Saturday Six-Pack Week 8: BCS Rankings Begin Campaign Season

Oct 13, 2012; Ames, Iowa, USA; Kansas State Wildcats center B.J. Finney (66) looks down the line before snapping the ball against the Iowa State Cyclones during the first half at Jack Trice Stadium. Kansas State defeated Iowa State 27-21. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-US PRESSWIRE

Campaign season is beginning to reach a crescendo, with candidates vying for the most prominent position in the land. No, I refer not to Barack Obama or Mitt Romney, but rather Kansas State, Oregon, Notre Dame, and others with aspirations of playing for the BCS championship. The release of the first BCS rankings begin in earnest college football’s campaign season.

Candidates are hitting the trial, trying to make their case to occupy Miami come January and be inaugurated champion of college football. Right now, we’re in the primary phase. Winning here is paramount to a team’s championship goal, and unbeaten Kansas State faces its Super

Tuesday

Saturday in West Virginia. The first ever Big 12 meeting between the Wildcats and Mountaineers is also a Heisman Trophy audition between two very different, but equally elite quarterbacks. The Davey O’Brien Foundation declared this its Marquee Match-Up of Week 8.

All K-State can do is win the games on its docket. The same is true for Notre Dame, which hosts fellow independent BYU. Same goes for Rutgers, facing a Temple team that has improved in recent weeks. But should all these unbeatens continue to handle their business, the BCS could devolve into a 269 vs. 269 level of madness.

And don’t forget the bevy of one-loss candidates still in the hunt. LSU and Texas A&M square off needing a win to stay alive. Florida State faces rival Miami with BCS hopes still in tact, although an ACC team with a notch in the loss column has about as much hope as Ron Paul — yeah, he’s still technically running, but everyone realizes it would take an unprecedented event to win out.

Past seasons induced headaches when the championship decision was taken to the computers. In the last BCS season coinciding with an election year, the Florida-Oklahoma-Texas-Texas Tech-Utah mess was the proverbial 1824 presidential race: no clear cut advantages in the won-loss column, too many contenders running too closely to reach a consensus, and the winner ultimately chosen in the least fulfilling fashion imaginable. Should we start to see undefeateds picked off, or a number of them retain their unblemished records, brace yourself for coaches on the campaign trail.

Mack Brown mastered the BCS campaign pitch in 2004 (another election year) when, after losing to Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout, he made his pitch for Texas and the Rose Bowl whenever and wherever possible. Were jockeying for a BCS bowl a debate, Brown played John F. Kennedy to Jeff Tedford’s Richard Nixon (define irony: Berkeley figurehead is compared to Richard Nixon).

Perhaps this season won’t come to that, and we’ll see the process sort itself out. In the meantime, every win is as big as every electoral vote.

KANSAS STATE at WEST VIRGINIA

Immovable Object vs. Irresistible Force, Ground-n-Pound vs. Air Raid, Snyder vs. Holgorsen. A game couldn’t pair two more different styles against each other. Kansas State’s offense is again reliant on time of possession, this season averaging nearly 32 minutes per game. However, in its marquee Big 12 wins at Oklahoma and Iowa State, and the Wildcats had the ball for over 34 and 40 minutes.

Bill Snyder will want to limit Geno Smith’s opportunities, and that means sustaining drives with K-State’s unique brand of offense. Collin Klein is firmly in the Heisman conversation despite playing a style that isn’t as sexy as Smith’s. Nevertheless, Klein is as important to K-State’s mission as Smith to West Virginia’s. His lead on the run-based offense sets the tone for the knockout punch, whether a goal line rush or unexpected long ball.

Smith’s high octane approach in the aerial attack has him ahead of the Heisman race, even after losing a week ago. Another loss might send Smith slipping down the projections, and he’s lined up opposite a K-State defense that has given no quarter this season. Wildcat defensive coordinator Tom Hayes locked down his secondary from media contact before facing Oklahoma’s spread offense, and the vow of silence paid dividends — OU was below 300 yards passing. But where West Virginia differentiates from OU is the speed it has on the edges with Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey.

Holgorsen could call on the Mountaineers’ dynamic twosome to challenge Arthur Brown and the Wildcat linebacking corps early with short and mid-range passes, a strategy that was ineffective against Tech, but has been West Virginia’s money maker the rest of the season.

LSU at TEXAS A&M
Oct 13, 2012; Shreveport, LA, USA; Texas A
LSU is scheduled to visit College Station for the first time with Texas A&M as a member of the SEC, though the A&M campus was evacuated Friday morning due to a bomb threat. Similar threats evacuated Texas and North Dakota State earlier this fall semester. Stay tuned for developments pertaining to Saturday’s football game.

Reigning SEC champion LSU regained some of the swagger it lost in an offensively anemic loss at Florida, defeating South Carolina 23-21. Frankly, last week’s win in Death Valley was more lopsided than the final score. The Tigers overwhelmed the Gamecock offense on one end, and broke through in the second half on the other once freshman running back Jeremy Hill got going. Hill’s emergence alleviates some of the pressure on quarterback Zach Mettenberger while Alfred Blue rehabs an injury.

A&M also won in Louisiana a week ago, albeit in much different fashion. The offensive eruption Johnny Manziel guided vs. Louisiana Tech gave the Aggie redshirt freshman the SEC record for individual yardage for the second time this season, and likely gave Nick Saban heart palpitations. This game’s tempo will be dictated when A&M has the ball, either by Manziel rising to the occasion of his first Heisman platform, or the tenacious Tiger defense snuffing out the Aggies’ sole hope for an upset.

One facet of Manziel’s game that has impressed me isn’t just that he seems to know when to run, but he’s so fast when doing it. There are obvious comparisons to be made between Manziel and Robert Griffin III in that regard. But is he fast enough to get away from a pursuing Sam Montgomery or Barkevious Mingo?

TEXAS TECH at TCU

Both the Red Raiders and Horned Frogs recovered nicely from Week 6 losses with impressive Week 7 wins. But which is the real Texas Tech: the team that was routed against Oklahoma, or the stingy defensive squad that stymied West Virginia? And is TCU the rudderless ship that sank against Iowa State, or the typical Gary Patterson-coached engine that ran over Baylor?

Tech is at an advantage because, OU game aside, its defense has been outstanding and TCU just isn’t the same offensively without Casey Pachall. Trevone Boykin was much more comfortable against Baylor than he was against ISU, evidenced in his four touchdown passes, but BU has had one of the most porous defenses in the Big 12. Tech also has the decided edge in quarterback play as a result, with Seth Doege generating some mild Heisman looks after his six-touchdown effort against West Virginia. Slowing spread offenses on an almost weekly basis is one of the major adjustments Patterson faces as a new Big 12 member.

TCU passed its test against Baylor’s potent offense, holding the Bears to 21 points and intercepting Nick Florence four times. Causing turnovers will make or break the Frogs’ efforts against Doege. Oklahoma forced the Tech quarterback into three picks.

NC STATE at MARYLAND
Oct 6, 2012 Raleigh, NC, USA; North Carolina State quarterback Mike Glennon (8) throws a pass as he is pressured by Florida State Seminoles defensive end Cornellius Carridine (91) in the second half at Carter-Finley Stadium. North Carolina State won 17-16. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-US PRESSWIRE
In one of the shocks of the early conference season, NC State meets Maryland with both fostering realistic Atlantic division championship dreams. The Terrapins actually lead the division as its only unbeaten, though UM has yet to face some of the more stiff competition. That stiffer competition includes NC State, which is just 1-1, but should it run the rest of its ACC slate unbeaten, would have the tiebreaker over Florida State.

Mike Glennon is not producing at the same level he finished 2011 on; his touchdown-to-interception ratio is less than 2:1, and he’s completing just over 60 percent of his passes. But Glennon is finding ways to direct an offense devoid of a run game, spreading his passes among 14 different receivers.

Credit both Tom O’Brien and Randy Edsall — especially Randy Edsall. He came into this campaign with all the characteristics of a lame duck despite it being just his second year. The team was an abysmal 2-10 last season and lost numerous players to transfer, some in very ugly fashion. However, the addition of Mike Locksley back into the coaching staff has seemingly paid immediate dividends, with freshmen having an impact on this surprise, 4-2 start. Five star recruit Stefon Diggs has been as good as advertised with 563 yards receiving, and serving as the clear No. 1 target of Perry Hills.

Maryland has played well defensively this season. Prior to its loss at Texas Tech last week, the greatest challenge West Virginia’s offense saw on the opposite end was from the Terrapins. However, UM must dictate the tone with its offense if it’s going to avenge last season’s embarrassing, final week meltdown. NCSU has been at its best when containing opposing offenses, holding teams to 44 points in its four wins vs. 79 in its losses. That’s a tall order for a team without a 200-yard rusher and whose quarterback is averaging fewer than 200 yards per game.

ADMIRAL ACKBAR’S TRAP OF THE WEEK: CINCINNATI at TOLEDO

The state of Ohio is collectively playing some great football, boasting three unbeaten programs in Ohio, Ohio State, and Cincinnati. Toledo would be among those ranks were it not for a Week 1, overtime loss at Arizona. Since losing in the desert, the Rockets have rolled off six straight and the offense has shown no signs of slowing down under Matt Campbell. Though not quite at its 2011 pace when UT was among the nation’s top 5 in scoring, this year’s squad is still posting a robust 36.4 points per game. This is easily the best offense UC will have seen thus far on the season.

Terrance Owens has emerged as the more consistent in UT’s two-quarterback scheme, and David Fluellen is getting more opportunities to rush the ball. The Rockets have a balanced approach that will test UC.

The Bearcat defense has been outstanding against those sub-par offenses, allowing just 72 points in five games. Linebacker Greg Blair has keyed the Bearcats’ tight-fisted play, doing a little bit of everything: 39 tackles (a team high), two interceptions, five pass deflections. He roams the second level in a manner comparable to former Alabama star Dont’a Hightower. Up front, UC gets pressure in the backfield from end Walter Stewart. He has five sacks and seven tackles for loss.

The Glass Bowl should be rocking for this in-state, interconference showdown. A UT win likely propels the Rockets into the top 25.

RIVALRY DOUBLE-SHOT: STANFORD at CAL, TENNESSEE at ALABAMA

The Big Game is typically fully of surprises. As has been celebrated in various outlets throughout the week, this year’s installment marks three decades since The Play.

There’s been nothing quite as wacky since at any level of football, let alone in this Bay Area rivalry, though a mediocre Cal team put a 31-28 scare into Andrew Luck’s Cardinal last season.

Cal’s 3-4 record is a somewhat misleading evaluation of where the Bears are now. Cal has won two straight in conference since Jeff Tedford settled on a more consistent offensive identity, and that’s seemingly sparked a talented defense. The Golden Bears shut down UCLA on its visit to Berkeley, and that bodes well for Saturday’s Big Game.

Stanford has not fared well against aggressive defenses, failing to score offensive touchdowns against both Notre Dame and Washington. Cal is also playing with some desperation, needing to finish 3-2 to reach the postseason and Oregon still looming on the schedule. This one has the Ackbar Alert written all over it for a Cardinal team coming in off a heartbreaking loss at Notre Dame.

Alabama and Tennessee meet on this, the Third Saturday of October. Nick Saban rides his Elephants into Knoxville like Hannibal crossing the Alps into Rome, and the problem for the Vols is that Derek Dooley is no Scipio Africanus. Vol fans might want to indulge from this week’s Saturday Six-Pack recommendation a bit more liberally while tailgating, because things could get ugly in a hurry. Alabama is beating SEC opponents by an average of 34.3 points per game.

SATURDAY’S SIX-PACK: Sam Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale

Sam Adams’ autumn beer sampler has several excellent choices, but the Harvest Pumpkin Ale is my personal favorite. Pumpkin beer is an October treat I can’t get enough of this time of year, much like Sun Belt Tuesdays or cheesy horror movies on basic cable (shout out AMC for airing the entire Paramount collection of Friday the 13th movies).

Harvest Pumpkin Ale has a sweet, cinnamon’y taste with a nice bite to it. Pumpkin beers are as polarizing as political candidates, if the back-and-forth on some beer blogs would indicate, so this recommendation comes with a warning label. If you enjoy pumpkin ales, Sam Adams’ version is among the better offerings.