| CFI Week In Review – Week 4 | ||||
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College Football Insiders founder Daniel Mogollon takes a look back at college football’s week that was. ‘Bama Is Still Goliath…
Arkansas head man Bobby Petrino stated before the Razorbacks played host to Alabama, “We’re not David anymore.” Maybe so, but we can say with certainty that the Crimson Tide are still Goliath. Even on a day when quarterback Greg McElroy was shaky—he tied a career high with two interceptions—the secondary looked young and Ryan Mallett’s gave his best shot in the first half, Alabama pulled out what may be their toughest road test of the season to remain undefeated and number one in the country. We saw youngsters like cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick and free safety Robert Lester, a pair of sophomores, grow up a little in the second half. Offensively, it was about the one-two punch of Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson. Ingram averaged 6.5 yards per carry for 157 yards and two touchdowns on 24 rushes. Richardson gained 85 yards on just eight carries. Each back had a run of over 50 yards. The duo added four receptions for 52 yards and a touchdown (by Richardson). But They Made it Tougher Than it Needed to Be McElroy’s two first-half interceptions were uncharacteristic, understood, but why assume they would have to win this one in a shootout? Wouldn’t the best strategy have been ground and pound? Not only is running the football Alabama’s bread and butter—setting up play fakes and roll outs in the passing game—but it would have served them well to keep the ball out of the hands of Mallett and Petrino’s explosive offense. The Impatient DriveWe saw in the second quarter why Boise State is going to be tough to knock off. On second and six from their own 23-yard line, Kellen Moore dropped back to pass. An Oregon State blitzer had him dead to rights until the southpaw flashed incredible escapability and completed a 26-yard pass to wide out Austin Pettis. Instead of third and 16 from their own 13-yard line, it was now first and ten from the 49-yard line. What do the Broncos do? Put the pedal to the metal: Moore connects with Titus Young for 34 yards before finding Pettis for a 17-yard touchdown and just like that they had a 17-7 lead. In preparation for this game I painted my television screen blue earlier in the week and still had trouble keeping up with the Blue Bombers. The Patient Punt ReturnYou don’t often hear “patience” and “punt return” in the same sentence, but that is exactly how Oregon State senior James Rodgers scampered 54 yards to the end zone after fielding a punt at Boise State. Rodgers caught the punt at his own 47-yard line at the far sideline, just a couple yards away from the Boise State bench. He made the first man miss with a quick side step to his left. With five Boise State defenders within ten yards of him, Rodgers decided to take it laterally across the field. Once he reached the near hash mark he got a block and then used his speed to outrun three more Bronco defenders. Now at the Boise 40-yard line, there were three additional defenders (probably one or two from the original wave) and Rodgers helped set up a block with a little cutback. The senior finally got a pair of box-out blocks and ran the final 20 yards down the near sideline. One of the most dynamic players in the country, Rodgers combines speed, quickness, vision and patience to dissect opposing coverage units. The Best Consecutive Plays (From Scrimmage) EverWith around eight minutes remaining in the game and Stanford already leading Notre Dame 19-6, fullback Owen Marecic ran one in from a yard out, as the Cardinal extended their lead to 27-6. Following the kickoff, Notre Dame’s quarterback Dayne Crist dropped back to pass and was intercepted by a linebacker who scampered in from 20 yards out to make it 34-6. The linebacker’s name? That would also be Owen Marecic, also known as my new favorite player, even if the Cardinal’s iron man didn’t kick the extra point. How Far Can LSU Go with Jordan Jefferson?
They will play a mediocre Tennessee team this week, but still have road tests against Florida, Auburn and Arkansas, in addition to a home game against #1 Alabama. The Tigers could be headed to another four- (amount of losses in 2009) or five-loss (amount of losses in 2008) season if the quarterback play doesn’t pick up. Jefferson, a junior, was just 10 of 22 passing for 75 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions, as the Bayou Bengals won despite just 230 yards of total offense. This was the quarterback’s third straight game with less than 100 yards passing…that’s THREE STRAIGHT GAMES WITH LESS THAN 100 YARDS PASSING!! They don’t run the triple-option, by the way. In the fourth quarter, with the game on the line—under seven minutes remaining, clinging to a 20-14 lead—Les Miles turned to backup Jarrett Lee. LSU went three-and-out and Jefferson returned for the final drive, which included three runs by Stevan Ridley for 26 yards before a pair of kneel-downs burned the clock. Even in a year where there might just be one dominant team in the conference, LSU could be in for a long season of conference play if Jefferson or Lee or someone doesn’t rediscover the forward pass. News, Notes & Quotes
* Question of the Week: True-freshman quarterback Trey Burton broke Tim Tebow’s record with six touchdowns against Kentucky. On the season, Burton has found the end zone seven times on 11 carries. That’s a .636 batting average! Flashing his all-purpose talents, the freshman also caught five balls against the Wildcats, including John Brantley’s lone touchdown pass of the night. The only freshman to score more in a single game was future Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk, who found the end zone seven times for San Diego State in 1991. So, the question is—how long will it take Florida to build a statue or at least put up a plaque to honor Burton? Just askin… * No Urban Legend: Staying in Gainesville, head man Urban Meyer won the 100th game of his illustrious career, becoming the fastest to do so since Oklahoma’s Bud Wilkinson. It took Meyer just 118 games to reach the century mark; Wilkinson did it in 111 games. * Quote of Note – Georgia head coach, Mark Richt: “It’s the most adversity that I’ve had since I’ve been here. The bottom line is we are 0-3 in the league, and we’ve never been there. We’ve had issues off the field that have been a distraction, and it’s sad for our team, our program, our university and our fans.” * Under the Radar – Persa to Ebert: The Northwestern duo’s names don’t quite roll off the tongue, but Dan Persa to Jeremy Ebert is fast becoming one of the most dangerous hookups in the Big Ten. Persa completed 23 of 30 passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday, accumulating 323 yards of total offense. On the season, the senior signal caller has thrown for 1,049 yards and eight touchdowns while completing 80.2 percent of his passes. Persa leads the Big Ten in yards, completion percentage and quarterback rating (186.3). Ebert caught both of Persa’s scoring strikes among his five receptions for 83 yards. The junior pass catcher is averaging 19.5 yards per catch, giving him 331 yards on 19 receptions this season. He also has had a grab of at least 25 yards in all four games this season. Archives: Photos Courtesy of Dennis Hubbard, Steve Frantz/LSU Sports Information 
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Too often we heard analyst Gary Danielson talk about the “gimmick” plays the Crimson Tide were trying…mostly unsuccessfully. Alabama has arguably the top two running backs in the country in Ingram and Richardson, and they should combine for more than 32 carries, especially when Alabama is in a dogfight.
LSU is 4-0 and has played all four games against BCS conference opponents—North Carolina on a neutral field, at Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and West Virginia at home—but how long can they remain undefeated with Jordan Jefferson at the helm?