Week 3 Recap

Some weeks in College football are just so good it takes a few days to put it all in prospective. This was one of those weekends. First of all let's start with what really matters. Georgia was impressive in their victory in Arkansas on Saturday night. I know some people will talk about the defense, but let me tell you something, a win on the road in the SEC is an impressive feat no matter who you play. Not to mention that Arkansas is a good team. Ryan Mallet will be playing on Sundays in a few years, and they have a heard of very good receivers.

Joe Cox has his first signature win as Georgia Quarterback. Cox played great on Saturday night, and was named offensive player of the week nationally for his efforts. His leadership and poise was tested when the Dawgs faced a 21-10 deficit after the first quarter. Neither Mark Richt or Joe Cox panicked and Georgia came back to lead at half time.

As I was watching the game in the first half, the crowd enthusiasm reminded me very much of Oklahoma State. For OSU, the Georgia game was the game their players, coaches, and fans had been looking forward to. The same seemed to be true for Arkansas. Erin Andrews made a comment during the game that Ryan Mallet told her he was rooting for Georgia to beat South Carolina, because he wanted Georgia high when they came to Arkansas so they (The Razorbacks) could not Georgia down. Unlike the OSU game, the Dawgs responded, and all of the credit should go the the fifth year senior quarterback, Joe Cox.

Across the nation there were some great games on Saturday. Virginia Tech's last second win over Nebraska was a great ending to a good game. Notre Dame cooled Charlie Weiss' seat just a bit by hanging on and beating Michigan State. The Tennessee Volunteers made it out of Gaines ville with their dignity and a little bit more after playing four solid quarters of football. Lane Kiffin's team should be proud of their performance. And (flu or no flu) honest Florida fans have to be a little bit more nervous now than they were before last weekend's game.

The national surprise of the week was Washington upsetting USC. But why are we surprised? This has been USC calling card for the past couple of seasons. USC apologists will say that you can't criticize Pete Carroll because he has won every big game he has ever played except for the '05 title game against Texas. Those people have a point. But here's the truth. If Pete Carroll could get his team up for mediocre Pac-10 teams, he would have a couple of more chances to win titles. The Stanford loss in '07 and the Oregon State loss last year were the only reasons that USC didn't appear in the national title game each of those years. Washington played a great game, but does anyone think they are the better team?

If you want a bold prediction for the rest of the season, here it is. USC was better than Washington and lost, but they will lose two more games this season. USC will lose to Cal in just a couple of weeks in Prime Time on ABC. Cal's running game will dominate and control the clock. After losing the Cal, USC will lose once more. Maybe they lose to Notre Dame and save Charlie Weiss' job. Maybe they lose to a Stanford or some other inferior Pac-10 team. Maybe they lose to UCLA in their season finale. I don't know where the other loss will come, but I am confident that it will come. The talent level is down at USC this year, and they will not be able to dominate the teams that they usually beat with little or no trouble. If they aren't dominating then I don't think they can win. When was the last time USC won a big game by a small margin. (Please don't say Ohio State, they are not the standard by which success is measured in college football).

After 3 Weeks of the season, here is my Top 10:

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Penn State
4. Alabama
5. Miami
6. Cal
7. LSU
8. Ole Miss
9. Oklahoma
10. Virginia Tech