Coach Mangino must hate his job…

Hot: Starting with a bang!

Just when it looked like Titus Young was going to fumble the opening kickoff and give Nevada an easy first score, he picked up the ball and ran it all the way back for a thrilling Bronco touchdown and statement about just who is the best team in the WAC. As usual, the Broncos stomped the Wolfpack (ten times straight now) and clinched the WAC title. Ho hum….just another day in Bronco Nation. Business as usual. Beyond the weather and the terrible officiating (see below) the only down point in this game was all the injuries. Thankfully they were mostly minor and everybody should have time to heal before a bowl appearance (and can rest up next week against NMSU). I think I might ask Coach Pete if I can fill in for anyone…shouldn’t really make much of a difference.

Not: Six blind zebras, six blind zebras, see how they run (for their lives after the game)

Um. Was it just me, or did the refs in the BSU/Nevada matchup really blow? I sure hope they got fined or egged or SOMEthing. If you missed it, here is a recap of some of the excellent calls they made in the freezing cold, rainy WAC championship-deciding game. Super Call #1: Defensive holding on an ineligible receiver. Yeah…whatever that is. I didn’t even know there were defensive receivers. Did you? Super Call #2: Pass Interference on a defender two yards ahead of the intended receiver, who fell down. Super Call #3: Giving the ball to Nevada after a questionable fumble during which Nevada picked up the ball after the play was blown dead. Fumble or no fumble, I’m pretty sure when a play is blown dead, everything that happens after that does not count. It’s like having something stricken from the record in court. Super NON Call #4: Not flagging the Wolfpack when the ENTIRE team came out on the field during an official review, instigating a chant from the stands of “Get off our field. Get off our field.” And in all seriousness, Nevada should throw a party for whichever booster slid those refs some cash money under the table before the game! Without the excellent officiating, Nevada wouldn’t have been in the game at all.

Hot: WAC losers win!

Both games may have been decided by three little points, but this weekend, Utah State took down Idaho to get their fourth win of the season, and San Jose State took down New Mexico State to get their second. Utah State may not have a lot of W’s on the board this season, but they are stepping up their game, and I like to see them come out on top sometimes! In fact, I would be thrilled to see the Aggies go to a bowl game next year! And San Jose State is just so sad this year. Their coach is out and their only other win came against Cal Poly. It’s nice that they had a little something to celebrate about this Thanksgiving weekend.

Not: Passing Time

Just for a second, put on your coaching hat and tell me what you would call in this situation: you are deep in your own territory, so deep you are snapping in your end zone, with 2.5 minutes left in the game and you are up by three points. What’s the call? I am willing to bet it wasn’t to try three passing plays in a row. More likely you dialed up some run plays to take time off the clock and keep control off the ball. Yet, for some reason Coach Mangino’s staff thought that was the right thing to do in the end of their matchup against Mizzou Saturday. So, after running about 10 seconds off the clock on downs 1 and 2, the Mizzou defense sacked the qb in the end zone to get a safety and the ball with, yes, more than two minutes and a timeout to play with. Needless to say, they got a field goal and the win, and solidified Coach Mangino’s need to send out resumes.

Hot: Running all over your rivals

Georgia may be having a questionable season, but they still had more than enough in the playbook to trample the Yellow Jackets on the road Saturday. The Bulldogs might not have been able to crush Tech’s chances at a conference title, but they definitely did some damage to their place in the rankings. Plus, it’s just good fun to beat a rival on their turf, no matter the circumstances!

Not: Farewell Florida’s Football God

Lame as it may be, I actually got misty eyed watching Tebow’s last snaps in the swamp. The stadium was a glittering sea of flashes from cameras capturing these final moments of a great leader at home. Can you imagine a Gator team without him at the helm? Has there been another player in recent history who has had such an impact, such a dominant presence, such a following among all college football fans? It is a little bit sad to see it all end. Two more games and Tebow’s college football career will be complete.

Hot: Paybacks

Okay, we all know Rice is just plain awful, but even they must have been ashamed of their showing against Houston this week. The Cougars scored 59 points in the first half, for heaven’s sake! So much for the Owl’s hopes for a repeat of last year’s dream crushing performance against Houston. I’m pretty sure Most of the Cougar’s grandpas were out there playing the second half of the game, and they still couldn’t help but put more points up. The most scored by any team this season; 73 in all.

Not: One really is the loneliest number

There may be six undefeated teams left as we close out November, but there is not even ONE one-loss team out there. There are a few one-win teams left. And a few one-conference-loss teams. But no overall records with one loss. Not sure if this is a reflection of parity in college football, or just the overall suckiosity of the majority of teams this season.

Oh no! You still suck!

(or so said the sign held up by Bronco fans late in the game against Idaho)

Hot: EVERY SINGLE BRONCO!

Seriously, where do you even begin to start handing out gold stars for Saturday’s performance? EVERY Bronco was outstanding. But since I love them, I’m gonna go ahead and give awards to everyone. Will the following Broncos step up to the mic and make an acceptance speech? Kellen Moore, who threw for 299 yards and five touchdown passes. Titus Young, who had a 100-yard kickoff return. Kyle Wilson, who returned an interception 71 yards for a score. Austin Pettis, who had 123 yards receiving on eight outstanding catches, scored four touchdowns, and partially blocked a punt. Aaron Tevis, who recovered a fumble and made an interception. Derrell Acrey, who made a heads-up interception (my personal favorite). Brandyn Thompson, who caught an interception. TWICE. Byron Hout, who recovered a fumble. And, Jeremy Avery, who had 14 carries, 110 yards, and 1 touchdown. Wow Broncos! Gold stars all around!

Not: Seeing Red…or scarlet anyway

Despite big hopes for a revenge-win to make up for last year’s loss to Rutgers, South Florida fell flat on their horns Thursday night. The Bulls had four turnovers all together. They also had a punt blocked and let their quarterback get sacked seven times, as many sacks as they had first downs. In 13 years, South Florida has only been shut out one other time, in their 2005 bowl appearance against NC State. Rutgers certainly left the Bulls seeing red.

Hot: Streak-free Clean

Consider Stanford the Windex of the college football world. Thanks to some help from some other PAC 10 opponents, they managed to wipe away several USC streaks (barring an apocalypse in the coming weeks, anyway). USC’s streaks of seven straight BCS bowls, 11-win seasons, high poll finishes, and 12-game home wins (last broken by Stanford, remember?) are all over. What’s more, the Trojans have given up 111 points in the last three games, the most allowed in three games in program history.

Not: My mom told me to pick the very best one and you are not it

Miami started the season strong and has beaten a handful of ranked opponents, but somehow it doesn’t seem right that they are ranked ahead of the team that beat them this week. It just doesn’t make any sense to claim that a team is better than a team they just loss to. Beyond that, the two have the same 7-3 record. And, the Tarheels just beat a ranked Virginia Tech team that took down Miami earlier in the season. Doesn’t add up right to me.

Hot: UNIted we stand 

In a salute to our troops, South Carolina wore camouflage cleats and special black jerseys with camouflage on the shoulders. Instead of their names, the players’ jerseys bore inspirational words like courage, loyalty, integrity and service. The jerseys, gloves, shoes, etc. were auctioned off after the game: the proceeds are being given to the Wounded Warrior Project, which provides services and programs for wounded soldiers. As part of the salute, three wounded veterans served as the Gamecocks’ honorary captains Saturday, and one spoke to the team earlier last week. Honoring our soldiers is always hot.

Not: BYU is still fooling the critics

Am I wrong, or is BYU having a mediocre season in a non-BCS conference? Last time I checked, the simple act of playing ranked teams didn’t make you good. You used to have to beat them too. Let’s recap the season, shall we? BYU beat Oklahoma (who is not ranked anymore) by one point, because Sam Bradford got injured. After beating Tulane (who stinks), they turned around and got destroyed by an unranked Florida State, at home. Since then they have beaten Colorado State, Utah State, UNLV, Wyoming, and BARELY beat the winless New Mexico. With the exception of Wyoming, none of those games have been blowouts. AND, don’t forget that TCU manhandled the Cougars. Does that sound like the schedule or performance of a team ranked as high as 18, still? Sure doesn’t to me. I’m beginning to think that the pollsters just draw team names out of a hat each week.

Hot: Making them earn it

Here’s a big nod to the #6 WAC team for keeping it close against an SEC big dog this weekend. La Tech may very well be the best 3 win team in the country. That said, the last time they managed a win against LSU was in 1904. On Saturday, though, they played like they believed they would win, and were even up 13 to 10 at the half. This marked their first lead against LSU since that big win a century ago. The Bulldogs held the ball for 13 minutes more than the Tigers, and stayed relevant the entire game, which finished with a score of 16 to 24. “We ran ball as well as you can run it against them,” Tech coach Derek Dooley said. “We went toe to toe and we weren’t affected by the environment. We weren’t playing in awe of LSU.” Doing that and doing the WAC proud is definitely hot.

Not: Battle of the Big East’s Suckiest

If Saturday’s match-up between Syracuse and Louisville wasn’t the pillow fight of the week, I hate to think what was. Both teams came into the game winless in the Big East, and showed why. Combined, the two teams managed barely more than 400 yards, and 19 points. The entire first half saw two sad little field goals, while the second was riveting with its two touchdowns. In fact, the game may have even had a snooze-fest of an overtime were it not for a muffed extra point by The Orange, which left them one point shy when time expired. Louisville couldn’t have been more pleased, as the victory snapped their nine-game conference losing streak .

What the Quack?

Hot: Oregon, the real THRILLER
Woo, Ducks! I knew you could do it! Saturday night, my new best friends handed the Trojans’ their worst loss in 12 years! And the 47 points they scored are the most the Trojans have allowed since 1996. Oh, AND the 613 total yards the racked up? Yeah. That is the most allowed since Pete Carroll arrived on the scene. Oh, oh. One more! Pete’s Trojans have not lost by more than a touchdown since that first season.

Not: WVU= Was Very Unimpressive
South Florida roads, take us home, to the place, where we belong: West Virginia, with our mommas. Take us home, South Florida roads… I’m pretty sure that was the song the Mountaineers were singing in the locker room after the Bulls schooled them this weekend. Noel Devine came into the game averaging a ridiculous 130 yards per game, but those mean old Bulls held him to 42 yards. Worse, South Florida’s quarterback’s 336 yards accounted for more offense than the Mountaineers managed as a team. Ouch!

Hot: Thursday Night Throwdown
Okay. This season hasn’t gone the way the Tar Heels would have liked. But, Thursday night they did a lot to make up for it! The Seminoles may have gotten the best of them last week, but the Hokies did not fare so well. UNC got their first win over Virginia Tech since the teams have been ACC conference-mates. After a five-game losing streak against the Hokies, the Tar Heels proved that the 6th time is the charm!

Not: Career-high Performance
Normally, a career-high performance is a great thing, but not when it refers to the number of balls your quarterback has picked. Oklahoma State’s quarterback, Zac Robinson, threw four interceptions against Texas Saturday night. And if that’s not bad enough, two of them were returned for touchdowns. Really not the type of performance you’d hope for when you are facing one of the top teams in the country. All totaled, Texas scored 28 points off the Cowboys’ five turnovers.

Hot: Miami, OH!
Miami, Ohio will probably still have a reserved spot in the Bottom 10, but at least they finally got a w. That’s right! They beat Toledo 31 to 24. Go team, go!

Not: Running out of Steam
Look, Hoosiers. I’m sorry I had to leave to go watch BSU stomp San Jose State. But I thought you had things under control. I didn’t know you needed me to hold your hand in order to beat Iowa. I mean, I turn my back for one quarter and you let the Hawkeyes play an entire game’s worth of ball! In the 4th quarter, Iowa gained 266 yards and scored 28 points! For the second week in a row, the Hoosiers blew the game in the last quarter. Last week, they had a 25-point lead against Northwestern. Maybe they only play for 3 quarters in Indiana?

Hot: Fashionisters
The Volunteers begged their coach and AD for permission to wear all-black for Saturday’s game. They only got half their wish, but apparently the ability to make a fashion statement had more than surface-level transformative effects. According to DT, Dan Williams, “The guys were excited and I think it gave us a little extra excitement and had us ready to play.” I guess the clothes really do make the man. Or at least the team.

Not: Purdue-doo
This Halloween, the entire Purdue team decided to dress up as New Mexico (aka, the worst team in the country). Saturday, against Wisconsin, the Boilermakers managed only 8 first downs, just five more than their number of turnovers. This is Purdue’s worst loss in 17 years. Maybe next year they should try dressing up as BSU instead! Just a thought.

Ice, Ice Baby….nothing is hot this week

Not:  Trampled by the pack

Oh, Idaho. Just when you had us believing that you might be all your fans dreamed you could be, you go and lose to Nevada. BAD. Kaepernick ran and passed all over the Vandals! 230 yards on the ground and another 178 in the air! He was a couple big runs away from having more offense than Idaho had all together.

Not: Reshuffled Rankings

Last week BSU was #4 in the BCS rankings. This week, they are #7. After having one of their most convincing wins of the season Saturday night, the Broncos arrived home to find that a USC team that had a close win over Oregon State, an Iowa team that nearly lost to Michigan State, and a TCU team that beat a very overrated BYU had ALL passed them in the rankings.  THAT is not hot.

Not: Florida in October

The Gators started the season out with typical huge wins, but this last month has been a different story. Against LSU, the Gators only got 13 point on the board. Against Arkansas, the Gators squeaked by with a 3 point lead. And, against Mississippi State they won by a questionable 10. Luckily, for Gator fans, October is almost over and the next few weeks look to be easy wins.

Not: “D” feated

Michigan State had it. They had the win in their hot little hands. Quite literally, as they intercepted Stanzi’s pass on Iowa’s final drive. And then a flag came out. Defensive holding. The Hawkeyes had another chance at getting to the end zone, now from the 7 yard line. The Spartans defense held up on the first three attempts, but failed to shut down the fourth, and Iowa escaped with the win. AND a boost in the rankings. Thanks for nothing Spartans!   

Not: B-Y-YOU Stinks

Let’s recap BYU’s season, shall we? In the season opener, they beat Oklahoma by ONE point, only after Oklahoma lost their Heisman-winning starting quarterback.  They then beat Tulane (who sucks). Then turned around and lost to Florida State, who is pretty shady this season. Then they beat Colorado State, Utah State, UNLV, and SDSU (not a good team among them). And for SOME reason they were ranked in the top 20 and it was a big deal that TCU beat them? Hardly.

Not: Cold hearts for Central Michigan

Central Michigan has a 7-1 record and no love in the polls. How is it that they have beaten a bunch of nobodies and lost to one now top 20 team and aren’t worthy of the rankings, but BYU was in the teens? Seems unfair to me. The polls may not be giving you any credit, Chippewas, but you are ranked in my heart!   

Not: Buffaloes, and Sooners, and Jayhawks. Oh my!

For the second week in a row, Kansas has fallen hard. Last week, a Colorado team that has struggled all season crushed the Jayhawks’ hopes of the perfect season. This week, Oklahoma knocked them clean out of the rankings. It wasn’t even a struggle. The season that started with such promise and high hopes is likely to end with bittersweet dreams of what might have been.

(BSU has number) Four scored, and seven games to go!

Hot: BCS Buster Bronco

The BCS ranking are in and Boise State starts out at number four. That’s right! According to the BCS pollsters, only Florida, Alabama, and Texas are better. Yep—that target on the Broncos’ back is getting bigger every week. Enjoy the trip to Hawaii, boys, but don’t forget to take care of business!

Not: Lame excuses

According to ESPN: “Colt McCoy was a mess. His right thumbnail was ready to fall off, a nagging cold was wearing him down and Oklahoma was confusing him with blitzes he’d never seen.” According to me: “Excuses, excuses.” The fact is that if Bradford had not been replaced with Landry cant-take-the-pressure Jones in the first quarter, Texas would have lost that game. BUT, you play with the hand you’re dealt, which means Bradford was sidelined and McCoy was “hurt,” and Texas did just enough to get the W in a close game.

Hot: 5 for fighting

Five is the magic number for Purdue. At least for the Boilermakers’ first victory over Ohio State in FIVE years. Coming into the game, Purdue had lost FIVE games. In the game, Ohio State had FIVE turnovers (two thanks to Terrelle Pryor). After the game, Ohio State has FIVE wins to Purdue’s FIVE losses. And FIVE is likely where Ohio State would have been ranked in at least one poll if they’d had a convincing win. Whatever the reason for the win, nice work Purdue! All FIVE of your fans are thrilled!

Not: Losing to Colorado

Poor Jayhawks. How unfortunate that they happened upon Colorado a week after Dan Hawkins finally manned up and benched his son for good. Backup-turned-starter, Tyler Hansen, engineered a huge second quarter and kept things rolling enough in the second half to hand Kansas their first loss of the season. Beyond the QB change, the Buffs’ rush defense deserves some flowers or chocolates for their performance, holding Kansas to minus 7 rush yards.

Hot: RAZE-ing heck 

When Florida scheduled the Razorbacks as their homecoming matchup, they likely thought this would be an easy win leading to a fun night of celebration. Instead, Arkansas confidently strolled into Gainesville and nearly ruined the Gators’ dreams of the perfect season. Where Florida made mistakes, the Razorbacks capitalized and were careful not to make their own. If the refs had not made up things to penalize Arkansas for, they surely would have taken this W home. On the Gators critical drive, the one where they could score a TD to tie it up, or give the ball back to Arkansas with little time to spare, the officials called back-to-back ridiculous calls (one a PI and one an unsportsmanlike conduct) to practically put Florida in the end zone.

Not: Notre Lame

In Saturday’s matchup of the teams I like least, I was forced to cheer for the Fighting Irish. Forced to bite my nails and yell and clap and hope for their victory. I put my pride aside and gave it my best effort, and you let me down Notre Dame. Even with a second chance at the goal-line TD attempt, you still let me down. Thanks for nothing.

Hot: ONE-derful

It’s true. The Yellow Jackets have has some squeakers this season, and got worked by Miami, but they ARE hot. They have won six games and their only loss comes to the team currently ranked 10 in the BCS standings. Yet, there is no hype for Tech. Why is that? Perhaps this week’s win over a former national title contender will convince people that there is only one team in Georgia deserving respect. The really crazy thing about the victory over VT is that Tech only managed to complete one pass the entire game. That stat may not bode well for the rest of the season, but for this game it was definitely hot!

Not: Utah Statement

Utah State’s record so far this season is not hot. But not in the way you might think. I hereby proclaim Utah State the least sucky pathetic team in the WAC. They may have only won one game so far, but they have scored in the double digits in every game and have made a game out of every single one of them. With this being the first year under a new coaching regime, it is certain that good things are in the Aggies future. They may even be as good as Idaho one day! (Never thought I would say that….without being sarcastic anyway.)

The promise…

Hot: 4 minutes to the end of the world

Going into the locker room at the half, UCLA thought they had this one in the bag. It seemed that without Masoli, the Ducks were rendered helpless. That is, until the first four minutes of the second half (which happens to be when I started watching….feel free to send me flowers, Ducks fans). Oregon started off the 3rd quarter with a 100-yard kick-off return for a touchdown. Seconds later, the defense did their part by taking an interception in for another TD. And then, headed right back out to cause a fumble, which the Ducks recovered, and set up the offense to finally get some points on the board. In all, these amazing four minutes were the only interesting part of the entire game. But still, winning a conference game on the road with a brand new quarterback and in a series of thrilling plays is hot.

Not: The wins of Texas

Okay, okay. I know you aren’t going to like it, but it has to be said. Texas HAS put up big numbers so far, but really, who have they beaten thus far this season? UL Monroe, Wyoming, Texas Tech, Colorado, and UTEP. Not one ranked team among them. And for three of those games, Texas looked pretty sad in the first half (Wyoming, Texas Tech, Colorado). Not one of those teams has beaten anyone of quality, with the exception of UTEP who beat Houston (which is a head scratcher in itself). Thus far, Texas has played a WAC-caliber schedule, if that. You Longhorn fans better hope they are ready for Oklahoma this week!

Hot: Taking it personal

This may sound crazy, but this weekend’s victory over The Cardinal was actually a big deal for Oregon State. Believe it or not, going into this game, Stanford was actually the PAC 10 leader! As big of a deal as the win was, the game was an even bigger deal for Jacquizz Rodgers. For the last three weeks, he failed to rush for more than 100 yards, and he was getting flack for it. So he stepped it up in a big way to become the leader in the nation for rushing this week. In the Beavers’ victory over Stanford, he rushed for a career high, 189 yards, and scored 4 touchdowns.

Not: A steaming pile of…..Rice

Remember when Rice won that game? Oh, wait. That was LAST season! So far this season the Owls have been outscored by 167 points and have not won a game. What’s more, they have been beaten by stellar teams like Vanderbilt, Tulsa, and UAB. Based on the rest of the schedule, it looks like Rice may go completely winless this season. But, hey, at least they still have their big ole brains! Hope you enjoy the Bottom 10, Owl fans.

Hot: Alabama – witty title not needed

Seriously, have you watched these guys? They may very well be the best team in the country right now. Heck, I’m gonna climb right out on that limb and proclaim for all to hear, “Alabama is the best team in the country.” They have outscored their opponents by 147 points and have beaten 2 ranked teams and 3 SEC opponents. Prepare for another exciting showdown between Florida and Bama for the SEC conference championship this season! And might I add, “BLAST you, Bama. I keep cheering against you, but you refuse to go down!”

Not: Marathons getting in the way of football

You may not have noticed, but I failed you all last week. I was too busy carb loading, running a marathon, and recovering to get the Hot or Not done. In true Tebow fashion, I will make you this promise: “To my fans and everyone in football nation, I’m sorry. I’m extremely sorry. I was hoping for a report every week of the season. That was my goal. Something I have never done here. I promise you one thing: a lot of good will come out of this. You will never see any blogger in the entire country write as awesome as I will write the rest of the season. You will never see someone push football teams as hard as I will push them all the rest of the season. You will never see a blog read harder than mine will read for the rest of the season. God Bless.”

Ah, ha ha ha, ranked #5, ranked #5…

Hot: FANtastic
Okay, everyone knows by now that BSU is ranked #5 in the polls. So as amazing as that is, and as much as I love it, I am NOT going to focus on that. Instead, I want to encourage you to navigate to espn.com and navigate to the rankings and take a look at the ESPNU Fan Poll. Yes, that’s right. BSU is rank #1 in the fan poll! Right ahead of the inferior blue and orange of Florida! FANtastic! ….okay, okay…so when you navigate there, you will actually find BSU to be in the #5 spot just like the other polls, but for awhile yesterday the Broncos WERE listed as #1 and it was a pretty great sight. A sign of things to come, undoubtedly.

Not: MISSing the point…double feature
Thursday night, South Carolina’s D stepped up big and prevented Ole Miss from taking a last-second lead and preserving their place in the rankings. And while this was hot for the Gamecocks, it was much more not for Ole Miss. Saturday, a similar event took place in Starkville. It wasn’t the last play of the game, but the Tigers did keep Miss State from getting into the end zone and taking the lead to likely topple another top 10 team. Both teams clearly MISSed the point and consequently came up short of the goal. …pun intended.

Hot: BEARly there
Despite the commentators’ endless disparagement of BSU, the Cal/Oregon game sure was fun to watch! Well, assuming you aren’t a Cal fan anyway. Believe it or not, Jeremiah Masoli completed his first touchdown pass of the season this week. And not only his first, but his second and third as well—all to Ed Dickson. He also completed 21 of 25 passes and confidently led his team to their exciting and vindicating victory on Saturday, managing to hand Cal their worst loss when ranked in the top ten.

Not: Cash for crap?
One of the most ridiculous news stories of the week, or even the year, also relates to Oregon. This week ESPN reported that a fan sent Chip Kelly an invoice for his travel expenses for the trip to BSU earlier this season. And Kelly complied! The fan did not cash the check and now sings Coach Kelly’s praises, but that is entirely beside the point. Since when are fans entitled to a refund for a poor performance? This is a sporting event, not a play or a concert. There are no guarantees that you will “get what you paid for.” That’s part of the risk of being a fan. No team wins all the time. Remember two years ago when BSU lost to Hawaii at Hawaii? I was there. And I was very disappointed. But I did not blame the program for the fact that my family spent money traveling out there to support our team. Losses happen and a real fan supports their team anyway; they don’t turn against them.

Hot: The biggest losers win!
This week some of the perennial WAC bottom feeders channeled their inner sharks and tore open some opponents. Okay, that may be a stretch, but they DID win! Idaho beat an impressive NIU team on the road and improved to 3-1 on the season. Utah State got its first win of the season over Southern Utah, beating them by nearly 20 points. And New Mexico State beat their in-state superiors, New Mexico, to improve to 2-2 on the season. The WAC is going to finish the season without even one winless team! GO WAC GO! (….I can only attribute this recent set of wins to my lecture last week.)

Not: The end of the world
To be fair, I should warn you all that the end of the world is surely forthcoming. See above…

Hot: Houston
Remember when Houston beat OSU? Well that was their program’s first win over the Big 12. This week’s win, while much closer than the OSU matchup, was the second. What’s more, this is only the Cougars third 3-0 start in two decades. Just when it looked like Tech had things all wrapped up, Houston’s D stepped up to stop the Red Raiders from scoring from the one. Then the offense turned around and drove 95 yards to make the go ahead score with less than a minute to play. So far this season Houston is definitely hot. I love you, Cougars, but don’t you dare think about stealing BSU’s BCS glory!

Not: Florida State
Oh, Seminoles, you vex me so. I stood up for you. I begged people to give you some respect. And what do you do? You throw it in my face like a cup of day-old coffee. It would burn, but it can’t because it is so weak and pathetic. In his first start, USF’s BJ Daniels led the Bulls to an easy victory over the team that just last week took down the highly acclaimed BYU Cougars. Guess he showed Bowden, who didn’t want to recruit him, didn’t he?

Guess Who’s Having the Best Weekend Ever!? (….bronco nation….)

Hot: Sarkisiastic!
How can you not love Washington’s big win on Saturday? They were just SO bad last season. And bad is probably an understatement. They were, after all, the owners of the Pac 10’s ONLY completely winless season. Ever. But that’s the past and this is a new season. And, from the looks of it, a complete turnaround from where the Huskies were a year ago. Saturday, the Huskies held the Trojans to their lowest passing yardage in Pete Carroll history and held them to their lowest score in two seasons. Trojan fan or not, it was amazing to see Washington stay the course and pull out the win. I guess adversity really does make you stronger. And Joe McKnight, whose statement may not be taken well by the Huskies, summed up the very reason why college football is the glorious thing that it is: “Washington wasn’t the better team. They just outplayed us. Clearly, we have superior athletes. But hard work beats athleticism any day.”

Not: Not so “Merry”land
So far this season, Maryland has been murdered by Cal, barely beat James Madison in OT, and lost to Middle Tennessee State. Ouch. They also have 8 turnovers so far. Double ouch. Looking at the rest of their schedule, I can’t help but wonder, “Will James Madison be the only win this season?”

Hot: Sizzling Silicon Shootout
I predicted a nailbiter, and this game definitely was. Boise State jumped out ahead early. Even had me thinking that I had it figured all wrong (which of course I would have been more than glad to be). But you never can count Fresno out. They turned up the heat and before you had time to text “Broncos Rule,” Fresno had closed the gap and put the pressure on the Broncos’ offense. All told, 900+ yards of wildly thrilling plays were left on the field. Much as I hate to do it, I have to give a nod to Ryan Mathews, without whom Fresno would surely have been dominated. Also, much love to Titus Young, DJ Harper, and Jeremy Avery for running their buns off! To Austin Pettis, Derrell Acrey, and Winston Venable for having great hands! And to Kyle Wilson and Billy Winn for making (or breaking) plays!

Not: WAC…..that says it all
Man. Can the conference help some Broncos out or what? Are yall just taking a dive to hurt BSU’s chances at getting into the BCS again? It sure would be awesome if some teams could step it up and give our conference some legitimacy. Even a smidge would be helpful. Not counting BSU, the WAC so far has beaten San Diego State, Nicholls State, UC Davis, Prairie View A&M, Washington State, and Central Arkansas. And been beaten by Washington, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Colorado State, Texas A&M, Utah, Auburn, Navy, Stanford, USC, UTEP, Utah again, and UNLV. Sigh.

Hot: Tomahawk Chop!
You gotta love an underrated Florida State team coming out and knocking off BYU, in PROVO no less! Christian Ponder said it, “The defense played great. The offense played incredible.” BYU had five turnovers and let FSU have the ball for nearly 20 minutes more of this matchup. FSU dominated and BYU made mistake after mistake. It was really that simple. Simply excellent, that is!

Not: Rank ‘em Up
And just why is BYU ahead of Florida State anyway? And why are they so underrated? They have only lost one game this season. BARELY. In an extremely close, rivalry game against the team now ranked 9 in the country. And they just beat the team that WAS 9. How does that make any sense? Give the Seminoles some love voters.

Hot: Can I get a Ute, Ute?
Oh, yes. The Ducks are wonderful, aren’t they? Not only did they squash Utah’s “Nation’s Longest Winning Streak” Saturday, but in one exciting game they managed to add legitimacy to BSU’s win over the Ducks AND take down one of the Bronco’s potential road blocks to the BCS party! Go Ducks Go! BSU fan or not, it is pretty amazing when a team with four turnovers and nearly 7 minutes less time of possession manages to take down a ranked team. Oh, and don’t forget Massoli’s 4 for 16 performance at QB. Really, how DO you win when you have so much working against you? A lot of heart and a secret love for the Broncos….that’s my guess.

Not: Tulsawful
Remember last week when Oklahoma trounced Idaho State? And we all thought, “Wow ISU must be really bad cause Oklahoma doesn’t even have Bradford in the mix.” Well, guess what! Tulsa is almost as bad. Okay, MAYBE Landry Jones is just that good. He did, after all, throw a school record six TD passes in this game, as well as tied the NCAA record for TD passes in a single game by a freshman. Either way, though, Tulsa did a whole bunch of nothing this week.

Everyone knows Cougars eat Cowboys!

Hot: Stating your Case (Keenum that is)

Okay, I may have had a vested interested in Houston last season, but regardless, I paid close attention to their performance. And, I have to say, this week’s win does not surprise me at all. I do hate to see OSU lose, but hats off to Houston for coming out big and making us all sit up and pay attention.

Not: Boosting the Other Team’s Ego

On the flip side, I also have paid close attention to Colorado since Coach Hawkins made his move. And, well, this week’s performance against Toledo is one of the worst I’ve seen. When you leave players on the other team saying things like, “I didn’t know I could still run like that…it shocked me a little bit,” you are doing something wrong. Undoubtedly. Nevermind that Coach Hawkins says, “I know that we’re doing things right.” Maybe he knows something the rest of us don’t. HMMM…what do you think?

Hot: 100

Yep, Saturday’s win over Miami OH, marks BSU’s 100th win this decade. And guess who the only other team is to have wins in the triple digits. Oklahoma. Ironic, isn’t it? In addition to Win 100, BSUs defense and special teams did another outstanding job this weekend. The offense managed to score big, rack up 441 yards, and debated about letting Buster Bronco in on the action, but things still didn’t go as smoothly as I would have liked going into a big conference game this week. High Fives go out to Titus Young and Austin Pettis, who together accounted for half of the Broncos yards, not to mention Pettis’ punt blocking abilities!

Not: The Rest of the State of Idaho

Thank goodness for BSU, or the entire State of Idaho would collectively hang their heads in shame. Despite being Bradford-less (…like he would have played in this game anyway), Oklahoma massacred ISU: 64 to 0. Not that that is a big surprise or anything, but still. And, Idaho was the stepping stone by which Washington forded the river “loss.” Yes, instead of Washington increasing its nation’s longest losing streak to 16, they are now the proud owners of a 1 game win streak.

Hot: Living up to the Hype

The scores were few and far between in Columbus Saturday night, but the game lived up to the generally brain-numbing hype. Ohio State and USC both showed up prepared and played the game up to the last minute. This match-up turned out to be a bitter loss for the Buckeyes and a narrow escape for the Trojans, but a thriller for the fans.

Not: Close but not Quite

For the second straight year, Fresno failed to close the deal against Wisconsin. This year they nearly had it, taking it into DOUBLE overtime, but threw a pick on their second possession to virtually end the game. In the wake of this “close by not quite good enough” attempt by the Bulldogs, I can’t help but think that playing for Fresno may be one of the most frustrating things in the world. The makings of a mythological hell, even. As much as I despise Fresno, and I really do, think how difficult it must be to play on a team that nearly takes down (and sometimes does) the big guys on the regular only to turn around and fail to come out on top of the WAC. How long are they going to settle for a reputation for greatness with nothing to back it up? That said, don’t miss BSU at Fresno Friday. It is sure to be a huge game.

Hot: Bearcat Attacks

Okay, so SE Missouri State is not exactly a challenging opponent, but that does not mean that Cincy is any less stellar for having played them. The Bearcats have scored 117 points in their first two games and are the great white hope of the Big East this season. If they keep this up, they are likely to wind up in a second straight BCS game.

Not: 90%

Normally, the first few weeks of the season are filled with crazy, dramatic upsets and narrow escapes. However, 90% of this season has been a real yawn. Seriously, hit the snooze. Thanks to Houston for stepping it up this week, but I expect more out of the overlooked and under-rated from here on out. I need some inspiration!

It’s not over till the zebras agree…

Hot: Making Every Second Count

That’s right. Miami and Florida State entertained fans on both sides even after time expired! While this game is generally an entertaining one, I was definitely NOT in the mood when it rolled around. DESPITE that, these teams proved to be full of talent and thoroughly prepared for the season opener. This game went right up to the the last second. In fact, past the last second. Fans on both sides waited anxiously after the final play for the official word on whether Christian Ponder’s pass was a touchdown or just one final incompletion. Officials ruled the ball hit the turf and Canes fans celebrated while the Seminoles hung their heads. While a team has to lose, I for one think both teams did an outstanding job in this very evenly matched game.

Not: Dropping from the Rankings

Florida State was dropped from the rankings this week, despite the fact that their performance against Miami was excellent. I am highly disappointed in the voters this week. There really isn’t anything more to say than that. And, for the record, I am not a Seminole fan.

Hot: A Big Tasty Bowl of Duck Soup

Do I even need to say it? Boise State’s defense is so much more than hot. They are like the sun compared to the other tiny stars of hotness in week one. Yeah, I said it. Boise State’s defense is where it’s at. Deal with it! Seriously, Oregon managed only 6 first downs and 8 points. They should have just packed up their bags after the first three and out and let the Broncos get their beauty sleep. As it was, Oregon DID finally get things rolling midway through the second half, but it was far too little too late. And the Bronco D was still mighty stingy, holding the Ducks to their lowest season-opening score since 1982.   

Not: Getting Caught up in the Moment

You’ve all seen it. Over and Over. So I’m just going to say, LeGarratte Blount’s reaction to the loss was definitely not hot. Undoubtedly he will regret it for a long time. And this is not only not hot, but also very unfortunate.

Hot: Service with a Smile

If you tuned in during the third quarter, you might have opted to go for a run rather than watch the remainder of the Ohio State/Navy matchup. While a healthy choice, those of you who did were sure to miss one thrilling fourth quarter. Just when it looked like Navy had given up, they proved that all those service academy lessons on strength and determination can pay off on the field. In four minutes, Navy scored twice to bring the game within one score with 2.5 minutes to go. Statistically, the teams were nearly identical. The notable differences that both made and lost the game for Navy were penalties, which Navy had only two of compared to Ohio State’s eight, and turnovers, which Navy had three of. And were it not for that pesky third turnover on Navy’s two-point conversion attempt, this game would have gone into overtime. Not giving up when you’re down, definitely makes Navy hot in week one.

Not: Kicking Yourself

Iowa barely escaped with the win in their “easy” opener Saturday. Northern Iowa would have won, were it not for a blocked field goal attempt. Make that two. When the first attempt was blocked, Iowa believed they had won, but as crazy first-week luck would have it,  the ball did not cross the line of scrimmage and because Iowa did not pick up the ball, Northern Iowa got another go at it. No matter, the second attempt fared no better than the first and Iowa did rise victorious.

Hot: Making a Comeback

They may have lost it in the end, but Washington made a huge statement in thier season opener against LSU. After two seasons of lack luster performance, the Huskies played with confidence and skill and undoubtedly had Les Miles very nervous Saturday night. Read the ESPN write up on it and it seems like LSU dominated and Washington got lucky. This was not the case. The Huskies’ Locker threw an interception for a TD in the second quarter and they started slow in the second half. But in all, they held their own against LSU and had the Tigers looking mighty tired by the end of the game. Don’t be surpised if Washington has a productive season.

Not: Piscataway in September

Week one was not a good one for Rutgers fans. Cincy racked up nearly 300 more yards and outscored Rutgers by 32 points as the once jazzed Scarlet Knights’ fans sat, grew quiet, and headed for home. It seems evident that the Scarlet Knights have a lot more work to do if they want to get anything done this season. Coach knows best. “I thought we were a step behind all day — two steps,” Greg Schiano.

Hot: Neon Orange on Black

With a score of ten to seven at the half, the Georgia/Oklahoma State matchup looked to be a nailbiter in the second half. It looked to be one, but apparently where Mark Richt lacked in his halftime speech, Mike Gundy inspired. Oklahoma State came back to the game fresh and ready to get the job done. Georgia’s sad little field goal was not enough to stop the Robinson, Bryant, Bailey show. In the end, three turnovers and ten points were all Georgia had to show for their hard work in the off season. Oklahoma State looks to be starting things off right where they left them last season. They are hot. Expect big things.

Not: un ACC-eptable

The ACC did not make a good impression this weekend. From NC State’s pitiful 3 point performance to Virginia’s loss to William & Mary, things look grim for this “elite” conference. When all is said and done, not ONE ACC team defeated a 1-a (or whatever the kids are calling it these days) team. There were some big wins, but over teams like The Citadel, Northeastern, and….well that’s all actually. All in all, the ACC better step it up if they want any respect this season.