One player who is in the mix, though, is Case Keenum, Houston’s quarterback, and I do think that it makes sense we talk about him. The problem? Houston hasn’t had a very hard schedule, according to some critics.

That cracks me up, since the same people are talking about Tim Tebow deserving the Heisman. I’m not saying that Tebow isn’t a great player, but really, what has he done this season that’s so spectacular? Florida didn’t have a harder season than Houston, but Keenum’s stats against Tebow’s blow him out of the water. Coming into this weekend, Houston’s star had only five interceptions in over 450 pass attempts, and he led his non-BCS team to victory against Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and Mississippi State.

And then this weekend happened. Today, Houston lost to Central Florida. Yes, you read that correctly. Central Florida. Now, I’m not saying that UCF is a horrible team, at least not on the level that a team like Western Kentucky is horrible. But with a record of 5 – 4 coming into today’s game, it was certainly surprising that they even held their own against the 8 – 1 #15 Houston, let alone had a chance to win. And the problem wasn’t necessarily that Keenum or the rest of the Houston team played badly. It was just that Central Florida shut them down.

Case Keenum, Image: Newscom

Does that mean that Keenum should be out of the Heisman mix? In my opinion, no. Even though the UCF defense kept him from making big players, Keenum threw for three touchdowns today, which pushed him to be the all-time leader in touchdowns in Houston’s history.

I think that a lot rides on how other players do over the next few weeks. Houston has Memphis and Rice on their schedule to finish out the season, and those teams are so laughably bad that I’m not sure Keenum will really be able to shine in games against them. Unless you have a really tough opponent, it’s hard to prove that you’re the best.

Post from: EveryJoe

Houston Loses: What This Means for Keenum

First and foremost, what the crap, Oklahoma State. I think like, the entire state of Oklahoma is bummed out. First, Sam Bradford gets injured. Now this. In case you didn’t watch the game…Oklahoma State, who was ranked #5, got their asses handed to them by Houston. Most people don’t even realize that Houston has a football team. At first, it was just a good game, but Oklahoma State didn’t look like they were really in jeopardy. Whatever adjustments the Cougars made during halftime worked, though. They scored 21 points in the fourth quarter alone! Final score? 45 – 35. Ouch, Cowboys. There goes your bowl game bid.

Everyone’s still talking about the Ohio State – USC game, too. I actually watched every minute of this game on a 72 – inch HDTV. Be jealous. I was cheering Ohio State (Big Ten love), but I knew it would be a close game, and I’m not upset that USC won. Every year, people say that Big Ten teams can’t compete with Pac-10 teams, but I think this game proves that they can.

USC's #4 Joe McKnight was key in the win against Ohio State. Image: Newscom

The final score was 18 -15, and it was not an easy game for either team by any means. It came down to a final amazing drive across the field by USC’s Matt Barkley and Joe McKnight, which led to a score and two-point conversion. There just wasn’t enough time left on the clock for the Buckeyes to make anything happen to take back the lead. Ohio State dropped to #11, from being #8 last week, and I personally think it is a good place for them to be. Although some are calling for them to drop farther, if you saw the game, you know that USC just barely outplayed Ohio State, and the win had a lot to do with timing rather than talent.

Florida, Texas, and Alabama all won. *shrug* No big new there. The games sucked, for the most part. It was interesting that Texas was so sloppy against Wyoming in the first half, but other than that, there really wasn’t anything to see.

Other interesting scores:

• On Thursday, #15 Georgia Tech was almost upended by Clemson. Final score, 30 – 27. Read about it more at The Palmetto Scoop and Football Zone TV.
• Connecticut kept up with #19 North Carolina, but ultimately fell 12 – 10. Read about it more at Tar Heel Blue.
• Ouch. Michigan State lost to Central Michigan 29 – 27, who is a better team than people give them credit for. Read about it more at The Niles Star and The Scores Report.
• Wisconsin held on against Fresno State in double overtime. Final score was 34 – 31 – it was a great game. Read about it more at Bleacher Report.
• UCLA beat Tennesse 19 – 15. Another great game. Read about it more at the UCLA website and Ledger-Enquirer.

Post from: EveryJoe

College Football Week Two 2009 in Review

Rice 38, Army 31

• Clement Leads Rice To 38-31 Win Over Army at Rice News

Memphis 31, Southern Methodist 26

• Memphis tandem runs wild at Memphis, TN News at Your Street

East Carolina 19, Marshall 16 (OT)

• ECU Tops Marshall in OT, 19-16 at East Carolina Football News
• ECU wins again on overtime FG at News 14

Southern Miss 17, UCF 6

• USM beats UCF 17-6. at What is Rob Up 2
• UCF Around The Web (Morning) at UCF Insider
• It’s over … UCF falls 17-6 to Southern Miss at Knights Notepad

UTEP 37, Louisiana-Lafayette 24

• Loss to UTEP Ends Win Streak at Louisiana-Lafayette Football Headline News

Houston 42, Tulane 14

• Houston 42, Tulane 14 at Mean Green Cougar Red

Other conferences: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Conference USA, Independents, Mid-American, Mountain West, Pac-10, SEC, Sun Belt, WAC

(check back soon if the link isn’t live yet)

Post from: EveryJoe

2008 Week 11: Blogging about Conference USA

He flipped end over end, and is lucky that all he has is a broken leg. After surgery and a long recovery period, Edwards will, in all likelihood, be able to play next year.

Marshall’s insurance is covering the medical bills, and in the future, these carts will be placed somewhere safer. At times like these, it would be really easy to Edwards to get upset or accuse the school of unsafe practices. At the end of the day, though, this accident was just that – an accident.

And Edwards, who is reportedly in good spirits, says he has no animosity toward Marshall. Although he is certainly concerned that the Conference USA officiating team did not clear the field correctly, I think that Edwards is showing a lot of positive athletic spirit right now.

Well, maybe…according to a Houston TV station, Patricia Edwards, his mother, is considering legal action against the school, since her son could have easily been paralyzed or worse. Let’s hope that things don’t come to that. I’m all for punishing guilty parties, which helps make games safer in the future, but lawsuits aren’t always the answer.

What do you think – should the Edwards family sue Marshall, Conference USA, or the NCAA?

Pictures via Newscom.

Post from: EveryJoe

Patrick Edwards: "No Hard Feelings"