Week 3 is in the books

Week 3 finally provided some of the upsets that we've been waiting for. New Mexico beat Arizona, Maryland took down California, UNLV knocked off Arizona St. and Charlie Weis didn't break both legs.

Here are a few of the stories that stood out to me from week 3.


Defense wins championships


There were a few undefeated teams that got it done on the defensive side of the ball this week. As we all know, offense is fun to watch, but it's the defense that wins championships. If these teams can keep up that level of play on the defensive side of the ball, they could be looking at the NC in January.

• Georgia- The Bulldogs won a traditional SEC game by knocking off the Gamecocks on the road 14-7. Georgia's defense held South Carolina's rushing attack to just 58 yards on 16 attempts. That's an average of 1.1 yards per rush! The Dawgs also forced two late turnovers to seal the victory, a Mike Davis fumble at the goal line, and a last second interception by Reshad Jones.
• BYU- The Cougars absolutely dismantled UCLA 59-0 at home. While BYU's offense is being lauded across the nation today, I would like to recognize their defensive efforts. The Cougars shut down Norm Chow's offense. The Bruins only converted on 20 percent of their third down attempts. UCLA only manged 9 rushing yards in the contest and turned the ball over 4 times. This was a drastic improvement for BYU's D compared to last week's escape vs. Washington.
• Auburn- The Tigers defeated Mississippi St. in a baseball-type score of 3-2. Auburn only gave up 162 total yards to the Bulldogs (78 passing and 38 rushing). Auburn's Walter McFadden came through with a huge pick in the final minutes to seal the game for the Tigers. With the way Auburn's offense has been struggling, the D will have to continue to carry this team.
• Oklahoma- The Sooners made Ty Willingham's seat a little warmer by defeating his Huskies 55-14. The Sooners are on an absolute roll both offensively and defensively. OU allowed only 87 rushing yards to Washington on Saturday. The Huskies were only able to average 2.6 yards per rush. Oklahoma also forced 3 fumbles in the contest.
• LSU- When the Tigers actually play this season, it's their defense that looks exceptional. LSU knocked off North Texas 41-3 this week. The Bayou Bengals held the Mean Green to 155 passing yards and 44 rushing yards. LSU also picked off North Texas once.
• USC- Everyone and their mom saw USC dismantle Ohio St. 35-3. USC's offense wasn't overly impressive to me. Their D, on the other hand, was amazing. The Buckeyes only mustered 136 passing yards and 71 rushing yards vs. the Trojans. USC also forced 1 fumble and they got a pick 6 against Todd Boeckman before the half. Rey Maualuga was EVERYWHERE last night.
• Wisconsin- The Badgers capped off Saturday night by putting up a solid defensive effort in their 13-10 win over Fresno St. The Badgers only allowed 15 first downs to Tom Brandstater and the Bulldog offense. Brett Bielema's bunch also forced 1 fumble and 1 interception.

Hurricane Ike


Hurricane Ike was barreling down on Texas this weekend. Several games were moved or cancelled to accommodate this bitch. Here were a few games that were effected by Isaac.

• Baylor vs. Washington St. - This game was moved to Friday. I'm sure that news didn't even register to fans of the two schools. If anyone at all watched this game, they would know that the move didn't effect Baylor at all. The much improved Bears ran all over the horrible Cougar D en route to an impressive victory.
• Arkanas @ Texas - This game was postponed all together. If I were Bobby Petrino, I would be a total douchebag. Also, I would just forfeit the game and keep my bye week. Their schedule is going to be brutal.
• Air Force @ Houston- Dallas was the site of this monumental throwdown. Air Force defeated the Cougars rather handedly. I must say, I am more and more impressed each week with this Falcons football team.
• Louisiana-Monroe vs. Alabama A&M - This was another game that was moved to Friday night. It was also another game that was viewed by a total of 12 people. The Warhawks registered their first win of the season.
• TCU vs. Stanford - This game was moved to 10 am local time to accommodate the storm. The early start time definitely didn't help the Cardinal. They were throttled by an impressive TCU team. No one is talking about TCU in the Mountain West. BYU and Utah better watch out.

The seat gets hotter



After week 3, here are a few coaches that should be updating their profile on careerbuilder.com as we speak.

• Jeff Genyk- Eastern Michigan. The Eagles lost to a bad Toledo team on Saturday. Genyk's squad looked very bad in the process. If EMU cared dick about their program (which they don't) Genyk would already be long gone.
• Greg Robinson- Syracuse. There are a few mysteries in life that can never be explained. The Bermuda Triangle, the Sphinx nose, why Mark May hasn't been bitch slapped by Lou Holtz yet, and how in the hell is Greg Robinson still employed by Syracuse.
• Tommy West- Memphis. The Tigers were expected to be much improved this season. Instead they are total garbage. Their loss to Marshall on Saturday was disastrous for West and Memphis.
• Tyrone Willingham- Washington. Unfortunately, Coach Ty has not been able to get his ass of the hot seat. I know I've said t before, but I feel really bad for this guy.
• Chuck Long- San Diego St. No matter what the Aztecs do the rest of this season, Long will probably be out of a job in December.
• Mike Stoops- Arizona. Just when it seemed like Stoops was coming off the hot seat, his team goes out and loses to previous winless New Mexico. Arizona is the Clemson of the West.
  

The top 25 players: Sun Belt

We've finally made it to the end of my conference player breakdown series.

Of course we're ending it on a high note with the greatest conference of all! The Sun Belt conference!

Here are the top 25 players from the epitome of conference awesomeness that is the Sun Belt.

1.Rusty Smith - Florida Atlantic QB - If it wasn't for Tim Tebow, Smith might just be the best QB in the Sunshine State. Rusty has lead the Owls to tremendous success during his tenure in Boca Raton. I look for that to continue this season.

2. Frantz Joseph - Florida Atlantic LB - While Smith is busy leading the Owl offense, Joseph is the unquestioned leader of the FAU defense. Howard Schnellenberger loves tough defensive players, and Frantz Joseph fits that mold perfectly.

3. Tyrell Fenroy - Louisiana-Lafayette RB - Fenroy is the most dangerous runner in the Sun Belt conference. While the Ragin' Cajuns have been struggling as a team as of late, there is no such problems with Fenroy's game.

4. Casey Fitzgerald - North Texas WR - Larry's younger brother definitely has the talent to be just as good as his older brother. With Riley Dodge in the mix this season, I see Fitzgerald busting onto the scene in a big way.

5. Tavious Polo - Florida Atlantic DB - While the Owls are busy throwing the ball all over the place, Tavious Polo is busy making sure the same doesn't happen to them. For the most part, Sun Belt QB's know to avoid this guy.

6. Reggie Arnold - Arkansas St. RB - The Red Wolves may very well have the worst nickname in 1-a football now. I don't see anyone making fun of Arnold for that. He is a load that is very tough to bring down in the open field.

7. Kenny Mainor - Troy DL - The Trojans have had a long line of great defensive linemen. Mainor is the latest to take on that legacy. With a down year expected, Mainor and the Troy D will need to step up to prove the experts wrong.

8. Greg James - Louisiana-Monroe DB - The War Hawks will get a little bit more pub this season thanks to their monstrous upset of Alabama late last season. That will be a good chance for James to show off his talents.

9. Cortez Gent - Florida Atlantic WR - Gent is the go-to receiver in a pass happy FAU offense. Rusty Smith to Cortez Gent will be very difficult to defend in the Sun Belt.

10. Dion Small - Troy OL - Small is not a proper name for someone so big. This guy will be clearing lanes for the Trojan offense this season.

The rest:

11. Antwyne Zanders Louisiana-Lafayette LB
12. Jervonte Jackson Florida Atlantic DL
13. Jason Harmon Florida Atlantic TE
14. Corey Small Florida Atlantic DB
15. Matt Mandich Arkansas St. OL
16. Boris Lee Troy LB
17. Aaron Schutz Louisiana-Monroe OL
18. James Truxillo Louisiana-Monroe DB
19. Alaric Coleman Louisiana-Monroe DL
20. Desmond Gee Middle Tennessee RB
21. Cedric Mack Florida International OL
22. Riley Dodge North Texas QB
23. Jamal Lewis Middle Tennessee OL
24. Terence Moore Troy LB
25. Bradley Guillory Arkansas St. OL

On the come up

I am a pretty big optimists. I usually feel that every team has a good chance to improve upon the previous year's performance. Of course this is total bullshit. We all know there will be teams that will blow like they always do.



To stop myself from giving you a huge list of teams I feel will be improving this year, I figured I would break it down by conference.



So here are the teams that will improve the most by conference.



ACC



North Carolina- The Tar Heels already showed signs of improving last season. With a full season at the helm, Butch Davis will have a much better grasp on his team than he did going into last year. Hakeem Nicks is one of the best wideouts in the nation and he will have a talented T.J. Yates to get the ball to him. Anthony Elzy and Greg Little form a powerful duo in the backfield as well.





Big XII



Texas Tech- I know Tech had a great year last season, but I expect them to have an even better one this year. Graham Harrell is already a record holder for a school that does nothing but produce record breaking QB's, and he will once again be throwing to receiver of the year Michael Crabtree. Ruffin McNeil already has the defense headed in the right direction. If the D improves, the Red Raiders could be in the hunt for a conference crown.





Big East



Pittsburgh- The Panthers ended last season on a high note by defeating rival West Virginia and knocking them out of the NC picture. Dave Wannstedt is returning his best team sine he's been at the helm. LeSean McCoy is one of the best running backs in the nation. Derek Kinder and Oderick Turner are back at WR, and Pat Bostick and Bill Stull are both capable QB's that are available to start.





Big Ten



Michigan St.- The Spartans will definitely be the best team in their state this season. They will also have a shot at being one of the better teams in the Big Eleven. Javon Ringer is one of the better players in the conference at any position. What could make or break this season for MSU will be their defense. I expect them to field one of the better defenses in the Big Eleven, which should help them rise through the ranks.





C-USA



Memphis- Memphis started off very slow last year. Couple that with low expectations and you can see why fans started to turn on Tommy West and his team. However, the Tigers turned it around and improved drastically as the season went on. Earning a New Orleans Bowl berth. Unfortunately Memphis was throttled by Sun Belt champ Florida Atlantic. Memphis returns Duke Calhoun at the receiver position as well as a stout defense. I bowl better than the New Orleans Bowl should be in store for the Tigers.





MAC



Ball St.- Nate Davis and Dante Love form one of the better aerial duos in the nation. This alone makes them one of the favorites to win the pass-happy MAC. Unfortunately the Cardinals are stuck in the MAC West with Central Michigan. It should come down to those two, and with Davis running the show, I wouldn't count Ball St. out.





Mountain West



Utah- BYU should breeze through the Mountain West this season up until the Holy War against the Utes. I would not be surprised if Utah would pull that one out. You never know what will happen in rivalry games. Brian Johnson is back at QB to lead the offense with his arm and his feet. The Utes defense will be tough once again with defensive-minded Kyle Wittingham at head coach.





PAC-10



Washington- The Huskies have been inching toward respectability since Tyrone Willigham took over. The Huskies were in the game against both Ohio St. and USC last season until they folded down the stretch. This figures to be a make or break year for the coach so the Huskies will have extra incentive. If QB Jake Locker can remain healthy, Washington's chances at a bowl are vastly improved.




SEC

Ole Miss- The Rebels were horrible under Ed Orgeron. Fortunately for new coach Houston Nutt, Orgeron was an excellent recruiter. There is ample talent in Oxford(and for once I'm not talking about the ladies.) Nutt is a great coach, and he will get this thing turned around quicker than most people think. Texas transfer Jevan Snead is the new QB and he will have some talented receiver to throw to, including Mike Wallace and Marshay Green.


Sun Belt

Louisiana-Monroe- Florida Atlantic is still too tough for anyone to unseat them as kings of the conference no one cares about, but the War Hawks have a shot to unseat Troy as number two in the Sun Belt. Monroe was a totally different team at the end of last year compared to the beginning. They ended the season with tremendous momentum thanks to the stunning win at Alabama. Veteran coach Charlie Weatherbie called the win the biggest of his career. The War Hawks do lose starting tailback Calvin Dawson, but they also return All-WAC caliber Kinsmon Lancaster at QB. Lancaster is a playmaker with bot his arm and legs.


WAC

Louisiana Tech- All the focus in the WAC this year is on Fresno St. and Boise St., as it should be. Watch out for these Bulldogs though. Derek Dooley is a tough-minded coach that has finally gotten his players to buy into his approach. Georgia Tech transfer Taylor Bennett is immediately available to start the season. That should help the pain of losing Zac Champion at QB. I expect Louisiana Tech to make a bowl game this season. That is a big turnaround from previous seasons.