Around the Nation: ND loses a heartbreaker, thoughts on USC, Everson Griffen, and Taylor Mays, and why Miley Cyrus has taken over The 'Backer

Some thoughts on the Notre Dame-USC game while I try to clear that USC Conquest song from my head:

14) One of the best things about being a sports fan is that you're always going to have certain moments where you'll remember where you were when it happened for the rest of your life. You'll remember where you were when Christian Laettner hit that turnaround jumper to beat Kentucky in the East Regional Final in 1992. You'll remember where you were when David Tyree caught that ball off his helmet to lead the Giants over the Pats in the 2008 Super Bowl. You'll remember where you were when Tiger knocked home that 12 footer on a balky knee to tie Rocco Mediate at Torrey Pines and send one of the great US Opens of all time to a Monday playoff.

And if you were at The Backer on Friday night, you'll remember where you were when you heard DJ Drew play Miley Cyrus "Party in the U.S.A." four times IN A ROW. And the crowd was loving it!! People were literally passing around money to hand to DJ Drew to keep it going. Who knew?! That song just entered into Enrique Iglesias/Numa Numa/Big N Rich/Rocky Top/Lee Greenwood territory for songs that wouldn't work anywhere else but would bring the house down at a place like The Backer. I felt like I must have heard that song fifty times over the course of the weekend. It's like the perfect song for a place like the Backer: uber cheesy, very red state-ish, talks about the U.S.A. a lot, implores you to throw your hands in the air, and has a catchy refrain. I'm half convinced that Miley's people said "this song will kill at The Backer" when they wrote it for her.

So I put my hands up
They’re playing my song,
And the butterflys fly away
Noddin’ my head like yea
Movin my hips like yea
I got my hands up,
They’re playin my song
I know im gonna be ok
Yea, It's a party in the USA
Yea, It's a party in the USA

That's gold! Easily the most well-received song of the night. Even bigger than the ND fight song. Good work Miley. You've got yourself your first big time hit.



13) I got home on Sunday evening from South Bend and watched the replay of the ND-USC game, and the tv feed really doesn't do justice to how good USC's front seven was in this game. USC's defensive line is unlike anything I've ever seen in person at Notre Dame Stadium. They completely dominated the game. Jurrell Casey can go through two blockers, Everson Griffen is unblockable on the edge, and Nick Perry is all power and speed. Everson Griffen ABUSED Sam Young the entire day. Just completely dominated him, and Sam Young had actually been having a decent year up until this point and was being talked about as a 2nd/3rd round NFL Draft pick. If Jimmy Clausen hadn't made some nifty scrambles to get away from pressure, Griffen would have had like six sacks on Saturday. Griffen is a spectacular talent. I thought he was the most dominant player on the field on either side of the ball for most of the game.

And the scary part is that they're ridiculously young! Look at their depth chart. Every guy on their two deep is an underclassmen. Horton-freshman, Casey-soph, Perry-freshman, Kennard-freshman, Tupou-junior, Griffen-true junior. That's absurd! If Griffen comes back next year, their defensive line will be one of the best in recent memory.

Their linebackers are all young and first year starters too. They'll all be back next year. USC is going to be SCARY GOOD next year. Like as good as they've ever been. With that defense and Barkley coming into his own, look out. Anyone in the building could see that we have ZERO SHOT to beat them next year in the Los Angeles Colisseum (I will definitely be there for that one, especially if Jimmy is back).

And that's why the general consensus outside the stadium after the game was along the lines of:

"we covered!"
"hey, we made a game of it!"
"I'm just happy we didn't get blown out."
"We were playing with house money in that fourth quarter, so hard to get too broken up about the loss."
"Wait, we came back?? I went to Legends to watch Florida-Arkansas after USC went up 34-14 with 13 minutes to go."

Ok, that last line never came out, but it was close!! Did anyone attending the game on Saturday not have the "do you want to head over to Legends?" conversation with your buddy/spouse/girlfriend when Joe McKnight surged into the end zone to make it 34-14?? ANNNNNNNNNNNNYONE?? I'll admit that I did. How could you not?? The game was over. I was texting my brother with an opinion that USC was the best team in the country and wanting to find out the score of the Florida-Arkansas. There were people streaming for the exits when we fell down 34-14.

And yet we came back and made it interesting against a more talented team that has a higher ceiling than our program is capable of at the moment.

That's really what it all comes down to when you look at it from a big picture standpoint. The problem for Notre Dame football isn't Charlie Weis. I don't think there's any coach out there for ND that could put us into the USC stratosphere right now. USC has personnel that we don't have on our roster, and there isn't any coach out there who could get that personnel. Urban Meyer couldn't get Jurrell Casey into ND. Nick Saban couldn't get a guy with 15 tattoos like Everson Griffen into ND. Bob Stoops couldn't suddenly make Nick Perry academically eligible to get him into ND. And if you can't get those guys on your roster, you can't play consistently with the big boys. Period.

The biggest difference between USC and ND is that they have DOMINANT personnel on their lines, and we just don't. We have some great skill players, but our lines just don't stack up in terms of size and athleticism. There aren't many 315 DT wrecking balls out there to choose from or 260 pound athletic freaks who can get to the pass rusher with reckless abandon, and we can only go after 2-3 a year due to academics or cultural issues. There is no margin for error. Recruiting the front seven at ND is like the small market Major League Baseball team that has zero margin for error for a bad draft pick or a bad free agent signing in order to win. If we miss on the one elite guy we're after (who is also getting recruited by Texas/Florida/USC/OU/Bama), we don't have any other options for an elite guy.

Look around at Alabama and Florida and USC and LSU. They have elite front sevens. We have a typical Big Ten/Midwestern type front seven that might be able to hold up ok when it gets more experience, but could never dominate a game against the USCs/Bamas/LSUs of the world.

When I watched the game on Saturday, I didn't feel like coaching was the problem. Talent was the problem. USC has better overall talent and probably by a pretty large margin. And that's not Charlie Weis' fault. I think he has maxed out our recruiting potential. He has brought in elite QBs, elite WRs, elite TEs, good RBs, good offensive linemen, and he has a stable of younger defensive linemen that could turn out to be pretty good by next year. But when it comes to bringing in the five star all-world defensive guys, there's only so much he can do. He can't get these guys into school out of high school, and he can't take on the JUCOs types or prep school types. A lot of these stud d-linemen end up at JUCOs or one year prep schools to get their grades up, and we aren't touching those guys.

So if you want ND to be back into the Bama/USC/Florida territory, look higher than Charlie Weis. The issues holding up ND football's path back to greatness go higher than the head coach. We aren't a football factory, and that makes things tough on the coaches. I don't think you can evaluate Charlie Weis against the big boys until he has the same freedom that those schools have. If Charlie Weis could recruit anyone with a pulse, stash players in prep schools until they became NCAA eligible, and if his players could practice all they want, not worry at all about class and spend all their time working out or loading up on HGH, take briefcases full of cash from boosters, and Weis STILL couldn't win consistently against the USCs of the world, then I'd say that he's a failure and that he needs to go. But that's not the deck he has been dealt.

I would like to see how Charlie would do if he had all that stuff in place. Could he win a national title?? I think he probably could. I don't think Charlie Weis is the greatest coach or anything by any means, but I also think he's working at a program that has a much bigger image of itself than in reality. Face the facts. We're a midmajor type program right now. We have the name and all that, but we're really more like a "rich man's Stanford" than a USC. You can see it out there on the field. We have some OUTSTANDING players on this team. Clausen, Tate, Rudolph, etc, but look at our two deep and tell me how many guys would be starting/playing significant minutes for USC. You're talking about a handful of guys.

The only guy in our front seven who is a USC type player is Manti Te'o. Te'o makes USC type tackles. He hits guys and they go down immediately. He knifes in and wraps guys up when those guys would break a Brian Smith tackle or an Ian Williams tackle. When I watch our defense, the only "WOW" guy is Manti Te'o. Every guy on USC's defense is a "WOW" guy.

13) Here's the defining example of where Notre Dame football is at in 2009. Immediately after the last pass to Kamara fell incomplete, the entire student section gave the team a spontaneous standing ovation. That quickly spilled into other sections of the stadium, and suddenly we all found ourselves clapping for the team as a sign of our appreciation for their effort.

That's how far we've fallen in the last 15 years. We were legitimately PROUD of the fact that we even hung around with USC and gave them a game. I'll be the first to admit that I was clapping and genuinely felt like it was the right thing to do in that moment.

It didn't hit me until a couple hours later that we had given a standing ovation after a loss. I'm not saying it was the wrong thing to do, but it's all you need to know about where we are as a program. We were "proud" after a loss!! In a game where we were down 34-14 in the fourth quarter, I was celebrating the fact that we were even competitive. That's how far Notre Dame football has fallen. If anyone out there thinks we aren't a midmajor, I don't know what to tell you. That's what we are. Maybe that will change over time, but right now that's our current status in the college football world. And by mid-major, I don't mean TCU or Tulsa. I mean a BC/Sparty second tier program that can occasionally win a big game and goes to bowl games and flirts with the back end of the top 25, but doesn't really pass the "smell" test when it comes to playing with the big boys. And I think deep down, all of us know that as Notre Dame fans. We were all there watching that game and saw how talented USC was compared to our team. The standing ovation wasn't some half-baked "Notre Dame spirit" thing. It was a genuine emotion where we felt like the team had been competitive with a far more talented team and that they deserved some recognition for their effort.

Compare that to the reaction from USC fans after the game. Here's how high expectations are at USC. Petros Papadakis has a radio show that for some reason airs in Columbus every day, so I tuned in to the show on the drive home from work to hear what he had to say about the USC-Notre Dame game. And he was upset!! He was legitimately hot and bothered by how "sloppy" USC had played with all the penalties and that the game ended up getting too close for comfort. He kept saying that he hoped that game was a "wake up call" for USC. That's how high expectations are at USC. They're bummed out about close wins, and we're giving standing ovations to our team for just making the game close at the end. It's a completely different level.

So if you want to blame Charlie Weis for what has happened to Notre Dame football, be my guest. But he's not the problem. If anything, he's doing everything he can to keep this program from circling the drain. He has recruited extremely well, the team is clearly better, and there's a chance that this team finishes strong and pulls in another very good recruiting class.

Maybe Weis will someday beat USC or put us on par with the Trojans, but that can't be the expectation for this program at the moment. Most people who previewed this season said that we would be a 9-10 win team that would lose to USC, and that's probably where we are headed. Now, it's like people have adjusted expectations. You can't have a moving target. If a loss to USC was viewed as a probability before the season, you can't say it's unacceptable after it happens.

Now, Weis might lose to BC and Pitt and the team will implode, but I think people need to let the season play out before jumping to any conclusions.

12) Honestly, I think the biggest problem people have with Charlie Weis is his physical appearance. I'm as guilty of this bias as anyone. He looks like a sloppy pig. If I ever looked into the mirror and saw anything close to Charlie's face and body shape looking back at me, I'd probably spend the next month on a treadmill. When I see that tub of goo waddling around on the sideline with his triple chin, D cup breasts, front butt, boogers running down his nose, bad haircut, and khaki pants running up to his nipples, I cringe. I cringe even more when I see him interviewed at half time and he's completely out of breath and using lines like "I'm just happy to be down 13-7." Of course it's hypocritical for me to say it since I spill coffee on my suit about once a week, wear ratty ties, usually have ketchup or mustard stains bracketing my lips at all times, and haven't combed my hair more than 2-3 times in the last five years, but I'm also not the face of the Notre Dame football program. When your head coach looks sloppy and weighs almost 400 pounds and just randomly says whatever comes into his head even if it comes off poorly, people have a tough time overcoming that. It's not the kind of image that we want associated with the program.

If Weis was a handsome guy like Pete Carroll and was running around on the sideline with tons of energy, our fans would LOVE him. He'd be viewed as an exciting coach who puts up offensive numbers and puts on an exciting show. Part of the appeal of Pete Carroll is that he just LOOKS like a guy who would inspire his team. We look at Charlie and can't help but wonder if he brings the team down with his demeanor and appearance.

It's out there whether people want to admit it or not. There's a subconscious bias against Weis partially because of his appearance. I'm not saying it's wrong because appearances can be important, but it's there.

--Some other random thoughts from the game weekend:

11) For those wondering about the 8:30 am Warren tee time, I'm happy to report that we all made it to Warren on time and walked 18 holes. The one hour "frost delay" helped out (I think they said it was 34 degrees when we showed up at 8:15am), but we got it done. Considering that one player has had multiple knee surgeries, one player was waddling around for 18 holes like Charlie Weis because of some "internal issues," and one player was still Anthony Kim "sideways" after a Saturday that must have included double digit Irish Bud Lights, two Bushmills, and about five 32 oz Tom Collins while closing down Between the Buns BY HIMSELF, I think it was one of the more heroic performances seen at Warren in many years. The loose cannons!!

Somewhere Robert Allenby was shaking his head in shame though.

10) I've said this a few times now, but the worst player on our 22 man starting roster is Harrison Smith and it's not even close. Maybe he's a good athlete and all that, but he doesn't seem to like contact. Maybe he's just not cut out for defense or something. He's supposed to be a free safety!! Safeties are supposed to be hitters. They're supposed to be sure tacklers. Harrison Smith doesn't do either thing. He's not a playmaker, and he's not a security blanket. I don't know what he's doing on the field. He's either got to move to offense or start playing more aggressive football. I think I'd roll the dice with Sergio Brown or someone else. At least those guys might get in there and make a play.

9) The offensive line got abused in the first half, but they actually adjusted and held up well in the second half. I think we were just overwhelmed by them in the first half because we hadn't seen anything like that. It's not like Purdue or MSU could give us a preview of how to block a guy like Everson Griffen. There's just no way to simulate it. We had no answer for Everson Griffen.

8) Funniest and dumbest moment of the game was the Everson Griffen "flexing" penalty after he sacked Clausen and walked over to the USC band and did a muscle pose. What a hot dog!! Even when the ref told him to stop, he decided to keep on doing it knowing that he was drawing the flag. I thought it was one of the funniest things I've seen, but also completely warranted an excessive celebration penalty. Who does that?? Everson Griffen, that's who. He just completely handed us a first down and wiped out his own big play that would have put us in 2nd and long. And I don't think it even bothered him that he picked up a 15 yard penalty for that flex move.

Even better was Wes Horton's sack on the VERY NEXT SERIES when he was about to go into a celebration and Jurrell Casey practically tackled him to keep him from picking up an excessive celebration. If Casey hadn't held Horton's arms down, I'm convinced he would have posed or something like that and drawn another flag. Only at USC.

USC pretty much lived up to every bit of their reputations on Saturday. They are freakishly talented and deep, but also such a bunch of hot dogs and Hollywood types. They do a huge huddle dance before every kickoff, they pose and preen all the time, they dance and bob to their own band, and they sort of feed off this "we just hang loose" vibe. Anthony McCoy was literally waving his arms at the crowd trying to get them pumped up even though it was the Notre Dame crowd!! I'm not real big on that stuff at all, but it's sort of mesmerizing at the same time. How are they so loose?! There's kind of a rock star quality to USC football. It's unlike anything I've seen in college football since probably the late 80s/early 90s Miami teams.

7) Speaking of USC, I know they are flaky and probably will lose some head scratcher down the line, but part of me thinks that they are about to go on a roll over the next 6 games. When this USC team grows up a little bit and stops committing so many stupid penalties, they are going to be scary. I think they can beat any team in the country.

It is amazing to me that USC is probably just scratching the surface of what they might be able to do in the next couple years, especially if they don't have a bunch of early entry guys. They will lose their secondary, but most of that offense and front seven will be back. By this time next year, they could be unreal.

As for Matt Barkley, where do I buy stock in his 2010 Heisman campaign?? I think he made his first audition on Saturday, and I wouldn't be surprised if that game serves as a springboard for him for the rest of the year. I thought he played an outstanding game for a true freshman. He's a statue back there, but some of the throws he made were NFL type throws. Think about how much better he'll be by this time next year. If USC is undefeated heading into the Notre Dame game next year, he'll be looking at a Thanksgiving spotlight to make his case for the Heisman hardware.

I hate saying this as much as anyone, but we have ZERO shot to beat USC at USC next year. None, and that's even if Jimmy Clausen comes back. This was probably our best shot at home against a freshman QB and young defense. Probably the most depressing thing about the loss is that we're staring at losses in 2010 (at USC where we always lay down, Barkley coming into his own, loaded defense), 2011 (Barkley back as the prohibitive #1 NFL prospect, Clausen, Floyd, Tate, Allen, Hughes, Stewart, Wenger, possibly Rudolph all gone), and probably even 2012 since we never seem to even have a pulse when we go out to Los Angeles. Let's be honest, USC is probably never going to lose to Notre Dame at home as long as Pete Carroll is there.

6) One guy on the Trojans who I was not blown away by was Taylor Mays. Don't get me wrong, he's a very good player, but I think my expectations were too high for him. I was expecting to see a Polamalu/Ed Reed clone, but he's really more of a Roy Williams (the safety) type guy. A good player who likes to go for the big hit but isn't quite as athletic or dominant as I thought he would be. If an NFL team thinks they are getting Polamalu by drafting Taylor Mays, they're kidding themselves. Polamalu is a wrecking ball who is all over the field. Mays is nowhere near that class. I wouldn't touch him with a top 10 pick.

Plus, I thought Mays was surprisingly undisciplined for a senior. Golden Tate abused him on both those touchdown catches even though Mays was in position to break up those plays, and he had two costly personal fouls in the second half. It's almost as if he's so determined to lay the big hit that he forgets to play football and make the smart play. A guy who plays that recklessly will get exposed in the NFL.

5) As for Jimmy Clausen, I thought he looked shaky early, but he was OUTSTANDING for most of the game. When I went back and watched the game on tv, I realized how well he played on Saturday. He was literally running for his life back there, but he hung in there and made some fabulous throws on the run. And didn't throw any picks. He doesn't make mistakes, and he makes a ton of huge plays to keep drives alive or to put points on the board. Credit to Charlie Weis for developing him, but Clausen has really become a guy who can carry a team.

Clausen is the best QB I've seen in college football this year by far. If he wasn't on our team, we'd be like 2-4 right now. I felt really bad for him after the game because he played his heart out.

4) As for the pregame atmosphere and crowd noise, I think it was a little less ELECTRIC than I thought it would be. There were some pretty funny pregame things with the guy carrying around the giant OJ Simpson mugshot poster and the guys who dressed up as USC Song Girls, but it wasn't as crazy as I thought it would be. Couldn't put my finger on what it was, but the stadium was really not loud at all on Saturday. In fact, it was probably the quietest I've heard it out of the three home games I've been to this year. Not sure if it was just that everyone was nervous and wanted to watch the game instead of yelling, or if we were demoralized and expecting a loss or what, but the crowd didn't really get it going until the fourth quarter.

I think it was just nervousness/tension. It was hard to really let loose because it never really felt like we had a chance in this game until the end of the fourth quarter. If that Tate bomb play had happened earlier and given us the lead, I think people would have really cranked it up. But it was 20-7 when he made that play, and it felt like USC was still in control.

The fourth quarter was spectacular though. During every play, there were flash bulbs going off left and right. Definitely could feel the drama in the building.

Both bands were great as well. Dr. Kenneth Dye brought everything he had, and USC's band did what USC's band always does. They even brought that White Stripes "Seven Nation Army" song to the mix several times. I guess they must have liked it when the Buckeye band was playing it a month ago.

3) Some other college football thoughts from this weekend:

It's becoming more and more obvious as the season goes along that this is really not a very good year for college football. Once you get past Alabama, Florida, and USC, who is any good this year?? And I'm not even sure about Florida or USC at this point. There's just no real elite teams out there in any of these conferences.

ACC -- Miami, Virginia Tech and GT are top 20 type teams, but they've all been exposed as incomplete teams at some point in the season
Big East -- God bless em, but Cincy is a midmajor with two star talent masquerading as the 5th best team in the country
Big 10 -- HA! That's a good one. In all seriousness though, Iowa has taken care of business. They've beaten a pretty good Arizona team, won at Penn State, beat Michigan, and won at Wisconsin. If they get by Sparty, they are going to be 10-0 going into the game in Columbus against the Buckeyes. The rest of the league is crap though.
Big 12 -- Texas is the class of the league, but where is the quality?? OU is banged up, Texas Tech lost to Houston, Oklahoma State ALSO lost to Houston AT HOME, Kansas lost to freaking Colorado, and Nebraska got destroyed at home by Texas Tech. If your 2nd and 3rd best teams in the league lost back to back games to a CUSA school, your league doesn't have a ton of credibility.
SEC - It amazes me that LSU is sitting there as the 9th best team in the country even though we've all watched them and seen how flawed they are. That's a sad commentary on college football this year. After LSU, you've got teams like Auburn who lost to Kentucky at home, a solid but not spectacular South Carolina team, and mediocre Georgia and Ole Miss teams. The SEC is still extremely strong with a deeper pool of talent than anyone else, but the lack of credibility with programs like Georgia and Tennessee this year has hurt the league.
Pac 10 -- I think you could make an argument that the Pac 10 is the best conference in college football this year, but look at some of their OOC scores. Oregon State lost to Cincy at home, Arizona lost to Iowa, Oregon lost at home to Boise State, Stanford lost at Wake Forest, and Washington lost to ND. Those losses don't help the reputation of the league.

I laugh at these teams like Cincy and Boise State and TCU, but who the heck else is going to be in the top 10 right now?? There's just not a lot of quality out there. Georgia Tech is a flawed team, and they are #11. Oregon already lost to Boise. Penn State is #13 and hasn't beaten anyone with a pulse. Oklahoma State lost at home to Houston. Ohio State lost to a 1-4 Purdue team. How could you justify any of those teams in the top 10??

--As for Terrelle Pryor, I mentioned this last week, but Ohio State is really in a jam with this guy. They really have no other options. Pryor probably should be benched, but who are they going to turn to if they sit Pryor?? A walk on like Joe Bauserman?? How is he the answer?? Every recruit was so scared off by Pryor's presence on the roster that they have killed their depth at quarterback. They really don't even have a backup quarterback.

Even worse, there is no one pushing or threatening Terrelle Pryor. He knows as well as anyone that Tressel has no other option but to play him. So he can insist on playing a pro style offense and make as many demands as he wants, and there's nothing Tressel can do about it. Pryor has a gun to the head of the Ohio State program.

Tressel screwed up by not trying to find some 3 star Ohio kid who just wanted to be a Buckeye to come in this past year. Some Joe Germaine/Bobby Hoying/Craig Krenzel type guy. Not a star, but a guy who just wanted to play for OSU and would have happily sat the bench for a couple years to maybe have a chance to play as a junior or senior. Who knows, that guy could have found himself starting this week as a true freshman. I don't know if anyone was out there, but you gotta think there was somebody like that in the Midwest/Ohio.

Either way, Ohio State is an offensive mess. They either need to go all in with Terrelle Pryor and develop a completely new spread option offense for him with a new offensive coordinator, or they need to give it up and move him to wide receiver. If Pryor wants to play in the NFL, he probably needs to be thinking about another position anyway. He's certainly not going to be an NFL quarterback from what I've seen of him.

2) Week 8 Heisman ballot:

4) Tim Tebow
3) Matt Barkley
2) Jimmy Clausen
1) Mark Ingram

Whoa, where did that "Mark Ingram for Heisman" momentum come from?? I thought I was the only one making the case for him, and now he's suddenly the favorite. Best running back in the country, and it's not even close. He's singlehanded carrying my fantasy team this year.

I don't think Clausen did anything to hurt himself, and I think he's got a shot to make a move if ND can win out here. Tebow is going to win or lose this award based on how his team plays against Alabama, but I'm still waiting for him to play a monster game at some point. He hasn't done it so far.

And I'm putting Barkley at #3 because I'm predicting right now that he's winning the 2010 Heisman Trophy. Barkley is going to be an outstanding player. Heck, he's already pretty darn good.

1) Week 8 Power Poll:

3) Florida
2) USC
1) Alabama

I'm moving USC up to #2 this week because I think they can beat anyone in the country on a neutral field other than Alabama. If they continue to improve week in and week out, they have the highest ceiling of any team in the country. Maybe they'd lose to Florida if the game was played tomorrow, but USC has the most raw talent of any team I've seen. USC always plays better as the year goes along, and I have no doubt that they will look like gangbusters coming down the stretch.

I really want to see a USC vs. SEC Champ national title game. We've been wanting that game for years, and this year would be the perfect year to give the fans what we want. Heck, that should be the game EVERY YEAR until proven otherwise. Texas is a fraud, and no one else is even in the conversation. Give me USC-Bama in Pasadena, and I will be really excited for the title game.

WEISND Roundtable Week 7 Picks: The University of Notre Dame vs. The University of Southern California (Oh, and some game in Dallas)

October 17, 2009. Feels like we've been waiting for this game for years.

Couldn't be more excited. I knew the hype would get big as we got closer to the game, but it seems like the national media is really starting to dial it up. ESPN, CNNSI, CBS Sportsline, everyone. I think there's a feeling in the air that we're going to see a classic game at ND Stadium this weekend.

On to the picks:

Cincinnati -2.5 at South Florida (ESPN 7:30pm)

Jeremy: Cincinnati (-2.5)

Isn’t it about time for the USF train to jump the tracks? I know this game is down south and the Bulls have great speed on defense but the Bearcats have looked mighty frisky. They’ve already shown this year that they aren’t afraid to go on the road into a hostile environment and pull out an impressive victory. Brian Kelly and Tony Pike get it done again this weekend.

UC 27 USF 17

Dan: Cincinnati -2.5

Cincinnati has actually become a gambling negative going 0-2 ATS the last 2 weeks after opening 3-0. Meanwhile USF is 2 – 1 ATS. But this Cincy team has a feel to it. It has a certain swagger that you have to like in any close game. While I do generally agree with Doug that I like the home teams on Thursday night, I liked Nebraska last week and I like Cincy this week.

Cincinnati 24 USF 20

Matt: USF +2.5

Couldn’t be more excited about this appetizer for the weekend of football. I haven’t seen Cincy play this year yet, so I’m looking forward to seeing what all of the hype is about this Tony Pike guy. I don’t know why but I have a soft spot for Big East football, partially because it gets ragged on so often when the results really haven’t been that bad over the past few years. And with teams like West Virginia, UC and USF not afraid to challenge themselves with some tough nonconference games, I can get behind programs like that (unlike say…Texas and Penn State…). I think USF pulls off the home upset on the strength of the Florida speed their defense possesses.

USF 20 Cincy 17

Mike: Cincinnati –2.5

The Big East may be the weakest BCS conference, but this is an intriguing game nonetheless. The key to this game will be whether Cincinnati, which relies heavily upon its passing game, can maintain its early-season offensive efficiency against USF’s deep and athletic defensive line. With an extra week to prepare, Brian Kelly should have an effective game plan to counter the aggressive USF pass rush with an array of screens, draws and other quick hitters. In addition, given USF’s track record of being exposed as fraudulent each October, Jim Leavitt bears the burden of proving that this year’s Bulls team is not like prior year’s editions.

Cincinnati 31 South Florida 23

Doug: Cincinnati -2.5

Man, it's almost hard to believe that America is going to be tuning in on Thursday to watch Cincinnati and South Florida. Very surreal. Between the Bengals and UC, Cincinnati has suddenly become the epicenter of football.

Everyone seems to be talking about UC's title hopes, but what about South Florida?? If they run the table, why couldn't they get consideration?? Look at their schedule:

Sat, Sep 5 Wofford W 40-7 --
Sat, Sep 12 at Western Kentucky W 35-13 --
Sat, Sep 19 Charleston Southern W 59-0 --
Sat, Sep 26 at (18) Florida State W 17-7 --
Sat, Oct 3 at Syracuse W 34-20 --
Thu, Oct 15 (8) Cincinnati 7:30 pm --
Sat, Oct 24 at Pittsburgh 12:00 pm --
Fri, Oct 30 West Virginia 8:00 am --
Thu, Nov 12 at Rutgers 7:30 pm --
Sat, Nov 21 Louisville TBA --
Sat, Nov 28 (9) Miami (FL) TBA --
Sat, Dec 5 at Connecticut TBA

How can you really fault them for that schedule?? They are playing FSU and Miami in nonconference play, and they have Big East games with Cincy, Pitt, WVU, Rutgers, etc. How is that any worse than your typical Big Ten or ACC team?? Are teams like Pitt and WVU any better or worse than teams like Georgia Tech or BC or Iowa or Wisconsin?? No way. Those games would be toss ups. If USF goes undefeated (obviously a huge if considering their upcoming games), I think I can make a legit case for them.

I'm not even going to pretend to have any analysis of this game since I haven't really watched much of either of these teams, but I gotta take Cincy here. On paper, I think USF has more talent, and I'm also worried that USF has UC's ex-defensive coordinator for insight into how Cincy plays, but I'm going with my man, Brian Kelly. All this guy has done is win big games throughout his time at UC. Just when you think he has no shot, he finds a way to get it done.

One final note, a message to all non-Big East fans out there. Can you please avoid bashing the Big East tonight?? What is the point?? So that you can feel better about your program?? No one from the Big East is saying that they play the best ball in the country, but I guarantee you'll hear a million people saying tomorrow "man, the Big East is awful!! These teams wouldn't win a game in the ______ (insert BCS conference)" and a bunch of other nonsense. Leave these teams alone and let them have their night. No one from UC is saying that they are better than Alabama, so there's no need to judge them against that standard.

Cincinnati 24 USF 20

Oklahoma +3 at Texas (Fair Park, Texas ABC Sports 12pm)

Jeremy: Texas (-3)

Don’t have too much to say about this game. Both of these teams seem overrated and neither has done much to impress. I’m actually surprised this line is so low. I suppose Vegas thinks Bradford can make a 7-10 point difference. If he had his full complement of WRs and more than one game under his belt, I might be inclined to agree. The Sooner defense keeps this one close, but the Horns pull away in the closing minutes of the 4th quarter.

Texas 31 Oklahoma 24

Dan: Oklahoma +3 (LOCK OF THE WEEK)

Neither team has been good ATS this year, as they have each struggled to cover as large favorites. But this is the Red River Shoot Out. Biggest game of the regular season for both teams. I think we’ll see OU come out with no-huddle and lots of motion to put Demarco Murray in different spots on the field to try to get the ball in his hands (think Golden Tate against UW) in order to keep the UT defense off balance. I think Colt McCoy is the most overrated “Heisman Candidate” in recent history. He has 10 TDs and 6 INTs through 5 games against miserable competition. And their best receiver is a white dude! The pundits seem to think a lot more of Texas than I do. Texas may have won 3 of the last 4 (after losing 5 straight), but Stoops and Co. bounce back this week to win outright.

OU 34 Texas 31

Matt: Texas -3

Yawn. Gameday should be in South Bend this weekend. Rooting for OU to knock this overrated Texas team out of the national championship picture.

Texas 27 Oklahoma 21

Mike: Oklahoma +3

Although Texas enters this game with the lofty national ranking and an unblemished record, there are plenty of reasons to love Oklahoma in this game. For the second consecutive year, Texas has been unable to develop any semblance of a running game, thus causing the Longhorns to rely exclusively upon Colt McCoy. This lack of offensive balance could spell doom for Texas against an outstanding Sooner front four, which should be able to rush the passer with reckless abandon. Moreover, the Sooners’ offense should benefit immensely from the addition of Sam Bradford, who played brilliantly last week in his return, albeit against Baylor. Simply put, this appears to be a great matchup for Oklahoma and it won’t surprise me if the game isn’t particularly close.

Oklahoma 31 Texas 14

Doug: Texas -3

Big week for both schools, and an even bigger week for my fantasy football team. A little first place-second place fantasy matchup this week, and I'm squaring off against Colt McCoy. Definitely going to have the generator up and running in the JACC parking lot to check in on this game.

Texas has three potentially big games left on the schedule. The Big 12 championship game (possibly against a resurgent Nebraska team), the game at Oklahoma State (which would be a lot tougher if Dez Bryant was playing.....darn you NCAA!! You're killing fantasy teams everywhere. Just reinstate the guy already. He did nothing wrong.), and the Red Rivalry game this weekend against OU. If they can get by OU this weekend, Texas has a clear path to an undefeated regular season.

Meanwhile, it's sort of amazing since we've already written them off, but OU can put themselves in the driver's seat in the Big 12 South if they can win this game on Saturday. At the end of the day, it's still Oklahoma. They have owned Texas for over a decade, and you have to think they are going to be extra motivated to try to avenge that loss from last year against Texas.

Big game for the quarterbacks a well. Curious to see how both play from an NFL Draft perspective and a Heisman perspective. If Bradford has a monster game, he probably puts himself right back at the top of the 2010 NFL Draft. He had 5 td passes in this game last year.

I'm rooting for OU in this game, but I think I have to go with the Longhorns to survive. OU has been killed with injuries, and I'm not sure they are ready right now to win a game like this one.

Texas 31 OU 27

Iowa -1 at Wisconsin (ESPN 12pm)

Jeremy: Iowa (-1)

The Hawkeyes are getting some serious Rodney Dangerfield treatment from Vegas this week. Sure they haven’t been too impressive, but that win in Happy Valley looks pretty good. Speaking of unimpressive performances, Wisconsin hasn’t done much itself. I know they outgained OSU in Columbus last weekend, and I know the Camp Randall crowd will probably be buzzing, but the Badgers have to show me something first before I can start to believe in them.

Iowa 20 Wisconsin 17

Dan: Wisconsin +1

Wisconsin dominated every statistical aspect of that OSU game last week except the score. They are due for a win. Meanwhile, I’m not convinced at all that this Iowa team is legit. While they may have a strong front 4, their offense is mediocre and the rest of their defense leaves something to be desired. I think Wisconsin gets that win their due for and alleviates the BCS of another Big 10 undefeated issue.

Wisconsin 17 Iowa 14

Matt: Wisconsin +1

I was at the Ohio State – Wisconsin game last week sitting one row behind the Wisconsin bench where the defensive players and coaches were. Could hear everything that was going on while they were on the sideline and came away thoroughly impressed with their defense and gameplan against Pryor. They were saying all game long to just stuff the run and not even to worry about Pryor throwing. And they were right. I think Wiscy wins this one at home.

Wisconsin 18 Iowa 17

Mike: Wisconsin +1 - Lock of the Week

Despite a somewhat lopsided final score, Wisconsin actually outgained Ohio State by a significant margin in Columbus last week, so there is reason to believe that the Badgers are a bona fide contender in the Big Ten. Iowa, meanwhile, continues to win in unconvincing fashion against feeble opponents on a weekly basis. In other words, the Hawkeyes, undefeated record notwithstanding, appear to be living on borrowed time. Iowa has shown a knack for the close win, but, unfortunately for Hawkeye denizens, this game may not be close.

Wisconsin 34 Iowa 17

Doug: Wisconsin +1 -- LOCK OF THE WEEK

From what I saw out of them last weekend, Wisconsin is a pretty typical Wisconsin team. Hard-nosed, good running game, mediocre QB play, tons of white guys. They aren't what they were under Barry Alvarez, but it's still a decent second tier Big Ten team.

I see no reason why Wisconsin won't win this game straight up. I'm still not buying into Iowa. Iowa is Wisconsin with a fancier ranking. Michigan had five turnovers last week and still should have won that game. What happens when Iowa goes on the road to play an angry Wisconsin team with similar (if not better) talent??

Camp Randall is one of the toughest places to win in college football, especially when the Badgers are desperate. I think Wisky wins this game and maybe comfortably.

Wisconsin 24 Iowa 10

South Carolina +17 at Alabama (ESPN 7:45pm)

Jeremy: South Carolina (+17) – LOCK OF THE WEEK

Great defensive matchup. Is this Spurrier’s best South Carolina team? I know its early, but I can’t think of many better. I think the Cocks can keep this one close into the 4th quarter. But if Bama covers this spread, there should be no doubt that Nick Saban’s got the best team in the country. That SEC title game can’t get here fast enough.

Alabama 23 South Carolina 13

Dan: South Carolina +17

South Carolina may have played like crap against Kentucky, and Alabama may be the best team in the country. But 17 points just seems like a lot of points in an SEC match up between 2 strong defensive teams.

Alabama 20 South Carolina 7

Matt: South Carolina +17 - LOCK OF THE WEEK

Two great defenses going at it. Looking forward to seeing Norwood v. Ingram and Rolando McClain introducing himself to Stephen Garcia. Alabama wins it, but USC keeps it “closer than the experts think.”

South Carolina 9 Alabama 17

Mike: South Carolina +17

This game has all the makings of a classic SEC slugfest, which should please Nick Saban far more than it pleases Steve Spurrier. South Carolina has a defense that is capable of holding its own against the powerful Alabama running game, while the Crimson Tide defense is capable of stifling any offense in the country. If the Gamecocks offense, specifically Stephen Garcia, can protect the ball, this should be a close contest. The Tide will roll, but South Carolina will cover.

Alabama 23 South Carolina 10

Doug: South Carolina +17

Whoa, there's the respect for Bama that we've been waiting for all fall. Last week, they were -6 over an Ole Miss team that everyone knew they would destroy. Now, they are suddenly -17 over a South Carolina team that probably deserves a little more respect than Vegas has given them.

Just goes to show that Vegas doesn't know everything. Take the points here. This line is too high. Bama is great, but more in the "grind you into the ground" way. Saban would be more than happy to win this game 17-3, but that doesn't get you a cover.

Plus, I think South Carolina is a good football team. I don't know what happened against Kentucky, but I've been impressed with that defense.

Bama is not losing this game at home, but 17 points is too steep.

Alabama 24 South Carolina 10

Virginia Tech -3 at Georgia Tech (ESPN2 6pm)

Jeremy: Virginia Tech (-3)

I really have no idea what to think of these two teams. The Hokies have been more consistent to date, but Georgia Tech certainly seems to have more explosiveness on the offensive side. Since the Yellow Jackets keep playing Jekyll & Hyde, guess I’ll have to go with Va Tech.

Va Tech 24 GT 20

Dan: VT -3

I’ve been a Georgia Tech supporter in both reality and gambling ever since the Paul Johnson hire. But I just have a hunch that this VT team has something a little special going and can slow down GT enough to cover relatively easily.

VT 24 GT 17

Matt: Georgia Tech +3

GT’s offense is either really good of FSU was really bad. Probably a lot of both. I apologize for that awful Lock of the Week pick last week. I am hoping for the outright win by the Jackets so we don’t have any possible scenario where Virginia Tech sneaks into national championship contention. They got their doors blown off by Alabama. Case closed.

VT 20 GT 23

Mike: Georgia Tech +3

After some early season struggles, both of these teams’ offenses are really clicking right now. The Jackets’ offense, however, is a notch better than the Hokies’ offense and Tech’s Paul Johnson has a much better track record as an offensive coordinator than the perpetually embattled Bryan Stinespring. By contrast, the Virginia Tech defense, though not as formidable as years past, is better than the Georgia Tech defense, which is a complete mess. These two teams look almost dead even on paper, so I will side with the home field advantage and the points.

Georgia Tech 24 Virginia Tech 23

Doug: Virginia Tech -3

Honestly, I'm intrigued by the idea of Georgia Tech winning this game, but Frank Beamer and his staff are too good to get fooled by the triple option. VT is a disciplined defense that isn't going to get sloppy against that type of offense. If you play fundamentally sound defense, Georgia Tech's offense can be shut down.

I do enjoy watching Georgia Tech play though. Paul Johnson has even said that he thinks the triple option could work in the NFL if a team went all in and made it the focal point of their offense. I think the Miami Dolphins are validating that theory to some degree. They run that Wildcat offense all the time, and it's tough to stop. I never really believed that a Wildcat/option offense could be successful in pro football, but I've seen a lot of NFL teams doing it well.

Virginia Tech 20 Georgia Tech 16

USC -11 at Notre Dame (NBC Sports 3:30pm)

Jeremy: USC

I know its been said a million times already this week, but this is easily the biggest game of Weis’ career. He has basically staked his entire future in South Bend on this weekend. The list of recruits (both in the 2010 and 2011 classes) on campus is mind-boggling. While a bad performance might not destroy the incoming class (remember Floyd committing after the 2007 debacle?), you’ve gotta think these kids will want evidence that the program is heading in the right direction and that Charlie will be the man leading the way for the foreseeable future.

An ND win will give Weis the signature victory he’s been looking for. It would also give the team a much-needed shot of confidence going into the second half of the season. Reports that Floyd could be back as early as the Navy game support the notion that the Irish could run the table and find themselves playing in a BCS bowl come January.

So what do the Irish have to do to be in this game in the closing minutes? Here’s a few thoughts:

1) Put USC in 3rd and long. Its unreasonable to think that ND can stop, or even slow down, the Trojans on the ground. The SC OL and RBs are just too good. But, if ND can put Barkley and 3rd and 5+ a few times each drive and force him to make a play, the defense could get off the field or at least hold SC to a FG.

2) Win the TO battle. The Irish have been pretty good thus far in taking care of the ball. They have not been great in creating turnovers on defense.

3) Make a play on defense or STs. Not necessarily a TD, but a big play that gives the offense great field position.

4) Limit the mistakes on offense. Penalties have killed quite a few drives this year and taken some big plays off the board (70+ yard screen against Michigan, Rudolph’s TD against Washington).

I know some have said that the absence of Michael Floyd will make the difference in this game. I’m not sure that I completely agree with that. The SC defense has been somewhat vulnerable through the air this year, so if the OL (likely keeping a TE in for max-protect) can keep Clausen upright, I think ND can move the ball. If they can stick the ball in the end zone rather than settle for FGs, I think the game could be close in the 4th quarter.

But ultimately, the Trojans just have too much on both sides of the ball. ND can’t stop the rushing attack and McKnight and Co. are sure to break some big runs. Carroll has basically used Barkley as a game manager thus far, but I’m guessing he’ll get to take a couple shots downfield on Saturday. If Ronald Johnson or Damian Williams breaks free in the secondary it could be a very long day for the Irish.

USC 31 ND 24

Dan: USC (win)

No scores, no spread, no winner. I wish I had the time and energy to devote words upon words to this game. But that is Doug’s forte. So I only have one insight. USC has absolutely dominated Notre Dame over the last 7 years. This has been arguably the most dominating relationship between 2 “major” programs in years. Until I see something different out of an ND team on the field against USC, I will struggle to believe in the ability of the team to win. I’ll take USC to win.

Matt: USC

This is the biggest game in recent Notre Dame history. Charlie has been stockpiling talent the last few years and finally has the horses on paper to compete and win against USC. Not only that, take a look at the list of recruits that are going to be in town for the weekend. It’s jaw-dropping. If ND can somehow get this W in front of a frenzied crowd, I would fully expect to see an avalanche of 5 star talent coming on board, not to mention the headway that will be made with the current juniors. In short, win this game and ND is on the road to a national championship caliber team next year and beyond. Lose, and Charlie will have gone another year without a meaningful victory. I hope I’m wrong, but I think on Saturday at 6:30 we will have the same old questions about ND and Charlie Weis.

USC 31 ND 21

Mike: USC (outright)

One can only hope that Charlie Weis spent the off week focusing on fundamentals rather than gadget plays and other nonsense. If the Irish do not tackle better than they have in weeks past, the Trojans’ Joe McKnight and Allen Bradford will run all over Notre Dame, thereby allowing true frosh Matt Barkley to play the role of “game manager.” As usual, USC has one of the best defenses in the nation, but Notre Dame should be able to move the ball effectively if Jimmy Clausen continues to play at his current level. I suspect that the Irish will keep this game close before a spirited home crowd before eventually falling short, yet again, against the Trojans.

USC 34 Notre Dame 27

Doug: Notre Dame

I look at this game through two different prisms. The realist prism and the "I really want to win this game" ND fan prism. A basic summary of both positions:

1) The realist prism -- This version of myself looks at this game and says that we will bring everything we've got (especially early) but that we'll eventually get outclassed by USC. The realist Doug says that we will come out like gangbusters with a well-scripted drive to start the game that Weis has probably been plotting for nine months, but that USC will wear us down, kill us with their team speed, and beat us up at the line of scrimmage.

Let's be honest, we haven't played anyone even CLOSE to as good as USC this year. We've played five games. Two of our opponents are horrible/mid-majors (Purdue, Nevada), two of our opponents are average (Michigan State, Washington), and one of our opponents is only slightly above-average (Michigan). Thus far, we've demonstrated that we are only marginally better than these teams we've played so far, if at all. USC is not Michigan State. USC is not Washington. USC has elite offensive linemen, elite skill players, an elite front seven, and a big time secondary. They have speed and size and depth like we haven't seen so far. We've played a depleted Michigan team, a rebuilding Sparty team with 3 star type talent, and a fairly talented but extremely thin Washington team. If you put the best players on all those teams together, I'm not even sure that combined team would be more talented than USC.

Plus, they have Pete Carroll. Pete Carroll versus Charlie Weis. I look at that matchup and cringe. I think about Pete Carroll whipping his guys into a frenzy and pumping everyone up on the sideline. Then I think about Charlie Weis waddling around with his front butt in full effect and boogers dripping out of his nose. In terms of the coaching matchup, Weis has been outcoached BADLY for three straight years by Pete Carroll.

The realist side of me says that USC's dominant front four will get on pressure on Clausen, they'll bracket Golden Tate with two guys, our running game will stall, they'll hit a big special teams play, and that will be enough. Maybe we make the game interesting with an emotionally-charged performance and make some plays, but the end result is our 8th straight loss to USC.

2) The desperate ND fan prism -- When I look at this game through the ND fan prism, I start seeing scenarios that could give us a fighting chance in this game. All the intangibles are pointing to the Irish. I see an ND team that is DESPERATE to put itself back on the national map. The national media has all but buried ND over the last 2-3 years, and these players know that the only way anyone will take the Irish seriously is if we win this game (or at least have a chance to win it in the fourth quarter). In terms of motivation, I know USC will be ready to play, but how could this game possibly mean as much to USC as it does to ND?? USC has 4-5 HUGE games on their schedule this year. This is it for ND. This is our Super Bowl. We can beat the MSUs and UConns of the world all we want, but the only game that will move the meter for the Irish in 2009 is the USC game. Win this game, and suddenly everyone is buzzing about ND. Lose this game, and we're completely off the radar again in terms of being taken seriously. There is much more for ND to play for on Saturday than USC.

I also see some matchups that could go well for ND, and I see a USC team that is a LITTLE more vulnerable than they've been at other times in the Pete Carroll era. No matter how precocious he may be, Matt Barkley is still a freshman. He was rattled for most of the game at Ohio State. If he is even a little off and throws a couple picks, that might be the window that ND needs to win this game.

I also see an ND team that might actually be able to win a few battles at the line of scrimmage unlike in previous years, and I even see a coaching staff that has really had ND ready to play this year. Charlie's work in changing offenses from week to week and his playcalling early in the game has been masterful. There's no other way to put it. The Wildcat has been effective, the no huddle five wides has been dynamic, the late game two minute offense has been great, and even the running game has been good. Never in a million years did I think a Charlie Weis team could run the ball on USC, but it would not shock me if we have some success on the ground with the 1-2 punch of Hughes and Allen.

Throw in a crowd that should be nothing short of ELECTRIC from start to finish, and it's hard not to start imagining a victory on Saturday the longer I view this game through the ND fan prism.

So there are the two big overviews in my mind on how to look at this game.

With that general overview in place, here are the key matchups from my perspective:

1) How good exactly is the ND offense?? Is it good enough to win this game alone?? --

First, I think this offense is as good as the 2005 offense that gave USC all it could handle. It's the first time I've looked at our offense and felt like we could move the ball on the ground and through the air on just about anyone. All of the things that made the 2005 offense great are back. The crossing routes, the 1-2 punch in the running game with Hughes and Allen, the great quarterback play, good pass protection, and a superstar tight end. When everything is in place, this offense can be a thing of beauty.

With that said, we won't really know what this offense is made of until we see this team against USC. Will we remain sturdy on the line and in the running game, or will morph into the 2006 offense reincarnated and get shoved around up front?? Check out USC's defensive front. Absurd! The scary part is that there isn't one senior in that entire front seven, and that's including their two deep.

Everyone is focused on the Irish defense, but I think our offense is the key to this game. Let's be honest, we are an offensive football team, and USC knows that they have us in the bag if they can shutdown our ofense. If we can't score points or at least control the game with our offense, we can't win this game. They are going to try to force us to be one-dimensional, bring pressure in every way possible if we start passing on every down, and take Golden Tate out of the game. That's USC's strategy. Everyone already knows it.

We have to be a two-dimensional offense that can run the ball, keep Jimmy protected, and make plays down the field. If the running game gets going and USC has to account for it, they won't be able to come after Clausen with reckless abandon. If we can do all those things, we have a great chance to win this game.

2) How good is Matt Barkley?? --

USC is going to run the football on us. It's inarguable. Their offensive line is too good, and our defensive line is too shaky for that not to happen. However, I don't think they can just run it 10 times in a row down the field. USC is going to be in some 2nd/3rd and long situations, and Barkley will have to make some plays for them to win. ND has to capitalize by getting pressure on Barkley and forcing some errant throws. It would be long overdue for one of our corners to make a really big play.

I honestly don't know what Barkley is going to bring to the table in his first SC-ND game. There's not as much riding on it for him as there is for Jimmy Clausen, but Barkley could solidify his status as a superduper prospect with a big game in South Bend. Think about what the media will be saying if Barkley plays great. It'll be like Thom Brennaman on Tim Tebow.

Barkley will have Ronald Johnson back this week, which will be another weapon for him to use. I would imagine that USC will want Barkley to throw no more than 15-20 times on Saturday. If they get in a situation where he needs to lead a big drive for a score, can Barkley march them down the field through the air?? He did it against the Buckeyes, but he's still a true freshman.

3) The Weather/Turf -- Cmon, it wouldn't be USC-Notre Dame in South Bend unless there was some talk about the condition of the turf. I hope we haven't cut the grass in a month, and that Ben Crenshaw was brought in to turn ND Stadium into Warren South. Give me 6" "rough" and slow conditions all day long. I have no desire to see another mudpit, and the long grass might actually help to stabilize the field. Plus, I just love the psychological edge of the "long" grass. It really did seem to get into USC's head in 2005.

As for the weather, there is talk of a high of 49 degrees with a low in the 30s. Brrrrr. Plus, I'm reading about 18-20 mph winds!! Dear god, we have an 8:30 am tee time at Warren on Sunday. British Open conditions!! Might be hitting knockdowns and Scottish bump and runs all day long. Break out those windbreakers and move that ball back in the stance. Yikes. Some of those long par fours are going to feel like par sixes if we're into the wind.

How are those USC boys going to like hitting in that cold weather?? When they get popped a couple times and feel that sting from the cold temps, are they going to fold up?? The temps have been pretty mild in South Bend the last few ND-USC games. How is a warm weather team going to react to playing in true cold weather conditions??

This is the first time in awhile where the homefield advantage might really mean something for the Irish. The crowd is going to be rocking like it hasn't rocked in years, and the weather is going to be downright cold by gametime.

Honestly, I love it. I love going to these kinds of games. Not like 20 degrees or anything where you are too cold to even cheer, but cold enough that you feel like yelling and screaming a lot just because it makes you warmer.

4) Pete Carroll vs. Charlie Weis -- Finally, there's the matchup on the sidelines. Mr. Hollywood versus Mr. Schematic Advantage. Pete Carroll with his "I've had 25 Mountain Dews today and couldn't be more amped and check out all the celebrities on our sideline!!" persona and Charlie Weis with his "Look it, I get up at 3am every morning to watch unnecessary film and can't wait to tell everyone about it" act. Two of the most popular and also unpopular coaches in the business. Two ENORMOUS egos who happen to have some incredible strengths and a few fatal flaws.

First, Pete Carroll. I can't believe how much criticism there is for Pete Carroll. It's Pete freaking Carroll!! Look at the guy's record. The guy has been one of the best cocahces of all time (seriously, his only contemporaries are historical figures at this point), and now people are all over him because he lost to Washington?? Jesus, the standards are high at USC. We would be building a statue of Charlie Weis if he beat Ohio State and Cal on the road in the same year.

I think people are just bummed out that the Trojans aren't the offensive juggernauts that they were in the early part of the decade. USC wins these days with their defense. It's not as glamorous though, and I think USC fans have the same complex that ND fans have when it comes to offense. Both fanbases want the golden boy QB and high-flying offenses that can put up 30-40 points every time out. Pete Carroll dials it up offensively when he needs to, but he's perfectly content to win games 17-10 whenever he can. Personally, that's the type of coach I would want, but USC fans want their Hollywood coach to be more of a Hollywood offensive gameplanner.

With that said, anyone who thinks Pete Carroll is some glorified recruiter who just rolls the balls out there is kidding themselves. Carroll is an outstanding coach. Watch how they play defense. It's incredible. They wrap and tackle, they play with intensity, they bring pressure, they chase you from sideline to sideline, and they ballhawk in the secondary. If you try to run screens on USC, they sniff them out practically as soon as the QB lets go of the ball. To move the ball on USC, it takes extraordinary execution because they are relentless and will not beat themselves.

Even though they have dominated us through the years, Pete Carroll seems to take the ND series seriously. I think he has an appreciation for the rivalry and what the game is all about. I have no doubt that they will be ready for us this Saturday.

As for Charlie Weis, where do I begin?? Sometimes he gives me an extreme amount of confidence in his abilities, and other times I hear the guy open his mouth and just cringe. It's like he just can't help himself. Why is he doing so much talking in the media this week about our "temperament" and how he thinks we're ready to finally beat USC and all this other nonsense?? Why tell that story about the hat with his daughter?? WHAT IS THE POINT??! Is he trying to motivate the press or something?? Does he want Eric Hansen running through a wall for him?? Just stop talking already, get some thicker skin or something, and stop using your press conference as a therapy session. You aren't a message board poster. You're the head coach. Focus your energies on the team and not the media or the fanbase. You don't need to make me feel better about the team or our chances. I'm not the guy who has to run out of that tunnel on Saturday.

Notice how you haven't heard anything like that out of Pete Carroll all week. I haven't seen one quote from him. Couldn't Weis have taken that approach instead of taking the Oprah Winfrey route?? Talk about how good USC is, how special the rivalry is, how we tried to recruit a lot of their players, how hard we are going to have to work in practice to win, and how much we need the fans behind us. And then go out on Saturday and kick butt.

Anyway, back to the game. How is Weis going to ensure that this team can compete with USC this time around?? Is it because we have some great game plan drawn up, or is it because we're a better football team?? I have no doubt that we will have a great opening drive planned, and I think we might even march right down the field and score. But it's a 60 minute game. Are we going to hammer on the things we need to do to win this football game, or are we going to lose focus in the 2nd and 3rd quarters like we have all year and let it slip away??

Weis has many brilliant qualities. He's got a lot of guts, a great offensive mind, very innovative, great feel for how to call a game, and I like that he is creative in using screens and the tight end and stuff like that. We run an NFL offense, and we run it pretty darn well.

But then I think about Weis in a big game and I really can't get a read on it. The last time we really played any big time games like this was in 2006 against USC, Michigan, and LSU. That's how long it's been. And we got annihilated in all three games. We haven't really been relevant nationally since that LSU game, so even our games with USC the last two years were like glorified scrimmages. There have been zero data points for Weis in big games in almost three years.

What is he going to be like in this game?? Is he going to rise to the occasion?? Is he going to melt down?? Is he going to be the steady hand that we need?? Is he going to trust his defense or take too many gambles??

The only answer that we can really give to any of these questions is that we really don't know. We can certainly hope for the best, but we don't really know what Weis is going to be like in his first truly big game in almost three years.

A lot of people are saying that Charlie Weis has to coach the best game of his life on Saturday, but I don't think that's the case at all. The real work for this game started in the summer and in the weight room and in practice preparation for this game. That's where Charlie Weis has hopefully done his job in getting this team ready to win this game. The more Charlie Weis tries to overcoach in this game, the less likely we are to win it.

I guess it's time to make a prediction at this point. USC is going to give us fits, and I have no doubt that there will be times when they make us look like we don't belong on the field with them. There's just no way to simulate their defense in practice, and going up against their front seven will be different from any front seven we've seen since....well....USC last year. I've been reading that USC has some special packages to get to Clausen, and it will be a long day if we can't protect the quarterback. If USC is in Clausen's face all day, expect sacks and turnovers and rushed passes.

But Steve Sarkisian (of all people) said something interesting this week. There is a different energy within and around the Notre Dame program this year. He said you could just feel it on campus. There's a buzz there that hasn't been there in a few years. Part of it is just the desperation of the fans and the campus to get back on top, but part of it seems to be a belief that this team might truly be something special. I think people really believe in this team. I really haven't felt like this since the 2005 team, and I remember having a similar feeling going into that 2005 ND-USC game that I have now. We can beat these guys.

Sure, the defense stinks this year, but the defense stunk in 2005 too. It didn't matter. As much as I hate to face this reality, the key to ND football under Charlie Weis has always been the offense. The whole team feeds off the offense. When Weis has had a balanced offense to go with the potent passing attack, our offense has been very very tough to stop. If we can control the ball with high-quality possessions, score points on most of our drives (FGs or TDs), and hit some big plays when needed, I see no reason why we can't be right in this game.

This game means so much to Notre Dame. It means a ton for Weis. It means a ton for the guys who have gone 10-15 the last two years. It means a ton for the fans. It means a ton for Jack Swarbrick. It means a ton to recruiting. We have been down and out for a long time, and everyone just really wants this game.

Now I know people could ask, doesn't everyone say that when they go up against USC? Didn't Ohio State fans say the same thing?? Didn't Cal fans say this probably two weeks ago?? Isn't every team desperate to beat USC to validate their programs?? And what has that done for them??

True, true. I can't really dispute that, but I will say that there is something about playing at Notre Dame Stadium in a big game that just makes things different. ND Stadium isn't always the most intimidating stadium in the country, but there is something magical about that stadium in a big game. I can't really describe it, but it's palpable. And I have no doubt that I'll have that same feeling on Saturday. In a big game at ND Stadium, there's a feeling inside the building that the Irish can beat anyone.

No matter what happens, there really is nothing like ND-USC at Notre Dame Stadium. The bands, the pageantry, Friday night at The Backer, Mike Collins setting the stage with a weather report and some goosebump-inducing words, the electricity in the crowd, the drama, the tension, the uniforms, the helmets. There's nothing like feeling the sun setting over the stadium and the lights coming on as the second half gets underway. I've read some stuff this week from some former players who say that there's less trash talk in the ND-USC game than any other game they play. It's like they can feel the history of the rivalry unfolding before their eyes. Pretty awesome stuff.

So maybe the smart play is to go with USC here, but I'm going with another magical moment in Notre Dame Stadium. ND shocks the world, and ND fans celebrate deep into the night.......

ummm...

.....well, at least the ones that don't have 8:30am tee times the next day at Warren!! My god! Where do I sign up for the Anthony Kim plan of coming home "sideways" after closing down the Backer and then showing up at the first tee the next day double fisting a 24 oz coffee and a Warren Golf Course breakfast sandwich while trying to keep my hands from shaking?? The loose cannon!!!

Then again, there will be nothing like walking down that second fairway to hit my 245 yard second shot into a howling 20 mph wind and seeing the Golden Dome off in the distance, especially the day after seeing ND win one of the great games of all time.

Go Irish!

ND 27 USC 24

Bonus Picks:

Mike:

Wake Forest (+6.5) over Clemson: Wake is the superior team here, but they are somehow getting a decent amount of points. Even in Death Valley, the Deacs should be able to cover this one.

Marshall (+17) over West Virginia: Is there any doubt that Marshall will be a live underdog in the always heated “Friends of Coal Bowl?” Not in my mind.

Nebraska (-7) over Texas Tech: I like when Texas Tech runs up the score against teams like Kansas State because it causes the Red Raiders to be overvalued from a gambling standpoint.

Connecticut (-11) over Louisville: Can we just pull the plug on the Kragthorpe era now? This is painful for all parties.

Arkansas (+24) over Florida: The Razorbacks were not ready for the big stage in their first big SEC road test at Alabama, but they should give a more honest performance this week.

Doug:

Houston Texas +4.5 at Cincinnati Bengals -- GULP. I'm telling you as a Bengal fan that these are the kinds of games that the Bengals have always lost. Just when you think they are turning the corner, they lay an egg. Marvin has probably been telling them all week how great they are. I'm too scarred as a Bengals fan to truly feel comfortable with this team week in and week out. Houston badly needs a win in this game, and it's not like they don't have talent. I would gladly take a one point win for the Bengals, so I'd recommend taking the points.

New York Giants +3 at New Orleans -- My NFL Lock of the Week. The Giants are the best team in football with the best front seven in the game. The G-Men have become an outstanding organization from top to bottom. If the Giants win the bowl, isn't Tom Coughlin on track towards the NFL Hall of Fame?? How could he not be?? No one talks about him, but he's in the process of one of the great coaching careers of all time between his tenure in Jacksonville and now New York. And to think he was on the verge of getting fired by the Giants the year that he won that first Super Bowl.

Ohio State -14 at Purdue -- Ohio State has traditionally throttled Purdue up there. I can't see Purdue doing anything on the Buckeye defense.

Wake +7 at Clemson -- Wake is QUIETLY having a good year. Heard there is going to be a party of the year in Winston for that Wake-Miami game on Halloween.

Texas Tech +10 at Nebraska -- Color me impressed with Nebraska so far. They look like the team to beat in the Big 12 North.

BC -2.5 over NC State -- BC's last game before their Super Bowl in South Bend. USC is to ND what ND is to BC. We better be ready for those jokers.

Arkansas +24.5 at Florida -- Should be a fun one. If ND is down 21-3 at the half, I'll be in the parking lot watching this game.

Arizona -4.5 over Stanford -- The "Stanford is for real" bandwagon is my "Broken Wheel on the Bandwagon" Award winner of the week. Not a good performance in Corvallis at all last week.

LAST WEEK:
Jeremy: 5-1
Dan: 3-3
Matt: 4-2
Mike: 3-3
Doug: 2-4

SEASON:
Jeremy: 21-19
Dan: 22-18
Matt: 17-23
Mike: 16-24
Doug: 20-20

LOCK OF THE WEEKS:
Jeremy: 3-2
Dan: 3-3
Matt: 1-4
Mike: 2-3
Doug: 3-3

Around the Nation: Mark Richt update, Bud Light tailgateapproved.com, Terrelle Pryor, the White Stripes, and a plea for Gameday in South Bend

Tough to go a whole weekend in the fall with no Irish football, but here's where I stand after the week 6 action.

8) Could there possibly be a bigger disconnect between the national perception of Mark Richt and the perception of Georgia fans of him?? We had a few Georgia alums at the tailgate on Saturday (from Augusta, Georgia no less; I think I might have offered my house in a straight up trade for a round at "The National" as the locals call it), and I don't get the impression that Mark Richt is as idolized down there as you would think. In fact, the perception that I got from these guys is that he's sort of wearing out his welcome a little bit and that people are concerned about the state of the program. I don't actually think he's on the hot seat or anything, but it might get a little uncomfortable if they don't start playing better.

They got destroyed by Tennessee yesterday. Their defense has been horrible all year. Johnathan Crompton was looking like Peyton Manning against that defense.

Looking at their schedule for the rest of the rest of the season, they still have an opportunity to win 8 games. But that could easily turn into 6-6 if they continue to slump.

By the way, the rights to firemarkricht.com have already been purchased. By a Georgia fan. So that's probably not starting up any time soon. However, firemarkricht.net is up and running.

7) I'm officially torn on light beer choices now with this Bud Light "Tailgate Approved" ad campaign with the different school-color themed cans. I was always partial to the Coors Light NFL coaches' ad campaign, but how great is it to crack open a blue and gold can of "Irish koolaid" or a scarlet colored "Buckeye Bud Light"??? When I head up to South Bend next weekend, I'm coming home with as many cases of blue and gold ND Bud Light as I can get.

Great work In Bev. I can't believe no one has thought of this before. Make a can for every major college football program and sell them regionally. If I'm going in to the store to load up on supplies for a tailgate, it's a virtual lock that I'm buying those school-themed Bud Lights.

6) Great story out of Cincinnati this week with the news that Jimmy Clausen, Kyle Rudolph, Dayne Crist, and Golden Tate traveled down to the Elder-Moeller game to watch ND recruits Andrew Hendrix and Alex Welch.

Not only is it a good sign that these guys buy into this ND program and are trying to help build this program for the future, but it's also a good sign to me that there's a lot of chemistry on this Irish football team. For the guys to spend their bye week watching a high school football game four hours away from South Bend is pretty cool if you ask me. Weis has been saying all year that this is the closest team he's had in terms of chemistry and camaraderie, and it's stuff like this that confirms it.

Can't help but wonder if this is a sign that Jimmy Clausen would be inclined to stick around for his senior year just to have one more year with his buddies. Not only would he be returning as the Heisman frontrunner and a potential national championship contender, you never get those moments in college back once you go pro. You know guys like Tate and Rudolph will be leaning on Jimmy to come back. Awfully hard to turn down that money if he's a top 10 pick, but it will be a very difficult decision for Jimmy if his teammates are all coming back and telling him that the team could be special if he stays.

5) Might as well call out ESPN College Gameday again this week and put in a formal demand for ESPN to pull the plug on the Red River Rivalry this week and come up to South Bend, Indiana for the Notre Dame-USC game. I mean, come on ESPN. Is there even the slightest bit of doubt as to which of those games is going to draw a bigger rating?? It'll be like the President's Cup ratings versus NFL Sunday (although I will admit to enjoying the heck out of the President's Cup this weekend).

OU-Texas is a big game, but it doesn't have anywhere near the national appeal of Notre Dame-USC. Think about all the subplots for this ND-USC game:

--Charlie Weis looking for his "signature win"
--The Clausen Heisman watch and NFL Draft watch
--USC back in the national title picture
--Matt Barkley possibly showcasing for a 2010 breakout Heisman campaign
--The general feeling that this is ND's best chance to beat USC since the Bush Push game, which was an all-time classic
--ND's general "Cardiac Catholics" reputation in 2009
--The knee high "rough"
--The general buzz that comes from watching games at ND Stadium

If you're a college football fan, you're going to be watching ND-USC on Saturday afternoon. You might peek in on Oklahoma-Texas, but it's not the "must watch" game of the weekend.

When you look at it that way, why is ESPN Gameday not coming to South Bend?? Wouldn't Gameday's ratings be really good if you put it there?? Or is it a bone for Kirk Herbstreit since I'm assuming that he'll be doing the OU-Texas game??

4) Some thoughts from the B Deck of the Horseshoe after watching Ohio State-Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon.

--To the Buckeye fans who have been down on Terrelle Pryor and questioning his future, I might as well take the time to offer an official apology. It's waaaaaaaaaaay too early to throw in the towel on Pryor, but there's reason to be concerned. He's the worst QB I've seen in the Big Ten so far this year other than Juice Williams. Not only is not getting better, he's regressing. Not a good sign. How is a guy with his size and athletic ability so unable to make plays to move the ball down the field?? Is he just not a quarterback?? Is he not picking up the scheme?? Is it a "square peg, round hole" thing with him just not fitting in?? Is Tressel not taking advantages of his strengths and letting him do more with his legs??

Pryor has no juice on his throws. It's noticeable. The ball just floats down there. Plus, he locks in on guys, makes shaky reads, and really doesn't seem comfortable. Pryor is so focused on staying in the pocket that he's not even taking advantage of his greatest strength: his running ability.

And yet when he does make something happen, it can be breathtaking. Two examples would be when he ripped off that 30 yard scramble like it was nothing or when he just glides 8-10 yards on only 2-3 strides. You would think that he would be able to churn out far more than 35 yards on the ground with his ability to run with the ball.

Bottom line though is that Pryor in his current form doesn't help the Buckeyes win games. He was recruited as a superstar, but right now he's a liability. He's obviously not fitting in with this pro style scheme at the moment, and Tressel and his staff are going to have to figure something out that works for this offense if they are going to win another Big Ten title.

If I was Tressel, I think I'd make the decision in the offseason to hire a Gus Malzahn type spread guru as my offensive coordinator. A guy who knows how to make these spread option type offenses work. Pryor can talk all he wants about developing to become an NFL player, but he's not even going to make the CFL if he keeps this up. Someone has to create a system that will allow him to do what he does best. Run the ball, make plays on the edge, draw attention to his legs to open thing up in the passing game. If you could get Pryor into a potent offensive scheme, he might resurrect his career and become a dominant college player. And as we have seen through the years, if you are a dominant college player, some NFL team will talk themselves into taking you even if your game doesn't really translate to the NFL. We saw it with Vince Young, and we're seeing it with Tebow now. They went/will go far sooner than they should have gone in the Draft.

So that's where I would go if I was Tressel. Try to do enough this year that will get you by for the rest of the season (designed runs, short controlled passes, etc), and then really come in next year with an aggressive offensive scheme to go with that defense. Will Tressel give up the control?? We'll see.

One thing that has been especially damaging about the whole Pryor thing. Pryor's decision to sign with Ohio State basically scared off all recruits and even some of the guys already on the roster (Antonio Henton, Schoenhoft), so there really is no backup plan. Unless you consider a 26 year old walk on named Joe Bauserman as a legitimate backup plan. Terrelle Pryor is the only viable guy on the entire roster right now.

--Then again, even with all of their struggles on offense, I actually think Ohio State is more capable this year of playing with the better teams out there than they have been the past few years. Why?? One reason and one reason only. Their defensive line. This is the best defense Tressel has had since 2005 (and maybe even 2002), and it's all because of their defensive line. They just bring waves of bodies, and all of them are good. Heyward, Worthington, Latimore, Rose, Williams, even Lawrence Wilson. All they need to do is bring their front four, and they get pressure almost every time.

It just goes to show that the key to having a good defense in college football is all about your defensive line. If you have a great d-line, the rest of your defense can be average and it doesn't even matter. Look at Ohio State's linebackers and DBs this year. There's not a whole of lot of future NFL talent there, but this defense is significantly better than the Lauranaitis/Malcolm Jenkins defenses that had great LB and DB talent but not as much up front. If you can control the line of scrimmage with your front four, it makes all the difference in the world.

Ohio State has had statistically good defenses the last couple years, but there's a big difference between statistically good and actually good. The OSU defense got exposed by LSU and Florida and USC the last few years. I think they have shored up those problems with a more aggressive scheme and some superb depth on the defensive line. It started last year when the d-line really played well against Texas, and it has continued into this year against USC and in Big Ten play. They are playing more of an SEC style of defense this year, and it has really been noticeable so far.

--One last comment on the stadium atmosphere. I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I wasn't that crazy about the new White Stripes "Seven Nation Army" thing that the crowd is doing now before kickoffs, but I'm changing my tune. I kind of like it now. I think it might even be time for Jim Tressel to invite the White Stripes to the sideline for a game.

First, it's not the Penn State song. Penn State does "Zombie Nation," so it's not quite the blatant copycat move that I thought it was. Second, the crowd really does get into it. It works. Isn't that what it's all about when it comes to the band and the crowd?? Doing things that make the crowd noisy?? When they get it going, everyone is doing the "ohhhhhh, oh-oh-oh-ohhhhhhhhhh" thing and the players are dancing and going crazy. If anything, my only complaint is that they don't do it long enough. They should get it going right after the extra point goes through so that it builds to a crescendo right before kickoff instead of waiting until the last second to start it. And I would start doing it on other key plays as well.

I'll admit, I'm warming up to it, and now I'm borderline hoping that Dr. Kenneth Dye drums up something similar for ND. Anything to get your crowd into the game is a good thing, and it actually makes the stadium more intimidating.

3) My Heisman ballot through week 6:

3) Mark Ingram
2) Jimmy Clausen
1) Tim Tebow

It's time to at least put Mark Ingram into the conversation. For my money, he's the best running back in the country.

And say what you want about Tim Tebow, but the guy gets the benefit of the doubt from me. Sure, he has a superb defense, but you can't sit here and tell me that Tim Tebow hasn't been a big factor in why Florida has been so successful these past few years. Go back and watch the national championship game and tell me that he didn't play a great game against Oklahoma. He didn't do much statistically on Saturday, but it's not like Tebow hasn't had great statistical games. Florida is playing a more conservative style of football this year, but Tebow is still the engine that makes them go. If they really need him to have a huge game statistically, he is more than capable of doing it.

Now, can Jimmy Clausen or Colt McCoy or Mark Ingram rip the award away from Tim Tebow?? ABSOLUTELY!! Florida has bigger goals than winning the Heisman, so Tebow is probably going to try to grind out wins with that defense. If someone else steps up and plays outstanding football, the award is there for the taking. Clausen can do that this weekend against USC. Same with Colt McCoy.

But for now, my default winner is still Tim Tebow until someone comes out and takes the award away from him. All he has done throughout his career is win big games, and I don't see any reason to hand the trophy to someone else until they can prove the same.

2) THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE!! Maybe the most interested I've been in the NFL in several years. Two things that I love about the NFL right now:

1) Josh McDaniels!! I love this guy. Great to see another Ohio guy having success in coaching.

If you didn't like his postgame celebration, I don't know what to say. How can you not love that?? I thought it was one of the coolest things I've seen involving an NFL game in a long time. A coach who was fired up for himself, his team, his fans, and his city, and he just let it all spill out. Maybe people don't like their coaches chest-bumping and hugging players, but I don't see anything wrong with it if you have their respect in the locker room and during practice and meetings and all that. I don't want the coach to be some phony cheerleader, but I don't see what is wrong with having emotion and bringing energy to your team. The NFL has been trending every year toward the younger coaches, and part of the appeal is that they can relate to these players.

Any possibility that McDaniels was one of the big secrets behind Tom Brady's success?? He now has done some great things with Brady, Matt Cassel last year in New England, and Kyle Orton. Not bad for a 32 year old.

Plus, he's an Ohio boy!! Was there even a doubt?? Grew up in Barberton, Ohio, played football at John Carroll University, and grew up at the knee of Nick Saban. The Ohio coaching tree has added yet another branch. It is absolutely amazing how many big time coaches have come out of that little corridor in northeast Ohio.

We have no idea if McDaniels is the real deal (or Denver for that matter), and yesterday may represent the high point of his career. But I like what I've seen so far.

2) The 4-1 FIRST PLACE Cincinnati Bengals!! Cincy is another team that we won't really know for sure about until about week 10 or so, but everything about them screams out "for real" at the moment. I thought the Bengals would get outclassed by the Ravens in this game, but it became apparent as the game went along that the Bengals were flat out better than Baltimore. Their defense completely shut down Baltimore, and the only reason the Ravens were in the game was because of some fluke turnovers. Other than a shaky first half against Pittsburgh, the Bengals have been in control of every other game. Through five games, they've won at Baltimore, at Green Bay, at Cleveland, beat the Steelers, and lost on a fluke play to the Broncos. After that game against the Broncos, I never thought in a million years that the Bengals would be 4-1 right now against the toughest part of the schedule.

The Bengals are still a work in progress, but you can win a lot of football games if you play defense and run the football. The Bengals can do both. They've invested a ton of picks and money into the front seven of their defense, and the difference has been remarkable. Antwan Odom, Rey Maualuga, Keith Rivers, Pat Sims, Tank Johnson, etc. Was there any doubt that Rey Maualuga was going to be a stud?? I still can't believe he fell all the way to the second round. He's already the face of the Bengals defense.

And Cedric Benson!! Are you kidding me?? He's like Rudi Johnson reincarnated. Leading rusher in the NFL right now. Benson was a gift for this franchise, and he's playing with a chip on his shoulder. I tuned in to the Bengals postgame show on the radio, and Benson was literally crying in the locker room. Very emotional stuff, but I'm glad he has found himself in Cincinnati.

If anything, the Bengals are still an unfinished product. Andre Smith hasn't even played a down yet, and he will help make this o-line even better when he comes back.

I'm happy for Marvin Lewis, but I'm really happy for Carson Palmer. He's had a tough stretch these last few years, and he's now just starting to look like the old Carson Palmer. I thought he played great on Sunday, and the last drive was spectacular. Three straight game-winning drives.

If I had to rank the top NFL teams, I'd go like this right now:

1) New York Giants
2) Indy
3) New Orleans

I'm not buying into the Vikings at all. They've played three of the worst teams in the NFL. They have Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Green Bay at Lambeau. I'll buy into them if they win 2 of those games.

Would love to see a Manning Bowl this year. WOW.

1) WEISND Week 7 Power Poll:

4) Virginia Tech
3) USC
2) Florida
1) Alabama

Congratulations to the coaches poll and AP voters for finally doing the right thing and dropping Texas to #3. Texas has not proven one thing through four weeks of the season, and I haven't seen any reason to rank them in the top 5 up to this point. When your five wins have come against Louisiana-Monroe, Wyoming, Texas Tech, UTEP, and Colorado and you've looked somewhat middling in those games, that's not enough for me. I would love to see OU win the Red River Rivalry this weekend and put the Texas hype to rest.

I'm moving Virginia Tech into the mix just because I'm impressed with what they have done so far this year. They beat Nebraska, smoked Miami (FL), and smoked BC. There aren't many teams with three wins that impressive so far. Heck, their only loss was to an Alabama team that I think is the best team in the country this year. I don't know if they are one of the elite teams in America or not, but I give them a lot of credit for what they have done. Their performance against a very difficult schedule (ACC plus Bama and Nebraska in OOC play) has been outstanding.

USC is my clear cut #3 team this week. When I look around the nation, I find myself wondering if there is one team out there that could compete with the Florida/Bama juggernaut in a BCS bowl game. And the only team that meets that criteria for me right now is USC. USC may still be in transition, but it's still USC. They have the talent and the big game mentality to hang around with anyone. Maybe they lose to ND this week or to Oregon later this year, but I'm sticking them at #3 for now. We'll find out a lot more about USC this weekend in South Bend.

Then again, if the NCAA got together and made a decision that the winner of the SEC Championship game would be declared the national champion after the game, I would be perfectly fine with that. If Florida and Alabama are both undefeated going into that game and USC has more than one loss, I'm completely in favor of making that game the de facto national title game.