We are approaching the third Saturday in October and although it doesn't mean what it used to mean (around here Alabama vs. Tennessee, that is), it still signifies the midpoint of the college football season.
Plenty has happened already and there's still a lot more football to be played. But before we look ahead to what's down the line, let's assess what has taken place with our best-and-worst take.
- Best team nationally: Oklahoma (6-0). OK, so it took a faked punt for the No. 1 Sooners to secure their victory against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, but since then they have looked unbeatable. Just ask Texas. Oklahoma has scored at least 50 points in its past four games.
- Runner-up: Miami (6-0). The No. 2 Hurricanes are not as good as they were the past two seasons, but they are still good enough to go into Tallahassee and dominate Florida State.
- Worst team nationally (Bowl Championship Series conferences): Indiana (1-6). The Hoosiers should give up football and just concentrate on basketball.
- Runner-up: Duke (2-6). The Blue Devils should give up football and just concentrate on basketball.
- Best team Southeastern Conference: Georgia (5-1). If there was any doubt that the Dawgs still have plenty of bite following their narrow loss at LSU, it was erased during the Neyland Stadium Massacre Saturday night at Tennessee.
- Runner-up: Auburn (4-2). The Tigers have rebounded nicely from their 0-2 start and following their impressive victory at Arkansas they again look like the team to beat in the SEC West.
- Worst team SEC: Vanderbilt (1-6). The Commodores lost at home to Navy Saturday. Enough said.
- Runner-up: Mississippi State (2-4). Don't let their consecutive victories against Vanderbilt and Memphis fool you, the Bulldogs are a bad team.
- Best coaching job nationally: Joe Novak, Northern Illinois (6-0). Can you believe Novak has the Huskies ranked No. 12 in the nation? Alabama and Maryland can.
- Runner-up: Bill Doba, Washington State (5-1). Since blowing a 19-point lead and losing at Notre Dame, Doba, in his first season after replacing Mike Price, has the Cougars rolling, baby.
- Worst coaching job nationally (BCS conferences): Mack Brown, Texas (4-2). With 16 starters returning, the Longhorns were expected to challenge Oklahoma for supremacy in the Big 12. But there was one little problem: Brown. He continues to choke in the big games: witness the 65-13 drubbing at the hands of the Sooners on Saturday.
- Runner-up: Joe Paterno, Penn State (2-5). It's time for "JoePa" to kick back on Saturdays, do some channel surfing and scream at the refs from his recliner.
- Best coaching job SEC: Mark Richt, Georgia. The Bulldogs lost a bunch of players to graduation, early departures for the NFL, injuries and suspensions, and on top of that, Georgia had several off-season controversies after winning the SEC title in 2002. But through it all, Richt has kept his team together and kept his players focused, and if things break right, he could have them playing for the national championship.
- Runner-up: Tommy Tuberville, Auburn. Some Auburn fans were calling for Tuberville's head after the Tigers scored only three points while losing to Southern California and Georgia Tech to open the season, but instead of pushing the panic button, he kept cool and now the Tigers are the frontrunners to play Georgia in the SEC championship game.
- Worst coaching job SEC: Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee (4-2). Fulmer has had incredible success as the Vols' head coach - he entered this season with a .805 winning percentage in 11 seasons - but now Tennessee is starting to show some slippage under his watch, Georgia's Neyland Stadium Massacre being a prime example.
- Runner-up: Ron Zook, Florida (4-3). The victory at LSU isn't enough to take the heat off Zook because the Gator Nation is still furious about Florida's losses to Tennessee and Ole Miss in "The Swamp."
- Heisman Trophy winner of the half season: Jason White, quarterback, Oklahoma. He earned the award with his performance (290 yards passing and four touchdowns) in the demolition of Texas.
- Runner-up: Michael Turner, running back, Northern Illinois. "Turner the Burner" is one of the reasons the Huskies have risen to national prominence. Against Central Michigan Saturday, he rushed for a season-high 199 yards and two touchdowns.
- SEC Player of the Half-year: Eli Manning, quarterback, Ole Miss. He leads the conference in passing and total offense, plus he led the Rebels to a victory at Florida, although the Gators are not what they once were.
- Runner-up: David Greene, quarterback, Georgia. Some say he is the player of the year so far, and they won't an argument.
- Five games (not including conference championship games) that will decide who plays in the Sugar Bowl for the national title: Iowa at Ohio State, Saturday; Oklahoma State at Oklahoma, Nov. 1; Miami at Virginia Tech, Nov. 1; Washington State at Southern Cal, Nov. 1; and Auburn at Georgia, Nov. 15.
!
Plenty has happened already and there's still a lot more football to be played. But before we look ahead to what's down the line, let's assess what has taken place with our best-and-worst take.
- Best team nationally: Oklahoma (6-0). OK, so it took a faked punt for the No. 1 Sooners to secure their victory against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, but since then they have looked unbeatable. Just ask Texas. Oklahoma has scored at least 50 points in its past four games.
- Runner-up: Miami (6-0). The No. 2 Hurricanes are not as good as they were the past two seasons, but they are still good enough to go into Tallahassee and dominate Florida State.
- Worst team nationally (Bowl Championship Series conferences): Indiana (1-6). The Hoosiers should give up football and just concentrate on basketball.
- Runner-up: Duke (2-6). The Blue Devils should give up football and just concentrate on basketball.
- Best team Southeastern Conference: Georgia (5-1). If there was any doubt that the Dawgs still have plenty of bite following their narrow loss at LSU, it was erased during the Neyland Stadium Massacre Saturday night at Tennessee.
- Runner-up: Auburn (4-2). The Tigers have rebounded nicely from their 0-2 start and following their impressive victory at Arkansas they again look like the team to beat in the SEC West.
- Worst team SEC: Vanderbilt (1-6). The Commodores lost at home to Navy Saturday. Enough said.
- Runner-up: Mississippi State (2-4). Don't let their consecutive victories against Vanderbilt and Memphis fool you, the Bulldogs are a bad team.
- Best coaching job nationally: Joe Novak, Northern Illinois (6-0). Can you believe Novak has the Huskies ranked No. 12 in the nation? Alabama and Maryland can.
- Runner-up: Bill Doba, Washington State (5-1). Since blowing a 19-point lead and losing at Notre Dame, Doba, in his first season after replacing Mike Price, has the Cougars rolling, baby.
- Worst coaching job nationally (BCS conferences): Mack Brown, Texas (4-2). With 16 starters returning, the Longhorns were expected to challenge Oklahoma for supremacy in the Big 12. But there was one little problem: Brown. He continues to choke in the big games: witness the 65-13 drubbing at the hands of the Sooners on Saturday.
- Runner-up: Joe Paterno, Penn State (2-5). It's time for "JoePa" to kick back on Saturdays, do some channel surfing and scream at the refs from his recliner.
- Best coaching job SEC: Mark Richt, Georgia. The Bulldogs lost a bunch of players to graduation, early departures for the NFL, injuries and suspensions, and on top of that, Georgia had several off-season controversies after winning the SEC title in 2002. But through it all, Richt has kept his team together and kept his players focused, and if things break right, he could have them playing for the national championship.
- Runner-up: Tommy Tuberville, Auburn. Some Auburn fans were calling for Tuberville's head after the Tigers scored only three points while losing to Southern California and Georgia Tech to open the season, but instead of pushing the panic button, he kept cool and now the Tigers are the frontrunners to play Georgia in the SEC championship game.
- Worst coaching job SEC: Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee (4-2). Fulmer has had incredible success as the Vols' head coach - he entered this season with a .805 winning percentage in 11 seasons - but now Tennessee is starting to show some slippage under his watch, Georgia's Neyland Stadium Massacre being a prime example.
- Runner-up: Ron Zook, Florida (4-3). The victory at LSU isn't enough to take the heat off Zook because the Gator Nation is still furious about Florida's losses to Tennessee and Ole Miss in "The Swamp."
- Heisman Trophy winner of the half season: Jason White, quarterback, Oklahoma. He earned the award with his performance (290 yards passing and four touchdowns) in the demolition of Texas.
- Runner-up: Michael Turner, running back, Northern Illinois. "Turner the Burner" is one of the reasons the Huskies have risen to national prominence. Against Central Michigan Saturday, he rushed for a season-high 199 yards and two touchdowns.
- SEC Player of the Half-year: Eli Manning, quarterback, Ole Miss. He leads the conference in passing and total offense, plus he led the Rebels to a victory at Florida, although the Gators are not what they once were.
- Runner-up: David Greene, quarterback, Georgia. Some say he is the player of the year so far, and they won't an argument.
- Five games (not including conference championship games) that will decide who plays in the Sugar Bowl for the national title: Iowa at Ohio State, Saturday; Oklahoma State at Oklahoma, Nov. 1; Miami at Virginia Tech, Nov. 1; Washington State at Southern Cal, Nov. 1; and Auburn at Georgia, Nov. 15.
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