We are 11 weeks into the college football season and Auburn is 11-0, so I am happy. And until any real reporting occurs, I am not losing any sleep over the Cam Newton drama that has been swirling for the last 11 days. If you have read this blog over time, you know how I feel about the media, and the faux reporting in this drama does nothing but confirm why I hold the media in low regard. The stories consist of somebody writing that somebody else told them that somebody else said x, y, or z. The sources are unnamed, or several degrees removed, or not quoted, and no evidence is given. Even the story about Newton's father admitting to having solicited cash was a report that he was alleged to have admitted to it. Lost in all this non-news are the true stories which show Newton's good character, like this one. Unless something solid and credible surfaces, the only opining I will do about Newton will relate to how he performs on the field.
Another example of media malfeasance is the way the Oregon-California game has been described. Everyone is saying Oregon might have lost if Cal didn't miss that late field goal, but nobody is bothering to mention that the reason the score was close enough for Cal to try that kick is that Oregon missed two field goals earlier in the game. Come on, guys. If you want to play "what if" with Cal's kick, you have to also play it with Oregon's, in which case Oregon would have won by even more.
Kudos are long overdue for Northwestern QB Dan Persa, one of the most underrated players in the country. Last season he lit up scoreboards and guided the Wildcats to a New Year's Day bowl game in which they almost beat Auburn, and this year he has them sitting at 7-3. Yesterday he orchestrated fourth quarter touchdown drives of 85 and 91 yards to erase a 10-point deficit and defeat Iowa. Unfortunately, he ruptured his Achilles tendon after completing the winning TD pass, a 20-yarder to Demetrius Fields with just over a minute remaining in the game.
Kudos are also owed to our service academies. Air Force and Navy have already clinched winning records this season, and Army only needs to win one of its last two games to do the same. If that happens, this will be the first time in 14 years and only the second time in 47 years that all three academies will post winning records in the same season.
And finally, based on the season to date, here is the Stanton's Space Top Twenty:
1. Oregon
3. TCU
4.
5. Wisconsin
6. LSU
7. Ohio State
8. Stanford
9. Nebraska
10. Alabama
11. Michigan State
12. Arkansas
13. Oklahoma State
14. Missouri
15. Virginia Tech
16. Iowa
17. South Carolina
18. Texas A&M
19. Oklahoma
20. Mississippi State
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