Pete
Fiutak
Q:
Midseason Stuff: Best Offensive Player, Defensive Player, Coach,
Surprise and Disappointment.
A:
Best Offensive Player -
Colt McCoy, QB Texas
Let's give the Heisman to the quarterback of the Big 12 champion. Over
the first half of the season, McCoy has been flawless completing 79% of
his passes for 1,557 yards and 17 touchdowns with three interceptions.
He's also been great on the ground rushing for 348 yards and four
touchdowns.
Best Defensive Player - Aaron Maybin, DE Penn State
Texas DE Brian Orakpo could easily be the choice, but with all the
injuries, suspensions, and drama happening on the Penn State defensive
front, the emergence of speed rusher Aaron Maybin has been one of the
keys to the season. He's been a steady, consistent playmaker spreading
out his nine sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss, while he's fifth on the
team with 29 tackles including 20 solo stops.
Best Coach: Tim Brewster, Minnesota
Do you remember just how bad Minnesota was last year? It went 1-11 with
the one win coming in overtime over Miami University. The defense was
last in America, allowing 519 yards per game, generated just 11 sacks,
and was 114th in the nation in turnover margin. Was Brewster really the
coach to have around for next year when the new stadium opens? This
year, so far, Minnesota is allowing almost 150 fewer yards per game, has
generated 17 sacks, and is second in the nation in turnover margin.
He set the tone for this season by going for it on a key fourth down
play in the opener against Northern Illinois, it worked, and the Gophers
won the type of game they wouldn't have come up with last year. After
the road win over Illinois, Minnesota is now bowl eligible with three
home games and a winnable road game against Purdue left to go. Even if
the Gophers lose their final five games, this has been a phenomenal
makeover.
Biggest Surprise: The smart teams
It's always a good thing for college, with an emphasis on college,
football when the smart guys are good on the football field, too.
Stanford's early win over Oregon State was a stunner, while Vanderbilt
and Northwestern should be even more shocking with almost certain bowl
bids. Duke is having its best season in years, while Rice has improved
and could be in the mix for a bowl appearance.
Biggest Disappointment: Ohio State vs. USC
This is the type of game I wait all off-season for. It not only stunk,
it really stunk. Fine, it was a blowout, but at least it appeared to be
a tone-setter for a USC team that seemed ready to show it's the real
deal, and then that flew out the window with a loss to Oregon State the
following week. In the be-careful-what-you-wish-for department, these
two might meet again in the Rose Bowl.
Richard
Cirminiello
Q:
Midseason Stuff: Best Offensive Player, Defensive Player, Coach,
Surprise and Disappointment.
A:
Best
Offensive Player...Oklahoma
QB Sam Bradford. Short of playing defense in Dallas last week, he’s done
all he can to make the Sooners a national championship contender. In
three games with quality defenses, Cincinnati, TCU, and Texas, he threw
14 touchdown passes. Top that.
Best Defensive Player...Pittsburgh
LB Scott McKillop. One of the nation’s most instinctive linebackers,
McKillop has outstanding range and a knack for constantly being near the
ball. In the Panthers’ program-defining upset of South Florida, he had
12 solo tackles, three tackles for loss, and a pair of sacks.
Best Coach...Alabama’s Nick Saban. C’mon, even the biggest
optimist didn’t think the Tide would be contending for a national
championship this early in Saban’s tenure. He’s pushed all the
right buttons in a 6-0 start, and has quickly turned a good collection
of players into a very good defense.
Biggest Surprise... Penn State. Hey, when I first heard the Lions
were moving to a spread offense, I never could have imagined it’d look
this good. Darryl Clark has been brilliant, distributing the ball to a
deep collection of skill position talent. Not only has Penn State gotten
to 7-0 without its best defensive player, but it only has one true
landmine left on the schedule.
Biggest Disappointment...Clemson. I’ll admit that I got sucked in
this time. All of that returning talent has only been able to produce
three wins to go along with losses to Alabama, Maryland, and Wake
Forest. Two months after being ranked No. 9 in the preseason, the Tigers
are without a head coach or an ounce of credibility on a national level.
Matthew
Zemek
Q:
Midseason Stuff: Best Offensive Player, Defensive Player, Coach,
Surprise and Disappointment.
A:
Best Offensive Player - BCS Conference edition:
Colt McCoy, Texas. He has to be better than Sam Bradford and
Chase Daniel at this point (before the Texas-Missouri game, at
least). High-profile skill players at Florida and Georgia have
been inconsistent. Beanie Wells has been injured; same for Pat
White. Javon Ringer merits mention, but he hasn't tackled Ohio
State yet (again, that's coming up this Saturday).
Non-BCS Conference edition:
David Johnson,
Tulsa. The successor to Paul Smith has been quite successful
under coach Todd Graham, as the Golden Hurricane--to the
surprise of some--haven't missed a beat in 2008. Johnson is
throwing for over 16 yards per completion, and more than 11
yards per attempt, while compiling a TD-INT ratio of nearly 4:1.
His pass efficiency rating? Over 200 (204.4). Completion
percentage? 68 (rounded up from 67.6). Makes you want to see
Tulsa play BYU or Boise State in a non-BCS showdown, doesn't it?
Defensive Player:
Brandon
Spikes, Florida. Tellingly, the linebacker excelled even in the
Gators' loss to Ole Miss. On a day when most of his teammates
were flat, No. 51 brought his A-game to the ballpark. Spikes has
been flying across the field and making an impact in every phase
of the art of defense.
Coach: Multiple
awards (in terms of one school) aren't allowed, so put Tim
Brewster of Minnesota here and...
Surprise: ...
Put Mike Gundy's Oklahoma State team here. Bobby Johnson and
Vanderbilt contended for the "coach" and "surprise" spots,
respectively, but Johnson's poor performance against Mississippi
State--combined with the Dores' loss in Starkville--eliminated
VU on both counts. Right now, the Sons of Stillwater have made
the biggest splash in the United States.
Disappointment:
Unless you're
trying to be funny, or you have a unique angle with a very
specific and narrow explanation, saying anything other than
CLEMSON here would merit a government investigation.
Steve Silverman
Q:
Midseason Stuff: Best Offensive Player, Defensive Player, Coach,
Surprise and Disappointment.
A: Best Offensive Player:
QB Colt McCoy, Texas -- His numbers are superb and
he has passed every test with ease. How do you argue
with someone who beat Oklahoma and has completed
79.4 percent of his passes with a 17-to-3
TD-to-interception ratio?
Best Defensive Player
DE Paul Kruger, Utah -- You don't have to be a
Mountain West enthusiast to appreciate Kruger. He
has 5.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss and lives in
the opponent's backfield. He's been a monster
defensive player for the Utes
Coach:
Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State-- He's 41 and he's a man.
And he's just a damn good football coach who beat
great Missouri team in the Tigers' backyard. Don't
underestimate him or his team.
Surprise:
Minnesota: This is easy. The Gophers were 1-11 in
2007 under rookie coach Tim Brewster. After last
week's win over Illinois, Brewster has his team
sitting at a robust 6-1. The Gophers are relaxed and
physical and no longer makes mistakes.
Disappointment:
Michigan: Don't tell me about a new system and a new
coach. This team is God-awful and I don't believe
the Wolverines would have been anywhere near as bad
had Lloyd Carr remained head coach. Rich Rodriguez
is a fine coach but he is not the right leader for
the Wolverines.