Week 3 proves SEC is best in the nation

[DKW 86 7,425]

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/printedi...sider0918a.html

Week 3 proves SEC is best in the nation

ACC, Big 12 falter; Ohio State makes case for top spot

By Tony Barnhart

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 09/18/06

Yes, I know it's a long season. Yes, I know only three weeks' worth of games have been played. But we learned a lot on "Shakeout Saturday." Mostly what we learned is that we have an awful lot took forward to in October, November and December. Here are the top 10 things we learned from "Shakeout Saturday."

1. If I'm Auburn's Tommy Tuberville, Florida's Urban Meyer or Georgia's Mark Richt, I'm going to start dropping hints that if any team wins the SEC championship and is 13-0, they can not and should not be left out of the BCS championship game. After what we saw Saturday, there is no longer any doubt that the SEC is the strongest conference in the country.

But if the BCS standings came out today it would probably be 1. Ohio State, 2. USC, 3. Auburn, 4. West Virginia and 5. Florida.

"We're not going to politic. Right now we're just happy to be where we are," Tuberville said Sunday after his team beat LSU 7-3 in a defensive slugfest. "We've got a lot of big games left, and we know we have a lot of room for improvement."

2. If you're keeping score at home, Ohio State's best chances (and probably only chances) to lose down the stretch are Sept. 30 at Iowa and Nov. 18 at home against Michigan. USC will be in cruise control until Nov. 11, when the Trojans begins a four-game finish —- Oregon, California, Notre Dame and UCLA. Could Auburn, Florida or Georgia jump over USC to No. 2 even if USC ran the table? If you do the math, Florida has the best chance because of its schedule.

3. If the SEC is the best conference, then who has the worst conference in the BCS, you ask? It was an awful weekend for the ACC, as Maryland, Miami, Virginia and N.C. State all lost non-conference games, and North Carolina was taken to the wire by I-AA Furman, 45-42. It was just as bad for the Big 12 where Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa State, Texas Tech, Baylor, Colorado and Nebraska lost non-conference games.

4. The ACC didn't have any coaching changes last season. That will not be the case at the end of this season. There were three ugly losses Saturday that signal some guys are in trouble. After a 17-10 loss to Western Michigan at home, Virginia is 1-2 and fading fast as they arrive at Georgia Tech on Thursday. Miami is 1-2 for the first time since 1997 after getting killed on the road at Louisville (31-7). Larry Coker is feeling the heat today because for the first time in seven years, the Hurricanes (1-2) are not ranked. N.C. State (1-2) was thoroughly embarrassed on the road at Southern Mississippi 37-17. Looks like coach Chuck Amato might be out of excuses.

5. Clemson, which was so devastated a week ago when it lost to Boston College, now has a very real chance to win the ACC Atlantic. The Tigers (1-1 ACC) need for Boston College to lose twice, and the Eagles still have Virginia Tech, Florida State and Miami on the schedule. Clemson should be OK, with North Carolina, Louisiana Tech, Wake Forest and Temple in the next four games. But the Oct. 21 home game with Georgia Tech, followed by a short week before playing at Virginia Tech on Oct. 26 will tell the tale for the Tigers.

6. Given what we saw Saturday in the SEC, how big do these dates look? Oct. 7 —- LSU at Florida, Tennessee at Georgia; Oct. 14 —- Florida at Auburn; Oct. 28 —- Florida vs. Georgia (Jacksonville); Nov. 4 —- LSU at Tennessee; Nov. 11 —- Georgia at Auburn.

7. It took three games for the weaknesses in Notre Dame's defense to be finally exposed. Georgia Tech and Reggie Ball couldn't do it. Penn State and Anthony Morelli couldn't do it. But Michigan and Chad Henne did, and now it's all on tape for the rest of the Irish's opponents to see. A team with a good quarterback and some speedy receivers will give Notre Dame trouble. Michigan State, which plays host to Notre Dame on Saturday, is such a team. So is USC.

"I've got concerns with every facet of the team right now," Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said after the game. Indeed.

8. Some coaches, such as Boston College's Tom O'Brien, like instant replay. His team beat BYU 30-23 in double overtime when the replay official overruled a call on the field and awarded BC an interception. That play ended the game.

"It seems that they are reviewing a lot more plays this year, but I guess that's a good thing," O'Brien said Sunday. "It certainly was good for us."

Other coaches aren't so fond of instant replay today. Les Miles and LSU fans are going to be looking at that pass interference call/reversal against Auburn for a long, long time. The officials on the field ruled interference. The guy in the booth said no interference, which gave Auburn the ball.

Oklahoma fans will be arguing about Oregon's onside kick, which TV replays indicated was touched by an Oregon player before it went 10 yards. The replay official said no, Oregon got the ball went on to win 34-33.

9. TCU (3-0) is your leader in the clubhouse as the most likely non-BCS team to earn an at-large BCS bid. The Horned Frogs held Texas Tech without a touchdown for the first time in 79 games under Mike Leach and won 12-3. TCU needs to finish in the Top 12 of the BCS standings to get a bid. Sunday the Frogs were 15th and 16th in the polls. And now they have a little attitude.

"People have been underselling our kids for years. All everybody wants to talk about is the Big 12," TCU coach Gary Patterson said. "I get tired of being like a stepchild in this state and in this town, and our kids do, too."

The toughest remaining game for TCU looks like an Oct. 5 trip to Utah.

10. Brady Quinn's chase for the Heisman Trophy is all but over after the numbers (three interceptions, one fumble) he put up against Michigan. Remember that both his subpar outings against Georgia Tech and Michigan were nationally televised. Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith is your new leader, and he is being chased by Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson, who had 211 yards rushing in a loss to Oregon. If Florida quarterback Chris Leak (three touchdown passes against Tennessee) keeps up his good play, he could join them.

[TigerOne 1,142]

Note to Auburn coaches this applies to us as well

7. It took three games for the weaknesses in Notre Dame's defense to be finally exposed. Georgia Tech and Reggie Ball couldn't do it. Penn State and Anthony Morelli couldn't do it. But Michigan and Chad Henne did, and now it's all on tape for the rest of the Irish's opponents to see. A team with a good quarterback and some speedy receivers will give Notre Dame trouble. Michigan State, which plays host to Notre Dame on Saturday, is such a team.

that team would be Florida

[VR4Rob 0]

Sadly, he's right. It doesnt matter if it's us, Florida, or Georgia that goes undefeated, the SEC will not jump USC or Ohio State if they go undefeated. And of course, they will because they dont play anyone. USC especially, if their best chance to lose is against Notre Dame... thats laughable. Realistically, Michigan is our only hope for someone to pull out a win between the top two.

This all is of course assuming there are only 2 undefeated teams. Who says we wont get left out of a championship bid again if theres another (3rd) team that goes undefeated

[GalensGhost 0]

Oh holy Moses in a three-wheel chariot, here we go again. Do these guys not know the rules? "The guy in the booth" had no input on the interference scenario. Penalties are not reviewable. That call was made (correctly, as it were) by the official behind the play who saw the contact and the official in front of the play who saw the touched ball. Once the touched ball was noted, nothing else mattered.

Why did he ruin an otherwise good article with such ignorance? Seriously?

[Weagle98 119]

What happens if Michigan beats USC at the end and they are undefeated, do they jump us?

I mean they beat the mighty OSU surely they should have a shot at USC for the championship?

I mean Michigan beat OSU who beat Texas who are the national champs.

Too many games left to worry, IMO.

[SKCAUB 0]

Oh holy Moses in a three-wheel chariot, here we go again. Do these guys not know the rules? "The guy in the booth" had no input on the interference scenario. Penalties are not reviewable. That call was made (correctly, as it were) by the official behind the play who saw the contact and the official in front of the play who saw the touched ball. Once the touched ball was noted, nothing else mattered.

Why did he ruin an otherwise good article with such ignorance? Seriously?

You are correct, Sir! The ruling was made on the field!

[aucanucktiger 1,794]

"Note to Auburn coaches this applies to us as well

7. It took three games for the weaknesses in Notre Dame's defense to be finally exposed".

I'd say it took 3 games for us to be reminded how bad NDs defense was last year...