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October 31, 2006

Heisman Watch - Week 9

Another week has gone by, and with two of my leading candidates for the award having the week off, you are going to see something that looks very familiar. In fact, so familiar that everything looks the same from last week. For the first week in a while, there has been no change at the top of the Heisman Watch.

This is partially because all of the leading contenders for the award either won, and won well, or they had the week to rest for some big games which are on the horizon.

Let's say this much. If you don't believe that Troy Smith is the best player in college football at this point, you might have missed the boat as we were going along. Smith has not only transformed himself this year into a great passer, he has also molded his game as the season went along to take full advantage of the opportunities presented him.

What do I mean by this?

Going the season, Smith was known as the mobile quarterback from Ohio State. Last year, Smith ran for 611 yards and 11 touchdowns. Everyone looked at him as "Michael Vick-lite". It isn't a bad comparison, but the downside was that people overlooked his strong passing statistics for the 2005 season as a result.

Therefore, the first instinct for defenses this season was to make sure that Smith couldn't run. That would be fine, if Smith hadn't been able to throw the ball as well as he did. He began the year standing in the pocket and tearing up defenses designed to keep him still by hitting every receiver on his team. Through the first three games, Smith had 770 yards passing, and seven touchdowns, with no interceptions, and that includes a game against the strong defensive backs of Texas.

Once teams remembered that Smith could pass the ball, their focus shifted and they had to account for all the passing in the Ohio State offense. That left open the running game for the Buckeyes and gave Smith a chance to once again use his legs. With the short season left for Ohio State before what they are hoping is a trip to the National Championship game, Smith may not have a chance to match last year's stats on the ground. But recently, Smith has been a great complement to Antonio Pittman as a running threat, averaging seven yards per carry and also reaching the end zone on the ground for the first time this season.

Smith has worked at improving the quarterback half of the mobile quarterback title. That is the primary reason that this season, he is the leader to take home the statue. With two weeks still remaining before Michigan, we will have to wait to see what he does against one of the best front lines and overall defenses in the nation. Until then, we get the pleasure of watching him compete against Illinois and Northwestern, and seeing him have two more chances to remind us just how much better Smith has been this year than every other player in the game.

After watching all the top performers for the week, here is how I would rank the contenders coming out of Week 9:

1. Troy Smith (QB Ohio State): 14/21, 183 yds, 1 TD, 6 att., 43 yds rush, 1 TD vs. Minnesota - Troy Smith took a little time off at the end of this week's blowout against Minnesota, which was well deserved. Despite this weekend being one of his worst in terms of passing efficiency, Smith added a great deal to the running attack against the Gophers. Smith continues to expand his lead on this award and if my glowing review of the transformation of his game wasn't enough, consider that his 174.31 passer rating is 5th best in the nation. Not bad for the quarterback who everyone forgot could also throw the ball.
2. Steve Slaton (RB West Va.): BYE, Season Stats: 1059 yds, 7.0 ypc, 9 TD - A bye. That is what I am giving Slaton this week, because it could have been very easy to move Brady Quinn into the second spot this week given his performance against Navy. But Slaton's bye comes with a caveat. He has to show something huge against Louisville. And he can't be outshined by Pat White, or Slaton will be dropping quickly down this list. Good luck Steve. You are going to need it against Louisville's 75 rushing yards per game defense.
3. Brady Quinn (QB ND): 18/25, 295 yds, 3 TD, 4 att., 28 yds rush, 1 TD vs. Navy - Ok, one down, three to go. Quinn didn't falter against Navy, which was my requirement for him to stay near the top. Now he just has to keep it going against the next three "hurdles" prior to USC. He almost moved to #2 this week, and if Slaton isn't strong on Thursday, then look for Quinn to possibly take over the contender spot in this watch.
4. Ian Johnson (RB Boise State): BYE, Season Stats: 1181 yds, 7.0 ypc, 18 TD - Here is where my debate began. When a team has a week off, I have a chance to once again review the player's entire season in retrospect. Mr. Johnson gets a bye himself this week. The primary reason? Oregon State beating USC. While I didn't think that this year's USC team was as good as the last two seasons, they were still winning. And had they beaten Oregon State, it would have been nothing special. However, with the loss, Johnson's huge game against the Beavers just looks that much better. And it helps Boise State's image overall in the polls. Johnson gets Fresno State on Wednesday. No room for him to slip against the Bulldogs who haven't been able to stop anyone this season.
5. Erik Ainge (QB Tennessee): 21/29, 254 yds, 2 TD vs. South Carolina - Ainge took a drop last week after the tough game against Alabama. This week's win against South Carolina was enough to keep him in my Top 5, but not enough to give him back his high standing overall. He still leads Quinn in most statistics, but Ainge hasn't had to lead his team back as often from behind, which is giving Quinn the "leadership" quality. I think Ainge might be just as polished as Quinn right now, given the superior coaching he has received this season. Now, it remains to be seen if Ainge can someone squeeze the Vols into the top spot in the Eastern half of the SEC.
6. Michael Hart (RB Michigan): 20 att., 95 yds, 1 TD, 2 rec., 23 yds vs. Northwestern - Mike Hart gave Michigan just what it needed on Saturday. He was able to add a measure of ball control on a day that was less than ideal for playing football. In slippery and windy conditions, Hart was able to hold the ball on the ground for the Wolverines, and also was able to grab two passes at key times to give Michigan the win. Hart's stats might not pop out at you, especially his yards per carry, but there is no denying that he is the man that Michigan looks to when times are tough.

Others receiving consideration: Marshawn Lynch (RB Cal), Chad Henne (QB Michigan), JaMarcus Russell (QB LSU), Calvin Johnson (WR Georgia Tech), Ray Rice (RB Rutgers), Garrett Wolfe (RB Northern Illinois), Adrian Peterson (RB Oklahoma)

Heisman-like Performance

This week's player: Kellen Lewis - QB, Indiana
Line: 15/26, 261 yds, 5 TD, 1 INT, 14 att. 75 yds, 1 TD vs. Michigan State
While as a rule, I was trying to find great performances of players in smaller conferences for this spot, it is late enough in the season, that we might see some freshman in the bigger conferences start to mature and show their talents. While talents like PJ Hill, who have been good all season, it doesn't mean others haven't made their mark. Some have done so in a big way like Kellen Lewis. Lewis is one of the main reasons why Indiana is one win away from a trip to a bowl game, something that hasn't been done in 13 years. The young quarterback was last impressive against Iowa, picking up Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors, but had a let down against Ohio State. This week, facing the Michigan State Spartans, Lewis decided it was time for him to really come alive. He threw for five touchdowns, including four to James Hardy. Lewis was also strong on the ground, scoring another time, and gaining 75 yards. Six scores, and involvement in the plays that led to all but 5 of the Hoosier points on the day - Not bad for a freshman. With Hardy only a sophomore, and Lewis a freshman, there is hope that if Indiana can get to six wins, they could make bowl appearances commonplace in Bloomington. The Hoosiers haven't been to three straight bowls since the 1986-8 seasons, and Lewis sure gives them that opportunity. Now they just have to beat Minnesota, Michigan, or Purdue to begin that quest.

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 1:30 PM | Comments (0)

October 30, 2006

MRI Football 2006 - Rankings Week 6

With each week, the race in the MRI is beginning to look like 2003. That was the year that Oklahoma burst out to such a huge lead in the computer rankings that even two straight losses to end the year kept them at #1.

This year, the culprit is Ohio State. Since they took the lead, they have just steadily increased the margin between them and the #2 Michigan Wolverines. The closest anyone has come to beating them has been Texas and they lost by 17. That doesn't give much hope for those out there hoping that maybe Ohio State will go down before the championship game. The Buckeyes have Illinois and Northwestern left on their schedule before the big date with the Maize and Blue. Chances are those games will be equally as impressive as their dismantling of Minnesota this weekend, 44-0.

Of their nine victories, only two teams managed to score more than 10 points, and only three managed to score more than once in the game. That is dominance.

And in case you were wondering, it isn't like Michigan is falling back to the pack either. No one seems to want to step up for a challenge in the #3 spot, much like in the current BCS rankings. With their victory over Northwestern, Michigan stays a solid #2 candidate.

The next three teams in the rankings all had a week off. Probably a good week to have it, as a lot of teams either lost in upsets or had scares. LSU, West Virginia, and Louisville round out the top 5.

The two Big East leaders set up nicely for their showdown this Thursday for control of the conference, although each still have a date with Rutgers on the horizon. The MRI leans towards the Cardinals when you take into account home field advantage. Look for a close one either way.

Check out all the rankings in Week 6 of the MRI.

And Now the Rankings
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	MRI	LW
1	Ohio State	9-0	112.11	1
2	Michigan	9-0	101.53	2
3	LSU	6-2	84.11	4
4	West Virginia	7-0	83.43	3
5	Louisville	7-0	80.69	7
6	Texas	8-1	77.36	5
7	Auburn	8-1	76.29	9
8	Florida	7-1	76.17	10
9	Clemson	7-2	73.77	6
10	Boise State	8-0	71.18	13
11	Cal	7-1	70.80	11
12	Wisconsin	8-1	70.59	12
13	USC	6-1	68.65	8
14	Rutgers	8-0	68.01	14
15	BYU	6-2	65.16	17
16	Oklahoma	6-2	63.68	18
17	Tennessee	7-1	63.50	16
18	Missouri	7-2	60.55	15
19	Tulsa	7-1	60.07	19
20	Notre Dame	7-1	58.87	24
21	Texas A&M	8-1	58.49	21
22	Arkansas	7-1	57.72	22
23	Pittsburgh	6-2	57.32	20
24	Virginia Tech	6-2	55.96	NR(30)
25	Boston College	7-1	53.70	NR(29)
Teams Dropped From The Top 25: Nebraska (LW #23, TW #28), Oregon (LW #25, TW #27)
Other Teams People Might Care About
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	MRI	LW
26	Washington State	6-3	53.03	26
28	Nebraska	6-3	48.68	23
31	Georgia Tech	6-2	47.06	31
37	Iowa	6-3	42.06	45
40	Florida State	4-4	38.47	38
42	Miami	5-3	36.58	33
47	UCLA	4-4	32.45	35
60	Northern Illinois	5-4	23.11	53
61	Maryland	6-2	22.35	62
62	Michigan State	4-5	20.96	48
65	Vanderbilt	4-5	19.17	73
66	Indiana	5-4	19.16	87
71	Purdue	5-4	14.22	66
82	Illinois	2-7	8.60	83
101	Miami(Ohio)	1-8	-11.56	105
109	Northwestern	2-7	-20.09	109
116	Duke	0-8	-43.26	116
Last Place this week: Temple (1-8) at -57.41. 4th week in a row.
Biggest Gain this week: Florida Atlantic gained 15.90 points. (Beat Arkansas State, 29-0)
Biggest Loss this week: Arkansas State lost 18.39 points. (Lost to Florida Atlantic, 29-0)
Conference rankings this week: Big East, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, PAC-10, ACC, Mountain West, C-USA, WAC, MAC, Sun Belt

The MRI Rankings are copyright 2006 by MRISports.com. Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 4:00 PM | Comments (0)

October 29, 2006

Big XII Recap - Week 9

Recently, every season in the Big XII North takes the same turn just about now. The teams leading all season seem to falter. The race tightens up, and until the final week of the season, we have no idea who will be representing the division in the Championship game.

So why should this season be any different?

While Colorado didn’t seem a full test of Oklahoma without Adrian Peterson, the way Missouri had been playing should have told us what Oklahoma still had in them. Apparently, the Sooners’ tank is very full. Paul Thompson and Allen Patrick both had very good games, as they led Oklahoma to a 26-10 win over Missouri. Thompson threw for 127 yards and two touchdowns while Patrick contributed 162 yards on the ground. The Tigers had four turnovers in the game, including three interceptions by quarterback Chase Daniel.

With Missouri losing, Nebraska knew they only needed a win for sole possession of the lead in the North. However, after getting out to a 23-13 lead with less than a minute to go in the first half, they allowed Oklahoma State to come right back. The Cowboys scored 28 unanswered points and took the contest, 41-29. Dantrell Savage had 117 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns in the victory. The losses by both Missouri and Nebraska back them into a big game next week when the two meet in Lincoln. The winner will have the edge in the North and a downhill road to a berth in Kansas City.

South division leader Texas hadn’t lost to a Big XII foe other than Oklahoma since 2002. The team that managed to beat them then was Texas Tech. Through the first quarter on Saturday, it looked as if Texas Tech might just beat the Longhorns again.

Texas turned the ball over twice in the first fifteen minutes with both miscues resulting in scores for the Red Raiders who jumped to a 21-0 lead. Colt McCoy settled down enough to get Texas back within 10, at 31-21 entering halftime, by throwing three touchdown passes.

Texas fumbled the ball away twice more in the second half but kept Texas Tech off of the scoreboard. A McCoy pass to Quan Cosby early in the fourth quarter put the Longhorns ahead for the first time all day, and they held on for the 35-31 victory. McCoy finished with 256 yards passing, 68 more rushing, and four touchdowns on the day with only the single interception against him.

In other action, Texas A&M held off surprising Baylor for a 31-21 win and sole possession of second place in the South Division. The Aggies close their season with a string of games against three ranked teams beginning with Oklahoma next week. Despite giving up a 95 yard fumble recovery for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, Kansas was able to hold on and beat Colorado 20-15. The win was Kansas’s first victory in the conference this season. Iowa State remains the only team in the conference without a Big XII victory as they lost to Kansas State, 31-10. The Wildcats scored 31 straight points after falling behind 10-0 after the first quarter. Iowa State faces Kansas and Colorado over the next two weeks for a chance at their first conference win.

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. His Big XII recap appears weekly on Blogcritics.org as part of their NCAA Tailgate Cleanup. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 10:00 PM | Comments (2)

October 25, 2006

My "AP" Ballot - Week 8

For those that weren't aware, the real AP voters have their votes posted each week by the Associated Press. You can analyze where any bias in their voting comes from by checking out each individual voter, and looking at the schools they cover.

However, there is still a strange bias out there that I can't figure out. For the past two weeks, there have been two writers out of California who have been voting for West Virginia as #1. If they were from Northern California, I might understand it. Northern California is another world from Southern California, and they would do anything up there to avoid seeing USC play for another National Title. But both of these writers are from the Southern part of the state. And they cover the UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans. Now, UCLA, I can understand, but USC? The Trojans are ranking up as one of the top teams in the country and even their own writer won't put them first. And apparently they won't acknowledge the strength of the Big Ten conference either. Either Michigan or Ohio State, I could see the argument for. But West Virginia, I don't get.

That said, I have the Mountaineers third on my list this week after their win over Connecticut. Ohio State and Michigan, my top two for the last few weeks are still holding down the top spots and their hold is getting stronger all the time. I don't expect to see them moving anytime soon either since they have easy roads to their collision in the middle of November

At #4, I still have Texas. Even their close win showed me a lot about how far this team has come from their loss to Ohio State earlier this season. In the game though, I learned a lot about Nebraska and what kind of team they are. They showed something that was missing in their game against USC. As a result, they didn't drop as far as you might expect for a team with two losses. And they are still ahead of those pesky kids at Notre Dame, who squeaked out a win again.

Moving into the Top 5 is Clemson who are pulling away as the class of the ACC and are one of only two ACC teams to make my 25 this week.

Here are my "AP" rankings for Week 8:

1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
3. West Virginia
4. Texas
5. Clemson

6. USC
7. Louisville
8. Florida
9. Auburn
10. Tennessee
11. LSU
12. Cal
13. Nebraska
14. Notre Dame
15. Boise State
16. Arkansas
17. Missouri
18. Wisconsin
19. Rutgers
20. Oregon
21. Oklahoma
22. Georgia Tech
23. Tulsa
24. Texas A&M
25. BYU

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 2:00 PM | Comments (0)

October 24, 2006

Richard Billingsley Has Had Enough

Do you know who Richard Billingsley is? You should.

Why? Because for the past 8-plus years, you have blasted him and a number of men like him.

They are the ones who developed the computer formulas used in the BCS. And Billingsley is, for one, tired of it.

In an open letter to not only the fans of the sport, but also to ABC and FOX, the college football expert reacts to the very harsh criticism which has been laid against him in the past week, corresponding with the release of the first BCS rankings.

Being one of those out there in the world with a computer ranking system for football (There are at least 75 others that you can see here), I have to say I agree with him.

I was shocked at the way that Craig James behaved on television this weekend. While John Saunders and Doug Flutie looked on and laughed, James held his laptop in the air and waved it at the camera as he spoke. He was blatantly antagonistic to those that spend a lot of time not only developing the ratings, but also updating them and keeping them current each week. As you can see from Billingsley's letter, James has never once attempted to learn the reasoning for the discrepancies between his own beliefs and what the numbers show. That ignorance to the work of not just one individual, but many, who have a very direct influence on the sport he covers is just uncalled for and Billingsley rightly attacks him for it.

On a personal note, I take great pride in what I do with regards to the rankings I generate, not only for college football, but also basketball, and a computer based "seeding" of teams for the NCAA tournament. It is the culmination of many hours of effort on my part and it is not without a great deal of thought despite being mainly driven by the numbers coming out of my computer.

I know firsthand the pain of the attacks that Billingsley is expressing. Last year, I was blasted repeatedly by fans of a few schools who were not rated highly in the MRI. I had them "out" of the NCAA tournament while many experts had guaranteed them as locks. These attacks came not only in comments here at MRISports.com, which I am sure many of you saw, but also in very harsh posts on message boards and other sites on the Internet. I am sure there were more that I didn't see, but those I did almost made me stop doing what I do. That's right. No more MRI, no more writing, no more MRISports.com.

Why? Because only one of the those making the comments made an attempt to understand what I had done, and understand how the MRI or the seedings were generated. And his understanding came not from one e-mail, but a long trading of discussion on the topic. In the end, we calmly agreed to disagree, but that peace was not achieved without some amount of learning on his part. The others, however, blindly spoke out without even trying to understand, or reading a disclaimer that I added into the bracket projections each week. More than anything, it made me sad that people were so blindly against another way of looking at things.

Last week, on FanIQ, I participated in a discussion which commented on how strange the computer polls looked in the first week. It was mentioned during that discussion that the computers do tend to look correct at the end of the season, and I applaud that realization.

So, before we totally dismiss the computers totally, I have a challenge for all of us, the Fans. I challenge us to take the higher standard that Billingsley asks us to in his letter. Let's work to understand those computers before we dismiss them as out of sorts or wrong. We all might just learn something.

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 3:30 PM | Comments (0)

Heisman Watch - Week 8

When the final ballots were totalled last season, Ohio State linebacker AJ Hawk, finished sixth. It isn't like it mattered. The award was never more than a three horse race, and almost the entire country had ceded the trophy to Reggie Bush after the second or third game of the season. Never mind that his quarterback Matt Leinart had a better season than him, or that Vince Young passed both of them by. The country was taken in by the little back from USC.

But AJ Hawk even making the Top 10 was important. He impressed 26 voters enough that they felt alright knocking one of the three front runners down at least one notch. For some reason though, defensive players, like Hawk, normally have trouble convincing the voters to place them anywhere on the ballot.

There has only been one primarily defensive player in history to take home the award. In 1997, Charles Woodson, a defensive back for the Michigan Wolverines finished first in the voting. Woodson was the leader of a Michigan defense that led almost every statistical category that season, surrendering only 98 points in 12 games that season. Woodson, and the rest of the defensive backfield, gave up only 4 passing touchdowns all season and Woodson had 7 interceptions to his credit. The Heisman winner also returned kicks for the Wolverines and played on offense some that season, but only after practically having to beg head coach Lloyd Carr for the chance

A defensive player winning the Heisman is comparable to a starting pitcher trying to win the MVP award in baseball. The voters give less credit to a player who only goes out to play once every five games. They would rather give the award to an everyday player. In baseball, though, you can make the argument for the number of games that a player participates in. In football, the defense is out on the field as much and sometimes more than the offense. So why is it that a defensive player can't be considered the best player in the country?

About the only reason you can give to why the award almost always goes to offensive players is that they have the opportunity to have their hands on the ball most often, and showcase their talents. Quarterbacks handle the ball almost every snap their team is on the field. Running backs are key to ball control and in some cases touch the ball more than the quarterback throws. Receivers are third in line, and almost have to be huge kick return threats to get a chance at the award. It appears in the face of that, a defensive player has almost no chance unless they lead the country in interceptions by such a wide margin that it almost seems like he is suiting up for the other team.

The truth is that game planning against a defensive player, much like a receiver, is much easier than against a running back or quarterback. The game plan itself can remove a great player from the game. Take, for instance, one of the most explosive defensive lineman in the Big Ten, Purdue's Anthony Spencer. Anyone who has watched him over the course of the season has seen Spencer put up some impressive numbers. He is among the national leaders in tackles for loss and in sacks with seven. Add in three forced fumbles, and a blocked kick, and you have a resume most lineman would be very happy to have. However, he was almost completely shut down on Saturday against Wisconsin. The reason? The Badgers spent most of the day tracking Spencer with offensive lineman Joe Thomas, a player almost certain to be a high draft pick in the NFL next season. Thomas was able to keep Spencer just a step away from quarterback John Stocco all afternoon, which helped buy enough time to take advantage of the young Purdue defensive backs. A small adjustment in the game plan was all it took to change the very nature of the game on the front line, and slow down one of the best lineman in the game.

Only two defensive players other than Woodson have finished in the top five in voting over the last 15 years, and none of those was close to challenging for the trophy. This season, despite top names on defense like Paul Posluszny at Penn State, Aaron Ross at Texas, Daymeion Hughes at Cal, and LaMarr Woodley at Michigan, it is unlikely we will see any defensive players even invited to New York for the presentation. If I had a guess at the best chance to even crack the top ten in voting, it would be Woodley. He, like Spencer, is among the national leaders in tackles for a loss and quarterback sacks and has been much harder to shut down. Plus, the Michigan defense has been very good this season, surrendering less than 300 rushing yards total over their first eight games, and they are among the leaders in total defense and turnovers. You would almost have to recognize the very good captain of that squad as one of the top players in the game.

After watching all the top performers for the week, here is how I would rank the contenders coming out of Week 8:

1. Troy Smith (QB Ohio State): 15/23, 220 yds, 4TDs vs. Indiana - Remember last week when I said that Troy Smith could have a four interception game and still keep his lead? He must have misunderstood me, because he threw for four touchdowns on Saturday in the Ohio State romp over Indiana. With a performance like that, Smith is only distancing himself from the pack even more. There is still a lot of football to be played, but someone would have to have a final five weeks that is almost record breaking for this award not to be Smith's. Now all he has to do is not look past any opponents between now and November 18th. Then Smith might have two things he is playing for in the game against Michigan, the #1 ranking and this award.
2. Steve Slaton (RB West Va.): 19 att., 128 yds, 1 TD vs. Connecticut - One thing is for certain. Trying to predict the Heisman race leads you to watch a lot of blowout games. Thursday night was no exception, and once West Virginia started toying with Connecticut, I spent a great deal of the remainder of the evening flipping over to the baseball playoffs. Slaton showed off his speed a great deal against the overmatched Huskies while turning in big average numbers again, even if his trips to the end zone were few. He is starting to lose more carries to quarterback Pat White, which could erode Slaton's hold on the #2 spot in this race. For now though, he is safe, especially with his team pulling off big victories in the process. The running back has next week off to rest up for a big match against Louisville.
3. Brady Quinn (QB ND): 27/45, 304 yds, 2 TDs vs. UCLA - Brady Quinn has his receiver Jeff Samardzija to thank for moving into the #3 spot this week. If the big wide out hadn't stepped out of two tackles to score the winning touchdown against the Bruins, Quinn's numbers would have looked fairly pedestrian. That is probably because Brady was looking up from his back while being pummeled by the UCLA defense for most of the day. However, he got it together in time to make one last drive of 80 yards and take back a victory which seemed all but lost for the Fighting Irish. Give Quinn credit. He knows how to lead the big comeback. This was the second game this season where he has had to lead his team back on a final drive. Given this year's Heisman race, that is enough to keep him high on this list.



4. Ian Johnson (RB Boise State): 27 att., 183 yds, 4 TDs vs. Idaho - Sure, it was against Idaho. Seems like I say that a lot when it comes to Ian Johnson. The running back doesn't seem to care who the opponent is lately though. Unlike some other players who have been considered here, Johnson just seems to turn it up against everyone he faces. This was the third time this season that he has run for four or more touchdowns in a game, and this time, Boise State needed every one of them to hold off the Vandals. Johnson and the Broncos might have their main sights on getting into a BCS bowl, but more games like this and Johnson will be getting himself a ticket to New York City to sit on the stage.
5. Erik Ainge (QB Tennessee): 28/46, 302 yds, 3 INTs vs. Alabama - Ainge's numbers don't look that great do they? No touchdowns, three picks. Not a great afternoon. At least that was what I thought when I had only seen the numbers. The truth behind his performance could only be seen by watching the game. Two of Ainge's three interceptions could be dismissed. One was an attempt for a home run ball, and the other came near the end of the half. The only one that was really bad was great scheming by the defense. And Ainge made a touchdown saving tackle on that one, leaving Alabama to settle for a field goal. Credit this drop to the Alabama defense. They planned to disrupt Ainge all afternoon and should have won that game. But they didn't and a lot of the credit should go to Erik Ainge. He shook off the three interceptions at halftime and did a good job of putting Tennessee in position to win. He wasn't his best on Saturday, he was a little off. But he did what he needed to do to get his team the victory, and showed me a lot about him in the process.
6. Michael Hart (RB Michigan): 31 att., 126 yds, 2 TDs vs. Iowa - I am tempted to say that there is no player more important to his team's success that Mike Hart. Hart continues to help Michigan control the game clock when they need to, get the key first down when they need it, and hold onto the ball, as in no turnovers. He continued to build the number of carries he has had without a fumble, although that came close to changing in this game. No matter, replay showed he held on until his knee touched down. As Michigan continues to build its resume to a National Championship game, Hart continues to prove that he is the best player on the sideline in Maize and Blue.

Others receiving consideration: Marshawn Lynch (RB Cal), Chad Henne (QB Michigan), JaMarcus Russell (QB LSU), Ray Rice (RB Rutgers), Garrett Wolfe (RB Northern Illinois), Calvin Johnson (WR Georgia Tech), Adrian Peterson (RB Oklahoma)

Heisman-like Performance

This week's player: Donovan Porterie - QB, New Mexico
Line: 19/33, 350 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT vs. Utah
This spot is quickly becoming a highlight film for some of the best performances by freshman at the smaller schools around the country. Just looking at Donovan Porterie's stats though might lead you think that I might be giving this award to the wrong player this time around. Don't count out the New Mexico quarterback just yet. Porterie was making only the second start of his career on Thursday night and definitely showed some freshman jitters. He completed only three of his first 11 passes and watched his team go down by 21 points. Maybe Brain Urlacher, linebacker for the Chicago Bears, and former Lobo himself, had something to share with Porterie about comebacks after the Bears managed a miracle on Monday night. The freshman completed 16 of his final 22 passes and threw for three touchdowns to ignite a comeback that was historic for New Mexico. While Porterie didn't throw for the final score of the night, his game winning drive helped the Lobos tie a school record for their biggest comeback in history. New Mexico had previously comeback from 21 points down for a win against UTEP back in 1974. For showing poise under a great deal of pressure and totally turning his game around, Donovan Porterie is this week's winner of the Heisman-like Performance.

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)

October 23, 2006

MRI Football 2006 - Rankings Week 5

The performance of the Ohio State Buckeyes this season was supposed to be of championship caliber. The biggest question coming in was their team defense. Losing nine starters from the year before is never easy. However, the newcomers have lived up to the challenge. The Buckeyes are among the national leaders in team defense, and have a +11 turnover ratio.

That is enough to have them vaulting into 1st place in the MRI this week. The Buckeyes had the largest gain of the week, after crushing Indiana in a very impressive all around performance. They pass by a Michigan team, who although they won, showed a little weakness finally. Perhaps it was the pressure of Iowa being the last big game before Ohio State that got to them.

Talk all week centered around how this game could be their trap, and for most of the game, it very well could have been. While the Michigan defense was clicking, the offense struggled a bit to get it going. The big play possibilities which had been how Michigan had devastated opponents leading up to now, were not there against Iowa. As a result, the crowd was totally out of the game until late when Michigan had all but signed off on the big win. The win keeps Michigan close with Ohio State in the MRI.

After the two Big Ten teams, the rest of the field is quite a way's back. Even if West Virginia were to have played the same number of games as the Buckeyes and Wolverines, they would still be in third place. That is how well that Ohio State and Michigan have played to this point. And that is assuming that West Virginia could keep performing at the pace they have all season. They have had to destroy almost every opponent to keep up due to their weak schedule so far (114 out of 119, based on the MRI calculation). The situation could make it tough for the Mountaineers to stick where they are in the standings. They have a bye week and then face Louisville the week after. They could find themselves slipping quickly especially with how dangerous the Cardinals can be.

LSU remains at #4 with another big win, this time taking out a Fresno State team from whom big things were expected this season. The Bulldogs continue to disappoint, not that LSU is complaining at all. Despite two losses in conference, the Tigers have shown that they can compete with any team in the nation. They will need to keep it up. They have a well deserved week off before traveling to Tennessee to face the surprisingly dangerous Volunteers.

Texas rounds out the Top 5 by virtue of their comeback in Lincoln this weekend. Needing a walk-on kicker to help clinch the victory didn't do much to help improve their MRI standing. They not only lost ground by slipping two places, they also failed to keep pace with Michigan and Ohio State, falling even further back. The Longhorns have a chance to jump back on track against a very schizophrenic Texas Tech team on Saturday.

Check out all the rankings in week 5 of the MRI.

And Now the Rankings
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	MRI	LW
1	Ohio State	8-0	104.88	2
2	Michigan	8-0	98.43	1
3	West Virginia	7-0	81.11	5
4	LSU	6-2	80.99	4
5	Texas	7-1	79.10	3
6	Clemson	7-1	78.60	7
7	Louisville	7-0	75.39	8
8	USC	6-0	74.03	6
9	Auburn	7-1	72.55	12
10	Florida	6-1	72.11	9
11	Cal	7-1	71.72	11
12	Wisconsin	7-1	71.28	10
13	Boise State	8-0	69.15	13
14	Rutgers	7-0	65.52	14
15	Missouri	7-1	64.92	17
16	Tennessee	6-1	62.17	16
17	BYU	5-2	57.97	NR(27)
18	Oklahoma	5-2	57.77	19
19	Tulsa	6-1	57.25	20
20	Pittsburgh	6-2	55.39	15
21	Texas A&M	7-1	54.79	22
22	Arkansas	6-1	53.71	25
23	Nebraska	6-2	53.51	18
24	Notre Dame	6-1	51.23	NR(28)
25	Oregon	5-2	48.33	21
Teams Dropped From The Top 25: Georgia Tech (LW #23, TW #31), Alabama (LW #24, TW #27)
Other Teams People Might Care About
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	MRI	LW
26	Washington State	5-3	46.37	35
29	Boston College	6-1	43.85	36
31	Georgia Tech	5-2	42.78	23
33	Miami	5-2	41.23	33
35	UCLA	4-3	40.92	26
38	Florida State	4-3	38.45	37
45	Iowa	5-3	36.26	39
48	Michigan State	4-4	32.57	49
53	Northern Illinois	5-3	26.29	61
62	Maryland	5-2	21.03	70
66	Purdue	5-3	18.48	52
73	Vanderbilt	3-5	14.59	64
83	Illinois	2-6	7.81	82
87	Indiana	4-4	5.77	78
105	Miami(Ohio)	1-7	-10.06	105
109	Northwestern	2-6	-18.95	111
116	Duke	0-7	-37.99	118
Last Place this week: Temple (0-8) at -64.56. 3rd week in a row.
Biggest Gain this week: Ohio State gained 12.45 points. (Beat Indiana, 44-3)
Biggest Loss this week: Stanford lost 16.71 points. (Lost to Arizona State, 38-3)
Conference rankings this week: Big East, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, PAC-10, ACC, Mountain West, C-USA, WAC, MAC, Sun Belt

The MRI Rankings are copyright 2006 by MRISports.com. Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 12:30 PM | Comments (0)

October 22, 2006

Big XII Recap - Week 8

What is the recipe for an instant classic? Start with numbing cold, add two teams in the top 20, and sprinkle in a little wind, rain, and snow. Top it off with a walk-on kicker who had never attempted a field goal in his career, and you have genius. That was just what the 22-20 Texas victory over Nebraska was on Saturday afternoon – Genius.

The two teams who lead their respective divisions in the Big XII conference gave a great preview of what could be the championship game in Kansas City, on December 2nd. A game which featured crushing defense from both sides looked all along like the last team to make a big play would win it.

The drama on the field came to a climax in the 4th quarter. A brilliant call by coach Bill Callahan resulted in a 25-yard touchdown toss by Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky giving Nebraska a slim lead. Texas was stopped on their next drive, handing the Cornhuskers a chance to run out the clock. However, a pass out to Terrence Nunn on third down was dislodged by corner Aaron Ross.

Texas recovered the fumble and took the opportunity to drive into field goal range. Longhorns kicker Greg Johnson had already hit two field goals in the game, but he had also missed two others, and had an extra point blocked. So, instead of Johnson taking the field, it was walk-on Ryan Bailey. Callahan tried to ice the kicker in the cold weather but the freshman from Austin nailed his first ever attempt through the middle of the uprights to seal the victory for Texas.

Missouri continued its impressive season and moved closer to setting up an important game with Nebraska in two weeks. The Tigers beat up on Kansas State, 41-21. Quarterback Chase Daniel threw for 262 yards and four touchdowns in the victory. The win by Missouri was their first victory over Kansas State since 1992.

Should Missouri want to be facing Nebraska with the North Division title on the line, they will have to get past Oklahoma next week. The Sooners, without star Adrian Peterson, had no trouble with disappointing Colorado, winning 24-3. Junior back Allen Patrick filled in for Peterson with 110 yards and a touchdown. Even with those great statistics, the big loss for Oklahoma comes in Peterson’s big play ability. Patrick’s longest run of the day was only twelve yards. Peterson hadn’t had a game this season where his longest run went for less than 29.

In other action, Texas A&M blocked a potential game tying extra point in overtime to survive against Oklahoma State, 34-33. Baylor matched a school record for the largest comeback in history, scoring 19 points in the fourth quarter, to win their first homecoming game in nine years, downing Kansas, 36-35. The Bears remain tied for second in the South division with A&M. Those two teams meet next week in Waco. Texas Tech rebounded from last week’s horrendous loss to Colorado with six touchdown passes by quarterback Graham Harrell. The Red Raiders beat the Iowa State Cyclones, in Ames, 42-26.

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. His Big XII recap appears weekly on Blogcritics.org as part of their NCAA Tailgate Cleanup. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 4:00 PM | Comments (0)

October 18, 2006

My "AP" Ballot - Week 7

I must really like the SEC. Or I think that there are a number of teams that could come out of that conference at this point and contend for the National Title. Even though I think that they can contend, at this point in time, I can't see any of them actually being in the title game. Still, some of the best defenses in the country are in that conference, and sometimes, defense is enough to get you to the big dance.

I am sticking with Ohio State and Michigan as my top two this week. Nothing I have seen on the field has led me to believe otherwise. If neither of those teams slip up before the final game of the season, we should be in for a classic game. I hesitate to pump up that game now, knowing that almost anything can happen each week on the field, but it is hard not to anticipate a game which could determine who is playing in Arizona come January.

Moving up to #3 is West Virginia. They may have one of the easiest schedules in the nation, but they have done nothing but roll over it. From game to game, they have shown that they only need one aspect of their offense to win by 30 points a game. That should help when they put it all together against some of the tougher opponents in the Big East. Connecticut this weekend isn't one of those but they can't be caught looking ahead to Louisville if they want to have a shot at the conference or the National Title.

Texas moves up into the Top 5, passing by USC and Louisville this week. They may have taken a quarter to get rolling against Baylor, but Colt McCoy setting records with his arm is reason to believe that the Longhorns will be very good for at least the next three years. Texas might even have a shot at the National Title again, but are starting from 9th in the standings. It might be tough to improve that especially in the computers given the Big XII schedule remaining for the Longhorns.

Falling to 5th this week, I have USC. They are lucky that Louisville struggled also, or they might be out of my Top 5. Too many close calls lately have me doubting whether this is one of the top teams in the nation. They have still not lost, so it is hard to doubt that they are good. But I am not convinced that they are one of the best. I give them credit though. They have played one of the toughest schedules in the nation so far and survived every contest. It is too bad that they do not get a rest game because they are going to need it to survive to the end.

Here are my "AP" rankings for Week 7:

1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
3. West Virginia
4. Texas
5. USC

6. Louisville
7. Clemson
8. Florida
9. Tennessee
10. Cal
11. Auburn
12. Notre Dame
13. LSU
14. Nebraska
15. Georgia Tech
16. Oregon
17. Boise State
18. Rutgers
19. Oklahoma
20. Arkansas
21. Missouri
22. Pittsburgh
23. Tulsa
24. Wisconsin
25. Texas A&M

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)

October 17, 2006

More Suspensions Handed Down

Before the update, kudos to Bill Curry, a man whose opinion many should listen to and respect. Curry has been in the college football business a long time. He prevails with a cool head at a time when many, myself included, have written very harsh articles on the action in Saturday's game. If you haven't read his thoughts on the brawl, it should be a must read for all interested in college football, and maintaining the integrity of the game.

With that said, a few of my thoughts have come to pass in the wake of the brawl. First, Lamar Thomas was fired by the television station late Monday for his comments during the brawl. As stated before, Thomas's comments during and after the brawl will be removed from the video when the game is re-shown later this week.

In terms of the players, Anthony Reddick, the helmet swinger from Miami, has been suspended indefinitely by the team. The other players still are only suspended one game with other actions to consist of community service and unnamed other discipline.

Florida International has taken the suspensions a step further. They dismissed both Chris Smith and Marshall McDuffie from the team, although both will remain on scholarship this year. Smith was the originally tackler of the Miami holder on the extra point. McDuffie came in after the tackle and kicked the holder in the head. The other 16 players who were suspended for one game had their suspensions extended indefinitely. According to a report from the Miami Herald, they will be on athletic probation for the remainder of the year, and will fulfill some other requirements including the development of a course on why this is not appropriate behavior during an athletic event.

It is disappointing that Miami apparently is not taking this as seriously as Florida International. Suspending only one of the players involved longer than a single game, against Duke even, shows a lack of judgement in this area. When punishments only go this far, it will only be a matter of time before it happens again, maybe even this season. The university community, the fans of the team, and the fans of college football, deserve more appropriate action in these circumstances, much like Florida International has put into place. It is time for Miami's leadership, especially president Donna Shalala, to do the same

Shalala called the punishments handed down "a new standard" in her press conference on Tuesday afternoon. She claims that players involved in fights will be removed from athletic teams. It doesn't seem that her words fit with her actions so far in this case. If she really wants to set a new standard of "zero tolerance", then she needs to start now. Watch the video again, and make sure that all players are punished appropriately, as you say they should be. If you want to let them remain at the university for their education, do so, but make sure you stay true to your word and remove them from the team.

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)

Heisman Watch - Week 7

With almost half the season left to play, it is a little presumptuous to say that the race for the Heisman is over, but the competition took a huge blow on Saturday.

When Adrian Peterson landed in the end zone after his 53 yard run against Iowa State, his collar bone, and his chances to win the award gave way. There was no doubt that Adrian Peterson was among the top candidates, and while most experts have Troy Smith in the lead, Peterson was in the first or second spot on most ballots. In most years, there would be a number of players stepping into Peterson's shoes, ready to move into second place. However, this week's games may have made it tougher than ever to call who is #2.

The dark horse in the race, Garrett Wolfe, had been putting up record chasing numbers, giving him the best shot to be that contender. Not so much against Western Michigan on Saturday. Wolfe managed only 25 yards against a team which had been giving up an average of over 100 yards on the ground. The Broncos defense was all over Wolfe and quarterback Phil Horvath, making Horvath have to use his arm to beat them. Horvath couldn't do enough through the air to get the Huskies the win, and Wolfe chances at the statue took a major hit in the loss.

So, I guess this is the call out across the nation for someone, anyone, to step up and show you can challenge for the lead in this race. Otherwise, unless Troy Smith implodes, this award will be his. There is no doubt in my mind at this point.

With over half the season gone, it has become time to narrow down the field for the Heisman Watch. I will still list a number of players whom I considered, but only 6 will be ranked each week This will all lead to what I hope should be my final vote list in the last week of the season, with only five players.

After watching all the top performers for the week, here is how I would rank the contenders coming out of Week 7:

1. Troy Smith (QB Ohio State): 15/22, 234 yds, 2 TDs vs. Michigan State - Explain to me what it would take for Troy Smith to lose this award. He could probably even survive in the #1 spot if Ohio State was upset in some week of the season prior to the Michigan game, that is how far out in front he is right now. Smith is probably the most mature quarterback I have watched play this season. He isn't making the poor decision that have haunted him in the past. He almost looks on auto pilot in the pocket. Short of throwing 4 interceptions in a game, this award is his. And he might even still win it if he did that. He has that big a margin for error at this point with Peterson gone, and the rest of the pack just following along in a big clump behind him.
2. Steve Slaton (RB West Va.): 21 car., 178 yds, 2 TDs vs. Syracuse - For the second week in a row, a Heisman candidate was overshadowed by another player on his team. Only this time, it didn't affect that player's numbers in the game, or his chances at winning the award. West Virginia's quarterback, Pat White, broke school rushing records for a quarterback with his performance in the game, but still managed to give the ball to Slaton 21 times. And Slaton did what Slaton does. Another big game, and more big numbers to add to the growing list. Slaton is still a ways away from the #1 spot on this list and has stiff competition for #2. Big games are going to have to be expected, especially when the Mountaineers face Louisville.
3. Erik Ainge (QB Tennessee): BYE, Season Stats: 69% comp., 1657 yds, 15 TDs, 5 INTs, 171.57 rating - Not only does Ainge move up when he doesn't play, he actually passes other players who were off this week. Looking at the numbers, the competition, and everything else going on down on the field, I have to put Ainge at the #3 spot. After I pretty much dismissed Ainge earlier in the year, he has proven me wrong. Injecting a little David Cutcliffe into this young man has changed him for the better. I would take Ainge over any quarterback in the SEC right now. He has made a believer out of me, and that is why he is currently #3 on my list.
4. Brady Quinn (QB ND): BYE, Season Stats: 63.5% comp., 1634 yds, 16 TDs, 4 INTs, 141.86 rating - Sorry Brady. I had to drop you. There is still time for this year's pre-season favorite to take this back, but we won't really see tough competition for Quinn until the last few weeks of the season. Until then, we will have to be content with him beating up on UCLA, North Carolina, Army, and Navy. Not exactly running the gauntlet in that group. That of course makes it all the more important that Quinn performs well in those games, or he might meet the same fate as Wolfe, falling out of the Top 5 in my vote.



5. Adrian Peterson (RB Oklahoma): 26 car., 183 yds, 3 rec., 45 yds, 2 TDs vs. Iowa State - Yes, I know he is done for the year. However, tell me any of you have any doubts about Peterson being one of the Top 5 players in college football this season. He showed exactly why he was second in his freshman season. There is a good chance, should Oklahoma have continued to win, that he could have taken this award. For that reason alone, I have to believe that he deserves at least a few token votes for 5th place. He was that good, and remains on my list this week. Next week, well, let's wait and see what happens to everyone else.
6. Ian Johnson (RB Boise State): 27 car., 192 yds, 4 TDs vs. Mew Mexico State - New Mexico State is usually one of the worst teams in Division 1-A, but somehow have already won 2 games this season. So, maybe they are slowing turning that program around. Johnson might have just set them back a few years. This is Johnson's second monster game this season, his first coming against Oregon State. Add in another big game when I gave him the Heisman-like performance, and you are looking at what might be a real candidate. And Johnson is doing it while Boise State is still putting up big numbers in the passing game with Jared Zabransky. Johnson is my #6, mostly because of competition at this point in the season. He is in the same situation as Brady Quinn. He better not have a down game before facing Nevada, or he is going to be off the list.

Others receiving consideration: Michael Hart (RB Michigan), Garrett Wolfe (RB Northern Illinois), Chad Henne (QB Michigan), Calvin Johnson (WR Georgia Tech), Marshawn Lynch (RB Cal), JaMarcus Russell (QB LSU)

Dropped from my watch list: Chris Leak (Florida), Mario Manningham (Michigan), John David Booty (USC)

Heisman-like Performance

This week's player: Eugene Jarvis - RB, Kent State
Line: 31 car., 179 yards, 3 TD vs. Toledo
This week's award almost went to Colt Brennan, the quarterback of the Hawaii Warriors, because completing over 80% of your passes, especially when you pass as often as he does, is something special. However, I couldn't pass up Eugene Jarvis. Jarvis is only a freshman, much like last week's winner, Dan LeFevour. And he also beat up on Toledo much like LeFevour. Jarvis is a running back for the Golden Flashes, and he is 5'5". That's right, 5'5" and weighs in at 158 pounds. That puts him a full two inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter than Garrett Wolfe, who we have all been so impressed with this season. You see that and then you read the quote from Sean Williamson, defensive lineman for the losing Rockets: "He moves well and is hard to bring down." Moves well had better be correct, because he is about half the size of most of the guys out there trying to tackle him. Jarvis continues the trend of small running backs performing well this season, gaining 179 yards and scoring three times on Toledo while running the ball 31 times, more than he thinks he has ever run the ball in his football life. After the game, he gave all the credit to his offensive line and coaching. Congrats to Jarvis on being my Heisman-like performer this week, and to Kent State, who, for the first time ever, are 4-0 in conference, and have their longest winning streak since 1976. Not bad for a team picked to finish last in the MAC by most experts. If Jarvis continues running like this, those experts will be changing their opinion quickly.

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)

October 16, 2006

A Tough Reflection on the Miami - FIU Brawl

I am disgusted. Seriously disgusted. I have spent the last two days reviewing film of the Miami-Florida International brawl. Then I went back and looked at more recent incidents that went this far, most notably the Clemson-South Carolina fight. This is by far the worst incident I have ever seen on a football field. And not only that, the incident taken as a whole totally makes me shudder. I am not even going to link to a video of it, because I don't think anyone needs to view it again, not even as a teaching tool, because it isn't. It is a sad look at what one of the most winning programs in football has become.

I realize what follows here may seem like a knee-jerk reaction to the event, but let me reassure you that this is not. I refrained from commenting soon after it happened because I knew there were be too much emotion in my writing. And honestly, there is still no way to keep it out because of what occurred. So, while, as a writer, I attempt to be impartial, in this case, there is nothing which can be held back because of how out of control this was.

While coaches are getting yelled at for not having more control of the players, I think one thing is certain. The coaches in this case tried to get out on the field and stop the benches from clearing. There was little they could do to stop over-adrenalized football players in full battle gear though. They were run over in many cases, and I think they did what they could to try and stop it from getting worse than it was. However, that is where my praise for the coaches stops.

The coaches do deserve some blame, especially on the Miami side. In the incidents that have occurred prior to this one, was there ever a penalty for the "ringleaders" or any of the major parties involved? No. Those players have been indoctrinated into a football culture where it is OK to act disrespectful on the field, where it is OK to escalate incidents that occur, and where it is OK to generally act ridiculous on national television. And this carried over after the incident. While FIU's sideline seemed to calm down, Miami's coaches allowed the players to hold there helmets in the air, and jump up and down chanting, as if they had won something. They were beating up on a football team which has barely been in Division 1 that long, both on the field and off, and this was something to be proud of? The coaches should have stepped in and stopped that shameful display.

While people are calling for the coaches to be fired, I think the right thing for the coaches to do is take responsibility for letting this get out of hand, and resign. It is time to fall on your sword. Don't continue to get paid by the university because you have embarrassed it more than it was already. Walk away, and let someone who might have a hope of controlling these kids take over now.

Suspensions have already been handed down, though the schools and the leagues have reserved the right to extend the suspensions beyond the one game that they originally levied. It seems that Florida International is taking it a little more seriously. While they did not announce extensions to the suspensions during a press conference by coach Don Strock, it is clear they intend to. With so many players involved, and two weeks before their next game, I hope they do take their time, and get it right. Miami however doesn't seem to show the same purpose in their review of the situation. While one player, Anthony "Helmet Swinging" Reddick will be suspended indefinitely, other players will be further punished by community service. Are you kidding me? Community service? Yes, because that is apt punishment. These kids showed the community what great role models they are, and then they will go off into the community to do what? Teach kids how to read?

I can picture the scene now. Some Miami player is reading to a class of second graders and one of the kids raises his hand. "Mr. Hurricane, I loved the way you smacked up the Panther players." Do you really expect these Hurricane players, who showed no class on the field, to be able to explain to the kids why this was a bad move, and to have it respected by the kids? I don't see it happening. Sorry, there has to be stiffer punishment for these players.

Let's take a few examples. Reddick should be gone, dismissed from the team, scholarship revoked. Running straight onto the field, swinging your helmet is not only wrong, it is stupid. You are out on the field, in the middle of a brawl without a helmet. You think some other player might not get the same idea and smash down on your head? You have lost your privilege of playing football. Understand that. This is a privilege for you, and you have lost it.

Second, Florida International player Marshall McDuffie, you are also gone, scholarship revoked, hopefully kicked out of school. You kicked the holder in the helmet while he was being held down by your teammate. The holder? Are you serious? This is the Miami back-up quarterback that hasn't seen a snap in two years on the team. I hardly believe he was a big cause for the way you were losing the game. You lost your cool, and your privilege.

Third, James Bryant, should be suspended for 5 games. Explain to me how what you did was anything more than showing up a bad team. You scored a touchdown that put your team up 13-0, in the 3rd quarter. This was a team that you should have been beating 13-0 in the first 10 minutes of the game. Instead, Miami was underachieving again, and you choose to taunt the other team? This is no better than Terrell Owens running out to the star in Dallas and getting his butt handed to him by the Cowboys. This was gutless, and was the direct cause of most of this melee. If your coaches had any sense, they would have sat you then and there for this incident, and it should have drawn a flag from the referees.

Fourth, and last in these examples, Brandon Meriweather, who attempted to pull an "Albert Haynesworth" on any player he could find. Do you not watch television in the dorm when you aren't in class or aren't practicing? Did you not see what Haynesworth did, and what happened to him for it? How is what you did any better? Are you going to use the excuse that the players you tried to mercilessly spike had helmets and pads on? There is no excuse for what you did. You were a pre-season pick by many as an All-ACC 1st team safety. As a senior, that is a ticket to the NFL. I hope that NFL teams look long and hard at this tape before thinking about drafting you. And if any team does draft you, including any team I might think to root for, I have to worry about what a judge of character they are. You should be suspended for the rest of the season, and not only for the spiking. You were also the player who incited the helmet thrusting and jumping on the sideline. That much was clear from the video. Apparently having Larry Coker and other coaches in your face didn't put enough sense into you. Let's just say you are lucky no one was injured in your tirade, otherwise, you should be let go from the school with no chance to even get your degree.

If it seems like I have a lot of ire for the players, that is nothing compared to what I think about the announcer in the game, former Miami player, Lamar Thomas. Thomas could be heard during the broadcast, shouting over the brawl, and encouraging the actions of the players on the field. Thomas seemed to think that this was appropriate and even wanted to get involved in the brawl himself:

"I was about to go down the elevator to get in that thing."

I don't care how apologetic that Thomas may have been on Monday with his comments on various radio programs, Thomas deserves to be fired. Station executive Mark Fuhrman (I can't even make that up), is not so quick to make that move. He is going to consult with Miami executives, who make recommendations on talent for the broadcasts, before his final decision. If we look at how the Miami executives have handled the situation so far, I wouldn't expect Thomas to be gone for long. On a positive note, Thomas's comments will be stricken from the footage should the game be replayed on television at any point.

Lastly, there are a couple of more punishments that the schools should take. The first thing that should be done is to double forfeit the game. No one deserves credit for winning this game. This was a loss for both sides because of what happened. The second thing that should be done is that Miami should disqualify themselves from a bowl game if they should get to six wins on the season, even with the forfeit. Florida International, on the other side, should take some similar action, since with seven losses already this season, a bowl is out of the question.

I realize that these actions might seem harsh, but there needs to be an example made in this situation. This should not be allowed to reoccur on the football field, and it starts by showing that this is not tolerated, by anyone from the Miamis of the world, down to the Florida Internationals.

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 6:00 PM | Comments (1)

MRI Football 2006 - Rankings Week 4

Michigan's victory on Saturday over Penn State might not have been as pretty as their previous wins, but it was still a win. And that was enough to keep the Wolverines riding high in the #1 spot in the MRI rankings.

Their hold on the top spot might not be so firm though. Conference rivals Ohio State have been slowly closing on them since the opening week of the rankings. This week, the Buckeyes closed the gap by eight points to move into second place in the standings. Another strong victory was the key for Ohio State. Led by Heisman front runner Troy Smith, the Buckeyes never struggled as they beat Michigan State over the weekend. They pass by previous #2 USC in the standings, who fell to #6 this week.

Most of the reason for USC's fall can be contributed to a drop in their strength of schedule. While Nebraska and Arkansas both won this week, neither played strong opponents, which hurts a component of the MRI ratings. In addition, both teams from the state of Washington suffered losses this week, hurting the bonuses that USC received for beating them. Add to that USC's troubles taking down Arizona State on Saturday night, and you have all the makings of a drop in the ratings, even with some of the top teams losing. This is a strong contrast to the current computer components in the BCS standings. I know in at least one system (Sagarin), that USC is listed as #1 in the ratings that are used for the BCS, but #4 in his complete ratings. This is because the BCS does not factor in margin of victory, while Sagarin's complete ratings do. While I can not comment on the other ratings systems, I believe that this may be a similar factor in the high computer score for the Trojans.

Moving up to #3 are the Texas Longhorns. Texas took sole possession of first place in the Big XII South with their crushing victory over Baylor. They face what could be their toughest foe the rest of the way, in Nebraska this weekend.

Also moving up this week is the highest rated SEC team. Surprisingly, it is the LSU Tigers who hold this spot. With two losses, their hold on the spot is tenuous at best. They still have two tough opponents on the schedule in Tennessee and Arkansas, and their defense needs to remain strong for the Tigers to keep their high marks in the MRI.

Rounding out the Top 5 are the Mountaineers of West Virginia. They ran all over Syracuse this week, including a record setting performance by quarterback Pat White. They have a Friday night game this week against Connecticut to again show on National television why they should keep moving up not only here, but also in the polls and the BCS standings.

Check out all the ratings in Week 4 of the MRI:

And Now the Rankings
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	MRI	LW
1	Michigan	7-0	95.30	1
2	Ohio State	7-0	92.42	3
3	Texas	6-1	78.19	7
4	LSU	5-2	78.03	8
5	West Virginia	6-0	74.42	11
6	USC	6-0	73.79	2
7	Clemson	6-1	71.42	6
8	Louisville	6-0	71.37	5
9	Florida	6-1	71.21	4
10	Wisconsin	6-1	67.58	15
11	Cal	6-1	66.56	14
12	Auburn	6-1	66.45	12
13	Boise State	7-0	65.64	10
14	Rutgers	6-0	61.81	17
15	Pittsburgh	6-1	61.02	16
16	Tennessee	5-1	58.99	13
17	Missouri	6-1	58.96	9
18	Nebraska	6-1	57.57	19
19	Oklahoma	4-2	55.06	20
20	Tulsa	5-1	53.98	23
21	Oregon	5-1	52.27	NR(27)
22	Texas A&M	6-1	51.97	21
23	Georgia Tech	5-1	49.12	22
24	Alabama	5-2	48.14	25
25	Arkansas	5-1	47.29	NR(32)
Teams Dropped From The Top 25: UCLA (LW #18, TW #26), Notre Dame (LW #24, TW #28)
Other Teams People Might Care About
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	MRI	LW
26	UCLA	4-2	46.94	18
28	Notre Dame	5-1	46.58	24
33	Miami	4-2	41.31	42
35	Washington State	4-3	40.46	30
36	Boston College	5-1	40.09	49
37	Florida State	4-2	39.72	45
39	Iowa	5-2	38.54	31
49	Michigan State	3-4	30.37	44
52	Purdue	5-2	25.89	60
61	Northern Illinois	4-3	21.46	54
64	Vanderbilt	3-4	19.44	67
70	Maryland	4-2	15.72	78
78	Indiana	4-3	11.78	88
82	Illinois	2-5	10.75	80
105	Miami(Ohio)	1-6	-8.07	104
111	Northwestern	2-5	-21.49	106
118	Duke	0-6	-38.23	115
Last Place this week: Temple (0-7) at -52.58. 2nd week in a row.
Biggest Gain this week: Idaho gained 12.19 points. (Beat Louisiana Tech, 24-14)
Biggest Loss this week: Texas Tech lost 22.23 points. (Lost to Colorado, 30-6)
Conference rankings this week: Big East, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, PAC-10, ACC, Mountain West, C-USA, WAC, MAC, Sun Belt

The MRI Rankings are copyright 2006 by MRISports.com. Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 1:00 PM | Comments (1)

October 15, 2006

Big XII Recap - Week 7

It is unfortunate, but this weekend may have seen the end of the college career of one of the top running backs ever to lace them up on Saturday afternoon. Adrian Peterson broke his collar bone falling into the end zone on a 53 yard touchdown run that sealed a victory for Oklahoma over Iowa State, 34-9. It was a bittersweet ending to a day when Peterson’s father got to see his son play in person for the first time in 9 years.

Until the injury, Peterson was adding to his Heisman credentials, gaining 183 yards on the ground, 45 more receiving, and scoring two touchdowns, though all chances at the award are now gone. He may be back in time to play in a bowl game, should Oklahoma qualify, though all experts believe he will be best served by concentrating on the jump to the NFL. If Peterson does not play another snap for the Sooners, he will finish 150 yards short of the all-time rushing record at Oklahoma, held by Billy Sims.

The loss of Peterson though does not bode well for the Sooners. They will be forced to bring on Allen Patrick, a junior who has only 18 carries this season, to take most of the load.

The battle for first place in the Big XII South took place in Austin this weekend, between Texas and Baylor. Yes, that’s right, Baylor. They were entering the game at 2-0 in conference play, and tied with the Longhorns for the South Division lead. And for a while, it looked like the Bears might have sole possession of that lead, when they jumped to a 10-0 lead. Then Colt McCoy took over, throwing for 275 yards and a school record 6 touchdowns, leading the Longhorns to a 63-31 victory.

The North Division also saw a leader emerge on Saturday. Missouri suffered their first loss of the year, to Texas A&M, 25-19. This drops the Tigers to 6-1, and 2-1 in conference play. Nebraska remained perfect in the Big XII, with a 21-3 victory over Kansas State. The Cornhuskers will potentially be giving us a Big XII championship preview this coming week when they take on Texas at home.

In the final game of the day, Colorado finally managed to get on the good side of the standings, grabbing a win against Texas Tech. The Buffaloes held the passing attack of Graham Harrell to 235 yards, while running for 228 yards, including 119 from junior Hugh Charles. Colorado is now 1-2 in conference play, tied for third in the North Division. They get the first shot at the Peterson-less Oklahoma next Saturday, a week after allowing only 31 yards on the ground.

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. His Big XII recap appears weekly on Blogcritics.org as part of their NCAA Tailgate Cleanup. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 7:00 PM | Comments (0)

October 14, 2006

MRI Midseason Awards

With the seventh week of the season beginning Thursday night, it is officially the midway point of the season for most teams. On Tuesday, College Football News published their mid-season picks in a few categories, with contributions by several of their writers. Never one to be outdone, the MRI is all set to chime in with our award winners.

They say the greatest form of flattery is imitation, so I will emulate Richard Cirminiello and give you not only my pick for the award, but also my two runner-ups in each category. With that said, let's go to the envelopes and see who will take home the hardware.

Player of the Midseason: It would be hypocritical to choose someone who wasn't leading my Heisman Watch in this category, so I won't. Troy Smith is my pick for the midway Heisman. It isn't that we don't still have a race for the award, but Troy Smith has shown that solid, accurate play is a sure path to winning it. Smith has had two very big games this season (Texas and Iowa), both on the road, and has looked fantastic in both. He has one more major test in Michigan, and that will go a long way to saying whether Smith is coming home with the year end award.
2. Adrian Peterson
3. Garrett Wolfe

Coach of the Midseason: Lloyd Carr. There really isn't any competition here. Carr was almost run out of town after losing and losing and losing last year. Carr didn't have many fans among the administration or the alumni coming into the season. He has overachieved this year, winning every test thrown at the Wolverines so far. If there was a coach on the verge of losing a team, it was Carr, and yet, look where Michigan is in the rankings. Nice work, now just keep it up and do it against Ohio State if you really want to be safe in your job.
2. Houston Nutt for making me look like a genius.
3. Ty Willingham (I told you he had the ability to turn Washington around even if some of my other predictions didn't come true)

Biggest Surprise: I have to go with Missouri. With a sophomore starting quarterback, this team is tearing up everyone they play. I chose Nebraska to win this division, and I am seriously doubting that pick now. It isn't that Nebraska hasn't played well. It is more how good Chase Daniel and the rest of the Tigers look on the field. And while he didn't make my top 3 coaches, good things have to be said about head coach Gary Pinkel.
2. The strength of the Big East from top to bottom. Who knew Temple was the problem?
3. John David Booty maybe isn't so bad. Could actually go with all first time starters here. Very impressive performance so far.

Biggest Disappointment: Any team in the state of Florida not named Gators. The other five teams in the state are 10-18 combined. Not that we expected much from Florida Atlantic, or FIU, but Central Florida was supposed to be back contending for the Conference USA title. And there was National Title talk for Miami and Florida State. Now both the Hurricanes and Seminoles have two losses each and there is a good chance that neither will be playing in the ACC championship game. Very much a let down, especially since I picked Miami in the title game for the second year in a row.
2. The weak ACC
3. Fresno State

Best Story: I would normally save this category for on the field stories, but the best story this season has been the treatment of Clemson's Ray Ray McElrathbey. They originally ruled that McElrathbey could not be helped by the community to take care of his younger brother, and there was a huge outcry. The NCAA changed its ruling and has allowed for funds to be set up to let this young man take care of his family. A singular case of the NCAA finally doing something correctly.
2. Northwestern winning their first game against Miami (Ohio) after the death of coach Randy Walker
3. Garrett Wolfe

National Championship: This won't win me many fans in Los Angeles or Gainesville, but here is what I think. The only two teams to go undefeated this season will come out of the Big Ten and the Big East. As a result, the National Championship will be between the winner of the Ohio State-Michigan game and the winner of the West Virginia-Louisville game. Both those teams should make it through the season without a loss, and should have the rankings and computer scores to make it to the final game of the year. I am going to continue to go with Michigan and choose Louisville as their opponent.

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 10:45 AM | Comments (0)

October 11, 2006

My "AP" Ballot - Week 6

Apparently it wasn't South Carolina's defense that was Auburn's problem. It was just that they are maybe not as great as we were making them out to be. I can't say I didn't see something like this coming. Auburn has no bye week on their schedule. They are going to get tired, and they have the brutal SEC to play in. Something had to give at some point. And despite thinking it would be Arkansas to take them down prior to the season, I am just as shocked as you that it actually happened.

So, then it became an issue of where to drop Auburn to because that would also be where I would have to set LSU, since the Tigers and, well, Tigers are very close in terms of strength. #12 seemed reasonable, especially as I started comparing them head to head with the teams I was dropping them by. Let me say that it hurts to be putting Tennessee ahead of Auburn, but such is life in the SEC this season.

My top two don't change this week. Ohio State continues to toy with opponents, and Michigan didn't have the let down that people have been expecting to come at some point this season. These two teams, assuming they don't totally space out, could be undefeated when they meet at the end of the year. This game hasn't had this much meaning in a long time, because this will not only be for the Conference Title, but also a chance at the National Title. Things will be interesting after this coming week when the BCS first comes out. It will definitely be a must see to find out where the Buckeyes and Wolverines sit.

Florida moves up to #3 based on their very convincing showing against LSU. They pass by USC who struggled again, this time against Washington. The Trojans probably don't have a real test until the final three weeks, so seeing them struggle now is definitely a warning sign overall. They are going to keep falling in my mind every time they let a poor team test them. They aren't good enough to toy with opponents like they have in the past. They need to establish the lead and hold on, otherwise a close fight could go the wrong way on the scoreboard.

Wrapping up the Top 5 is West Virginia, pretty much by default. I didn't see anyone else to move into the slot by making a big jump. Now, they have to hold on until November 2nd when they face Louisville.

Here are my "AP" rankings for Week 6:

1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
3. Florida
4. USC
5. West Virginia

6. Louisville
7. Texas
8. Clemson
9. Tennessee
10. Cal
11. Notre Dame
12. Auburn
13. LSU
14. Missouri
15. Nebraska
16. Georgia Tech
17. Oregon
18. Georgia
19. Boise State
20. Oklahoma
21. Iowa
22. Virginia Tech
23. Rutgers
24. Pittsburgh
25. Arkansas

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 10:30 AM | Comments (0)

October 10, 2006

Heisman Watch - Week 6

I thought this week would solve a lot of issues with the award, and I was right. There were so many big games in the SEC, that the jumble would have to end with those quarterbacks.

It did end, only the quarterback that I thought would be on top isn't. Instead, it is Erik Ainge, the quarterback that I maligned early in the season, that is taking over the mantle as the best passer in the SEC.

But, I have to make this declaration with a caveat. Chris Leak has had the award pulled away from him by his teammate. Tim Tebow, getting some plays here and there so far this season, was a huge part of the Gator win against LSU. I am not saying that putting Tebow into the game was a bad thing. In fact, I think that Urban Meyer did a good job of confusing the defense this week with Tebow.

In the previous games, Tebow came in at crucial times to run the ball. And for part of the game on Saturday, that is all he did when he appeared. And then he did something no one expected him to do: Pass. Tebow threw for two touchdowns, and no one had any idea how to defend against it, because all they had seen him do all year, when it mattered, was run. There is barely any tape of Tebow throwing the ball. You can't game plan against someone who has only thrown the ball a dozen times on the season.

Now, granted, Tebow's first touchdown pass was a bit of a gimmick play, jumping into the air and double pumping before tossing to the tight end. But, it was the creativity in the offense that allowed Florida to come away with a great victory.

It is too bad that the creativity will cost Chris Leak a chance at the Heisman. He became a footnote in the game on a day when Tebow was responsible for three Gator touchdowns. As a result, Leak falls out of the Top 10 this week. It might be a little harsh, but given what happened on Saturday, I can't see where else to put him on this list.

After watching all the top performers for the week, here is how I would rank the contenders coming out of Week 6:

1. Troy Smith (QB Ohio State): 17/20, 191 yds, 3 TD vs. Bowling Green - Smith was kind enough to throw three incomplete passes, otherwise, his game against Bowling Green would just be ridiculous. He remains on top, and is now the clear front runner in this race. Unless Ohio State has a huge let down, or Smith just implodes, this award is his...
2. Garrett Wolfe (RB Northern Illinois): 29 car., 162 yds, 2 TD vs. Miami (Ohio) - ...Unless Garrett Wolfe has something to say about it. Wolfe was amazing once again. While most of the country was watching Sunday Night NFL, I was flipping back and forth with the MAC contest. Miami was fully concentrating on stopping Wolfe. They rushed the holes in the line to get to him. They had two spies just watching him from the defensive side. They did everything they could to stop him, and he still overran them. Wolfe is the only thing between Troy Smith and the Heisman at this point, and if he keeps running this way, Smith may never get there.
3. Brady Quinn (QB ND): 27/37, 232 yds, 3 TD vs. Stanford - *Yawn* Another solid game for Brady Quinn this week, this time against a terrible Stanford squad. Given the way that Quinn and Notre Dame played against the Cardinal last season, this is a big improvement. Quinn also got a big boost from the running game which took a lot of pressure off him. He gets an off week this weekend to prepare for the Swiss cheese defense which is UCLA. Should be interesting to see if they have an answer to Notre Dame's offense.
4. Steve Slaton (RB West Va.): 26 car., 185 yds, 1 TD, 2 rec., 23 yds vs. Mississippi State - West Virginia only threw the ball nine times against Mississippi State, and Steve Slaton caught two of the six complete passes. He also accounted for half of the total offense that the Mountaineers put on the board against the Bulldogs. You can't argue with Slaton being the best player on the Mountaineers. Now we just have to see if he can do anything against a real defense. Too bad we won't see that until the beginning of November.
5. Eirk Ainge (QB Tennessee): 25/38, 268 yds, 2 TD vs. Georgia - This was the weekend for an SEC quarterback to show what they had. Any of them. Seriously. And only one did, though as I said, Chris Leak was a little handicapped. Erik Ainge made a big impression, coming back from a big deficit against Georgia to put 51 points on the board. I might have been wrong about one thing at the beginning of the year - David Cutcliffe has made a huge difference in the way that Ainge (and the Vols) have played this season.



6. Calvin Johnson (Georgia Tech): 10 rec., 133 yds, 1 TD vs. Maryland - Yes, a receiver, but given the way that everyone played this weekend, there is no reason not to put Johnson this high. I have to take his performance with a grain of salt, since he was playing against Maryland's defense, which had trouble stopping a lot of great players this year. Johnson is 5th in the nation in receiving yardage and is slowly winning me over. I will wait to see what he does in two weeks against Clemson
7. Adrian Peterson (RB Oklahoma): 25 car., 109 yds, 1 TD, 94 ret. yards (59 long) vs. Texas - The only offense against Texas pretty much came from Peterson, and yet, I dropped him to 7th. Why? Because of lack of hussle. On a backwards pass by Paul Thompson, Peterson made half an attempt to catch it, and then let it bound away to be picked up for a touchdown by Aaron Ross. Peterson didn't even make an attempt to recover the ball until after it was already in Ross's arms. I have to drop him down on principle.
8. Ian Johnson (RB Boise State): 14 car., 92 yds, 1 TD vs. Louisiana Tech - Alright, I give. Ian Johnson makes my list. He is the second leading scorer on the ground behind Wolfe, and he is putting up a sick average in terms of yards per carry. I am still not ready to move him into the Top 5. He hasn't exactly been playing tough competition. Show me something against Fresno State and Nevada and then we can talk about a trip to New York.
9. Michael Hart (RB Michigan): 22 car., 122 yds vs. Michigan State - And now, my Michigan pack. This is getting to be difficult with Michigan. They are getting contributions from everywhere, like a top team should. They are having huge numbers running. They are passing the ball well (though Henne still overthrows the receivers from time to time). They boggle my mind each week. Hart wins the battle again this week, though it is getting close. He didn't score (again), but put up some nice numbers, and is continually a key reason for the Wolverine success. If you want a clear indicator of that, just look at the games that Michigan lost without him last season. Now look forward to this year, and tell me teams are scared to forget about him and concentrate on stopping the air attack. He is the main man right now for Michigan, and that keeps him in the list.
10. Mario Manningham (Michigan) 3 rec., 75 yds, 2 TD vs. Michigan State - Second best receiver in the nation. And he is doing exactly what I said he needed to do in order to get into my list, namely catch a lot of touchdowns. He is up to 9, which is the top number for a receiver in the Big Ten. He is also the only pass catcher in the Top 5 in scoring in the league. Manningham injured his knee during the game and reports are that he will miss the game against Penn State this week. We will just have to wait and see if Mario can keep being "Super" this season, but for now, he gets a mention on the list.

Outside chances: Chris Leak (Florida), Chad Henne (Michigan), John David Booty (USC)

Dropped from my watch list: JaMarcus Russell (QB LSU), Marshawn Lynch (RB Cal)

Heisman-like Performance

This week's player: Dan LeFevour - QB, Central Michigan
Line: 21/29, 295 yards, 3 TD vs. Toledo
Central Michigan isn't exactly known for being "good" at football. For the last few years, they have been part of the "Directional Michigan" group that gets lumped into the worst teams in college football by a number of media outlets. Maybe they just needed a good quarterback. Dan LeFevour has been a big time reason for why the Chippewas are 3-3 this year, and unbeaten in the MAC. He came off the bench against Kentucky in last week's game and almost led Central Michigan to an upset. He threw four touchdowns in that game and followed that performance with a real comeback against Toledo. Down 14-0, LeFevour, along with a tough defense, helped the Chippewas put 42 straight points on the board against the Rockets. This was the second week in a row where he did not throw an interception. Still only a freshman, it looks like LeFevour could have Central Michigan competing in the MAC for the next three years.

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 12:30 PM | Comments (0)

October 9, 2006

Raising My Hand

ESPN's Power 16 asks an interesting question about Arkansas:

I believe I did, ESPN. And yes, I took flack for it at the time, and doubted myself. I doubted myself so badly that I didn't pick Arkansas to win the game this weekend. Guess I should have stuck with my first impression.

Posted by bmiraski at 3:40 PM | Comments (0)

MRI Football 2006 - Rankings Week 3

Michigan has had a history of letting down after a couple of big wins, especially when things were just starting to look good. Michigan State also had a history of being that team that Michigan let down against. Not this season. Michigan did what it needed to do to remain undefeated, taking down the Spartans, 31-13. The win keeps the Wolverines rolling the MRI, although their lead is not as large as it was last week.

Instead, USC remarkably gained ground, despite having a very close game against the surprising Washington Huskies. The now 4-2 Huskies gave USC everything they could handle, including a last minute drive, that without some very serious clock management problems, could have had Washington tying the game, or even winning. Another thing to keep in mind with USC, is that three of the teams they have beaten all won this week, in some very important games.

One of those games was Arkansas vs. Auburn, a very important game in the SEC West, and one involving the previously #5 team in the MRI. Auburn's loss dropped them from the Top 5, all the way to #12. The other SEC team formerly of the Top 5 was LSU, who faced the #4 Florida Gators in Gainesville. Florida used the home field, and quarterback Tim Tebow, to their advantage, coming out with the win, 23-10. The loss by LSU dropped them to #8 in the MRI.

Coming up to #3 is Ohio State, who beat MAC opponent Bowling Green soundly. Florida stays at #4 with their victory over LSU. Moving up into the #5 spot this week is Louisville, who had a big win over Middle Tennessee State on Friday night.

And Now the Rankings
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	MRI	LW
1	Michigan	6-0	92.78	1
2	USC	5-0	83.58	2
3	Ohio State	6-0	81.82	6
4	Florida	6-0	78.14	4
5	Louisville	5-0	73.81	7
6	Clemson	5-1	71.28	8
7	Texas	5-1	70.32	11
8	LSU	4-2	69.89	3
9	Missouri	6-0	66.93	9
10	Boise State	6-0	66.90	10
11	West Virginia	5-0	66.67	12
12	Auburn	5-1	61.31	5
13	Tennessee	5-1	59.44	17
14	Cal	5-1	58.39	23
15	Wisconsin	5-1	56.34	21
16	Pittsburgh	5-1	54.89	19
17	Rutgers	5-0	54.59	15
18	UCLA	4-1	53.79	16
19	Nebraska	5-1	52.42	20
20	Oklahoma	3-2	49.35	13
21	Texas A&M	5-1	49.15	25
22	Georgia Tech	5-1	48.64	NR(26)
23	Tulsa	4-1	47.85	NR(33)
24	Notre Dame	5-1	46.73	NR(30)
25	Alabama	4-2	46.05	NR(28)
Teams Dropped From The Top 25: Oregon (LW #14, TW #27), Georgia (LW #18, TW #28), Oklahoma State (LW #22, TW #34), Wake Forest (LW #24, TW #36)
Other Teams People Might Care About
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	MRI	LW
30	Washington State	4-2	42.79	37
31	Iowa	5-1	42.54	40
42	Miami	3-2	36.11	50
44	Michigan State	3-3	35.63	39
45	Florida State	3-2	35.39	32
49	Boston College	4-1	31.48	49
54	Northern Illinois	4-2	28.21	56
60	Purdue	4-2	22.34	48
67	Vanderbilt	2-4	19.24	70
78	Maryland	3-2	13.32	72
80	Illinois	2-4	12.38	78
88	Indiana	3-3	6.70	93
104	Miami(Ohio)	0-6	-11.53	107
106	Northwestern	2-4	-12.98	102
115	Duke	0-5	-29.06	114
Last Place this week: Temple (0-6) at -55.38.
Biggest Gain this week: Arkansas gained 18.93 points. (Beat Auburn, 27-10)
Biggest Loss this week: Buffalo lost 21.65 points. (Lost to Ball State, 55-25)
Conference rankings this week: Big East, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, PAC-10, ACC, Mountain West, C-USA, WAC, MAC, Sun Belt

The MRI Rankings are copyright 2006 by MRISports.com. Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)

October 8, 2006

Big XII Recap - Week 6

To say that the Red River Shootout is an important game is an understatement. Since 1999, when Bob Stoops arrived in Norman, the winner of this game has represented the South division of the Big XII in the conference championship game every year, save one. Based on that history, Texas may want to start booking a trip to Kansas City for December 2nd.

Turnovers would turn out to be key in the game. The Sooners lost the ball 5 times, including one credited to Adrian Peterson, who hadn't lost a fumble since last season. Despite Peterson being the only one to generate any offense on the day for Oklahoma (213 all-purpose yards, 1 touchdown), he couldn't overcome three fumbles and two interceptions.

Freshman Colt McCoy handled the pressure well for Texas, finishing with 108 yards and two touchdowns, including a 33 yard pass to Limas Sweed which gave Texas the lead early in the second half. They never looked back. The dagger came early in the fourth quarter when Aaron Ross picked up an incomplete backward pass from Paul Thompson to Peterson, and returned it for a touchdown. The Longhorns were then up 28-10, which ended as the final score.

Based on how Missouri's defense had played this season, there was no reason to expect a shootout in Lubbock, when they took on Texas Tech this week. No reason, other than the high flying passing offense of the Red Raiders. For a long time though, it looked like Missouri had the answer to that attack. The Tigers were up 24-0 by the middle of the 2nd quarter, partially thanks to two interception returns for touchdowns.

Texas Tech fought back to get within seven points on three touchdown passes by Graham Harrell but Chase Daniel and Tony Temple were too much. Missouri extended the lead back to 38-21 at the beginning of the final quarter and held on from there to get to 6-0.

In other conference action, Nebraska went back to an old-style rushing attack against Iowa State and beat the Cyclones, 28-14. Texas A&M needed 14 points in the fourth quarter to get past Kansas, 21-18. Oklahoma State blew a 10 point lead with three minutes left, on the road against Kansas State. The Wildcats won 31-27. Baylor needed overtime, but overcame the Colorado Buffaloes 34-31, to move to 2-0 in conference play, and drop Colorado to 0-6 overall. The Buffaloes are 0-6 for the first time since 1980, when the team finished 1-10.

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. His Big XII recap appears weekly on Blogcritics.org as part of their NCAA Tailgate Cleanup. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 8:35 PM | Comments (0)

October 7, 2006

Don't Get Me Started

Um, I think you know what I think about this...

Posted by bmiraski at 7:57 PM | Comments (0)

Scoreboard Follies

On a day that has plenty of stories, I think that ESPN is trying a little too hard to make one out of Missouri and Texas Tech:

First of all, Missouri is the ranked team here, and Texas Tech is not. So if Missouri wins, is it really an upset? I know that Texas Tech has the favoritism of Vegas on their side, but when the ranked team wins, there is no upset.

Second, is it right to be putting the upset watch up in the 2nd quarter?

I think we have a lot of football left to play ESPN.

That said, Missouri is a great story this year. Anyone not watching Chase Daniel and the Tigers has been missing out.

Posted by bmiraski at 7:09 PM | Comments (0)

October 4, 2006

Move Over TCU, Hello Boise State

John Beck didn't just win a big game for BYU and get a mention as my Heisman-like performance this week. He also ended what looked like a sure thing at the beginning of the season. I am talking about TCU's chances to break into the BCS crowd and become only the second team from a non-automatic qualifier school to do so.

We should know better when it comes to TCU. They have teased us before by rolling through a season with an almost perfect record. Back in 2003, the Horned Frogs began the season 10-0 before losing to Southern Mississippi in a big game. This year, they did their part in stopping the hype a bit earlier.

This leaves the door open for another non-automatic qualifier school, who to this point has been a little bit under the radar. The Boise State Broncos are no strangers to undefeated seasons (see 2004), or talk about BCS games (also see 2004). Having been the top team in the WAC conference over the past four years, the Broncos have repeatedly flirted with BCS glory. However, the loss of their coach, Dan Hawkins, to Colorado at the end of last season had Boise State falling off of a lot of maps around the country.

Maybe we dismissed them a little bit early. Boise State is off to a 5-0 start with only one of the wins coming with less than 35 points on the board for the Broncos. They are currently rated #20 in the AP poll, #21 in the Coaches Poll, and #10 in the MRI. And even before the first BCS rankings have been released, they are already beginning the campaign, starting with the WAC commissioner, Karl Benson.

"Any team that were to finish the season 12-0 certainly is a deserving team and should be ranked in the Top 12," Commissioner Karl Benson said during his weekly conference call, where he was peppered with BCS questions. "I have confidence that the system will reward a 12-0 team."

While the commissioner seems confident, it might not be so easy. The BCS selection rules state that Boise State would need to finish higher than 12th in the final BCS rankings, or higher than 16th and beat one of the conference champions with an automatic berth. While it may seem counter-intuitive, they may have a better shot at doing the latter. The top ACC teams in the polls are currently listed in the teens, which could mean that if the ACC division winner with the lower rating wins the ACC championship game, there is good chance that Boise State might be ahead of them. Of course, that is still over 2 months away.

In a compilation of 14 expert ratings, including the MRI, and many of the components of the BCS ratings, Boise State is currently ranked 16th, meaning that they would have to continue to make an impression to move up, since it looks like they are on the verge of falling below the magic number. And considering that in that same poll, the fans have Boise State securely out of the Top 16, their performance so far hasn't exactly been noticed. In addition, it could mean that we will be in for a lot of complaining at the end of the season should Boise State break into the elite club, even given the expanded BCS field.

Keep this all in mind as Boise State takes on Louisiana Tech this weekend. Clemson clobbered the Bulldogs this past week 51-0, and Nebraska beat them 49-10 to begin the season. Those can be a couple of measuring sticks to hold Boise State's performance against.

Posted by bmiraski at 8:00 AM | Comments (0)

October 3, 2006

My "AP" Ballot - Week 5

Like the Heisman Watch, this week's ballot was a lot harder than you would think. There were very few upsets this week, and while some of the teams had difficult tests, there was very little to separate the teams from where they were previously in my rankings.

That being the case, I moved up Michigan to #2. I know this is going to bite me. Michigan has a way of doing that. Still, watching them, they are just playing as good, or better than everyone else, so it is hard not to put them at #2 after Auburn and USC had scares. They have a three pronged attack that is probably only equaled by what Ohio State is putting on the field. Now, if Michigan can surprise me and keep this up until the last week of the season, that will be something to talk about.

Ohio State is still my #1. They took it to Iowa in a surprisingly easy win for them. I am genuinely impressed with how quickly their defense came together this season, esepcially when I thought it might be easy for the first few opponents to pick them apart across the middle. As mentioned, Michigan moved to #2. Auburn holds its #3 spot because I have a good respect for the defense that South Carolina has been putting on the field. No shame in having some difficulty against them, considering few teams have had great success against Spurrier. Didn't he used to be known for offense?

USC drops one spot to #4 while Florida finished the week at #5. Both teams looked less than perfect, but no one else showed enough for me to move them up into the upper tier considering the body of work for USC and Florida overall.

Here are my "AP" rankings for Week 5:

1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
3. Auburn
4. USC
5. Florida

6. West Virginia
7. Louisville
8. LSU
9. Oregon
10. Texas
11. Clemson
12. Georgia
13. Oklahoma
14. Tennessee
15. Notre Dame
16. Cal
17. Georgia Tech
18. Nebraska
19. Missouri
20. Virginia Tech
21. Iowa
22. Boise State
23. Rutgers
24. Florida State
25. Pittsburgh

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 5:00 PM | Comments (0)

Ummm, Why?

Well, it seems that someone at ESPN.com doesn't like Chris Leak. While the Florida Gators are undefeated and Chris Leak is one of the leading candidates for the Heisman Trophy award, even on ESPN's site, they post the following web poll question today:

The big question is why? And who are the people watching and voting in the poll that they honestly think that Tim Tebow should be installed as the signal caller? 14% of the voters in Florida even think this way. I can semi-understand the voters in Louisiana voting for Tebow because LSU plays Florida this weekend. However, the rest of the country thinking this way boggles my mind.

Of course, now watch LSU's defense destroy Leak in the pocket when he has trouble scrambling away.

Posted by bmiraski at 4:15 PM | Comments (0)

Heisman Watch - Week 5

Raise your hand if you think you know who should win the Heisman. I could poll fifty of the readers and I guarantee that I could get at least five different answers, and possibly more. The week that just passed did very little to help sort out the race. So many of the leading contenders put big numbers on the board, some helped by their opponents, but almost all did it based on the talent they possess.

Therefore, it strikes me as funny that last week, when posting my Heisman Watch, I actually got a little flack about my choices. The funny thing was that most of the flack was directed at my placement of Brady Quinn. I had him fourth last week, and I think that was fair, considering that many of the leading publications out there didn't have him any higher than 5th. Based on his performance for most of the Michigan State game, could you blame anyone? That was two weeks in a row that Quinn played less than perfectly while others excelled. So I didn't understand the commentary around Quinn, especially since I took most of this space talking about how his statistics don't stack up when you compare them head to head with all of the other leading quarterbacks.

More bizarre? Being criticized for leaving Dwayne Jarrett off the list. I have repeatedly talked about how receivers need to do so much more than catch passes to get a look for the Heisman. So, why should I put Jarrett on the list. Even if he had played this past week, he wouldn't have been among the leaders in receiving yards or touchdowns in the nation. Where would he fit on this list then? And he was hurt during the game against Arizona before last week's ratings came out. So, why should I carry a hurt player on this list. I didn't keep Tate around when he missed a game. Knowing that Jarrett would be out for at least two weeks and maybe as many as four, I think his absence was quite justified.

So, now, having said all that, welcome to the expanded edition of the Heisman Watch. Expanded edition? Yes, because while with all good intentions, I was going to cut a few players off this week, there was just no way to do it. Therefore, the tough decisions will come after this week. This week, you get 11 players in the Top 10, and more players added to the Outside Chance list, though anyone appearing there, their chances are very dicey.

After watching all the top performers for the week, here is how I would rank the contenders coming out of Week 5:

1. Troy Smith (QB Ohio State): 16/25, 186 yds, 4 TD vs. Iowa - I think that the Buckeyes might want to start making plans to travel to Arizona this year. After another dominating performance, it looks like the only team that might be able to stop them is Ohio State,... or maybe Michigan in the last week of the season. However, right now, they are riding high and the biggest reason is the leadership and passing of Troy Smith. Smith had another big game to move back into the lead in the Heisman race after taking last week off against Penn State. His road is even easier this week against Bowling Green. You think the defensive backs of the Falcons aren't scared right now?
2. Adrian Peterson (RB Oklahoma): BYE, Season Stats: 643 yds, 5.5 ypc, 7 TD - There is a saying that you can't lose your starting job to injury. Tell that to Wally Pipp, and now tell Adrian Peterson that a bye week can't cost you the lead in the Heisman race. With all the great performances this week, you could have made the case that Peterson could have fallen further. He has a chance to make a great impression this week and confuse some of the voters when he takes on Texas. The Longhorns better be ready.
3. Garrett Wolfe (RB Northern Illinois): 31 car., 353 yds, 3 TD vs. Ball State - Allow me to make introductions for those who don't know him by now. Nation, Mr. Wolfe, Mr. Wolfe, Nation. Wolfe is making it hard to forget him. His performances are still coming against teams like Ball State or Indiana State, but you can't deny that he is a much more advanced player than the defenses that he faces, and that he showed against Ohio State that he can do the same thing to bigger and faster teams. Wolfe is a monster, and unless something happens to him or he has an off game against a MAC foe, he should be sitting in New York. Either that, or the voters just aren't paying attention.
4. Brady Quinn (QB ND): 29/38, 316 yds, 2 TD vs. Purdue - Welcome back Brady Quinn. Good to see you still have some talent in that arm of yours. Quinn averaged a little of 8 yards per attempt this week, picking on the one stat I used against him last week. Since I am not, and was never sold on Purdue, Quinn doesn't move up into the top three. He showed the talent that was hyped coming into the season in this game. Now he just has to keep it up. If he has another let down game against any of Notre Dame's next foes (Stanford, UCLA, Navy, UNC, Air Force...), we might have to rethink this Top 5 mark and be looking at Quinn watching the ceremony from his home.
5. Chris Leak (QB Florida): 14/20, 174 yds, 2 TD vs. Alabama - If Leak could find a way to get going in the first half of a game, we might be looking at a two arm race for the Heisman. He again led his team back from behind, this time against Alabama. Leak faces LSU this week. The top ranked team defense will show where Leak belongs on this list and whether his time in the Top 5 is limited.



6. Marshawn Lynch (RB Cal): 17 car., 106 yds, 3 rec., 59 yds, 3 TD vs. Oregon State - So, if you throw out his first week this season, Lynch is definitely a Top 5 player in the league. However, I still can't get that performance out of my head. Lynch was doing everything once again on Saturday against Oregon State. His scoring numbers are right with the league leaders after not doing anything to begin the season. He will continue to be the focal point of the Cal offense, given how shaky the passing game can be for them (and who would have thought we would say that about a Jeff Tedford team).
7. JaMarcus Russell (QB LSU): 18/20, 330 yds, 3 TD vs. Mississippi State - So, I guess Mississippi State wore out their defense in the first few weeks of the year because JaMarcus Russell had no trouble at all making them look silly on Saturday. He missed on only two passes all day and was able to take a seat early thanks to the very lopsided score. Russell will be taking on Florida this weekend and the pecking order of SEC quarterbacks will be complete after that game. My money is on Russell moving up a bit in this list.
8. Steve Slaton (RB West Va.): BYE, Season Stats: 583 yds, 6.8 ypc, 6 TD - As I mentioned before, this was a bad week to have off, especially after Slaton had an off game last time the voters saw him. I move him down again this week, but he is not off the radar yet. He just has a lot of work to do. Remember, this kid is only a sophomore, and while that shouldn't matter in terms of the votes at the end of the year, it does play into the final tallies. Don't be surprised if that is one of the reasons that is given for why Slaton doesn't take home the award this season.
9. Michael Hart (RB Michigan): 31 car., 195 yds vs. Minnesota - I am beginning to doubt my statement last week taht Hart is the only Wolverine that might deserve this award this year. Sure, 195 yards is nothing to sneeze at, but now he is starting to have to share the spotlight a little too often. Henne seems to have a Jekyll and Hyde bit to him. Week 4 wasn't good to him, but Week 5 was and therefore, look who is back in the outside chance group, even if it is a far outside chance group at this point. And Mario Manningham is doing exactly what I said he had to do last week. He is up to 9th in receiving yards and his 7 touchdown receptions is also tied for tops in the nation. Hart is the token representative this week from Michigan, but don't be surprised if that changes.
10. (TIE) John David Booty (QB USC): 23/32, 269 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT vs. Washington State, Eirk Ainge (QB Tennessee): 23/27, 324 yds, 4 TD vs. Memphis - A tie? A tie! Yes, a tie. Booty and Ainge were both too good in their games for me to say that either of them didn't belong on this list. Now, if I were being picky, maybe I would take Booty and drop him while keeping Ainge, just based on the performance of both teams in their games this week. The loss of Dwayne Jarrett didn't seem to hurt Booty too much this week, as he found Steve Smith often to pump up his stats. Ainge was stellar in his game, with his only "pick" being taken away because of an offsides penalty on the Tigers. This should shake out this week with Washington playing USC, and Tennessee taking on Georgia.

Outside chances: Mario Manningham (Michigan), Chad Henne (Michigan), Calvin Johnson (Georgia Tech)

Heisman-like Performance

This week's player: John Beck - QB, BYU
Line: 23/37, 321 yards, 3 TD vs. TCU
Lost in the shuffle of many of the big performances of the weekend might have been the end of at least some people's predictions for this year's BCS buster. The TCU Horned Frogs played a high profile game on Thursday night, hoping to get some good television time in front of the voters and they run into a buzz saw named BYU. There were very few who thought that BYU had a chance in this game, but it should be no surprise that the Cougars were able to give TCU fits. John Beck is a major reason for that. I have talked about Beck before, especially when both Miami and Florida State were struggling with young quarterbacks. I was watching him put up some big numbers as a sophomore. So, now as a senior, he again is putting up contender-like numbers. There have been some great college quarterbacks at BYU, and Beck is just another in a long line of those. Congrats to BYU on pulling the big upset this week, and congrats to Beck on his Heisman-like performance.

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 12:45 PM | Comments (1)

October 2, 2006

Bark It Up Button

Readers on the site might be noticing a new image at the end of the articles that looks something like this:

This is the "Bark It Up Button" from the good folks at Yardbarker. Yardbarker is a new sports site that seeks to grab the best articles from around the web. Based on reader feedback, those articles are then presented to users of the site in order of popularity.

I have already been submitting my Heisman Watch articles to Yardbarker, and they have been rated well. Now, you can also submit articles from MRISports which you would want to see get wider attention by clicking on the button.

There are a few kinks with the system right now. As far as my testing has gone, you may already need to be a member and logged into Yardbarker (your computer should remember) when you click the button to transfer the article information over to the site. Once there though, you can write a short synopsis of the article and post it. Readers will then have the ability to "Bark Up" the article as they see fit.

Just something to keep in mind while reading my posts. And either way, check out the folks at Yardbarker.

Posted by bmiraski at 12:55 PM | Comments (0)

MRI Football 2006 - Rankings Week 2

Week 2 in the MRI football rankings always seems to mean a huge shake-up in the list. This year was no different. Six teams listed in the opening week rankings fell out after their games this weekend, including Virginia Tech, Iowa, and TCU. That is a pretty stiff penalty for those teams suffering their first loss of the year, but these things have a way of sorting themselves out over the course of the season.

A couple of things did shake out this week to clear up some of the confusion from last week. Purdue, the only team without a loss that was not in last week's Top 25, corrected that. Only they did it by losing to Notre Dame. The Irish were favored over the Boilermakers by the MRI in their game despite not having a spotless record. The win helped Notre Dame move within striking distance of a ranking. A game against Stanford at home next weekend could be just the thing to get them there... assuming they play better than they did last year against the Cardinal.

Missouri, who surprised many by starting the season at #5 in the MRI, fell a bit this week, despite winning against Colorado. The Buffaloes put up 373 yards against Missouri which caused the Tigers to lose their spot as the top rated team defense. As a result of the slip, Missouri moves down to #9 this week. LSU, who now has the top defense in the nation, moves up one spot this week, to #3, off of their strong showing against Mississippi State.

Michigan is still the top ranked team this week. The Wolverines were once again very impressive against a conference opponent, topping Minnesota, 28-14. They actually increased their lead over #2 USC this week. The Trojans struggled for the second week in a row, but still managed a win. This time the victim was Washington State, who even by losing managed to improve their MRI ranking. The SEC is now the second rated conference in the MRI. Part of the reason is their strong presence at the top of the rankings, taking the next three spots. LSU, as mentioned previously, is #3. Florida moved into the Top 5, at #4, on the back of another comeback win, this time against Alabama. Auburn, who had a tough Thursday night game against South Carolina, fell two spots to #5.

And Now the Rankings
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	MRI	LW
1	Michigan	5-0	88.84	1
2	USC	4-0	77.81	2
3	LSU	4-1	73.44	4
4	Florida	5-0	71.08	6
5	Auburn	5-0	69.95	3
6	Ohio State	5-0	69.85	8
7	Louisville	4-0	67.21	7
8	Clemson	4-1	66.54	14
9	Missouri	5-0	63.24	5
10	Boise State	5-0	61.65	11
11	Texas	4-1	61.27	9
12	West Virginia	4-0	60.25	10
13	Oklahoma	3-1	58.79	13
14	Oregon	4-0	58.59	20
15	Rutgers	5-0	52.82	17
16	UCLA	3-1	52.62	NR(26)
17	Tennessee	4-1	52.05	NR(30)
18	Georgia	5-0	51.82	22
19	Pittsburgh	4-1	49.63	NR(34)
20	Nebraska	4-1	49.19	16
21	Wisconsin	4-1	49.02	NR(35)
22	Oklahoma State	3-1	48.10	NR(29)
23	Cal	4-1	47.53	NR(32)
24	Wake Forest	5-0	46.29	23
25	Texas A&M	4-1	45.66	15
Teams Dropped From The Top 25: Houston (LW #12, TW #29), Alabama (LW #18, TW #28), Iowa (LW #19, TW #40), Virginia Tech (LW #21, TW #31), Michigan State (LW #24, TW #39), TCU (LW #25, TW #44)
Other Teams People Might Care About
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	MRI	LW
26	Georgia Tech	4-1	45.46	28
30	Notre Dame	4-1	43.01	37
32	Florida State	3-1	41.46	51
37	Washington State	3-2	38.30	42
39	Michigan State	3-2	37.79	24
40	Iowa	4-1	37.18	19
48	Purdue	4-1	31.16	40
49	Boston College	4-1	30.43	56
50	Miami	2-2	30.21	61
56	Northern Illinois	3-2	27.60	65
70	Vanderbilt	2-3	19.43	87
72	Maryland	3-1	18.78	73
78	Illinois	2-3	14.15	92
93	Indiana	2-3	3.36	75
102	Northwestern	2-3	-5.04	84
107	Miami(Ohio)	0-5	-12.02	101
114	Duke	0-4	-24.70	110
Last Place this week: Utah State (0-5) at -54.02. 2nd week in a row.
Biggest Gain this week: Rice gained 18.12 points. (Beat Army, 48-14)
Biggest Loss this week: Connecticut lost 21.31 points. (Lost to Navy, 41-17)
Conference rankings this week: Big East, SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, PAC-10, ACC, Mountain West, C-USA, WAC, MAC, Sun Belt

The MRI Rankings are copyright 2006 by MRISports.com. Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 8:00 AM | Comments (0)

October 1, 2006

Big XII Recap - Week 5

Missouri’s season so far has been a surprise, going 4-0 and leading the nation in team defense. They may have given up 373 yards against Colorado, but they kept that 0 in the loss column, beating the Buffaloes, 28-13. Sophomore quarterback Chase Daniel was solid once again, throwing for 251 yards and four touchdown passes. Daniel also threw two interceptions, but his offensive power was enough to lead the Tigers to victory.

While the win may seem like another against a so-so team, Colorado was actually ranked in the top ten in defense entering the game, despite their winless record. Missouri was still able to gain over 350 yards on the Buffs, proving that the early part of their season was no fluke. Missouri begins the season 5-0 for the first time since 1981, a year that finished with the Tigers winning the Tangerine Bowl. Missouri will be hoping that their bowl game this time is going to be a bit more high profile, and five wins to begin the season is a great start to guaranteeing just that.

Missouri will face another tough test next week when they take on Texas Tech. The Red Raiders needed a late touchdown pass to get a win over Texas A&M in their conference opener. Texas Tech was still recovering from a tough loss against TCU last week, and for a good portion of the second half, it looked like there was going to be a repeat performance. However, Graham Harrell found Robert Johnson in the corner with less than a minute to go for Johnson’s third score of the afternoon to clinch the win. The loss by the Aggies leaves Missouri as the only team without a loss in the conference.

Nebraska blew a 24-7 lead in their game against Kansas and needed overtime, but still came away with the victory to move to 1-0 in conference, and 4-1 overall. Baylor had no such issues in their game. The Bears led the entire game against Kansas State, winning 17-3.

In other action, Texas finished their non-conference slate with a 56-3 win over Sam Houston, and Iowa State survived Division 1-AA Northern Iowa, 28-27.

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. His Big XII recap appears weekly on Blogcritics.org as part of their NCAA Tailgate Cleanup. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 9:10 PM | Comments (0)