It’s Clear As Day - Week 3

- The days of the huge spread between BCS teams might be coming to an end. There isn’t ‘parity’ in the college game and there never will be. Teams from Florida, Texas and California are always going to be dominant because of their proximity to the top high school talent. But with the increasing number of quarterback camps, more in-depth scouting reports and the limited number of scholarships, teams who were once cellar dwellers should be able to compete, even with the big boys. There were still be schools that don’t commit to their program (Virginia) but the majority of BCS teams can hang with one another. Texas Tech shouldn’t be getting 20 points against Texas much longer and USC shouldn’t be giving 20 points to any Pac-10 members for the rest of the year. Even Temple kept the score respectable against Penn State.

- Boise State is the real deal. Without an exciting offense, the Broncos aren’t a real threat. It looked like this Boise St team might be missing that aspect of their team in their first game against Oregon but they showed they are still a fast-paced, up and down offense against Fresno State. Now that the Broncos have proven they can open it up against a decent team (Fresno) and shut down a good team (Oregon), it might be time to give them even more respect in the polls.

- ‘The U’ is back! Randy Shannon’s team is showing the trademark speed and aggression that made Miami a power in the mid-90s. The real test will come when they face Oklahoma but the Hurricanes are playing with confidence and quarterback Jacory Harris gives Shannon the ability to open up the playbook. He’s maturing before America’s eyes.

- Greg Paulus is going to get a look from some NFL teams. With only a few weeks to prepare, he took over the Syracuse offense and had made them into a respectable unit. After suffering through years of not being able to find a quarterback to run their system the ‘Cuse got lucky with Paulus. He was 24-35 for 346 yards and 2 TDs against a decent Northwestern team. Pro scouts will sit back and imagine what could have been if Paulus had decided to play major college football instead of running the point for Coach K at Duke.

- Mack Brown made the best case for a college football playoff we’ve ever heard. Brown said his players face so much pressure to win every game that they are looked at as failures if they lose one game. Major college football programs have become corporations. The Longhorns will bring $72 million into the university this year, which is more than enough to cover the entire athletic department. These players do more for the university than any graduate could ever do, yet they face more scrutiny and pressure than anyone else. Some of it comes with the territory and the scholarship but when losing ONE game becomes life or death, it’s unfair.

- TCU is the Mountain Wet’s last hope for a BCS bowl. Utah and BYU both lost big games this weekend. Utah lost a tough road game to Oregon while BYU got crushed at home to Florida State. The Horned Frogs have enough on defense to navigate their way through their schedule but offensively they need to improve. DE Jimmy Jerry Hughes is the real deal.

- Iowa is a serious contender in the Big Ten. They followed a couple close wins against mediocre teams with a nice home win against Arizona. They have a major mountain to climb when they travel to Penn State next weekend but don’t be surprised if the Hawkeyes come out with a victory. They have enough NFL talent on their roster to push the Nittany Lions for the conference title. It’s going to be a 3-team race in the Big Ten.

- Auburn might be ready to contend sooner rather than later under Gene Chizik. The Tigers used 14 fourth quarter points to beat West Virginia at home this weekend. They have a brutal schedule this year but when you can run the ball effectively it makes a world of difference. Yards are going to be harder to come by against SEC defenses but Ben Tate and Onterrio McCalebb are a devastating duo. They’ll be able to protect leads when it comes crunch time, something not too many teams can do in today’s college game. Having a hard-nosed rush attack has become a lost art as so many teams are spreading out the field. UConn is another team that uses their running backs to seal victories, as Jordan Todman and Andre Dixon have put together duel 100-yard performances in both Husky wins.