With another weekend of the college football season in the books, it is time for us to hand out our weekly awards. Each week we try to recognize the good, as well as pointing out, and making fun of the bad. As it turns out, a ton of teams were on bye weeks, while many of the rest played what amounted to glorified exhibitions. However, we did our very best to muddle through and found a few things we could work with.
Best Performance Award
Ohio State
When it came to picking a winner for this weeks best performance, the options were limited. So it’s the Buckeyes who get the nod this week. Although we here still have some reservations about the Bucknuts, there’s no debating this Ohio State team is good, and getting better by the week. On Saturday they held Sparty to just 285 total yards, and only 67 on the ground. They ran the ball for over 300 yards and were 8-15 on 3rd down conversions in the easy 34-10 win.
To Close For Comfort Award
SMU
After cracking the Top 25 last week and looking for their best start since 1982, the unbeaten Mustangs came very close to letting it all slip away. They had to rally from a three touchdown 4th quarter deficit, then needed three overtimes to get by Tulane 43-37. Three of their six wins have come by seven points or less, and not since the days of Eric Dickerson has SMU been 6-0. It was the first time they have won as a ranked team in 33 years.
#ItJustMeansMore Award
Auburn at Florida
Two top ten teams squaring off in The Swamp. Two top ten SEC teams at that. A game that was nationally televised in the popular 3:30 timeslot on CBS. A game that most considered the game of the weekend, and yet it was anything but. The two teams each turned the ball over four times. Combined they committed 15 penalties, were just 6-29 on 3rd down conversions, and 0-3 on 4th down conversions. Maybe it really does mean more.
Pretender of the Week
Michigan
The Wolverine defense forced four turnovers, yet somehow the offense was only able to muster a measly ten points at home against #14 Iowa. QB Shea Patterson was just 14-26 for 147 yards, and had a QBR of just 27.4. The running game wasn’t much better, as the team averaged just 3.6 YPC. Do not let anyone tell you Michigan is one of the one loss teams still in the hunt, because they most certainly are not.
Fraud of the Week
UCF
Cincinnati ended UCF’s 19 game AAC winning streak on Friday night, dropping the Knights to 4-2 on the season. QB Dillon Gabriel was picked off 3 times and also fumbled twice, losing one in the 27-24 loss. Having suffered their second loss of the season already, UCF fans must now come to grips with the fact that this “Power 6” they like to refer to only exists in their head and that their beloved Knights can not consistently compete with the big boys.
WalMarter of the Week
Jim Harbaugh
“We’re hitting our stride.”
This is what Harbaugh said after his teams 10-3 win over Iowa. A game in which his offense was the benefactor of 4 Hawkeye turnovers, yet still managed just 10 points and 267 yards of offense. It sure looks like they are hitting their stride. Congrats coach, it only took one little 4 word sentence to earn you this weeks equivalent of the dunce cap.
