Monday Night College Football

Tennessee football always boasts great physical talent, but they usually lack in the mental capacity. The Vols graduate on average 1 of every 10 players and have had 13 arrested or cited in the last year. That number only counts players that are still in the program, so you can probably add another 4-5 who have left Tennessee. That lack of mental capacity was present tonight in the 1st half of their game at LSU. Turnovers, stupid penalties, and numerous mental mistakes put the Vols down 21-0. Even LSU coach Les Miles signaled that the 2nd half would yield more of the same and lead to an easy Tiger victory.

In the 2nd half, the complete opposite happened. LSU lost the mental edge, as they seemed to listen to their coach's halftime interview. Meanwhile, Tennessee rallied around their QB Rick Claussen and rallyed from behind to force the game into overtime, which they won. It's one of those games where if I went to bed at halftime, woke up the next morning and you told me Tenn. won, I wouldn't have believed you.

So here's the Top 10:
1. USC. I have to tell myself USC was actually down 13-0 in the 2nd quarter, yet still won 45-13. They can only stop themselves offensively, but they're still vulnerable defensively. Arizona St.'s passing attack will present a challenge, but they need to run the ball to have a chance. USC made Oregon one-dimensional on offense, which makes any team easier to defend.

2. Texas. Interesting road trip to Missouri Saturday. Columbia can be a tough place to play, and Mizzou QB Brad Smith can be tough. Also, will Texas be looking ahead to next week's game vs. Oklahoma????

3. Virginia Tech. It's too bad Georgia Tech QB Reggie Ball wasn't 100% for their game Saturday. I think Va. Tech still would've won, but not by 51-7. This week is their rivalry game with West Virginia at Morgantown. The Hokies are on upset alert.

4. Ohio St. OSU should've won 56-6 if not for two turnovers inside the Iowa 5 and poor clock management at the end of the 1st half. OSU needs to concentrate on running the football to establish offensive rhythm and get Ted Ginn the ball in the flow of the offense. Just throw the ball to him, you don't need to run a reverse to get him loose. The Bucks get a week off before their first road trip of the year. Happy Valley awaits where Penn St. could be 5-0 if they beat Minnesota this week. First road game of the year at Happy Valley at night, uh oh.

5. Florida. Big game for the Gators at Alabama this weekend. At some point, Chris Leak will have to run the option to keep an opposing defense honest. DeShawn Wynn needs to have a big day running the ball for Florida.

6. Florida St. The Noles get a chance to start a long winning streak with Syracuse coming to town this week. Drew Weatherford started to come around in the 2nd half at Boston College. If he can get them 14-17 points, that's enough for the defense, one of the best in college football.

7. Georgia. Any game in the SEC is tough, but I was expecting more than a 23-10 margin at Mississippi St. If the Bulldogs were ANY good (MSU), this would've been a tighter game. Georgia got on top early and coasted. DJ Shockley has matured a lot in his 4 years, I was impressed with his play. The Dawgs get 2 weeks off to prepare for Tennessee.

8. Tennessee. The Vols appear in the Top 10 thanks to their 2nd half comeback in an emotionally charged Tiger Stadium. Usually, when falling behind, the Vols tend to lay down, but they didn't tonight. I don't care how naturally talented Erik Ainge is, Rick Claussen needs to start at QB because he's clearly the leader of the team. Tennessee has the best talent of any other team I've seen (other than USC). If they can mentally focus, they can still have a good year.

9. LSU. After the 1st half, I would've put the Tigers at #2. What a disappointing last 30 minutes and 30 seconds. At the end of the 1st half, DeMarcus Russell scrambles, doesn't get a 1st down, failing to stop the clock. Instead of telling his QB to spike the ball, coach Miles tries to rush the field goal team on in 15 seconds. Then, the Tigers got conservative in the 2nd half on offense, and it cost them. They have a good, fast defense and great running backs, maybe everything that has happened to them caught up with them.

10. Miami. The defense is there, and now the offense is showing signs of at least being good enough to win games. Tyrone Moss is carrying the load on the ground, and tight end Greg Olsen is one of the best at his position. The Canes can't sleep on South Florida this week, especially after their beatdown of Louisville.

On the fringe: Michigan St., California, Notre Dame, Arizona St., Alabama

Big game for the MAC tomorrow night as Toledo travels to Fresno St. The MAC hasn't had a big non-conference win this year (sorry OU, but Pittsburgh doesn't qualify). This is their last chance to do so.