This might not be the marquee matchup in the SEC this weekend, but there is a lot at stake when the Auburn Tigers make the trek north to face the South Carolina Gamecocks. There is the obvious that Auburn wants to stay unbeaten and in the hunt for the National Title, but their running back has a little more motivation in this contest. Kenny Irons initially spent two years with the Gamecocks, two years which his father claims were the worst two years of his life.

Irons spend 2 years in a Gamecocks uniform

Kenny on the other hand refuses to comment on the issue and says he is just worried about helping his new family make a run for the National Title. One has to wonder how Lou Holtz buried this kid at #4 on the depth chart and now Irons is contending for Heisman consideration. Holtz however was not entirely truthful with Kenny. Irons played in 9 games his freshman year and amassed 201 yards. After a good showing in the spring game he and many others felt that he had the inside track on the starting job.

Lou Holtz had other ideas as he promised Demetris Summers, a Parade All-American from Lexington the starting job if he committed to South Carolina. Summers did and got the job, Kenny was left out in the cold and decided to look elsewhere. Although Kenny Irons won’t outwardly admit it, he is fired up for this game and is hoping is old coach is watching so he can show him what a big mistake he made.

More bad news for the Florida State Seminoles as defensive back Tony Carter will be out two to four weeks after spraining his left knee in the Seminoles’ 55-7 victory over Rice. Carter was a starter at the time of his injury and will be replaced by Sophomore Michael Ray Garvin.

Just when you thought we put all the flag planting behind us, we have a new controversy surrounding a Michigan State/Notre Dame game. If you watched the game you will remember the play where Notre Dame safety Chinedum Ndukwe was flagged for hitting Michigan State quarterback Drew Stanton as he ran out of bounds. Then a mini-brawl ensued after Michigan State receiver Matt Trannon jumped in the mix.

What I didn’t understand was why Trannon was flagged for a penalty. It looked as if he was grabbed by a Notre Dame coach and was just trying to get his quarterback out of harms’ way. But after reading articles from Yahoo and The Detroit Free Press we find out that the Irish’s head coach Charlie Weis told the officials that Trannon slapped him. Well that is what was said at his post-game interview. That’s why there were offsetting penalties, instead just one personal foul on the Irish for a late hit.

What did the five fingers say to the face? SLAP!

So John L Smith opened his press conference this week by showing the incident and pointed out that there were no Spartan players around Weis when the supposed slap occurred. So who is lying here? Weis now claims that it could’ve been one of his players that slapped him. Either way I blame the official if he called the penalty based on what Weis. As an official you don’t call a penalty you don’t see. And Mr. Weis if you are lying then shame on you. You are employed by a Catholic University and under their morals lying is frowned upon. What sort of example are you setting for you kids if you lie to get a call? But I am sure all the Notre Dame apologists will find a way to cleanse Weis of his sins.

Right now there are three players who seem to be way ahead of the pack. The fourth has the numbers to win the Heisman but as we all know the voters don’t like choosing a freshman or sophomore to win the award. There weren’t a lot of marquee games last week but there was some movement on my list. I did get a comment about leaving Will Proctor out of my list last week. My response to that is he has had one game where he threw for over 300 yds, the rest he has been below the 200 yard mark. Unless a QB gets pulled in the first half or is a dual threat QB, he should be able to at least get over 200 yards a week through the air if he wants Heisman consideration.

1. Adrian Peterson - Imagine the numbers he could have put up if he was left in the entire game against Middle Tennessee State. He had 128 yards and 3 touchdowns in just about a half of play. Peterson is on pace to gain 1900 yards and score 21 touchdowns. Those sound like Heisman numbers to me. This week he has a week to rest before the Red River Shootout.

2. Troy Smith - Smith didn’t have a stellar game against Penn State, but he did everything that was needed to lead his team to victory. The game in Iowa this week is an important one as he will go head to head against another good QB in Drew Tate. Smith needs a better showing or he will see himself slipping down the list further.

3. Brady Quinn - I found myself wondering during the first half how far I was going to drop Quinn down my Heisman list but his second half play canceled those thoughts. The second half was a true Heisman performance as he put the team on his back and showed some great leadership. Throwing for 319 yards and 5 touchdowns also helped his cause.

4. Steve Slaton - For the first time all year he was held below 100 yards and without a touchdown as West Virginia had a rough time against East Carolina. For Slaton to win this award he has to do above and beyond the likes of Quinn, Peterson, and Smith because he is only a Sophomore. I agree it is not logical but we are dealing with Heisman voters.

5. Chris Leak - Leak had another strong showing against the Wildcats throwing for 267 yards and 2 touchdowns. Leak is showing a lot of poise that he lacked in his previous years and the Gators will need that because their next 4 (Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Georgia) games are brutal. If they win all four three things will happen: The Gators will be in the top 3; they will be in the SEC Title game; and Leak will stamp his ticket for New York in December.

6. Michael Hart - Hart was held under 100 yards for the first time all year. It will be interesting to see if Hart still can put up impressive numbers against Big Ten quality defenses. The emergence of Chad Henne and Mario Manningham will also help Hart.

7. Dennis Dixon - Dixon stayed the same since he had a bye week. We can’t hurt him by not playing but as Cal showed last week, the Ducks should be able to put up some nice passing numbers against the Sun Devils.

8. Garrett Wolfe - Wolfe had another great week rushing for 198 yards and 4 touchdowns, too bad it was against Division 1aa Indiana State. Wolfe is projected to run for 2400 yards and have 24 touchdowns, but holding him down is the quality of his opponents. I can say this, if he keeps at this pace he will get an invite to New York.

9. Calvin Johnson - If Johnson had a quarterback that could throw the ball with any consistency he would be in the top 5, but Reggie Ball is definitely putting a hamper in Johnson’s Heisman chances. Last week Johnson caught 6 passes for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns, an astounding 71% of Georgia Tech’s passing game.

10. Marshawn Lynch - Lynch reemerges on my list and it should not be a surprise. He quickly fell off everyone’s Heisman list after his lackluster performance against Tennessee but has anyone noticed him since? Marshawn has had 3 games over 100 yards and is averaging 7.2 yards per carry. He should be able to pad those stats against the teams in Washington in the upcoming weeks.

Rutgers was able to vault itself into the Top 25 for the first time in two decades but they receive some bad news this week. The Scarlet Knights lose receiver Shawn Tucker for the year afterbreaking his ankle in their game against Howard. The fifth-year senior caught 32 passes for 484 yards and a touchdown last season. He had six catches for 88 yards and no touchdowns this year, and is second on the team in yards per catch with 14.7.

The Hokies had a rough time last week against Cincinnati and will have to play against 24th ranked Georgia Tech without two of its players. Virginia Tech’s coach Frank Beamer suspended defensive end Chris Ellis and split end Josh Morgan for the game against the Yellow Jackets for violating team rules. Both players were arrested early Sunday morning following an altercation outside a downtown nightclub in Blacksburg, Va. Ellis is the Hokies best defensive linemen recording 12 tackles for the year and Morgan had 10 catches for 161 yards and two touchdowns. He also blocked two punts and is Tech’s second leading receiver.

The injuries keep mounting for the Florida State Seminoles as freshman linebacker Marcus Ball will miss the rest of the season after tearing a ligament in his left knee in Saturday’s game against Rice. Ball was a key player to the Seminoles third down defensive packages and their special team coverages. He is the younger brother of Georgia Tech QB Reggie Ball.

Dale Lloyd, a freshman defensive back for Rice Uinversity, died this morning in Houston following a collapse on the field Sunday during a light practice. He was 19.

Lloyd was a Houston native, playing high school football and baseball at Lamar High School where he excelled both on and off the field.

He had been planned to be redshirted this season and only played the season opener against Houston.

USA Today has some very touching quotes from Rice’s athletic director and head coach.

An autopsy is pending.

Rice’s game this week with Army is peding. The school will make a decision in a day or two whether to fly east for the trip.

Lloyd is survived by his parents, Dale and Bridgette, along with two brothers.

From Sports Network:

Team (First-place votes) Record Points Previous Rank
1. New Hampshire Wildcats (80) 3-0 2,574 1
2. Appalachian State Mountaineers (22) 3-1 2,493 2
3. Furman Paladins 3-1 2,271 4
4. Montana Grizzlies 2-1 2,145 5
5. Cal Poly Mustangs 3-1 2,069 3
6. Illinois State Redbirds 3-1 2,046 6
7. Richmond Spiders 3-0 2,006 7
8. Youngstown State Penguins 3-1 1,866 8
9. Massachusetts Minutemen 3-1 1,740 9
10. Southern Illinois Salukis (1) 3-0 1,704 10
11. North Dakota State Bison 3-0 1,514 14
12. Hampton Pirates (1) 4-0 1,510 11
13. Northern Iowa Panthers 2-1 1,310 12
14. Portland State Vikings 3-1 1,302 15
15. James Madison Dukes 2-1 1,137 17
16. McNeese State Cowboys 1-2 830 13
17. Delaware Blue Hens 2-1 796 18
18. UC Davis Aggies 2-2 788 16
19. Towson Tigers 4-0 766 21
20. Eastern Illinois Panthers 2-2 671 20
21. Western Illinois Leathernecks 3-1 445 NR
22. Harvard Crimson 2-0 432 NR
23. Albany Great Danes 3-1 236 NR
24. Western Carolina Catamounts 2-1 197 22
25. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 2-2 135 NR
Others receiving votes: Alabama A & M 132, Georgia Southern 92, Maine 68, Central Connecticut State 67, Chattanooga 64, Tennessee-Martin 59, Princeton 50, San Diego 46, Bethune-Cookman 41, Wofford 37, Tennessee State 20, Monmouth 14, Southern Utah 14, Eastern Kentucky 13, Mississippi Valley State 13, Elon 11, Jackson State 11, Northwestern State 10, Columbia 8, Penn 8, Sam Houston State 8, Grambling State 6, Jacksonville State 6, Central Arkansas 5, Charleston Southern 5.

HOME ADVANTAGE= 3.57 RATING W L SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 30 | ELO_CHESS | PREDICTOR
1 Southern California A = 98.91 3 0 77.18( 9) 0 0 | 1 0 | 98.71 1 | 98.49 1
2 Ohio State A = 94.87 4 0 73.82( 25) 1 0 | 2 0 | 95.60 3 | 93.59 2
3 Florida A = 91.11 4 0 71.64( 40) 0 0 | 1 0 | 93.31 4 | 88.74 7
4 Louisville A = 90.33 4 0 67.90( 73) 0 0 | 0 0 | 87.61 9 | 93.31 3
5 Michigan A = 89.74 4 0 72.62( 34) 0 0 | 1 0 | 96.12 2 | 85.34 15
6 Auburn A = 89.52 4 0 67.81( 75) 1 0 | 1 0 | 90.07 5 | 88.39 8
7 Texas A = 89.36 3 1 70.01( 53) 0 1 | 0 1 | 87.54 10 | 90.87 4
8 LSU A = 86.90 3 1 68.48( 67) 0 1 | 0 1 | 84.53 13 | 89.19 5
9 Oklahoma A = 86.81 3 1 69.44( 62) 0 1 | 0 1 | 86.91 11 | 86.09 12
10 Oregon A = 86.49 3 0 72.78( 33) 1 0 | 1 0 | 89.91 6 | 83.29 21
College Football 2006 thru September 23 Saturday the BCS uses the ELO_CHESS from here
HOME ADVANTAGE= 3.57 RATING W L SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 30 | ELO_CHESS | PREDICTOR
11 Virginia Tech A = 86.21 4 0 60.83( 127) 0 0 | 0 0 | 84.37 14 | 87.72 9
12 California A = 85.87 3 1 76.28( 11) 0 0 | 1 1 | 83.11 19 | 88.77 6
13 Georgia A = 84.91 4 0 60.91( 125) 0 0 | 0 0 | 85.64 12 | 83.61 18
14 Notre Dame A = 84.89 3 1 80.93( 1) 0 1 | 1 1 | 88.50 7 | 81.56 24
15 West Virginia A = 84.78 4 0 63.18( 108) 0 0 | 0 0 | 83.21 18 | 85.92 13
16 Iowa A = 84.72 4 0 70.21( 49) 0 0 | 0 0 | 87.75 8 | 81.73 23
17 TCU A = 84.16 3 0 70.10( 51) 0 0 | 1 0 | 82.45 22 | 85.46 14
18 Clemson A = 84.13 3 1 69.93( 54) 0 0 | 1 1 | 81.48 23 | 86.78 11
19 Tennessee A = 84.11 3 1 76.07( 12) 0 1 | 1 1 | 84.19 15 | 83.40 20
20 Boise State A = 82.62 4 0 64.06( 100) 0 0 | 1 0 | 83.66 16 | 81.04 25
College Football 2006 thru September 23 Saturday the BCS uses the ELO_CHESS from here
HOME ADVANTAGE= 3.57 RATING W L SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 30 | ELO_CHESS | PREDICTOR
21 Texas Tech A = 81.89 3 1 64.76( 96) 0 0 | 0 1 | 79.25 28 | 84.47 16
22 Nebraska A = 81.80 3 1 66.15( 89) 0 1 | 0 1 | 77.70 34 | 86.92 10
23 Penn State A = 81.17 2 2 79.11( 4) 0 1 | 0 2 | 82.76 20 | 79.14 28
24 Boston College A = 80.84 3 1 75.23( 19) 0 0 | 1 0 | 82.73 21 | 78.58 32
25 Florida State A = 80.58 3 1 68.38( 68) 0 0 | 0 1 | 78.93 31 | 81.78 22
26 Missouri A = 80.54 4 0 59.42( 136) 0 0 | 0 0 | 80.93 25 | 79.53 27
27 Wake Forest A = 79.62 4 0 67.38( 79) 0 0 | 0 0 | 83.64 17 | 75.88 40
28 Minnesota A = 79.02 2 2 69.50( 61) 0 0 | 0 1 | 75.08 46 | 83.58 19
29 Utah A = 78.70 3 1 62.70( 111) 0 0 | 0 0 | 74.29 49 | 84.14 17
30 Oregon State A = 78.65 2 1 64.80( 95) 0 0 | 0 1 | 77.16 37 | 79.64 26

(ESPN/AP)

ESPN is reporting that USC wide receiver extraordinaire Dwayne Jarrett seperated his right shoulder in the third quarter of Saturday’s win in Tuscon against Arizona.

Officially listed as doubtful for Saturday’s game against Washington State, head coach Pete Carroll announced the news to reporters in Los Angeles.

“We’ll miss him tremendously,” Carroll said. “But the fact that Patrick [Turner] is ready to go is good. He and Vidal [Hazelton] will pick up the slack. But we’re losing the all-time touchdown catcher in the history of the Pac-10, so that’s quite a loss.”

Jarrett tied Stanford’s Ken Margerum Saturday with his 32nd career touchdown reception for the all time Pac-10 record.

I guess we have to start with the most exciting game of the night between Notre Dame and Michigan State. I don’t know about you, but Notre Dame has to be the luckiest team in any sport, ever. It just all seemed to fall their way in the 4th quarter. Quinn, who had a very lackluster first half, put it all together in the second to have a pretty good day stats wise but if you watch the game you would see that his Heisman chances are fading fast.

As for Michigan State, I think it signaled the end for the John L. Smith era. He won’t get fired before the end of the year but you can all but bet that after his final game, bowl or not, he’ll be given his walking papers. I still don’t understand the play calling. Up by 4 with only a few minutes left, why throw the ball? The option with Stanton was working and even if they were worried about a fumble, just tell him to keep the ball. At least the clock would have continued to run or make ND use their timeouts. It will be interesting to see how this team responds. The past two years after heartbreaking losses this team has gone into the tank.

Ohio State looked above average in their win against Penn State. The game was not as lopsided as the score indicated, but if Iowa and Michigan watched the game they will see the Buckeye’s weakness. It is defending the run. Tony Hunt had a good game rushing the ball and if you recall Texas also had a lot of success running the ball. The Buckeye’s corners really impressed me. They are big and physical but also can man up. Troy Smith had a sub par game which will drop him from #1 on my Heisman list but he did what was needed to win the game. The field was in pretty bad shape so Ted Ginn wasn’t able to get much done either.

Penn State fans shouldn’t jump ship just yet. They played much better than they did in South Bend, but there is plenty of room for improvement. Especially in the passing game. This was suppose to be the strong suit for the team but right now it is the weakest link. The offensive line is playing much better than expected and so is the defensive line. Why the Nittany Lions don’t stretch the field with their receivers is beyond me. They keep running little outs or crossing patterns and without stretching the field the safeties do not have to worry about the deep ball. Morelli needs to work on his check downs. It is pretty obvious who he is going to throw to each time because he stares them down. Like I said, no need to panic yet but these little things need to be worked on.

Virginia Tech and Georgia both survived some scares, and NC State pulled the biggest upset of the week defeated Boston College. That right there proves that NC State only does good against teams that don’t use non-qualifiers. The ACC right now is in total disarray, where any team has a legit shot in winning. My esteemed friend Ron talked about the struggles of Auburn against a much weaker Buffalo team. I am going to give Auburn a pass this week. They played an extremely emotional and physical game last week against LSU so a letdown this week was not a big surprise. They are still a great team and still #1 in my poll.

Texas opened up Big 12 play by easily putting away Iowa State while Oklahoma had an easy time with Middle Tennessee State. Next up for the Sooners is Texas in two weeks in the Red River Shootout. The Longhorns don’t have the luxury of a bye before the game…wait yes they do, they play Sam Houston. That will be a nice scrimmage for them

A few other things I learned this week are to quit picking the Gophers to win and stop picking against the Cal Bears. The Bears once again proved that the first week against Tennessee was a fluke by stomping on Arizona State. They have a 35-14 lead at half and never looked back, and don’t look now but Marshawn Lynch is creeping his way back into Heisman talks with another 100 plus game. Finally, WVU won again, although it was a lot closer than most expected. The biggest surprise of that game, Slaton finished with only 80 yards rushing.