USC and Their Fresham QB

I would imagine that anyone with ANY interest in college football was tuned in Saturday night when the Ohio State Buckeyes and USC Trojans squared off. I was particularly interested because I wanted to see how the USC freshman QB, Matt Barkley, would fair. It’s always interesting to see how someone so young will handle the added pressure of a big road game.

Early on I couldn’t tell how he would react late in the game if it were still close. But I have to say that based on his last drive this guy is the real deal. It also made me wonder how many of the top tier QB’s that are not freshman would have led their teams to victory, given that they were in the exact same position on the road at Ohio State.

Jevan Snead of Ole Miss is one heck of a QB. He has proven that he can handle pressure but I don’t think he would have led his team down the field in those circumstances. I realize he plays in the SEC and the road crowds are insane but the crowd in the Horse Shoe was possibly louder than it has ever been. All 107,000 fans were screaming at the top of their lungs creating the ultimate home field advantage. The crowd was even more insane than usual because it wasn’t just a big game for Ohio State but also for the Big 10. For Snead I would predict two first downs before turning it over on downs and losing the game.

Colt McCoy of the Longhorns, poster child for the red neck nation, is the next QB I thought of. While McCoy certainly has his fair share of big game experience I don’t think he has faced a crowd that compares to what Matt Barkley dealt with at Ohio State. Last year at Texas Tech, a game McCoy lost, the crowd was crazy but nothing compared to the Horse Shoe Saturday night. If you were to measure noise level on a 1 to 10 scale the Texas Tech vs. UT game last year would probably have been a 7.5. The noise that Ohio State fans generated against USC would measure a 15…completely off the chart! Also let’s not forget that last year, at a neutral site against a weaker Ohio State team, McCoy was lucky at best to leave with a win. If you put McCoy in the same situation as Barkley I predict he would get one first down but end the drive throwing a pick six. The final score would have been Ohio State 22, Texas 10.

Now let us consider the Geico Caveman himself, Sam Bradford of Oklahoma. My prediction is that he would injure his shoulder and leave the game…ha-ha! But seriously, he is perhaps the most talented QB in the nation this year and no doubt has much more pro potential than the red neck from Austin. However that doesn’t necessarily mean he would have led the Sooners down the field the way Barkley did the Trojans. As a matter of fact I believe that he would have gone three and out. The reason I say this is Bradford and the Sooners only play to their full potential in meaningful games IF they are CLEARLY more talented than their opponent. When Captain Caveman and company played UT and Florida last year they lost both. Those two teams were the only teams they faced all year that matched them talent wise and they were soundly defeated by both. So I truly believe that if Bradford was at the Horse Shoe with one drive left to win the game that OU would move the ball less than ten yards.

Finally we have to look at Superman himself…Tim Tebow. There is absolutely no doubt that Tebow would have led the Gators straight down the field for the game winning touchdown. Simply look at his past and the guy is a natural born leader. Where he goes others undeniably want to follow. While Bradford may be the most talented quarterback Tebow is the most dominant football player. When you compare Tebow to Snead it is a joke because Snead doesn’t even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence. When you compare Tebow to Hillbilly McCoy it is another no contest. Tebow is better than McCoy even if Tebow played the entire game on one leg. The biggest challenge for Tebow in that situation would be not to score too quickly and allow Ohio State time to answer.

So as you can see, based on what happened Saturday night I feel Barkley is well on his way. By the end of this season I wouldn’t be surprised if he is getting Heisman hype for next season. USC could have an all time great for all we know. But only time will tell because it’s a long season and anything can happen.

TCU Opens Season This Weekend

TCU has six offensive returning starters this year and only one of those is a Sr. On the defensive side of the ball they have five starters returning, three of which are seniors. The Frogs finished the year ranked 7th in the country with an 11-2 record last year. The season was capped off with a 17-16 bowl victory over an undefeated Boise State team.

So many, including myself, might ask what should we expect from the Horned Frogs this season. The biggest contrast to a year ago, I believe, will be a change in offensive strategy. This spring Dalton and the receivers have been trying to make TCU more of a passing offense despite a long tradition as a running team. Last season, Dalton didn’t have a passing touchdown until the eighth game against BYU. He did have five rushing touchdowns.

By seasons end Dalton had thrown 2,242 yards and 11 touchdowns. Many around TCU think the offense will be even more productive in 2009. The Horned Frogs bring back leading receiver Jimmy Young this season. Young had 988 yards and five touchdowns last year. TCU also brings back its second-leading receiver in Ryan Christian, as well as impact players Jeremy Kerley and Antoine Hicks.

TCU’s offense from a year ago was fairly balanced. However they hope to score even more points in order to help out the defense, which was the strength of the team.

If all goes well TCU may be looking at a 12-0 record and a BCS birth. The one big non-conference challenge will be their third game of the year when they travel to Clemson.

#3 OU downed by #20 BYU

Well BYU & the MWC showed once again that not only can they compete with the big boys, they can defeat them too. Now I realize that Bradford was knocked out of the game before the end of the first half. But BYU, who plays in the Mountain West, was predicted to finish third in the conference. By comparison many had OU finishing either first or second in the Big 12. Most would agree that the Big 12 is a more talent rich conference than the MWC. With that said OU should have at least been able to pull off a close victory. Also let’s not forget, OU wasn’t exactly running away with it when Bradford was in the game. A lot of credit must go to BYU for a hard fought victory.

Oklahoma’s defense couldn’t get the stop they needed when it counted. The Sooners should be concerned that their defense may not be able to stop some of the Big 12’s top offenses. On the other hand BYU should be pleased that they moved the ball when the game was on the line against a very talented Big 12 defense.

TCU didn’t have a game this week but travel to Virginia next Saturday. So it wouldn’t be fair to say that BYU is now the MWC favorite but I will say I believe they’ll finish no lower than second in the conference.