ShareThisWith college football's first-quarter performances in the bank, The Unbalanced Line sizes up the best -- albeit still speculative -- investments in the Heisman and BCS title chases.
-- Blue-chippers
Oklahoma, LSU and Alabama have backed up their preseason projections with impressive performances, especially on defense, in road victories over Florida State, Mississippi State and Penn State respectively.
No. 1 Oklahoma is seeking its fifth title shot and second championship since the BCS era began in 1998. Two of Oklahoma's three title game losses came at the hands of SEC opponents, LSU and Florida; the Sooners' other loss was to Southern Cal.
A smothering defensive performance and 23-13 victory over then No. 5 Florida State last Saturday in Tallahassee put Oklahoma in the driver's seat on the road to the BCS title game.
Landry Jones, a Heisman frontrunner destined for the NFL, separates Oklahoma from the SEC's top performers -- No. 2 LSU and No. 3 Alabama, both of which face challenging games Saturday.
LSU faces No. 16 West Virginia, its third ranked opponent of the season, Saturday night in Morgantown. It's hard to envision the Mountaineers' stock rising against LSU's punishing defense.
Alabama's equally tenacious defense faces its toughest test to date against No. 14 Arkansas in Tuscaloosa. The Razorbacks feature one of the league's best offenses, so the Tide probably won't roll, but its title stock will rise.
With the top three each having to face at least three more currently ranked teams -- four if you count the prospect of a conference championship game -- stumbling blocks are aplenty on the road to New Orleans.
On the outside track and ready to make a move if any -- or all -- of the blue-chippers fall: No. 4 Boise State, No. 5 Stanford, No. 6 Wisconsin and the winner of Saturday's game between No. 7 Oklahoma State and No. 8 Texas A&M in College Station, Texas.
From The Unbalanced Line's perspective of the outside track, Boise has the best chance to go unbeaten and get a title shot, followed by Wisconsin, whose Big 10 title stock has soared since former N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson transferred to attend graduate school and use his last year of eligibility at Wisconsin.
And don't rule out No. 12 Oregon, which has the talent to run the table, win the Pac-12 title and still get a national title shot after an early-season loss to LSU.
On the Heisman stock front, everybody seems bullish on Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, but Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson's stock has been rising rapidly. Despite putting up relatively unimpressive passing numbers, Robinson's all-purpose yardage is continually off the charts because of his sensational running ability.
Robinson wins games almost singlehandedly, which is practically what South Carolina's sophomore running back Marcus Lattimore did Saturday. Lattimore bolstered his Heisman stock with a workhorse performance that helped the Gamecocks seal away a three-point victory over Navy.
The Midshipmen took a 21-17 lead into the fourth quarter against No. 10 South Carolina, but Lattimore, the nation's leading rusher, scored the last of his three touchdowns with 12:45 remaining, and the Gamecocks held on for a 24-21 victory. Lattimore carried the ball 37 times -- including 13 in the fourth quarter -- for 246 yards.
After the scare the Midshipmen delivered, South Carolina has cause for concern with unbeaten Vanderbilt visiting Columbia Saturday night.
Reason number one: South Carolina's passing game hasn't been efficient -- senior quarterback Stephen Garcia has thrown just two touchdown passes, but three interceptions. Vanderbilt has recorded 10 interceptions through its first three games.
Secondly, the Commodores' rushing tandem of junior Zac Stacy and freshman Jerron Seymour has been quite effective, combining for 407 yards and three touchdowns. Stacy is averaging nine yards per carry.
On the trials and tribulations front:
-- Ohio State's crippling personnel losses -- including coach Jim Tressell and quarterback Terrelle Pryor -- in the wake of an NCAA investigation of improper benefits came to bear in Miami's dominating 24-6 victory over the Buckeyes last Saturday.
-- Penn State continues to struggle with a two-quarterback system that has failed to generate a single passing touchdown through 12 quarters this season, but has succeeded in firing up fan fervor -- not in a good way.
-- Clemson's offense steamrolled Auburn last Saturday, racking up 624 yards in a 38-24 comeback win. Don't expect the No. 21-ranked Tigers to amass that kind of yardage Saturday at home against No. 11 Florida State's stingy defense.
-- As crazy as it might sound after losing its first two games in agonizing fashion -- and not making too much of its 31-13 victory over No. 15 Michigan State -- Notre Dame just might be capable of winning another seven or eight games. Then again, there is that scary stat: 13 turnovers in three games.
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(Contact John Tucker at jtucker(at)unionleader.com)
UNBALANED LINEMust credit New Hampshire Union LeaderColumn
