Big 12 Happenings

We saw some very close games and some blowouts last week in the Big 12.  Oklahoma State and Nebraska had very impressive routes of quality opponents.  Mizzou and Oklahoma beat inferior opponents in games that came down to the last few minutes. Texas and Kansas State battled to victories over Big 12 conference opponents.  Texas A&M and Colorado won, while Kansas and Baylor lost to out of conference foes.

Highlights From Week 3

Colorado had an impressive showing against Hawaii in all aspects of the game.  The Buffs held the high powered Warrior offense to 337 total yards and only 7 on the ground.  Tyler Hansen had an impressive game, throwning 2 TD’s, one each to WR Toney Clemons and WR Scotty McNight.  The Colorado running game was the star of the show, running for a combined 270 yards.

Nebraska had three 100 yard rushers in a blowout victory over the Washington Huskies. Taylor Martinez(137 yards), Roy Helu Jr.(110 yards) and Rex Burkhead(104 yards) were all the Huskers needed on Saturday in Seattle.  The “Black Shirts” held the Washington offense to less than 250 total yards and Jake Locker had an ugly 4-20 passing day, 20% completion percentage is not good.

Oklahoma State demolished the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 65-28.  Brandon Weeden threw for an astounding 409 yards and 6 TD.  Cowboys WR Justin Blackmon had a great day as well, 6 receptions 174 yards and 3 TD.  What impresses me the most about this game was the Okie State defense.  They picked Tulsa QB GJ Kinne 3 times and the final 3 TD were late meaningless points for the Golden Hurricane against some Cowboy backups.

Games to Watch: Week 4

Oklahoma @ Cincinnati - Oklahoma has seemed to play to the level of their opponents this season.  Close games with Utah State and Air Force, with a blowout victory over Florida State.  I like the Sooners big in this game for two reasons: 1) they have better talent and coaching than do the Bearcats and 2) This is considered by some as a tough road test, so they should show up and make a statement. 

UCLA @ Texas- UCLA beat a very good Houston team at home last week, knocking out Cougars star QB Case Keenum with a leg injury.  Texas went into Lubbock and came out of the dogfight victorious.  Garrett Gilbert struggled last week throwing 3 INT and getting sacked 3 times as well.  This will be a good matchup for the struggling Gilbert.  I like the Longhorns to take it, and it won’t be that close. 

UCF @ Kansas State- Daniel Thomas, Daniel Thomas, Daniel Thomas!  That is all you need to know about the Wildcats this year.  He is so much fun to watch every week, running the ball or passing it from the wildcat he does it all.  UCF boasts a strong crew at LB, led by Derrick Hallman and a good defensive backfield.  Neither will help though, if they don’t get good push on the line of scrimmage.  Once again, Daniel Thomas is the only reason I will watch this game.

Ranking the Big 12

North-   1. Nebraska  2. Missouri  3.  Kansas State  4. Colorado  5.  Kansas  6. Iowa State

South-  1. Oklahoma  2.  Texas  3. Oklahoma State  4. Texas A&M  5.  Texas Tech  6. Baylor

Team News

Baylor- Demolished by TCU last week, head to Rice for a chance at a 3-1 start to the season.

Colorado- Worked a lot of no-huddle offense in Saturday’s game against Hawaii, and it worked.  The Warriors were gassed.  The elevation of Colorado is a huge home field advantage for the Buffs.

Iowa State- The Cyclones host Northern Iowa this weekend in what should be an easy victory for the Cyclones.

Kansas-  The Jayhawks host New Mexico State on saturday.  They should rebound quite nicely against the below average Aggies.

Kansas State- Daniel Thomas trails Michigan QB Denard Robinson by just a handful of yards to be the nations leading rusher.  I expect him to have a huge game against the Knights.

Missouri- DE Aldon Smith has a broken bone in his leg and is expected to miss at least 2 weeks.  TJ Moe and Michael Egnew continue to get the majority of the looks from Gabbert.

Nebraska-  Eric Hagg, who plays the Peso postion(a hybrid safetyoutside linebacker) is a star in the making.  He makes plays every time he’s on the field.

Oklahoma- The Sooners need help with blitz pick ups.  They struggled to stop the Air Force pressure in the close victory.

Oklahoma State- If Bill Young’s defense can make some plays, this team could be very dangerous this year.  The Cowboys can score with anybody.

Texas- They struggled to get anything going on offense against the Red Raiders.  Will they get it fixed before it hurts them?

Texas A&M- Will OLB Von Miller’s ankle be at full strength to begin conference play?  Jerrod Johnson has been performing well below his abilities this season, how much did off-season surgery hurt his game?

Texas Tech- The Red Raiders had their lowest yardage output since 1990. 

Week 4 Picks

Baylor @ Rice  Baylor wins 24-21

Oklahoma @ Cincinnati Oklahoma wins 44-17

UCLA @ Texas Texas wins 31-17

Northern Iowa @ Iowa State Iowa State wins 23-14

New Mexico State @ Kansas Kansas wins 34-19

UCF @ Kansas State KState wins 30-20

Miami(OH) @ Missouri Missouri wins 52-21

South Dakota State @ Nebraska Nebraska wins 59-10

 Written by Jason Madson @isbnJMAD on Twitter

PGWU Heisman Watch

Every Monday we will be giving out the top 5 Heisman candidates based on their performance so far in the season.  Last weekend gave us some strong showings, from some of the top candidates.  Michigan Wolverines QB Denard Robinson continues to impress the voters.  Terrelle Pryor has put up some tremendous stats, so has Kellen Moore from Boise State.  Here are the top 5 Heisman candidates after week 3.  They are ranked in reverse order.

5th Taylor Martinez QB Nebraska Cornhuskers

He has led the Cornhuskers to a 3-0 record, and done so in a convincing manor.  He has rushed 40 times for 421 yards and 8 TD averaging 10.5 per rush.  In what isn’t a strong part of his game, he has thrown the ball for a 65% completion percentage and  392 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.  He runs the Nebraska offense extremely well, and if they keep winning he will keep climbing on this list.

 

4th Andrew Luck QB Stanford Cardinal

Luck has played flawlessly so far this season.  He has led Stanford to a 3-0 record with a TD-INT ration of 10-0.  He has thrown for 674 yards this season and has a completion percentage of 64%.  He is no slouch on the ground either.  He averages 10.8 yards per carry and has another score on the ground.

 

3rd Patrick Peterson CB LSU Tigers

Peterson has played his role perfectly as a shutdown corner, he already has 2 INT.  He is also an incredible return man for the Tigers.  He is averaging 31.7 yards per kick return and 23.9 per punt return.  He is as good as they come for what he does.

 

2nd Ryan Mallett QB Arkansas Razorbacks

Mallet has done an incredible job leading the Razorback offense this season.  The Hogs have a huge game this weekend with number 1 ranked Alabama.  If Arkansas and Mallett come out of this game with a W, I could see a magical season for Mallett and his team.

1st Denard Robinson QB Michigan Wolverines

 

This kid has been a huge surprise this season.  Very few had any idea about him before he exploded against UCONN.  I figured it would slow down after that game, but he has continued to impress.  He has a 69% completion percentage, has thrown for 671 yards, 4 TD and 1 INT.  That is impressive, but here is where it gets ridiculous, his running stats are that much better.  He leads the nation in rushing with 559 yards and a 7.6 average yards per carry.  Add in another 4 TD on the ground and you can tell why Michigan has played so well this season.

Written by Jason Madson @isbnJMAD on Twitter

PGWU Weekend Review

As most of you were watching college football on Saturday, I was enjoying my bachelor party.  I didn’t get to watch much college football, so I spent yesterday and this morning watching the games I recorded.  Here is my version of how the past weekend in college football played out.

Nebraska crushed the Huskies and embarrassed Jake Locker, 56-21.  20% completion percentage is a joke.  If I were playing the Huskers, my gameplan would be to run the football, a lot.  This is the first time I have seen Jared Crick this year and I think he is good, but not the great player everyone is making him out to be. Taylor Martinez is extremely fast around the corner, I would put one of my safties as a spy on him every play, prove you can beat me with your arm.  Nebraska has a Dallas Clark clone in WR/TE Mike McNeill, he is a threat all over the field. 

Houston’s chances of being a BCS buster were crushed by UCLA this week, 31-13 Bruins win.  Case Keenum played in this game, after having concussion symptons during the week, and might be out for quite a while longer now.  He was injured trying to make a tackle on an INT return by UCLA LB Akeem Ayers.  He injured his right leg, but that is all we know at this point.  Keep your eye on freshman QB Terrance Broadway, who stepped in after Keenum’s backup was hurt as well.  He is going to be a good one.  UCLA shored up their rush defense for this week atleast, holding Houston to a little over 100 yards this week.  Bruin RB Johnathan Franklin had a huge game with 158 yards and 3 scores.

Ohio State did what they were supposed to do against Ohio, 43-7 was the final.  Terrelle Pryor had a good game, but 2 INT worries me a little.  The combo of Daniel Herron and Brandon Saine provide a good punch for the Buckeyes.  Add in the rushing ability of Pryor and they have the makings of a very good running game.  I love the Buckeye defense,  they are solid from front to back.

Wisconsin struggled withe the Arizona State Sun Devils on Saturday, but get the win 20-19.  Jay Valai is a hero this week after blocking the game tying extra point.  This raises some questions about the legitimacy of Wisconsin being ranked this high.  The Sun Devils are a team they should lined up and out muscled on every play, especially at home.  Scott Tolzien was his usual accurate self for the Badgers, connecting on 76% of his passes.  

Oregon State holds on to beat the Louisville Cardinals, 35-28.  The Beavers have an offense that is loaded with play makers, but a horrible defense.  Quizz Rodgers had a great game on the ground, gaining 132 yards and 2 scores.  He also caught a pass for a score.  The Beavers were saved by a late INT by Sr. CB James Dockery. 

Arizona proved the doubters wrong this week, beating Iowa 34-27.  Nick Foles threw for 303 yards and distributed the ball to 11 different targets last week.  They made Iowa’s defense look silly in the first half.  Big play’s helped the Wildcats out as well, an INT  return for a TD by Trevin Wade and a KR for a TD by Travis Cobb and a blocked punt helped Arizona out tremendously.  I am very impressed with Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi though, he looks like a better decision maker this season.  Iowa RB Adam Robinson was a non-factor the whole game.

Missouri gets an ugly win, beating San Diego State late 27-24.  This game was one to forget for Mizzou fans, and Blaine Gabbert for that matter.  The Tigers did get the win, but Gabbert threw 2 costly INT’s in the games final quarter.  He did connect with WR TJ Moe on a game winning 68 yard TD with 51 seconds left in the game.  Aztecs RB Ronnie Hillman had a very memorable game.  He rushed for 228 yards and 2 scores, one a 75 yard run, the other for 93.  The Tigers had a big time injury in this game when star DE Aldon Smith suffered a broken fibula, he hopes to be back for the Big 12 conference opener against Colorado.

Oklahoma barely slipped by Air Force,  27-24.  The Falcons gashed the Sooners with their running game, gaining 357 yards on the ground.  They averaged close to 6 yards per rush.  Landry Jones was solid in this game, throwing for 254 yards and a TD.  The Sooners leaned on RB DeMarco Murray, and he didn’t let them down.  Murray had 148 total yards and 3 scores.  Sooners WR Ryan Broyles had a solid receiving game as well.

Written by Jason Madson @isbnJMAD on Twitter