Only half-truths available in September
One-third of college football’s regular season will be completed over the weekend, and the first month has been kinder to some (Alabama, the Mountain West Conference) than to others (West Virginia, Arizona State).
The truths of September have been largely built on nonconference competition, which means in these days of overmatched opponents and underwhelming games they’re more like half-truths.
As Nebraska quarterback Joe Ganz, preparing for Saturday’s visit by Virginia Tech, said, “We’re anxious to see how good we actually are.”
Because that confirmation could not be provided by the opening acts of Western Michigan, San Jose State and New Mexico State.
One month in, call these conclusions in progress.
•Ohio State has to be the second-most depressed team in the nation today.
The Buckeyes lost to the team that got rolled by Oregon State.
Southern California’s annual pratfall came a little earlier than expected with Thursday’s 27-21 loss to the Beavers. The Trojans at least got one Pac-10 victory before last year’s Stanford loss.
The big winners? The Southeastern Conference and the Big 12, which occupy the next six spots and eight of the next nine in the USA Today coaches poll. Southern California will plummet to the bottom half of the top 10 and the BCS Championship game race is on between the two major conferences.
The Trojans aren’t out of the hunt. Those SEC and Big 12 teams will beat up on each other. But if the national title matchup comes down to a discussion of the nation’s best one-loss teams, it will be difficult to favor the Trojans, who fell to a 1-2 Oregon State team.
•The Mountain West can play a little football, and the what-if scenarios are in full spin mode.
What if one of its leaders — BYU, Utah or TCU — runs the table? Would that team be worthy of a spot in the BCS title game over a one-loss SEC or Big 12 team?
Yes. The Mountain West has more teams ranked than the Pac-10, ACC or Big East. The league has more victories over BCS opponents (seven) than any of the BCS conferences.
Just because we do not see these teams regularly on television doesn’t mean the Mountain West isn’t a major conference, at least in 2008.
The conference will long remember Sept. 13, when it went 4-0 against the Pac-10, highlighted by UNLV’s victory at Arizona State and BYU’s 59-0 head-shaker over UCLA.
“Those games gave us national marquee value,” Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson. “But you have to keep it in perspective.”
That perspective is this: The Mountain West leaders figure to beat up on each other during conference play, and a one-loss champion won’t play for the national title. But it could become the first with a blemished record to play in a BCS bowl.
•The Heisman Trophy isn’t engraved in September.
Tim Tebow isn’t out. Chase Daniel might be the front-runner, and the circle of quality candidates grows every week.
The Heisman remains a big moment award, and although those happen in September they don’t register like November.
•Biggest surprises of the first month besides Alabama and the Mountain West: Vanderbilt, East Carolina and Ball State.
•Biggest busts besides West Virginia and Arizona State: Ohio State, Texas A&M and Tennessee.
•First-month MVP: Daniel.
