Saturday witnessed some pretty large upsets in the college football world, including the No. 1 team losing for the second week in a row, as well as No. 5 Nebraska nose diving against unranked Texas.
Let it be known that Ohio State heading into Camp Randall is no easy fight. The Badgers are a really good team, but when you're No. 1 in the country, you are expected to win, no excuses.
Former No. 1 Alabama was also on the road when they lost to South Carolina.
Nebraska doesn't have that excuse. They were playing at home against Texas, who has looked pretty dismal at times this year.
So what is going on here? Is it simply parity? Or is there a reason some of these teams are losing?
What do these teams all have in common?
A superman. A Heisman trophy candidate. At least a name that has graced the list in our gossip.
In Nebraska, Taylor Martinez is king. No, he's not really a quarterback, but since when has Nebraska football been about passing? In the first five games, Martinez rushed for 737 yards (147.4 per game) and 12 touchdowns. His passing wasn't amazing, but it wasn't laughable. It was serviceable for Nebraska football.
On Saturday, Martinez rushed 13 times for 21 yards. In the passing game, he was 4-for-12 for 63 yards. He didn't score a touchdown. He didn't do anything. While typically being responsible for more than the majority of the offensive attack, he helped them achieve 84 total yards.
Why do you think Nebraska lost? Because supermen are fallible. They make mistakes. They have bad games. They can't be the sole source of offensive production.
The same holds true for Ohio State and Terrelle Pryor. The junior quarterback has improved in every category this season. His touchdown passes and passing yards are up. His interceptions are down. His rushing statistics are also better. In 2008, he averaged 4.5 yards per carry. In 2009, 4.8. In 2010, 6.2.
But Pryor is still very hit or miss. Against Miami in the second game of the season, Pryor was 12-for-27 for 233 yards and a touchdown. It was serviceable, but a completion percentage of 44% isn't going to cut it. His legs did the talking in that game, as he rushed 20 times for 113 yards and a score.
Against Illinois, a game that was too close for the talent discrepancy, Pryor again struggled in the passing game, going 9-for-16 for a whopping 76 yards. He threw 2 scores and 1 interception. Again, his legs (and the defense) led them to victory as he rushed 11 times for 104 yards.
Against Indiana last week, his arm did the talking, as he went 24-for-30 for 334 yards and 3 touchdowns. His legs worked in reverse, as he had 3 rushes for -19 yards.
And finally against Wisconsin, neither his arm nor his legs got it done and the result was of course a loss. Pryor was 14-of-28 for 156 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. He rushed 18 times for 56 yards.
In Alabama, everyone expected some brilliant things from Mark Ingram, but injury has kept him from his potential.
In 2009, Ingram amassed just shy of 2,000 yards from scrimmage and collected 20 touchdowns in a Heisman-winning effort. If he halves those totals in 2010, I think he'll be lucky. His inability to be at a true 100% perhaps cost Alabama its shot at remaining unbeaten.
So the question is, who is next to fall? Perhaps Cameron Newton at Auburn has it coming? We've already seen Denard Robinson of Michigan is human in losses to Michigan State and Iowa.
LaMichael James looks pretty untouchable with Oregon, but they have a far more balanced attack, perhaps they'll survive.
Then there's Boise State's Kellen Moore, who keeps having nearly perfect games. How he failed to win the Heisman in 2009 with 39 passing touchdowns to 3 interceptions is baffling to me, but he looks to have similar numbers this year. He's a bit down in yards and touchdowns, but still with minuscule interceptions.
Of all the teams who are undefeated and have a superman running the show, I think Auburn is the most vulnerable, not because Newton is worse than James or Moore, but because he is the offense at Auburn. Oregon and BSU have more balanced attacks and don't rely on one person solely for offensive power.
James and Moore are the leaders of their offenses. They make things happen and will continue to do so, but Oregon and BSU can survive games where these two don't play at 100%. Do you think Auburn can survive without Newton putting up huge numbers? I have my doubts.
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