If it's Monday, it's time for the latest YCS and RSS Heisman Watch! We know who's in the driver's seat for the national title, but what shape are they in heading in to the most important week of the season? Do we finally have a final 3 in the Heisman Watch? Why am I asking so many questions? Time to find out the answers, here at RSS!
YCS STANDINGS
1. Texas (12-0, last week W vs. at Texas A&M 49-39, up next Sat. vs. Nebraska)
-Texas barely hangs on to the top spot in this week's YCS after a harrowing win in a shootout against rival Texas A&M. Even with QB Colt McCoy's best game of the season (more on him later), the concern for the Longhorns has to be with their defense. Giving up 39 points to Texas A&M can't be an encouraging sign, even if they are a rival. It was by far Texas's worst defensive game of the season, and they'll have to regroup quickly for the Big 12 title game, although Nebraska's offense seemingly will pose less of a threat.
2. Florida (12-0, last week W vs. Florida St. 37-10, up next Sat. vs. Alabama)
-Florida leapfrogs their SEC rivals ahead of the conference title game with their handling of Florida St. on Saturday. For a moment on Saturday, I was wondering if the game would have to be delayed to mop up all the tears shed between Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer before the game. If that had gone on much longer, those two would have needed to get a room. As for an early preview for the SEC Championship game, this is about as much of a toss-up as a big game can get (really going out on a limb, I know, but there's still time before Saturday).
Side Dish: Florida's opponent on Saturday, Florida St. seems to be moving on without Bobby Bowden. Tomorrow, Bowden looks like he will retire from coaching after a storied career which would place him on the Mt. Rushmore of college coaches. While this small space in no way can do justice to his accomplishments, here's hoping Bowden's legacy won't be his clumsy removal by the FSU hierarchy and his seeming unwillingness to walk away on his own. Bobby Bowden's contributions far outweigh his late decline.
3. Alabama (12-0, last week W at Auburn 26-21, up next Sat. vs. Florida)
-For much of the Iron Bowl, Alabama's national title hopes were looking slim. They seemed vulnerable to explosive plays from Auburn's athletic playmakers (don't think Urban Meyer wasn't paying attention) and their workhorse Mark Ingram was struggling much of the game. That's when Jr QB Greg McElroy and So. WR Julio Jones led 'Bama on a 15 play, 79 yard drive to take the lead with under 90 seconds left. And even though HC Nick Saban recognized his team got their tail whipped for large parts of the game, he had to be thrilled to see his QB win a game when he had to, because McElroy will be 'Bama's most important player next Saturday.
Another Side Dish: I saw an interesting graphic on ESPN over the weekend. They showed 4 games that will decide BCS berths this upcoming weekend: Ore/Ore St. to decide the Pac 10, Cincinnati/Pitt to decide the Big East, and the Big 12 and ACC Title games. Notice any important games missing...think about it for a second. If you said the SEC Championship, you win! Why wouldn't ESPN include the most important conference championship game ever on that list? Well, it's easy, those other 4 games have one thing in common, they're on the ESPN family of networks while 'Bama/Florida is on CBS. Sad that ESPN only feels the most important games are the ones on their networks. Then again, it might be a good thing the WWL Hype Machine isn't working overtime on the SEC Title game...
4. TCU (12-0, last game W vs. New Mexico 51-10, up next ?)
-Unfortunately for Andy Dalton and co., TCU's hopes for a national title berth are down to one last desperation play. Their only sure hope is a Nebraska victory over Texas in the Big 12 title game and a Pitt victory of Cincinnati, just to make sure. After another dominant victory though, is there anyone who would want to play TCU right now? If we had an honest playoff like every other major sport, wouldn't TCU be just as big a threat as the Top 3 teams? Even if TCU goes to another BCS bowl and wins, the little guys will never find out how good they really are until one of them plays in the national championship.
5. Cincinnati (11-0, last week W vs. Illinois 49-36, up next Sat. vs. Pitt)
-Sr QB Tony Pike didn't miss a beat in his return to the starting lineup against Illinois. After an amazing 399 yards and 6 TDs, one has to wonder if Pike's name would be in the Heisman Watch if he hadn't missed time due to injury. But, the continued lack of a defensive presence, even against a struggling Illinois team, has to worry HC Brian Kelly. Even if they beat Pitt on Saturday, their lack of dominating wins might not be enough to get them past an idle TCU for 4th in the YCS or the BCS. First thing's first, the Bearcats have to find a way to combat the dynamic duo of Lewis and Baldwin for the Panthers to win the Big East.
6. Boise St. (12-0, last week W vs. Nevada 44-33, up next ?)
-Boise St.'s victory over Nevada this week was a microcosm of their entire season, good, but not quite good enough. QB Kellen Moore was once again terrific, but the Boise St. defense allowed Nevada back into the game to the point where the victory went from dominant, to just ok. Thankfully for the Broncos, the loss by Oklahoma St. seems to have punched their ticket to a BCS bowl, barring any major upsets.
7. Ohio St. (10-2, last week idle, up next Jan. 1 Rose Bowl vs. Ore St./Ore)
-Ohio St. didn't play, they didn't move in the YCS. Easy enough for me. I can't see them rooting one way or another in the Civil War, both Oregon teams will be a stern test for the Buckeyes.
8. Oregon (9-2, last week idle , up next Thur vs. #16 Oregon St.)
-Speaking of those Oregon teams, Oregon was idle, so they don't move up in the YCS either. However, you can bet a victory over the other OSU on Thursday will move them ahead of OSU in the next YCS. Since this game is on Thursday, here's an early preview. In a close game like this year's Civil War, the early advantage has to go to the home team, which in this case, will be the Ducks. Throw in the dual threat of a healthy QB Jeramiah Masoli, and the Ducks should be able to finally punch their ticket back to Pasadena.
9. Iowa (10-2, last game idle, up next ?)
-Of all the team's vying for BCS berths, Iowa may have the most uncertain future. Depending on how other games shake out, they are rumored to be coveted by the Fiesta Bowl. But, if other bowls go in different directions, the Orange Bowl may covet Penn St. more. Of course, if the only factor was on-field performance, you'd think Iowa would get a berth over a team they've already beaten. Oh wait, I forgot, we're talking about college football.
10. Georgia Tech (10-2, last week L vs. Georgia 30-24 up next Sat. vs. Clemson)
-Ga. Tech still hangs on to the last spot in the YCS, despite their loss to rivals Georgia. In fairness to Tech, they really didn't have much to play for as they'd already sewn up a spot in the ACC title game. Still, that doesn't exactly mean they were happy to lose to the 'Dawgs on Saturday.
Dropped from the YCS: Pittsburgh
Just Missed Out: Oregon St., Penn St., Pitt, Va. Tech
-Pitt drops out after going down at the last-second in the Backyard Brawl versus West Virginia. Suddenly that matchup with Cincinnati isn't as sexy, even though it will still decide the Big East champion. Lurking outside the YCS with the Panthers are a host of teams who've overcome earlier defeats to finish out their season's strong. Oregon St. has the most to gain this week with a chance to go to the Rose Bowl by winning the Civil War versus Oregon.
RSS HEISMAN WATCH
1. Colt McCoy-QB-Texas (last week 24/40, 304 yards, 4 TDs; 175 yards rushing, 1 TD)
-With only one week left in the regular season, Colt McCoy seized his opportunity Thanksgiving night to top the RSS Heisman Watch by the narrowest of margins. Without a doubt, McCoy had his best game of the season, accounting for almost 500 yards of offense and 5 TDs. With his resurgence, he's now leading the country in completion percentage at over 71%. Even more important, McCoy may have authored the signature play of the Heisman campaign with his 65-yard TD run, breaking away from even the speediest A&M defenders. With another impressive performance (and victory) against Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship, McCoy will garner the Heisman vote from RSS.
2. Toby Gerhart-RB-Stanford (last week 29 rushes, 205 yards, 3 TDs; 1 passing TD)
-Last week we questioned whether Toby Gerhart's late charge could gather enough momentum to earn a trip to NYC. Well, that question was answered emphatically with his performance against Notre Dame on Saturday. As you'll see form the highlights below, Gerhart was again an absolute beast. He's second in the country in rushing yards per game (bolstered by another 200+ performance), and even had an important TD throwing on the HB option on 4th down in the 4th quarter (where he did the best job I've ever seen selling the run). Wait until about 3 minutes into the clip when he lights up some poor Irish defender. Unfortunately for Gerhart, he doesn't have a conference championship game to shine in, so he may be the biggest Husker fan on the planet this Saturday.
-By the way, two other things you'll notice from the highlight. Charlie Weis was fired today because he can't recruit or coach a capable defense. Second, Golden Tate and Michael Floyd may be the most talented WR duo we've seen in the college game in a long time.
3. Mark Ingram-RB-Alabama (last week 16 rushes, 30 yards)
-How the mighty have fallen. Last week Ingram looked to be in clear control of his Heisman candidacy. After being shut down against Auburn for a paltry 30 yards, Ingram is now in desperate straits to recapture his Heisman mojo. However, his future is in doubt due to a hip injury he picked up late in the Iron Bowl. Still, even before the injury Ingram was losing playing time to his backup Trent Richardson due to his ineffectiveness. It's going to take a major outburst against a stout Florida defense for Ingram to reclaim the top spot in the RSS Heisman Watch.
4. Ndamukong Suh-DT-Nebraska (last week 5 tackles (1 for loss))
-Suh didn't put up gaudy stats against Colorado, but again he faced routine double teams throughout in the Huskers victory. Even with a Herculean performance against a Top 3 team in Texas, Suh is a long shot to be invited to NYC. It seems a gap has finally emerged between the top 3 Heisman candidates and the rest of the field.
5. Tim Tebow-QB-Florida (last week 17/21, 221 yards, 3 TDs; 15 rushes, 90 yards, 2 TDs)
-We told you last week to not forget about everyone's favorite QB. And amidst the tears and balloons and music at Florida's senior day, Tebow turned out his best performance of the season against Florida St. With 5 total TDs, Tebow controlled the game from start to finish, even when he was pulled in the second half. What's more, Tebow reminded every potential voter why he may be the greatest college football player in history. As we've said all season, don't discount some lazy Heisman voters from turning this year's presentation into a lifetime achievement award for JC QB. If that's the case, just make up a new award to give him, call it the Tim Tebow Lifetime Achievement Award for all I care. Please, don't give him the Heisman though, he doesn't deserve it for his performance this year. Doing so would only cheapen the true meaning of the Heisman even more than it already has become.
Dropping Out of the Race: Jacquizz Rodgers drops out for being idle this past week. While he won't be able to budge his way into an invite to New York, he, and many other players in the Civil War can play their way into other prestigious postseason awards.
Keep an Eye On: Nick Saban and Urban Meyer
-These two men will have the most say in deciding one of the participants in the National Championship Game, but they'll also go a long way in determining who lifts the Heisman Trophy. With the love affair between Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow, you know Meyer is going to put the ball in Tebow's hands and let him win or lose the game. If Tebow has a great game, maybe he sneaks in to the discussion. On the other hand, Saban hasn't shown any propensity to coach with any thoughts towards Mark Ingram's Heisman candidacy. He's played him lightly against weaker competition and showed last week he isn't afraid to turn to Ingram's backups if the Bama RB gets off to a slow start. Of course, both coaches will be focused first on winning, but how they go about trying to win the SEC Championship will have a major impact on whoever the Heisman winner ultimately is.
That's does it for this week's YCS and Heisman Watch. As always let us know how wrong we are by posting a comment below, but be prepared for a carefully well-thought out response...at least some of the time. We'll also continue our countdown of the Games of the Decade tomorrow. Until then, it's bye for now!
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