Midseason Report

Best Team(Alabama)- The Crimson Tide have had little trouble so far in 2011. Blowout wins on the road at Florida and Penn State were very impressive, but beating a top 10 Arkansas team by 24 was probably the biggest win so far. LSU and Oklahoma aren't far behind, but so far the Tide has been the most impressive

Worst Team(New Mexico)- The Lobos have been horrible in 2011. Not only did they lose to FCS team Sam Houston State, but they have also lost to a bad New Mexico State team and were outscored 111-16 against Texas Tech and Arkansas. Mike Locksley is no longer the coach as he was fired 3 weeks ago.

Best player(Robert Griffin III)- Griffin has thrown 19 TD passes and only 1 interception. He's completing 80% of his passes and has Baylor ranked in the top 20 with their only loss be by 1 point to a 5-0 Kansas State team on the road. He also has 280 yards rushing in 2011

Team that has surprised us all(Clemson)- I expected Clemson to improve in 2011, but not like this. Clemson has started the year 6-0 for the first time since 2000 and is ranked in the top 10. Clemson has done it with an exciting offense led by new OC Chad Morris. Clemson became the first ACC team ever to win 3 straight games against top 25 teams earlier this season when they beat Auburn, FSU, and Virginia Tech.

Player that has surprised us all(Whitney Mercilus)- The Illinois defensive lineman had done very little in his first 2 seasons, but he currently leads the nation in sacks with 8.5. He already has 7 tackles more than he did in all of 2010 and seems to be a lock to be an All American at this point.

Team that has dissapointed the most(Florida State)- Many thought that this was the year FSU started to flex its muscles and become a power once again. Instead, FSU has lost 3 straight games and currently has a 2-3 record and is out of the top 25 after starting in the top 10.

Player that disappointed the most(Stephen Garcia)- Even with the off the field issues, most expected Garcia to have a good 2011. Last year he did throw for over 3,000 yards and had 20 TD passes. As a 5th year senior Garcia has been awful. He leads the nation in interceptions and was benched this past weekend in favor of sophomore Connor Shaw.

New Coach having the best season(Mark Hudspeth)- The first year man for Louisiana has the Rajin Cajuns at 5-1 and in good position to get to their first bowl game in 41 years. UL hasn't won more than 6 games since 1993 and Hudspeth has the Cajuns in prime position to win more in 2011 when you consider they have already beaten the two league favorites Troy and FIU.

New Coach struggling the most(Jerry Kill)- Kill has not only had health problems, but his Gophers also have looked awful in 2011. Minnesota lost to North Dakota State by 13 and has also lost to a bad New Mexico State team. The last 2 weeks have been awful as Minnesota has been outscored 103-17.

Worst off the field incident- Texas Tech fans throwing manure on the Texas A&M bus

Biggest off the field story(Conference Expansion)- With Texas A&M headed to the SEC, Pitt and Syracuse to the ACC, and TCU to the Big XII the college football landscape is changing. The NCAA investigations are certainly a big storry too, but conference expansion could change things for decades to come

Freshman of the year(Sammy Watkins)- With 38 receptions for 623 yards, Watkins has been a big part in Clemson's 6-0 start. Watkins play making abilities have given the Tigers the big play threat that they were missing a year ago

Defensive player of the year(Tyrann Mathieu)- Mathieu has done it all for LSU in 2011. He has 41 tackles, 2 interceptions, 5 tackles for a loss, 4 forced fumbles, and 3 fumble recoveries on the year. Some are talking Heisman and Mathieu in the same conversation.

Best game(Utah State vs Auburn)- The game wasn't between two national powers, but it had plenty of drama and an exciting finish. The Aggies, who have been one of the worst FBS programs in recent years, were up on the defending national champs 38-28 with under 4 minutes left. A TD with 2:07 remaining, an onside kick recovery, and another TD with 30 seconds left gave Auburn the thrilling win

Midseason Coach of the Year(Bill Snyder)- He's doing it again. 2 decades ago he took the worst program in college football and turned them into a power. After retiring for a few years, Snyder is back at it and has KSU at 5-0 and in the top 20. Snyder has good wins at Miami and against a good Baylor team.

Best Conference(SEC)- Until someone knocks them off the SEC still is the nation's deepest. Alabama and LSU are probably the best two teams in the country and Arkansas is a top 10 team. South Carolina and Georgia both will be top 20 by year's end. Even Vanderbilt beat last year's Big East Champs UConn earlier in the year. The Big XII is also having a very good season even without Nebraska.

Worst Conference(MAC)- The Sunbelt finally moves out of this slot. The MAC doesn't have a team with a record better than 4-2 and is 0-2 against the SBC in 2011.

Worst Uniforms(Maryland)- Oregon, you've been dethroned. The Maryland Flag uniforms that Maryland brought out in week 1 against Miami were awful as has every other Under Armor Uniform they've worn in 2011

Comeback Player of the Year(Case Keenum)- Keenum was hurt early last year against UCLA, but has returned for his final season to likely become the NCAA's all time passing leader. Currently Keenum has 2,309 yards passing with 17 TDs, but more important he has Houston at 6-0.

Biggest upset- There hasn't been a huge one yet, but the biggest so far is probably South Florida beating Notre Dame. Many thought the Irish were BCS Bowl contenders in 2011, but the Bulls upset win in South Bend put those hopes into doubt. Right now this doesn't look like a big upset since USF has a better record than Notre Dame, but by season's end I think we will look back at this as a big upset. The Appalachian State-Michigan or
Stanford-Southern Cal type upsets haven't happened yet

Biggest injury- Knile Davis being lost for the season for Arkansas in the preseason. Davis was a Heisman Candidate entering this year after leading SEC running back in rushing in 2011. The Hogs are still ranked in the top 5, but they have yet to find the big plays out of the backfield that Davis provided. Petrino has done a good job mixing things up with Johnson, Wingo, Green, and even Joe Adams but its unfortunate Davis has to sit out all of this year

Coach on the hottest seat- With Mike Locksley and Mike Stoops recently being fired, I think Frank Spaziani should be worried the most about his job right now. Boston College is currently 1-5 and won't be favored to win another game in 2011. A 1-11 finish would likely be the end to Spazian's career at BC

Best Display by Fans- For 9/11 Arkansas played at War Memorial Stadium.  During this game fans were encouraged to wear red in even sections, white in blue sections, and the students had on blue.  Everyone participated in this event and it looked great on TV and in photos.  The Hog at midfield was also painted red, white, and blue. 

Best Transfer(Russell Wilson)- This one isn't even close. The senior transfer from NC State currently has a 216.9 passing rating, has thrown 13 TDs, 1 INT, and has led the Badgers to a #4 national ranking
Matt Barber
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