Week #4 College Football Ups and Downs – Underrated/Overrated

If this past weekend of college football has taught us anything, it is give a team enough rope to hang themselves and they surely won’t let you down.  I am referencing both Stanford’s dismantling of potential national title contender USC and Notre Dame’s thrashing of Big Ten “power” Michigan State.  Until Saturday I had held out hope that USC would be playing the national title game (and they still might!), and that Michigan State would remain the class of the Big Ten.  Both of those thoughts are looking a little darker right now!

Do we need a playoff in college football?  Well, at the rate we are going, the college football regular season is doing a pretty good job of weeding teams out.  Most likely the loser of the Alabama at LSU tilt will fall from the title race.  I say that because I don’t think the media and the fans would want or stand to see another rematch of those two teams in the title game again.  So, if either LSU or Alabama is out of the mix, that leaves schools like Oregon, Oklahoma, and Florida State as vying for their chance to most likely play the SEC winner in the national title game.

No matter what, the chase for the national title is in full swing.  Each week brings new teams to the table and some other teams leave.  Ah…the glory and pagentry that is college football!

In the week #4 installment of “Ups and Downs” I am taking a slightly different approach than my normal viewpoint.  In this weeks segment I want to focus on some teams that are flying under the national radar for their success and some teams for their dubious play this far.  Without further ado, here are my week #4 lists:

Free Falling!

NOTE: No personal rankings will be offered in this segment as all teams have no shot at being ranked this year!

Colorado Buffaloes (NR – AP / USA Today Polls).  How far ave the Buffaloes fallen?  I recall when the annual Colorado-Nebraska showdown on Black Friday would determine who would win the Big 12 North.  While these teams don’t play anymore, the game would have little relevance other than for Nebraska to pas their stats.  Colorado joined the Pac-12 last year, and the thought was that joining an elite conference like the Pac-12 would enhance the Colorado recruiting program.  Well, it has gone the opposite way!

Colorado has been a program that has been on the descent since 2004, the last time they won a bowl game.  Since that time Colorado has finished the year below .500 six of seven years, and they are on their way to finishing below .500 this year.

This past Saturday, Colorado was obliterated at home by Fresno State 69-14.  Mind you the Bulldogs are no offensive juggernaut, but Colorado made them look like the irresistible force.  If that wasn’t bad enough, Colorado has also lost to Colorado State and FCS-level Sacramento State.  Along the way the Buffaloes have set some rather dubious school records.  The loss Saturday dropped Colorado to 0-3 in their non-conference portion of their schedule.  It is the first time they have 3 losses to schools outside power conferences since the 1950′s.  Other records that the Buffaloes established on Saturday were the most yards given up in a single quarter (322), most yards given up in a half (516), and most points given up in a single quarter (35).  Colorado also yielded two plays of 80 yards or more in a single game, the first time that has happened in school history.

No matter how you slice things, the Buffaloes are the doormats of the Pac-12!  On the bright side, things can only get better, but I’m not sure when that will be.  The Buffaloes open their Pac-12 play this coming Saturday when they travel to Pullman, WA to take on the Washington State Cougars.  It is conceivable that Colorado could end the year without a single victory.  That would be a historic low for this team!

Houston Cougars (NR – AP / USA Today Polls).

The last time most Penn State fans recall seeing the Houston Cougars is when they were being beaten all about the joint in the TicketCity Bowl.  To be fair, the Houston Cougars still had prolific passer Case Keenum, and their offense was still driven by the quick-play offense of coach Kevin Sumlin (Sumlin had left the team by then to coach Texas A&M).  Houston finished the season 13-1 with their only loss coming in the Conference USA title game to Southern Miss.

Oh what a difference a year makes!  Gone are play-makers head coach Kevin Sumlin, QB Case Keenum, WR Patrick Edwards, WR Justin Johnson, and RB Michael Hayes.  In their place are new head coach Tony Levine (he was the interim head coach when Sumlin left), QB David Piland, WR Daniel Spencer, WR Dewayne Peace, and returning RB Charles Sims.  Things have gotten so bad though that OC Mike Nesbitt resigned after their opening defeat to Texas State.  I guess Houston can beat Wisconsin at something: first to have a major coordinator get booted from the program!

Houston has started the 2012 campaign by posting an 0-3 mark.  They have losses to the WAC’s LA Tech and Texas State and the Pac-12′s UCLA.  On the bright side of things, Conference USA is certainly not overpowering, so given a chance to work through their ills, perhaps Houston can win a few games.

Idaho Vandals (NR – AP/USA Today Polls).

The perennial doormats of the WAC have been a picture of futility for the past decade.  Since 2002 they have had only 1 winning season (2009) and they rank near the bottom in every offensive statistical category.  On the season, Idaho has managed just 3 TD’s.  No, that wasn’t a typo, they only have 3 TD’s – for the season!  In comparison, Penn State’s WR Allen Robinson  had 3 TD’s on SATURDAY!

After the Bowling Green loss two weeks ago, the Vandals managed a measly 6 yards rushing for the game.  The futility of this team is staggering and mind-boggling!  After 3 games, Idaho ranks 111th out of 120 teams in total offense.  Matt McGloin has 688 yards passing this season while the entire Idaho team has amassed 808 total yards.

The WAC conference season is finally upon Idaho, perhaps they can sneak out a win or two.  One can only hope!