COLLEGE FOOTBALL - WEEK 3

My weekly look at the week that was and the week that will be on the amateur gridiron.

1) I was in attendance for the Arizona State/Wisconsin game on Saturday and that large sigh you heard was the relief on my part. While the Badger Special Teams was a nightmare, the defense held their own and Scott Tolzein had a sneaky good game. John Clay still looks a step slow, but James White and Lance Kendricks are definite playmakers. If they can get Nick Toon back for the Big Ten, there should be enough weapons to compete. Props to Louis Nzegwu for a breakout game on defense. Thru three games, it still looks like an Outback Bowl type team more than a BCS team.

2) Mark Dantonio showed a lot of guts with his fake FG in OT - its too bad so many coaches play it safe - its a lot more exciting this way.

3) Oregon looks really, really, really good.

4) So does Nebraska.

5) Speaking of which, Jake Locker does not (more on him later).

6) At least Arizona/Iowa lived up to its Game of the Week status. With USC on probation, the Pac-10 seems fortunate this year with really strong teams in Oregon, Arizona and Stanford.

7) My Current Top 5 - 1) Alabama 2) Ohio State 3) Oregon 4) Nebraska 5) TCU/Boise State

8) This weeks Heisman Watch - two more eliminations - the first by injury as Case Keenum is done for the year in Houston. And then there is of course, Jake Locker. Some might want to change the name of this blog to the Locker-Basher, but the results don't match the supposed tools. Good luck to the team who takes him with a high draft pick. Although Mark Ingram had an impressive return, I will leave him on the eliminated list along with Dion Lewis and now Case Keenum and Jake Locker.

9) Week 4 is much more intriguing than the past week for match-ups. The first one I am keeping an eye on is #1 Alabama's trip to #10 Arkansas. I don't expect Alabama to trip up here, as this game is probably too big for Arkansas. I am more interested in how easy Alabama wins. With Florida and LSU not quite as strong, Alabama can separate themselves alone atop the nation's top conference. Staying in the SEC, #12 South Carolina travels to #17 Auburn. This is a huge game for South Carolina as Spurrier tries to finally make a championship contender out of the Gamecocks. I will be interested in the #5 Oregon at Arizona State for a couple reasons. How good is Oregon really, as they get their first test. And the same for ASU, which will tell me how good or bad the Badger loss was this last Saturday. #25 Oregon State visits the blue turf and #3 Boise State in the last true test for Boise by most observers, although I would not sleep on Nevada. Finally, Stanford can send Notre Dame to 1-3 and start the "Charlie was not so bad" chants around South Bend. OK, maybe not, but you never want to start that way at Notre Dame.

10) I too, want to take down Brutus the Buckeye!!