Week 11 Thoughts

The fall of the Trojan dynasty has begun. The Washington game was considered by many as a fluke, but what it really was was a warning sign. The two massacres that were Oregon and Stanford have shown the Trojans aren't the same team they have been for the last decade. Matt Barkley may have a bright future, but he's not there yet. He got shown up this week by a fellow freshman Andrew Luck, who should be a force in years to come. The thing that has really gotten the Trojans the past couple weeks is the play of the defense. The linebacking corps is just not the same after the departure of the big 3 and even their superstar, Taylor Mays, has seen his production fall dramatically this season. Ohio State won the Big Ten this week with a victory over Iowa, but the nation should take notice what Iowa has done this season. They took an upbeat Ohio State team to overtime with what many would consider their 4th string running back and a freshman quarterback. Iowa doesn't look like a one hit wonder, but rather a future contender in an improving Big Ten. Texas is dominating a weak Big 12, Florida and Alabama are rolling towards their huge matchup, Cincinnati has a big battle against Pittsburgh coming up, and Georgia Tech's only competition in the ACC is a surging Clemson team.

Top Players
1. Toby Gerhart
Has there been a week when I haven't put Gerhart here? Andrew Luck continues to be steady at quarterback for the Cardinals and all he needs to do is be efficient. Luck may be a superstar eventually, but when your senior running back has almost 1400 yards and 19 touchdowns with three games left you don't have to do anything more. Getting to 2000 yards is probably unrealistic at this point with only 3 games and 605 yards to go, but getting to 1800 yards and 25 touchdowns seems like a very reasonable possibility. Gerhart's performance will be reflected in my Heisman contenders this week with the fall of Houston and Keenum's Heisman hopes. Gerhart has proved me wrong this season and I finally started believing in the last few weeks, but dominating USC has completely sold me.

2. Tank Carder
The sophomore linebacker was just one of many reasons TCU dominated Utah in all facets of the game and continued to show the legitimacy of the Horned Frogs. It's worth noting one of TCU's victims, Clemson, is one of the country's hottest team's behind CJ Spiller. TCU is definitely one of the top 5 teams in the country and aren't just benefitting from an "easy" non-BCS school conference schedule. I do think Boise State is overrated, but TCU is not. I fully expect TCU to win their BCS game unless they end up playing the loser of the Alabama-Florida game. Tank Carder had a pick 6 against Utah this week to seal the victory for TCU, making the game an out of reach 35-7. TCU is a fast, physical team and has a coach that can compete with the best of them.

3. EJ Manuel
Manuel wasn't spectacular and I usually reserve this section for players that put up insane stats for teams that are in contention. Manuel and the Seminoles fall into neither category, but don't discount the performance of the young gun slinger. Manuel was a highly touted quarterback a few years ago out of high school. Christian Ponder, who was having a very good season overshadowed by the deficiencies of the Florida State defense, is out for the regular season and Manuel received his first career start this past week. Playing in a pivotal game for Florida State's bowl hopes, Manuel delivered for Bobby Bowden completing 75 % for 220 yards and a touchdown (1 INT). He also showed his mobility running the ball 10 times for 45 yards and a touchdown. Whether it be Bobby Bowden or Jimbo Fisher, Florida State's coach has his quarterback of the future.

4. Dexter McCluster
If there was ever a player deserving of player of the week, McCluster is the unanimous decision. In one of the top offensive performances of the year, McCluster ran for 282 yards on the ground for 4 TDs. The wide receiver also caught 4 passes for 42 yards in one of the most dominant displays in Mississippi football history. McCluster didn't do this against a creampuff or a team with a bad defense. He did this against a well respected Tennessee defense that held Alabama and Florida's offense to much less. McCluster had a slow start to the season, but Houston Nutt has been getting him the ball more and more in the last few weeks and McCluster has shown the country why he deserves every single one of those touches. (It also doesn't hurt me that he's my fantasy wide receiver)

5. Kellen Moore
In what was widely considered as Boise State's last test, even though I think Nevada is the key game, Moore and the Boise State offense exploded on Idaho in rout to a 63-25 beatdown. The ever efficient Moore threw 22 of 32 passes complete for 299 yards and a most impressive 5-0 touchdown-INT ratio. Moore has what many would consider an insignificant 2 rushing yards, but I like mentioning that to say he had over 300 total yards of offense. Moore might play for Boise State, but if you haven't seen him he's real fun to watch. It should also be noticed that Moore's go to guy Pettis was on the receiving end of 8 of those balls for an outstanding 4 touchdowns. Pettis might quietly be making a claim for All American honors with 14 touchdowns this season.

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