College Football Week 6: Big scores & barbeque
Can someone explain why Big 12 scoring is so high and SEC scoring is so low?
Look at the scores of the six Big 12 games last week: 58-28, 56-28, 52-17, 49-17, 35-33, 38-14.
Look at the scores of the SEC over the weekend: 13-9, 14-13, 17-14, 31-24, 38-7. Earlier in the year, we saw SEC games with finals of 14-7, 14-12 and 3-2.
Yes, I know the SEC has all those great defensive tackles and athletes who can run. But great athletes can play offense, too. It’s allowable under the rules.
And while yes, the Big 12 is in a golden age of quarterbacks, the SEC historically has better QB talent. Much better. The best Big 12 quarterbacks to make the NFL are Vince Young, Chris Simms and Sage Rosenfels. Meanwhile, the SEC counters with the Manning brothers, Jason Campbell, Jay Cutler and the like.
Is it coaching? Is it no more complicated than Mike Leach leaving the SEC almost 10 years ago for the Big 12?
I don’t know. But the difference in styles in the two leagues is amazing.
TEN BIGGEST LOSERS OF THE WEEK10. Alabama-Birmingham: The Blazers lost to Memphis 33-30 on a last-second field goal. UAB thought it was a good idea to fire program patriarch Watson Brown after the 2006 season. Since then, UAB is 3-15.
9. Arizona State: The Sun Devils lost at Cal. They are 2-3 and play only two games the rest of October, against USC and Oregon.
8. Fresno State: Pat Hill’s Bulldogs seemed a possible Orange Bowl team a few weeks ago. But after an overtime loss to struggling Hawaii, Fresno State is 3-2.
7. Javon Ringer: OK. I surrender. No Heisman Trophy for the Michigan State tailback after a pedestrian game (25 carries, 91 yards) against Iowa.
6. Tulane: The Green Wave lost at home. To Army. By a score of 44-13. The 1998 Tommy Bowden golden season seems a long time ago.
5. Big 12 parity: Five Big 12 teams hosted ranked conference foes. All five lost, and only Kansas’ 35-33 rally against Iowa State was close. Baylor lost by 32. Colorado by 24. Kansas State by 30. Nebraska by 35. The marquee matchups can’t get here quick enough.
4. Maryland: Sept. 27: Duke 31, Virginia 3. Oct. 4: Virginia 31, Maryland 0. Some things are just unexplainable.
3. South florida: Miami lost to Florida State 41-39 in a verdict that dooms the Hurricanes to a disappointing season, South Florida fell from the unbeaten ranks with a home loss to Pitt and even the Howard Schnellenbergers got in on the skid, with a 14-13 loss to Middle Tennessee on a last-play Hail Mary.
2. Wisconsin: Two weeks ago, I thought an Oklahoma-Wisconsin Big Bowl was quite possible. But the Badgers lost 20-17 at home to Ohio State for their second straight defeat and now have little shot at the Big Ten title.
1. Phil Fulmer: The hits just keep coming for the Tennessee coach. First, ex-Vol coach Johnny Majors ripped his former assistant. Then even victory doesn’t bring relief. In a 13-9 victory over Northern Illinois, the Vols managed just nine first downs and 225 total yards. Outside of a 52-yard TD pass, new quarterback Nick Stephens didn’t spark Tennessee, and it seems more and more likely that Fulmer is doomed in Knoxville.
BIRTHDAY BASHWe celebrated my brother-in-law’s sixth birthday Friday night. I’ve known him since we were kids.
Confused? Let me explain. Greg, my wife’s brother, was diagnosed with leukemia in March 2002. I spent a night with him at St. Anthony Hospital in between trips to San Jose and Atlanta for OU’s Final Four run that year.
In the autumn, he went to Baylor Medical Center in Dallas for a bone marrow transplant. I spent part of my OU-Texas weekend at Baylor.
I never ask the people I cover – coaches or players – for favors. But I made an exception that autumn.
Greg is an OSU season-ticket holder. One day in Stillwater for Les Miles’ weekly press conference, I handed Miles the phone number to Greg’s hospital room in Dallas and asked if he would mind giving him a call. Les called him before the day was out, talked 20 minutes and later sent him an autographed football.
Those days seem long ago. Today, Greg is healthy. His career is thriving and he plays golf every Saturday and goes to Stillwater for every Cowboy home game.
And every October, we celebrate his successful transplant.
REALITY RANKINGSOur rankings based not on what anyone thinks teams might do, but based on what team have done:
1. Alabama: One impressive win after another.
2. Vanderbilt: One unimpressive win after another.
3. Penn State: I don’t believe in the Nittanys, but they’ve earned it.
4. Utah: Why is everyone all fired up about BYU and not the Utes?
5. Southern Cal: Still a force.
6. Oklahoma: Sooners could challenge Bama with win over Texas.
7. Virginia Tech: What if Frank Beamer had played the right quarterback?
8. Missouri: Conference start means Big 12 powers will get some credit.
9. Texas: Win on the road, and you move up on this list.
10. Florida: Gators’ schedule very strong.
11. South Florida: Resume’ still solid despite loss to Pitt.
12. Ohio State: Don’t count out Buckeyes from another Big Bowl berth.
13. Wake Forest: Inexplicable loss to Navy only stain.
14. Notre Dame: Don’t look now, but the Irish aren’t bad.
15. California: Bears played one bad half, at Maryland; otherwise, they’ve been Golden.
BARBEQUE RANKINGSWe had Greg’s birthday bash at Earl’s Rib Palace, the one in Moore. Everybody knows about Earl’s, which has branched out from the original location on Western just north of 63rd. Edmond, Bricktown, Moore. A bunch of locations.
Earlier in the week, a Thunder employee, who relocated from Seattle, asked me about my favorite local restaurants, and it made me think about barbeque in Oklahoma City.
Here are my top five BBQ joints in Greater OKC:
5. Sooner Legends: In the old Ramada Inn in Norman, which has been turned into a Sooner Legends hotel and suites. Good food. How good? We hired them to cater the rehearsal dinner at my daughter’s wedding.
4. Kansas City Blues: Great lunch spot on Britton Road, about a quarter mile east of May Avenue. Excellent sandwich specials, with a pickle and onion bar that’s very tasty.
3. Earl’s Rib Palace: The Smokestack is a superb sandwich. Chopped brisket, topped with a hot link and cole slaw. Cole slaw with barbeque sauce – anywhere, not just at Earl’s – is good, so no reason to keep it off a sandwich.
2. Van’s Pig Stand: I go to the one in Norman, which is on Porter, just south of the hospital, at a location that has been barbeque since before I was born. Strick’s, in the old days, and Lindy’s, when I was a kid. The sauce is great, all the meat is good and the twice-baked potatoes are fantastic.
1. County Line: The long-time champ. The art deco building – an old 1930s speakeasy – is wonderful, with single-table private rooms and an elevated dining room and great rounded ceilings. The scenery is very un-OKC; sitting atop Persimmon Hill, the windows of the back dining room offer an amazing overlook. And the food is superb. Beef ribs, which are those big old things that are harder to eat than pork ribs but much heartier. Potato salad made from mayonnaise, which always is preferable to the mustard-based. In fact, the sides all are top of the line. The beans, the cole slaw. The bread is great.
TEN BIGGEST WINNERS OF THE WEEK10. Glen Coffee: The Alabama junior tailback is hitting his stride, with 218 yards on 25 carries against Kentucky, giving him 466 yards rushing in three SEC games.
9. Mid-majors: After losses by East Carolina and TCU the previous two weeks, the Unbeaten Club’s ranks didn’t wither this week. BYU, Utah, Boise State, Ball State and Tulsa all kept alive their BCS dreams.
8. Steve Spurrier: The ol’ ball coach still has some fight left. His Gamecocks won at Mississippi 31-24 to go to 4-2 and keep alive hopes for a decent season.
7. Illinois: The Illini routed Michigan 45-20 in the Big House to stay alive in the Big Ten race. It was just Illinois’ third win in Ann Arbor since 1966. But any win over Michigan is rare; the Illini haven’t beaten the Wolverines in Champaign since 1983.
6. Chris Crane: Turns out, Boston College had a pretty decent quarterback last year in Matt Ryan, now the Atlanta Falcons’ rookie phenom. Turns out, BC still has excellent quarterbacking. Crane threw for 428 yards on 34 of 51 passing as the Eagles won at North Carolina State, 38-31 in overtime.
5. Penn State: The Nittanys’ first road test – Syracuse doesn’t count – went smoothly, 20-6 at Purdue, and Joe Paterno can’t be discounted from the national championship race.
4. Navy: The Midshipmen have remained competitive without coach Paul Johnson, who jumped to Georgia Tech. Navy beat Air Force 33-27 in Colorado Springs, right after an upset win at Wake Forest. Annapolis isn’t West Point.
3. Pittsburgh: The Panthers upset South Florida 26-21 in Tampa to go to 2-0 in the Big East, with two road wins. How about another Pitt-Utah BCS bowl?
2. Big 12 quarterbacks: The new passer ratings are out, with Tulsa’s David Johnson No. 1. Then comes four straight Big 12 QBs, and eight of the nation’s top 18 passers. No. 2 Sam Bradford, No. 3 Zac Robinson, No. 4 Colt McCoy, No. 5 Chase Daniel, No. 10 Josh Freeman, No. 12 Graham Harrell, No. 14 Todd Reesing and No. 18 Joe Ganz.
1. Vanderbilt: Tulsa Union grad Mackenzi Adams quarterbacked the Commodores to an upset of Auburn, and now 5-0 Vandy is in crazy territory: 3-0 in the SEC, with a game at Mississippi State on Saturday. Vanderbilt could lead the SEC East deep into November.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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