention that Nevada is undefeated at home this year, and this will be a nationally televised game. Boise St could have their hands full. Look for special teams to play a huge role in this game, especially when field position could mean the difference. Prediction: Boise St. 41-35. Confidence: 8.
• #21 Arizona at #1 Oregon. Depending on which Arizona team shows up, this could be a close game. If the Arizona team that beat Iowa rolls into Eugene, they may have a chance to keep this game close or possibly win it. If they come out like they did against Stanford, Oregon will most likely put them away by the second quarter. Oregon did struggle against a bad Cal team in their last game, though, but fter a bye-week to get rested, look for Oregon to cement themselves at the top of the BCS and take care of Arizona. Prediction: Oregon 48-31. Confidence: 9.

- Im still looking for a creative title for the NFL section of the blog, so let me know if you can think of something, and I will consider before next week’s post! Here is what we learned from Week 11:

• After getting destroyed for the second straight week to a divisional foe, the Vikings finally fired Brad Childress Monday. Look, it was bound to happen. The dude obviously was not on the same page with his players, or front office for that matter. RED CARD.
• Im happy that Leslie Frazier can finally have a chance to be a head coach for 6 games. Look for the Vikes to rebound under his tutelage.
• Has Dallas finally woken up the past 2 weeks or what? Pretty impressive wins for Jason Garrett.
• I cannot believe that the Bears are 7-3 with as many flaws as they have. Look for them to get exposed against the Eagles this week.
• Speaking of the Eagles, we knew every game they played wasnt going to be a 50 point blow out. Beating the Giants in a close game may have been a more important victory for Michael Vick than his record day against the Redskins. Winning those games are invaluable to his progression.
• Yo, Eli Manning: learn how to slide. RED CARD.
• Speaking of sliding, how about those Bengals? Lose a 28 point lead to the Bills, and lose the game by 18? RED CARD.
• Also in the sliding category: Broncos, 49ers, Browns, Panthers, Texans, Cardinals, and Dolphins. Every one of you gets a RED CARD.
• The Jets keep winning in the final seconds. I dont know how they are doing it, but they are. Again, those kinds of wins are tough to come by and mean the world to a team come playoff time.
• Mark Sanchez has been the key to those comebacks. I think it is safe to say that he is maturing nicely in year 2.
• The Jaguars have also been in the comeback-kids category lately. Good for them.
• The Texans have been the victims of the comeback kids 2 weeks in a row. Close your games out much, Houston? RED CARD.
• Also in the AFC South, the Titans have been slumping the last few weeks due to Vince Young’s injuries. Apparently, after he mouthed off to Jeff Fisher in the locker room last Sunday, Vince wont have to worry about playing for the Titans ever again. Dude has great ability, but a poor attitude. RED CARD.
• The Colts were on the verge of coming back from 17 down in the 4th quarter against the Patriots AGAIN on Sunday. What Peyton Manning is doing with the practice squad is amazing.
• How funny was it to see Ben Roethlisberger get worked by Richard Seymour last Sunday. Ben is a big guy, but Seymour is bigger.
• Teams that are quietly on the rise: Saints, Bucs, Packers, Falcons, and Chargers.
• Playoff Pretenders: Bears, Giants, Raiders, Chiefs, Jaguars.
• Super Bowl Contenders: Jets, Steelers, Ravens, Falcons, Eagles, Packers.