Week 5 thoughts

In my return to the armchair this week, college football went its first week without a top 5 upset, but their is an asterisk next to that since only 3 of the 5 teams played. College football saw a week without Superman or Colt McCoy, but there were still highs and lows in the week. The Michigan Cinderella story stalled, as Michigan State got back on track after a lackluster start to the season. Penn State awakened a week late, as the the team they beat struggled against Arkansas State. USC steamrolled California and Oregon continues to prove they are a legit threat to win the Pac-10 along with the darkhorse, Stanford. Houston went down despite Case Keenum completing 51 passes for over 500 yards. Go figure. Miami effectively ended Oklahoma's national title hopes and LSU passed their first test of the season. Auburn is still undefeated and Cincinnati is quietly making a run at the big one. Duke almost pulled a big upset, while Virginia pulled an upset of their own. College football is alive and well, upsets aplently and comebacks arising, but the one think still completely uncertain is the Heisman trophy winner. A star has yet to be established.

5 Stars of the week

1. Taylor Mays - This award could go to the entire USC defense for their utter shutdown of Kevin Riley, Jahvid Best and company, but Mays was the ring leader. Mays picked off Kevin Riley on Cal's first possesion and the Trojans did not look back from there. California was limited to 3 points and the USC offense performed admirably putting up 30 points. Best was a frontrunner for the Heisman trophy going into the matchup but comes out of it barely in the running. He was limited to 47 yards on 14 carries and was a nonfactor in the game. Kevin Riley was held in check only completing 15 of 40 passes and threw for under 200 yards.

2. Javarris James - James did not account for any of Miami's points in their victory over Oklahoma, but he was a big reason they won the game. His 50 yard run in the second quarter ignited the Miami offense and a couple plays later, the Hurricanes were celebrating a touchdown pass of Jacory Harris. In his other 14 carries, Harris ran for 100 and had a slick 10 ypc on the day. It looked like it was going to be an ugly day for the Miami offense early as Harris struggled on his way to two interceptions, but he picked it up and James helped the cause. Oklahoma is done in terms of the national title race and Miami is definitely making its case. Yes, they have a loss, but does a team in the country face a tougher 4 game stretch than Miami just got through with. With the bulk of thier season behind them, Miami should find themselves in an ACC title game with possibly more on the line.

3. Toby Gerhart - For the second week in a row Gerhart finds his name on this list. His quarterback, Andrew Luck, is just getting better by the week and Stanford is starting to make some noise in the Pac-10 with a couple early season wins in conference. Gerhart ran for 134 yards this week and tacked on three touchdowns as Stanford passed their first test in conference play downing Rick Neuheisal and UCLA. Stanford has another winnable game against Oregon State next and if they can win that, Gerhart is going to start getting some mention for the Heisman trophy. Gerhart lacks the speed of a Joe McKnight, but the guy just gets it done. He's powerful, but decepetively fast at the same time. Jim Harbaugh is doing a terrific job with the talent he has at Stanford.

4. Jimmy Clausen - Notre Dame does not win the games smoothly, but to the disbelief of the country they are 4-1. After the Michigan loss was magnified and Notre Dame always seeming to be on the losing end to start games, it is hard to believe they only have 1 loss right now but they do. Sure Golden Tate has a huge role in that, but do not undermine the job Clausen has done. Losing Michael Floyd could have been devastating, but all Clausen did against a Washington defense that performed well against LSU and USC was throw for 422 yards and 2 TDs. He was also great in the clutch giving the Irish a touchdown in overtime, which was the gamewinner. Golden Tate caught 9 of Clausen's balls and can be called co-MVP with 244 receiving yards.

5. John Clay - Wisconsin and Minnesota did not disappoint in their game. Zach Brown was struggling at running back for the Badgers, but Clay stepped up and ran all over the Golden Gophers. He had 184 yards and 3 TDs and just dominated the game. This spot however would go to Eric Decker if his team could have pulled it out. Not to take away from Clay as he was the MVP of the game, but Decker deserves praise. The guy plays on a subpar team but consistently puts out the best stats of any player in the country despite the fact that everyone in the stadium knows who Adam Weber is looking for. People might think AJ Green is important to the Georgia offense, but Decker not only is the heart and soul of the Minnesota offense but I actually believe he makes Decker look as good as he does.

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