Midseason Reports
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ACC
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Big East
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Big 12
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Big Ten
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SEC
Non-BCS Conferences To Come Friday
- CFN Midseason All-America Teams
2008 |
2007 |
2006
Arizona |
Arizona St |
California |
Oregon |
Oregon St |
Stanford
UCLA |
USC |
Washington |
Washington St
Offensive Player of the Midseason
Jacquizz Rodgers, RB Oregon State
Defensive Player of the Midseason
Nick Reed, DE Oregon
Ten best Pac-10 players in the first half
1. Jacquizz Rodgers, RB Oregon State
2. Mark Sanchez, QB USC
3. Nick Reed, DE Oregon
4. Alex Mack, C California
5. LeGarrette Blount, RB Oregon
6. Will Tukuafu, DE Oregon
7. Syd’Quan Thompson, CB California
8. Toby Gerhart, RB Stanford
9. Zack Follett, LB California
10. Willie Tuitama, QB Arizona
Biggest Surprise – Stanford
The Cardinal has already toppled Oregon State, Washington,
and Arizona. Although the program was expected to keep improving
in Jim Harbaugh’s second season, it’s exceeding expectations
behind the tough running of Toby Gerhart and a frenetic defense
that disrupts opposing passers. With two wins in its final five
games, Stanford will be bowl-eligible for the first time since
2001. Give yourself a hearty pat on the back if you saw that
coming.
Biggest Disappointment – Arizona State
According to Dennis Erickson’s timetable, this was the
season that the Sun Devils competed for a Pac-10 championship
and made a splash on national level. Oh, they’ve gotten national
attention this fall, but for all the wrong reasons. From a No.
15 ranking in the preseason, Arizona State has circled the drain
with a 2-4 start and a four-game losing streak. It all started
with an inexcusable loss at home to UNLV, and hasn’t gotten
better since. The Sun Devils might need to pull an upset just to
become bowl eligible, a far cry from the team that had a trip to
the Rose Bowl as one of its 2008 goals.
The Pac-10 Champion will be ... USC
The
Trojans are flawed. Who isn’t in the Pac-10? Sure, USC’s loss at
Oregon State exposed the program as something less than perfect,
but there isn’t a team in the league capable of capitalizing on
the opportunity. The only other ranked team is Cal, which is
just a couple of weeks removed from getting thumped by Maryland.
The Trojans’ depth and talent still dwarfs every other league
member, and if they remain focused each weekend, they’ve got a
shot to run the table and contend for a spot in the BCS
Championship game.
Best Game of the First Half
UCLA 27 ... Tennessee 24 OT
A wild finish ended when Tennessee PK Daniel Lincoln missed a
34-yard field goal in overtime after UCLA's Kai Forbath nailed a
42-yards on the Bruins' possession. Both offenses struggled
through most of the game with UCLA getting its first touchdown
on a blocked punt for a touchdown from Sean Westgate, while
Tennessee picked off Kevin Craft four times with Nevin McKenzie
returning a pick 61 yards for a touchdown with 23 seconds left
in the first half. And then the quarterbacks got hot in the
final eight minutes with UCLA marching 70 yards in nine plays
with Ryan Moya catching a three-yard touchdown pass for a
three-point UCLA lead with 27 seconds to play. But Tennessee
would come back with Daniel Lincoln nailing a 47-yard field goal
to force overtime.
Worst Game of the First Half
USC
69 … Washington State 0
In one of the most dominant blowouts in the history of the Pac
10, USC got five touchdown passes form Mark Sanchez including
two to Patrick Turner and two to Ronald Johnson in the first
half. The running game took over in the second half as C.J.
Gable finished with three short touchdown runs and Broderick
Green ran for two scores. Wazzu gained just 116 yards of total
offense and gained four first downs. This was USC’s biggest
shutout since a 69-0 win over Montana in 1931.
Coach of the Midseason – Jim Harbaugh, Stanford
By making the Cardinal competitive in the Pac-10, Harbaugh is
doing the improbable in just his second season on The Farm.
Stanford has already won as many games as last season, and is
3-1 in league play. The program has ditched the basement,
leaving behind the likes of Washington and Washington State, and
is within range of its first bowl game in seven years. The
credit goes to Harbaugh and his staff, who’ve made it fun again
to play for and root for Stanford football.
Player who'll step up in the second half – Arizona TE Rob
Gronkowski
An illness kept Gronkowski on the shelf for the first three
games of the season. He’s healthy again, which is going to make
opposing defensive coordinators sick over the next two months. A
tremendous athlete at 6-5 and 260 pounds, he’s much more than a
safety valve who runs seven-yard patterns. He’s the largest deep
threat in the country and a mismatch when covered by a
linebacker. Gronkowski has been underutilized over the last
three games, but that’ll change in the second half.
Best performance so far – After top-ranked USC thumped
Ohio State in front of a national audience, you couldn’t find a
pundit that didn’t think the Trojans were invincible. Oregon
State, however, had other ideas two weeks later. For the second
time in the last three years, the Beavers floored their
heavily-favored visitors from Los Angeles. Oregon State ran the
ball right down the throat of the USC defense, and played its
best defensive game of the year. Even more impressive, when the
Trojans rallied in the second half, the Beavers didn’t buckle,
holding on for a 27-21 victory.
Top Freshman – Oregon State RB Jacquizz Rodgers
Rodgers wasn’t even the starter in the opener. Six games later,
the true freshman is a candidate for Pac-10 Offensive Player of
the Year. While he’s best known for his breakout, 186-yard game
in the upset of USC, he’s been on a roll for over a month.
Rodgers leads the league in rushing and has scored a touchdown
in each of the last five games. A dynamite all-around runner, he
plays a lot bigger and stronger than his 5-7, 190-pound frame.
Coach who needs to have a big second half – Arizona head
coach Mike Stoops
Sure, Tyrone Willingham is in a heap of trouble, but his
situation appears to be beyond repair. The fate of Stoops, on
the other hand, could rest on how well the Wildcats play over
the final six games. Arizona has been hard to figure so far,
showing flashes of potential, yet losing as a favorite at New
Mexico and Stanford. The ‘Cats may be 4-2, but if they slump
down the stretch and fail to qualify for a bowl game, Stoops is
likely to pay the price.
Player who needs to have a big second half – USC RB Joe
McKnight
Wasn’t McKnight supposed to spend this season doing an
impression of former Trojan Reggie Bush? The sophomore hasn’t
had many “wow” moments in the first half, even becoming a
liability in USC’s only loss to Oregon State. He obviously has
the potential to be one of the nation’s most explosive players
and is coming off a 143-yard game versus Arizona State. Now it’s
up to McKnight to get his injured toe healed and sustain that
level of excellence on a week-in, week-out basis.
Best remaining conference game – Cal at USC, Nov. 8
If anyone is going to dethrone USC this season, Cal is the most
likely candidate. The Bears have regrouped from their only loss
with blowout wins over Colorado State and Arizona State before losing to Arizona. Cal will be the
heavy underdog, but with Jeff Tedford on the sidelines and a
healthy Jahvid Best running the ball, you never know what might
happen in the Coliseum. In an otherwise ho-hum second half of
games, this one has the potential to be dynamite if the Bears
continue holding up their end of the equation.
Team Mid-Season MVPs & Predictions
Arizona – QB Willie Tuitama
predicted wins: at Washington State, Oregon State, Arizona State
predicted losses: USC, at Oregon
predicted record: 8-4
Arizona St – QB Rudy Carpenter
predicted wins: at Washington, Washington State, UCLA
predicted losses: Oregon, at Oregon State, at Arizona
predicted record: 5-7
California – LB Zack Follett
predicted wins: UCLA, Oregon, Stanford, Washington
predicted losses: at USC, at Oregon State
predicted record: 8-4
Oregon – DE Nick Reed
predicted wins: at Arizona State, Stanford, Arizona
predicted losses: at Cal, at Oregon State
predicted record: 8-4
Oregon St - RB Jacquizz Rodgers
predicted wins: Arizona State, Cal, Oregon
predicted losses: at UCLA, at Arizona
predicted record: 7-5
Stanford – RB Toby Gerhart
predicted wins: Washington State,
predicted losses: at Oregon, USC, at California
predicted record: 5-7
UCLA – DT Brian Price
predicted wins: Oregon State, at Washington,
predicted losses: at Cal, at Arizona State, USC
predicted record: 5-7
USC – QB Mark Sanchez
predicted wins: at Arizona, Washington, Cal, at Stanford, Notre
Dame, at UCLA
predicted losses: None
predicted record: 11-1
Washington – LB Mason Foster
predicted wins: at Washington State
predicted losses: UCLA, Notre Dame, at USC, Arizona State, at
Cal
predicted record: 1-11
Washington St – WR Brandon Gibson
predicted wins: None
predicted losses: at Stanford, Arizona, at Arizona State,
Washington, at Hawaii
predicted record: 1-12
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