Pete
Fiutak
Q:
Midseason stuff ... Best Offensive Player, Defensive Player, Coach,
Surprise and Disappointment
A:
Offensive Player of the Midseason – WR Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech
We're talking about an all-timer of a season here. 78 catches, 1,244
yards, and 17 touchdowns is a career for most decent college receivers,
but it's seven games for the redshirt freshman. To put Crabtree's start
in perspective, Texas star receiver Limas Sweed, in 44 games (before
getting knocked out for the year), made 124 career catches for 1,915
yards and 20 scores. That's four seasons worth of work for an NFL
caliber target that Crabtree will likely match in one.
Crabtree has 360 yards more than the nation's number two target,
Houston's Donnie Avery (with 346 of his yards coming last week against
Rice), and 399 yards more than Casey Fitzgerald of North Texas, who got
327 of them in one game. But it's more than just numbers with Crabtree.
He set up a touchdown late in the first half against Texas A&M with a
breathtaking play on a slant pattern showing his speed, athleticism, and
route running ability. He's the real deal.
Defensive Player of the Midseason – DE George Selvie, South Florida.
With 11.5 sacks and 21.5 tackles for loss, leading the nation in both
categories, Selvie has been the signature playmaker for the amazing
Bulls.
Coach of the Midseason – Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Quick, name one Gamecock. If you're not an SEC fan, you probably can't.
Spurrier made a quarterback change early on, lost his All-America
linebacker for the year, Jasper Brinkley, isn't getting much production
out of his run defense, and has an offense that's averaging just 349
yards per game. Even so, he has the Gamecocks sixth in the initial BCS
rankings.
Surprise of the Midseason – Kansas
Everyone forgets that South Florida, Boston College, and even Kentucky,
were supposed to be good. No one saw Kansas coming. Replacing the best
player in the Big 12 last year, RB Jon Cornish, wasn't a problem, and
retooling a secondary that gave up more yards in America was quickly
done. The Jayhawks have been dominant, albeit against a mediocre
schedule, with a 6-0 start ranking second in the nation in scoring
defense, second in scoring, seventh in offense and fourth in defense. If
someone told you KU would be ranked ahead of USC in the initial BCS
rankings, you'd have punched him in the brain.
Disappointment of the
Midseason – USC
To be fair, the Trojans are as banged up as anyone in America, but this
is still supposed to be a talent factory. Injuries don't excuse the loss
to Stanford and the near-miss against Arizona. USC has only lost one
game, and is still deep in the hunt for the national title, but this
isn't looking like a team ready to challenge for much, and it's a far,
far cry from the be-all-end-all number one team everyone thought it'd
be.
Richard
Cirminiello
Q:
Midseason stuff ... Best Offensive Player, Defensive Player, Coach,
Surprise and Disappointment
A:
Offensive Player of the Midseason – WR Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech.
System shmystem. Crabtree has been quite the little rascal for the Red
Raider offense, catching 78 passes for 1,244 yards and 17 touchdown
passes…as a freshman. Florida QB Tim Tebow and Michigan RB Mike Hart
are close behind for the way they’ve been able to carry their respective
programs to higher ground.
Defensive Player of the Midseason – LB James Laurinaitis, Ohio State.
Laurinatis is the catalyst and leading tackler for a defensive unit
that’s allowing points as if its 1933. LSU DT Glenn Dorsey would be an
equally appropriate choice here.
Coach of the Midseason – Jim Leavitt, South Florida. After beating
Auburn and West Virginia, Leavitt has the baby Bulls unbeaten and ranked
ahead of Florida, Miami, and Florida State. ‘Nuff said.
Surprise of the Midseason – The play of Oregon QB Dennis Dixon. If you
watched as many Duck games as I did last season, you too would be
floored at his transformation. Dixon is third nationally in passing
efficiency, a year after being benched and just a few months after
looking as if he might choose a career in baseball over football.
Disappointment of the
Midseason – Wisconsin. Hi, my name is Rich, and I seriously believed
the Badgers would compete for a national title this season. Hi, Rich.
Wisconsin has lost its last two games, but even when it was winning, it
played as if the Ugly Doll had supplanted Bucky as the team mascot.
John
Harris
Q:
Midseason stuff ... Best Offensive Player, Defensive Player, Coach,
Surprise and Disappointment
A: Offensive Player of the Midseason –
Graham Harrell, Texas Tech QB – some may argue that he hasn’t played
anyone yet, but the Red Raiders are averaging over 40 points a game
against Big 12 opponents. Harrell is butchering any defense he faces.
His numbers are obscene – 3,151 yards, 31 touchdowns and only three
interceptions. Just remember it’s not a gimmick if it works – this
offense is scary good and Harrell is just getting started.
Defensive Player of the
Midseason – George Selvie, South Florida DE – maybe it’s the fact that
LSU lost this weekend, but Selvie edges out LSU stud DT Glenn Dorsey for
this spot. Just barely, but it shows how valuable Selvie is to the
Bulls run this season. He leads the nation in sacks with 11.5 and is
the best edge rusher in the nation currently.
Coach of the Midseason – Jim
Leavitt, USF – there were a few people who expected USF to be a pleasant
surprise this season, but number two in the nation? C’mon. Leavitt has
built this program to this point and what I love about the Bulls is the
fact that after the West Virginia win on national television, they’ve
gotten better. Other teams this season have won a big game and then
tanked the next week. Leavitt may not be residing in Tampa much longer
if this continues.
Surprise of the Midseason –
Kansas – a poll ranking doesn’t tell the whole story, but in this case
it might - Kansas is 13th in the initial BCS poll of the
season. Huh?!? When did RockChalk Jayhawk become a football school
cheer? In all seriousness, KU is a strong first half story, but the
second half of the season has a completely different series of potholes
in store. But, for the first half of the season, the Jayhawks are a
wonderful story.
Disappointment of the Midseason
– Oh, well, where do you begin? Take your pick. Michigan.
Louisville. The AP Preseason top 10. But, the one team that has been
the most disappointing is Nebraska. With Sam Keller taking snaps, most
thought this team could be the Big 12 North’s representative in the Big
12 Championship game. Uh, they’re a dropped pass and a missed field
goal against Ball State away from being 3-4. NU has lost its last two
games to two Big 12 teams by an average score of 43-10. The 1997
national championship team got to see how bad this team is on Saturday
as Oklahoma State hammered Nebraska 45-14 in a game that wasn’t even
that close. Imagine if the Huskers had lost to Ball State and if Wake
Forest hadn’t thrown away a victory in Winston-Salem. It’s ugly and,
most importantly, disappointing.
Matthew
Zemek
Q:
Midseason stuff ... Best Offensive Player, Defensive Player, Coach,
Surprise and Disappointment
A:
Offensive Player of
the Midseason - If you want one of those "pure numbers" guys, it has to
be Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech. If you want a "Jay Barker Spiritual
Warrior Who Wins Games" difference maker, Andre Woodson of Kentucky is
the best choice.
Defensive Player of the Midseason - James Laurinaitis, Ohio State. The
dude makes stacks of plays, period.
Coach of the Midseason - Jim Leavitt, South Florida. The Bulls have the
business end of their season in front of them, but No. 2 is No. 2.
Leavitt deserves his due.
Surprise of the Midseason - South Florida. See above.
Disappointment of the Midseason – TCU. The Horned Frogs had absolutely
no business losing to Air Force, and once that debacle was complete, the
boys from Forth Worth allowed the emotional hangover to hijack their
Mountain West title hopes.
Michael Bradley
Q:
Midseason stuff ... Best Offensive Player, Defensive Player, Coach,
Surprise and Disappointment
Offensive Player
of the Midseason: Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech. Say all you want
about the Red Raider “system,” but this rookie has caught 17
touchdown passes and become the most dangerous target in the game.
Defensive Player
of the Midseason: Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU. Sure, the Tigers fell to
Kentucky last week, but the LSU defense has been man-sized all year,
and it begins up front, specifically with this terror.
Coach of the
Midseason: Jim Leavitt, South Florida. There may be no quicker move
from I-AA to national power than USF’s, and it all comes from
Leavitt, who has relentlessly worked to make the Bulls matter.
Surprise of the
Midseason: Kentucky. The Wildcats were supposed to be good, but not
beat-LSU good. Hats off to Rich Brooks, and more importantly, the UK
administration for sticking with him.
Disappointment of
the Midseason: Louisville. Make that the Louisville defense. We have
always known the Cards could score points, but U of L didn’t stop
anybody until Cincinnati. So much for that pre-season hype.