What I Learned: College Football Week 5

I finally got to spend some good old quality time in the recliner, in front of the television this Saturday, so of course I spent it watching college football.  Here is what I learned while watching Saturday's Week 5 action:

DBTH Team of the Week:  Clemson Tigers

No team did more to increase their championship stock this weekend than Clemson.  They thoroughly dominated Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg no less, to step to the forefront of the ACC.  This coming after a huge win over consensus ACC-favorite Florida State the previous week.  I picked Clemson #23 in my Preseason Poll and had them in the Strong Plays section of my Over/Under CFB Preview, but they have exceeded my expectations.  Clemson has the reputation of fading down the stretch, so it will be interesting to see how they finish, especially with tough road games at Georgia Tech and South Carolina still on the schedule.

It's not a good idea to stomp on the other team's logo on the 50 yard line.
Dan Mullen and Company thought it would be a great motivational tactic to stomp on the Georgia "G" at the 50 yard line before their noon kickoff with Georgia.  It turned out to be great motivation-for Georgia.  The Real Dawgs played an inspired first half and jumped out to a 21-3 lead.  They coasted to a 24-10 win. 

In the aftermath of the beatdown, Mullen tried to backtrack and say it was a "misunderstanding," even insinuating it was Georgia's fault but judging by the smirky grin he had during the incident (watch the video below), it was anything but that.

Texas A&M is not a 2nd Half team.

For the second straight week, the Aggies blew a comfortable second half lead, this time to Arkansas at Jerry World in Dallas.  I really thought this would be the Aggies' year, and they are improved, but two brutal collapses have them looking like a usual middle-of-the-pack Big 12 South team. They will have to make statements against Oklahoma AND Texas if they want to be considered a threat in the Big 12.  I don't see that happening.

Brady Hoke is a great coach.

Hoke parlayed his resurrection of San Diego State into his dream job in Ann Arbor, and it looks like he will return the Wolverines back to the top of the improved Big 10(or12).  I realize a 58-0 thrashing of Minnesota isn't reason to anoint him the next Bo Schembechler, but they've made all the big plays so far this year, especially in the comeback over Notre Dame.  To support my claim, just look at the defensive numbers.  Last year they couldn't keep a high school team out of the end zone, this year, opponents are not getting there.  That's ALL ATTITUDE, and that comes from the head coach.

Wisconsin might be the second best team in the country, and Russell Wilson could win the Heisman.

We all knew before the season that Alabama and Oklahoma would be great, but Wisconsin's 48-17 thrashing of Big Red-Lincoln will enter them squarely into the national title discussion.  The Badgers are so good on the line of scrimmage that I think they could stack up with every team in the country.  I picked them #3 in my preseason poll, higher than anyone else, and Bret Bielema and crew are proving me right so far.

Finally, this Steve Spurrier/Stephen Garcia love/hate soap opera/train wreck is Must-See TV!

By letting Garcia hang around and get chance after chance to act like an adult, Spurrier has hamstrung his season and his program.  The Gamecocks lost at home to Auburn Saturday, and should've lost to Georgia a couple weeks ago, if not for stellar defensive and special teams performances.  Connor Shaw proved earlier in the season that he's not capable of leading the offense, so the Ole Ball Coach has had no choice but to hitch his wagon to Garcia.  Garcia's penchant for stupid turnovers, like forcing a deep ball into double coverage for a pick with the lead on Saturday, reiterates the known fact that he has no clue how to be a leader.  The only thing Garcia leads is all 1-A (FBS) quarterbacks in interceptions. Now he has now been benched in favor of Shaw, according to Spurrier.  If this lasts as long as his suspensions, he'll be back in the 3rd quarter of this week's game against Kentucky, when Carolina is down 17-7.

What did you learn this weekend?  Check back later in the week for my Week 6 Locks of the Week.  I guarantee I'll make you some money!  But if I don't, it's not my problem!

STEPHEN GARCIA UPDATE: HE'S GETTING A 5TH SECOND CHANCE

Just call me "El Gato".  I've got at least nine lives.



Evidently the lack of quarterback depth at South Carolina is worse than we all imagined.  According to this article Steve Spurrier and athletic director Eric Hyman have deemed it necessary to give Stephen Garcia another second chance (like, the 4th or 5th one) to be a part of the Gamecock program.  This time he will have a set of "strict" (suuuuurrre...) guidelines he has to follow to remain on the team.

My questions are:  Why hasn't this been done already?  Did he not get a strict set of guidelines the first four times he was suspended?  What makes anyone think that Garcia believes any rules apply to him anyway?  He's gotten away with so much under Spurrier that Ole Ball Coach's voice is akin to Mommy saying "This is my last warning, I'm going to spank you NEXT time." 

Keep in mind, the reason for this suspension was him showing up wasted to a leadership conference and being such a disruption he was asked to leave.  That's really the guy you want leading your team?  I don't think so, unless in Spurrier's twisted mind he thinks Garcia is the only guy who can win him ball games, which I will assume is true, based on this quick reinstatement.

This just goes to validate the assertion I've held about Steve Spurrier for a long time.  PEOPLE GIVE HIM WAAAAAAY TOO MUCH CREDIT!  He won 6 SEC titles and 1 National Championship at Florida, but Urban Meyer won 2 National Championships at Florida in half the time, in a much more competitive SEC. 

Don't get me wrong, he is a great X's and O's coach, but great quarterbacks don't want to play for him.  His schizophrenic shuffling at the position has scared off many top QB's in years past, and when has he ever developed a capable NFL quarterback anyway?  His best were Rex Grossman, Danny Wuerffel and Doug Johnson and they weren't great pros.  Grossman was competent, but the other two were terrible. 

This isn't the first time he's given repeated chances to a star player.  Think back to JaBurglar (Jabar) Gaffney when he was at Florida.  It's obvious that winning is number one for Steve Spurrier and to heck with the rest. 

Stephen Garcia is graduating this May and will be on track to lead the Gamecocks out of the tunnel for their season opener in September.  Does anyone really think he can stay out of trouble for four months after graduation?  When he has no responsibilities but football?  He is a ticking time bomb, waiting to explode again, ready for Spurrier's next second chance.  They really deserve each other.