More college football

I have already shared some of my thoughts about college football this year. Here are some more:

Mark Richt will not be back as Georgia’s coach unless the Bulldogs beat Florida and Auburn and Tennessee.

You might think that by losing to Oregon on Saturday, Stanford failed to play like the team I described in my September 27th post. On the one hand you would be right; but on the other hand I did rank Oregon ahead of Stanford in that post, so I will counter by saying I was proved just as much as I was disproved!

Speaking of Oregon, they are a legitimate national title contender. If they finish undefeated and Alabama loses a game, it would not be an injustice for Oregon to play in the title game despite Alabama having a tougher schedule. After all, it’s not like the Ducks are playing chopped liver.

And speaking of Alabama, I am not surprised they beat Florida but am very surprised they beat them so easily. When you consider that Urban Meyer has failed to develop any offensive plays suited to John Brantley’s considerable skills, despite knowing for the last couple years that Brantley would be this season’s starting QB, it just may mean that he is not as good a coach as everyone thinks.

I continue to be enthused by Auburn’s play. I love that our top three RB’s all performed very well on Saturday; that Cam Newton completed nearly 75% of his throws; and that for the first time I can remember we went an entire game without punting, unless you count Newton’s quick-kick when it looked like we were going for it on 4th-and-2. Still, I expect to lose a couple games along the way because our secondary keeps allowing receivers to get open downfield.

Lastly, here is the Stanton’s Space Top Twenty:

1. Alabama

2. Ohio State

3. Oregon

4. Boise State

5. TCU

6. Oklahoma

7. Michigan State

8. Auburn

9. Utah

10. LSU

11. Wisconsin

12. Stanford

13. Nebraska

14. South Carolina

15. Florida

16. Arkansas

17. Arizona

18. Iowa

19. Miami

20. Michigan

College Football One Month In

More thoughts on college football:

Intellectually, I realize that college football doesn’t begin and end at Auburn University; but emotionally I feel like it does, so I will open this post by saying that Saturday’s victory over South Carolina was the most satisfying win Auburn has had in three years. You know your team is for real when it runs for more than 330 yards against a run defense that had been giving up less than 60 per game -- and when your QB completes 16 of 21 passes, including a pair of clutch TD’s in the fourth quarter -- and when you score four second-half touchdowns against a ranked opponent.

Michigan’s Denard Robinson may not be the most complete quarterback, but he is definitely the most electrifying player in America. And when you consider his passing stats (71.3 completion percentage, 162.01 rating, four touchdowns to one interception) it starts to look like he is a very complete quarterback after all.

Stanford is solid, productive, hungry, and if they beat Oregon this weekend…look out. They are one of the best-coached teams in the country and are a darkhorse in the national championship race. Just remember you heard it here first.

Speaking of Stanford, how good is it to see a two-way player like Owen Marecic prowling the gridiron? He plays fullback and linebacker, and against Notre Dame he scored from each position 13 seconds apart.

Lastly, because I consider my opinions to be as valid as any pollster’s, here is the Stanton’s Space Top Twenty:

1. Alabama

2. Ohio State

3. Oregon

4. Boise State

5. TCU

6. Stanford

7. LSU

8. Wisconsin

9. Florida

10. Oklahoma

11. LSU

12. Auburn

13. Nebraska

14. South Carolina

15. Michigan

16. Arkansas

17. Arizona

18. Iowa

19. USC

20. Texas