Heisman Watch

As college football approaches week 9, there have been some changes in the top of the Heisman Watch since my first blog post in the pre-season. Receiving the most votes(57) this week was Alabama's RB Mark Ingram who is the nations fifth leading rusher at 125 yards per game. The Crimson Tide are undefeated this year and are ranked third in the BCS standings right now; which helps Ingram, since the Heisman voters love guys that know how to win. In a close battle for second, Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen(43 votes) has a slight edge on Florida's Tim Tebow(41 votes). Tebow was the leading vote getter coming into the season, but has found some tough obstacles this season. Clausen kind of came out of nowhere this year, and has steadily rose to second by consistently playing well every week. Tebow's troubles have hurt his individual stats, but the Gators are still undefeated and are still at the top of the BCS standings. It is very unlike Tebow to play like he has. Although Ingram and Clausen are great athletes on great teams if the Gators go undefeated and get another ring, I don't see how the voters could look past Tebow. He does so much for the Gators even if he isn't playing well. I have yet to change my mind on this award. Again, I predict Tim Tebow will turn his season around and end it with a ring on his finger and John Heisman in his hands.

Should Football Be In the Olympics?

A hot debate has emerged through the years about whether or not American Football should be played in the Olympics. A common myth about American Football is that it is only played in America. Jordan Vandiver explains that the International Federation of American Football has 45 member associations and that Japan has 60 teams by itself. So the game is obviously played outside of the U.S., so why not have it in the Olympics? I understand that at first the USA team would be extremely dominant, but I also believe it would kickstart international interest in the game. Right now, soccer is the most popular sport in the world, hands down. But if football is so popular in America, why wouldn't it be popular around the world? I think having American Football in the Olympics would be a good idea not only in the interest of the Olympics but the sport itself. I could see it being slow at first, but given time I think football could easily become a great success for the Olympics and maybe even surpass soccer as being the most popular sport worldwide. It's the greatest sport in the world; how could anyone not like it?

Is Juice to blame for the Illini struggles?

Senior quarterback Juice Williams has been leading the Illinois Fighting Illini since his freshmen year. With 38 consecutive starts, he is the Big Ten's most experienced quarterback and as of Saturday, is Illinois' career total offense leader. But Juice hasn't exactly "poured" on opponents this year. He is currently ranked dead last in the league in pass efficiency with 4 interceptions and only 1 touchdown; and Illinois' record matches his struggles at 1-3. Head coach Ron Zook announced Monday morning that Juice will be on clipboard duty this week as junior Eddie McGee gets the start against Big 10 rival Michigan State Spartans, but will this switch answer Zook's prayers?

The change could give a much needed spark to a struggling Illini offense. McGee has been in the program for a long time and knows the offense as well as anyone. He lead Illinois to its only victory of the season against Illinois State after Williams went down with an injury early in the game. McGee, although much less flashy, has proved himself as a quarterback. I think he will do fine, but Illinois is going to have to do a whole lot more than mix up quarterbacks to beat the Spartans. Coming off a huge overtime win against in-state rival Michigan, the Spartans have a whole lot of momentum coming into this weeks game. The Spartans don't have the best record (2-3,1-1), but have yet to be beaten badly. They've lost all three games by a total of 13 points. I think Michigan State will come out the victor in this Big 10 battle.

Can the Irish fight on with key injuries?

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have started this 2009 season with a bang. Although a minor setback put them at 2-1 with a nail-biting loss to Michigan in the Big House. This success has come at the hands of QB Jimmy Clausen, who has thrown for 951 yards and 9 TDs in just 3 games, and RB Armando Allen, who has stacked up 326 yards and 3 TDs on the ground. But these two have had a rough week. Clausen came down with a turf toe injury in the second quarter of last weeks game, and Allen has been trying to deal with a lingering ankle injury. According to Eric Hansen, Clausen is definitely playing on Saturday while Allen is a game-time decision. If these two aren't 100%, can the Irish pull off a win against the Purdue Boilermakers?

Head coach, Charlie Weis, says that if Allen can't go on Saturday a couple of underclassmen will share his spot; sophomore Jonas Gray and junior Robert Hughes are the subs. I don't see these two carrying the load that Allen did, but not many could. It's a decent sized load. Allen is the nation's 15th-leading rusher on only 59 carries. Weis will start Clausen, but said that back-up Dayne Crist was so impressive while Jimmy was resting, that Crist could get a few snaps even if the No. 2 QB in the nation has no problems with his toe. I can foresee the Irish having some troubles with their rushing attack, but Clausen is, as Dick Vitale would say a "P.T.P.er," or "Prime-Time Player." Jimmy will have no problems against the Boilermakers, and will lead the Fighting Irish to their 3rd win in 4 games.

Can Lane Kiffin back up his big mouth?

It's Revenge Week in college football, and Tennessee's head coach Lane Kiffin has promised sports fans just that. The Vols travel to The Swamp this week to play an SEC rival, the undefeated, number one ranked Florida Gators. As if the Gators aren't good enough already, The Swamp is arguably the most intimidating venue in college football. Visiting teams don't often come out of there with a win, or even a close game. And when Kiffin was hired for the head coaching job at Tennessee in December, he told the media that he looked forward to "singing 'Rocky Top' all night long after we beat Florida next year; it's going to be a blast." But can Kiffin back it up? The Vols have been trampled by the Gators the last 2 years, including a 59-20 melee in Gainesville in 2007. On top of that, Tennessee hasn't exactly torn it up so far this season. They lost at home to an unranked UCLA team, 19-15. If they didn't score more than 15 points and were held to 93 passing yards by the UCLA defense, then what are they going to do against the Gators? Florida statistically has the best defense in the SEC and scored 62 and 56 points in their first 2 games. Urban Meyer doesn't seem too interested in what Kiffin has to say, he is confident in his team and should be. He told the media that the game is about the players and players only and that he's never seen the coaches strap-up and play so it doesn't really matter what he says. Indeed it doesn't, because his Gators will destroy the Vols in a game that probably won't even be worth watching. Tennessee should be happy if they come within 15 points of these gridiron greats. Volunteer fans beware, Tebow is here.

Will the Ducks be able to bounce back from Blount's blunder?

The Oregon Ducks opened their season this week with a 19-8 loss to the Boise State Broncos. But an even bigger loss came after the game when Oregon's senior runningback, LeGarrette Blount, got into a dispute with Boise's Byron Hout. After a few words and a shove from Hout, Blount threw a right hook that connected with Hout's jaw, knocking him to his knees. The decision came the next morning to suspend Blount for the remainder of this years season, which ends his NCAA eligibility. The question is, how will the Ducks move on without him?

The whole scenario puts the Ducks in an unwanted negative light as explained in this article from ESPNU. The game itself was embarrassing enough, but now the remaining players have to deal with the unrelenting media asking all the wrong questions. At this point, the Ducks would like to put all of Week 1's "beatings" aside and move on, focusing on another worthy opponent, Purdue. Moving on without Blount could prove to be a test, though. The Ducks will have to find someone that will replace the 1,002 yards and school-record 17 touchdowns that Blount stacked-up on the ground last season. The Ducks have 2 redshirt freshmen at the top of the depth chart now, LeMicheal James and Kenjon Barner. I don't see either of them putting up the numbers or even being half the threat that Blount was out of the backfield. The Ducks offense is quite versatile, though; they don't rely too heavily on the run. Even though it helps tremendously to be able to jump on a studs shoulders when the going gets tough and know that he will produce. I'm excited to see what head coach Chip Kelly has up his sleeve this weekend as his Ducks host the Purdue Boilermakers.

Who's this years Heisman winner?

Greatest Heisman Race Ever by Tim Griffin

With the new season starting there are already questions concerning this years Heisman Trophy candidates. Last years top 3 candidates are all returning to play another season. Sam Bradford, with the Oklahoma Sooners; Tim Tebow, with the Florida Gators; and Colt McCoy, with the Texas Longhorns. Will Bradford repeat? Will Tebow get his second in 3 years? Will McCoy pick up his first trophy? Or will there be a dark horse winner?

No one has won it back-to-back since Archie Griffin in 74 and 75, so the odds are against Bradford, but I'm not saying that he's out of it by any means. McCoy has the accuracy(78% last year) and the weapons(including number one wide-out, Jordan Shipley), but Tebow is my pick. Returning from a National Championship win last season, hes the most experienced. He's the most well-rounded college quarterback I've ever seen, he runs like a fullback, throws like a top-notch slinger, and plays with the intensity of a hard-hitting linebacker.

On top of that, the rest of the Gators are no bums. They are already on top of the rankings entering this season. They're defense is one of the best in the nation, lead by linebacker Brandon Spikes who is also already in the running for the NCAA Defensive Player of the Year. I see a whole lot of 3-and-outs up their sleeves, giving the Gators' offense that many more chances to make things happen. I'm expecting great things out of Tebow and his Gators this season, including another National Championship appearance.