Random Thoughts on the College Football Title Hunt

The college football season is in full effect and after Ryan Mallet’s fourth quarter meltdown, Texas became the only true national title contender to suffer defeat so far. The top 14 teams in both the Associated Press Pool and USA Today Coaches’ Pool remain undefeated, and 19 teams in all of the current top 25 remain without a loss. Scanning the top 25, here are some of my random thoughts to this point.

· Alabama and Ohio State are the top two teams in the country, hands down. Watching these teams play and it is evident that the depth and talent level is superior to the rest of the country. That does not mean either will go undefeated, however, as both have a number of tough road games remaining.

· With apologies to Denard Robinson, my favorite for the Heisman remains Terrelle Pryor. Pryor looks to be a much more polished passer now in his third year as the starting quarterback and his athletic ability is second to none. If Ohio State goes undefeated, Pryor will be holding the hardware in New York.

· I believed in the Boise hype prior to the season and they have done nothing to disappoint. Their lines would not hold up over a twelve game schedule in the SEC or Big Ten, but in a one game scenario they can play with anyone.

· TCU, on the other hand, does have the personnel to hold up in any conference in the country. With all of Boise State’s hype, TCU goes under the radar somewhat but they are every bit as talented (and probably even more so) than the blue-turfers.

· Stanford and Oregon square off in the Pac 10 this week. If you get the chance to tune in, do so. I have seen both of these teams numerous times this year and both are legitimate title contenders. If Alabama and/or Ohio State gets knocked off the winner of this game may very well be playing for the national championship.

· Oklahoma and Florida remain title contenders but in very different fashions. Florida’s defense and Oklahoma’s offense have been tremendous while the other side of the ball for each has been very suspect. Both get their first true test this week, it’s time for them to put a complete performance together or they could find themselves in serious trouble.

· The final team I can see potentially competing for the national title is Nebraska. The defense is just as good as last year with an incredibly talented secondary and the offense has been more dynamic led by freshman Taylor Martinez. Martinez must prove he can move the ball through the air, however, if the Cornhuskers are going to run the table in the Big 12. The one consolation is that the Huskers will avoid the Sooners until a potential Big 12 Championship game.

· As for the remaining undefeated teams, I see too many inconsistencies to see a true title run. The best of the bunch are Wisconsin, Auburn and Arizona. Utah is a talented group, but the injury situation at QB has to be very concerning.

· The one x-factor for the remaining undefeated teams is the previously mentioned Denard Robinson. Robinson has proven to be unstoppable to this point, but the schedule gets a whole lot more difficult in the coming weeks. If Robinson can get the Wolverines to 10 or 11 wins, I think we will be seeing him in New York as well.

· As for the one loss teams, Miami remains an interesting team with the amount of talent they are trotting out every week. If the Hurricanes can stop shooting themselves in the foot they could very easily make a run through the ACC.

· Iowa and Arkansas, though eliminated from the title picture, will continue to make noise in their respective conferences and I don’t think we have heard the last from Steve Spurrier’s boys at South Carolina either.