What we learned from the Independents and non-BCS, Week 5
What we learned from the Independents and non-BCS, Week 5
Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson
East Carolina hangover: The Pirates season started with so much promise and now even a Conference USA title could be in doubt after the loss to Houston this weekend, Credit Houston, it was the Cougars first win over a ranked team in 12 years and quarterback Case Keenum completed 82 percent of his passes. But East Carolina was regarded as the one of the best of the BCS busters and now their busted themselves. Coach Skip Holtz sort of predicted this slide when he said he couldn't get a read on his team earlier in the week. Now, East Carolina will have to claw its way back into the national spotlight.
Good week to be off: What a perfect week for BYU to be idle. It kept them out of the Top 25 carnage and it bumped them up to No. 8 in the recent released Associated Press poll. There are still four non-BCS teams ranked in the Top 25 -- BYU, Utah, Boise State, Fresno State -- and Tulsa and Ball State are receiving votes. Although BYU didn't play, it probably learned an early lesson of how fragile a Top 25 standing can be. Both East Carolina and TCU fell out this week and will have a huge uphill climb to get back in.
Lots o' offense: If you're a fan of the non-BCS, it was hard not to notice the sick amount of offense teams such as Tulsa, Rice, and Houston put up this week. All three of those offenses are among the best in the country, and the rate at which they are scoring is almost scary. Tulsa quarterback David Johnson threw four more touchdowns this week, giving him 16 touchdowns in the past three weeks and nine overall. Only two other quarterbacks, Houston's Case Keenum and Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, have 16 or more touchdowns. Keenum shares the overall touchdown lead with 19 scores. And if you're looking for looking for offense on the ground, check out Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who rushed for 240 yards and accounted for five touchdowns and 416 yards of total offense.
Notre Dame has improved: I know, that's not a revelation, but I think Saturday's win over Purdue showed that this year's Irish team is improved not just physically, but mentally. The Irish could have easily folded early when Purdue appeared to dominate. But they didn't, they actually got better. I still think it's too early and the schedule is too easy to say this team is what it used to be, but they are better than many thought they would be. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen had his first game without an interception, which I'm sure was directly related to him cutting his hair earlier in the week.
Where is the love: What do Ball State and Tulsa have to do to get a little respect around here? Yet again, both Tulsa and Ball State showed their dominance and neither cracked the Top 25. Both teams are undefeated. Now, Tulsa hasn't played the toughest competition, but Ball State has beaten Indiana and is perfect in its conference. It's 5-0 in convincing fashion. Ball State is the clear favorite to take the Mid-American Conference right now, and could probably hang with all of the other non-BCS team that are ranked in the poll. It's true that the MAC isn't as strong as the Mountain West, but the Cardinals deserve some poll love for their efforts.
No comments:
Post a Comment