The Hammer's College Football Review: Week 13

Does the ACC suck or what? We had Mary-Land bolt on us this week for the Big Ten (why they would even want them is beyond me), and adding insult to injury our best can't even beat other conference's middling teams. Pacifically the S.E.C.

10-1 Flawda State took on instate rival Florida at home, on Bobby Bowden Field in Doak Campbell Stadium before a sellout crowd of 85,000 screaming rednecks, and gave up 24 points in the 4th. quarter. How does a quality team just fold up like that? At home? In front of all that hot, ditzy, Seminole coed pu...eh nevermind (lost my train of thought).  Now admittedly the Gators are a damn fine football team, and two years from now they'd be in the playoff for the big prize, but still FSU was embarrassing in the fourth quarter.

Then we had Clemson at home against their hated foe the South Carolina Gamecocks coached by Mr. Personality himself, Steve Spurrier. Clemson led 14-10 at halftime but decided to sit out the second half scoring only three points to S.C.'s 17. And that's with the Cocks starting a second string quarterback and their hoss in the backfield Marcus Lattimore out with injury. Clemson just couldn't stop them on third down and Carolina played brilliant ball control offense getting 50+ snaps in the second half compared to Clemson's 19. It's hard to score if you ain't got the ball.

In other ACC action Georgia owned Georgia Tech, no big surprise there. UVA played Va. Tech tough but couldn't get it done. And just to illustrate how Commissioner Swofford has screwed this league up, this was rivalry week right? Well not so much in the rest of the ACC. NCSU played Boston College. UNC played Maryland. Wake Forest played Vanderbilt and Duke played Miami. Yeah buddy, when I think NC State and our biggest rival I always think Boston College. I'm sure Carolina, Duke and Wake are thinking the same thing. Jaysus, if somebody has to have a heart attack this week let it be somebody like Swofford!

So, now that I've bitched about the ACC let's move on to the national picture. Alabama mopped the floor with Auburn, scoring on their first seven possessions. Two years ago Auburn was top of the heap, now they couldn't play dead in a cowboy movie. They might would even suck in our league...eh, maybe. Oregon which was riding high before losing to Stanford last week took it to in-state rival Oregon State all day long; they licked that Beaver cross-eyed. But guess who's playing in the PAC 12 championship game? Stanford and UCLA. And yes they just played yesterday with the Bruins losing 35-17 in Pasadena. Ohio State beat a good Michigan squad in the shoe finishing 12-0. Now they can sit back, pop open a sudweiser and watch Alabama/ Notre Dame for the big enchilada.

The Hammer's Heisman watch has the Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel as the strong favorite. He's a redshirt freshman and no freshman has ever won but his closest competition is Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o. To begin with a defensive player has only ever won one Heisman in the history of the award, and furthermore nobody can pronounce Mr. Te'o name properly. The K-State QB is great but they lost and Ohio State's QB is excellent but he's damaged goods. There are some good players out there but nobody sticks out like Manziel, and the media loves this guy. I suppose beating 'Bama does have its rewards.

So, there you go. Not much shaking the next few weeks. Ah we have the odd game (Army/Navy...yawn) but not much so I may not crank it up again until the bowls. I'm sure you're heartbroken. So, I won't let the door hit me where the good Lord split me. C-ya, wouldn't want to be ya.