1: Defensive backs this year more than I ever remember are proving the old adage: DBs are just WRs that can't catch. It seems every game I watch I see at least one dropped interception. South Carolina last Thursday dropped 5 EASY picks in a game they had to cling on to in order to win. They get one or two of those: blowout. KU and Southern Mississippi both spoiled chances to swing the momentum with DBs showing off their stone hands. Texas Tech dropped a couple INTs in the second half that could have potentially put the game out of reach for Houston: instead they drop the ball, they drop the game. The only teams that I have not seen drop any potential picks are BYU's opponents, probably only because BYU QB Max Hall makes sure to hit the defense right in the numbers where even the biggest of stone hands can't drop it.
2: Officiating is horrific. What is pass interference on the D? What is pass interference on the O? And what about that whole uncatchable thing? All 3 of those are different in every game. Kansas WR Dezmon Briscoe lowers a shoulder into the LB covering his RB intentionally taking him: RB scores a TD, no flag. BYU TE runs near the CB covering a BYU WR without actually making contact: WR scores a TD, called back on offensive PI. Don't even get me started on some of the crazy defensive PIs I've seen called: particularly by Big Ten and Pac 10 refs. I guess they don't reward defensive players for making good plays in those two conferences. Also, what is helmet-to-helmet contact and when is it going to be called? Are we calling intentional grounding in the red zone or aren't we? More bad calls in crucial moments have swung games one way or another. I am not a believer that one or two bad calls decides a game: it's 60 minutes long. However, when two teams slug it out evenly for 58 minutes, I am opposed to officials injecting themselves into the outcome of the game. It makes me question the integrity of the outcome. Indiana's potential game-winning drive was ended abruptly when an official made a bad call that led to a Michigan interception. Then the replay goon didn't overturn it. The officiating must get more consistent, it must get better, and they need to do something about replay because it isn't doing its job in overturning bad calls. I know it's all about the almighty dollar, but maybe put an extra camera down near the end zones: they never seem to have good angles when it comes to the end zone. No matter what: officiating has been extremely inconsistent at best, and completely inadequate at worst.
3: Schizophrenia reigns supreme. Maybe inconsistency is a better word for it. How does a team that needs to block 2 field goals in the final 10 seconds at home against a I-AA team go to Happy Valley and knock off Penn State during a white out, in a monsoon, at night, by double digits? How does a team that gets manhandled at Boise, struggle past Purdue and Utah, and then win by 5+ TDs against Cal, who dropped 50 on a Ralph Friedgen-coached team? A BYU defense that holds Sam Bradford and OU to 10 points in a half then gives up 30 in the first half against Florida State, who only manages 19 for a home game against a I-AA team the week before and then only gets 7 at home against South Florida the week after? Washington holds USC to 13 points and then gives up 34 to Stanford? And Georgia's D: holds OK State to 24 on the road who usually gets 35+ plus before giving up 35+ to South Carolina who almost never scores 24. The only 3 teams that have looked pretty good in every game are Florida, Texas, and Boise State. There has been little consistency elsewhere. I am sure there will not be an undefeated national champion, maybe not even a 1-loss national champion. I am convinced there could also be a 1-loss BCS buster where usually you had to go undefeated to even get a sniff at it. I don't know what is causing the mass inconsistency but I do know the landscape of college football is changing. Through 4 weeks: 15 different teams have been ranked in the top 10 with teams 11-13 knocking on the door, waiting for a chance to expand that number. 3 teams are in the top 10 for the second time after suffering an early-season loss. 31 teams have been in the top 25, with 4 teams having been in twice. Florida State has been in twice and now is out for the second time. When has it been THIS crazy? I don't even know what a top 25 team looks like these days. Even the top 10 looks different from week to week. One day Miami looks like it belongs, another BYU, another Iowa. USC hasn't always looked like it belongs there, Virginia Tech certainly didn't look like top 10 material against Alabama, and LSU certainly didn't look like a top 5 team in two of its games this season, but there they are at #4. Good thing we have preseason rankings so no one can be confused about how good a team they beat or lost to. Even better thing that the rankings don't count for anything big, like who goes to the NC game or who goes to a Big 12 championship game or who plays in a BCS game. Oh wait.
4: The BCS is ruining college football. The big games don't have conference championship implications, or bragging rights or recruiting or rivalry implications. No, everything is looked at through the scope of: how will this impact the BCS national championship race or a BCS game? What happened to enjoying the atmosphere surrounding a Miami at Virginia Tech game, which helps shape the ACC race? Nope. The winner of this game keeps their National Championship hopes alive and certainly puts themselves in prime position to get a BCS bid. Houston beating Texas Tech and Oklahoma State isn't a statement about the artist formerly known as David knocking off the one formerly known as Goliath. Nope. It gives Houston an inside track, a chance to surpass Boise State, in the race for the automatic BCS bid for a non-BCS team. They have NINE GAMES LEFT (if they win their division and get to play in their conference championship game). BYU and Utah both lost to BCS teams, so their seasons are over, no BCS bid for them. Forget that they both have a chance to win a conference championship, they both play in a rivalry game or two still, and they both have 8 games left. BYU is still a top 25 team for crying out loud. But no, their seasons are over, they can't go undefeated and go to a BCS game so we will never talk about them again on Sportscenter or Gameday, they don't matter, unless they are playing TCU who still has a chance for a BCS game. Enjoy the game. There are great games involving great athletes, universites, and coaches being played every weekend that have no BCS implications whatsoever. Love your Saturdays without thinking about how it impacts a Rose Bowl invitation.
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