The Hammer's College Football RoundUp: Week 10

What a Saturday of college football! Not since the '71 Nebraska Cornhuskers cruised into Norman with that GREATEST EVER defense (7 all Big Eight, 4 All Americans, 2 Outland Trophy winners; Rich Glover and Larry Jacobson) and put a hurting on Greg Pruitt and that wicked Oklahoma wishbone have I seen such defensive excellence! Alabama's defense yesterday was superb! What the Tide did should be studied at West Point along with Jackson's Valley Campaign and Patton's relief of Bastogne. LSU's great runningback Leonard Fournette who AVERAGES almost 200 yards per game got a grand total of 31 yards yesterday at Bryant-Denny! And Jesus Christ 18 of those yards came on a run where he FINALLY got to the outside! I didn't in a million years think ANYBODY could put the clamps on LSU's running game like that! I'm not surprised Alabama won but I'm very surprised at how they won. So, delete Leonard Fournette and insert Derrick Henry on your Heisman list.

How 'bout those other Tigers? Clemson finally got the Seminole monkey off their backs. This was another defensive struggle at least after FSU's opening drive 75 yard TD run. Everything stayed locked until the 4th quarter when Clemson finally took control, but the game was a lot closer than the final score. FSU was never out of it until very late. Clemson is a GREAT football team and just like in '81 they are scrappers. They're gonna be a tough out.

And then there's the Tar Heels, the Tar Heels. As I've said before their defense is outstanding. The question is, is it capable of stopping Clemson? Carolina has been lucky in their schedule. The teams they have beaten are all over the place...hot and cold. Ga. Tech, UVA, Pitt; nobody knows what these teams are gonna do week to week. The Heels got a great win yesterday against Duke which I think is their most significant win to date. I'm thinking Duke is just suffering a hangover from last week's Miami loss. But win they did so who knows, they may be indeed for real. Next up they've got Miami at home, Va. Tech in Blacksburg and NC State in Raleigh. They could lose them all or win them all and nobody would bat an eye. It's gonna take a win over Clemson in the ACC Championship game (assuming they get there) for them to get any respect. We'll see.

Did you see poor Michigan State? They got beat late in Lincoln on a somewhat iffy play. Hey shit happens, shoulda been ready. A team like Nebraska with a long winning tradition and an undefeated, league leading national power comes to town? You gotta figure these guys will be ready, and they were and the Spartans weren't. Winning national championships is all about consistency.

TCU went down to the other OSU who happen to be undefeated. Looks like Boone Pickens is getting his money's worth. Arkansas won against Ole Miss with another bullshit razzle-dazzle play. I'm getting a little sick of those to be honest. Toledo and Memphis fell from the ranks of the unbeaten never to be mentioned again. Stanford is still the best out west beating Colorado. Iowa is still looking good, they wore out IU yesterday. But undefeated, defending National Champion Ohio State awaits the Hawkeyes (don't get nervous now!) if they can win out.

So who are the four best at the moment? Well according to my Hammeratic Gridiron Evaluator Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson and (I know, stupid) either Florida, Michigan State or LSU. Now I didn't say who I thought would get in the playoff. There is a ton of football left and until rivalry week nothing is certain. Florida has to play FSU last game, Clemson has to play South Carolina, Ohio State plays Michigan in Ann Arbor and on and on. Anything can happen and probably will. But right now, at this point in time, these teams are the best.  

That's it. Oh, I almost forgot. CW's Wahoos got thumped by THE U yesterday in Miami and my own Wolfpack won at Boston College for the first time in 30+ years. Both games were about as entertaining as midget porn. And so it goes, now piss off!