Today, fellow sports fans, we stand at an important crossroads.
It’s Oct. 22, and for all intents and purposes, we’re about midway through this season of college football.
And as everyone knows, there’s no better time to give out awards than before anybody deserves them. Hence, the second annual Middy Awards, where the trophies are bigger, shinier and, like last year’s, still nonexistent.
Now with all formalities out of the way, let’s get started.
First-Half Champion: Texas. Hands down, longhorns up. Now, I realize this isn’t exactly news to anyone, considering they’re currently the unanimous No. 1 team in the polls. But the way I see it, it’s important to give kudos when they’re due ““ and in Austin, Texas, it might as well be snack time after a kids’ soccer game.
It’s only taken two weeks, but with an epic win over then-No. 1 Oklahoma and a spanking of No. 11 Missouri, the Longhorns (7-0, 3-0 Big 12) have established themselves as the nation’s best, and it’s not close.
Even when they were down early against the Sooners two weeks ago, the Longhorns stayed more composed than Beethoven’s Fifth, riding a Heisman-like performance by junior quarterback Colt McCoy to win by 10.
Then on the heels of that heavyweight slugfest, the Longhorns backhanded Missouri to the tune of 56-31, embarrassing anyone who thought it would be close (me). The nation hasn’t seen this kind of offensive firepower coming out of Texas since the Mexican-American War, and the Longhorns have shown no signs of slowing down.
First-Half Heisman: I would say McCoy in a heartbeat, but giving Texas so much recognition is like brushing your teeth with sandpaper ““ just too painful. In that case, I’m going with my preseason pick Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno. The redshirt sophomore is averaging over 108 yards per game on the ground and has put up 11 touchdowns only seven games into the year.
Excluding Georgia’s season-opening blowout against Georgia Southern, the only time Moreno has had fewer than 18 rushes was against Alabama when he only had nine. The result? A 41-30 loss and a serious drop in the rankings.
Don’t think that the Georgia coaching staff will allow that to happen again. Moreno is more dangerous with the rock in his hands than David ““ and with matchups against Louisiana State and Florida approaching, he should get plenty of carries.
First-Half “Mostly Harmless” Award: Utah. The problem with this team is they don’t do anything particularly well. Sure, they’re No. 9 in the country in total defense, allowing only 264 yards per game, but look who they’ve played. They only managed to beat lowly Michigan (2-5, 1-2 Big Ten) by two and Oregon State by three. Other than that, they’ve notched victories against powerhouses like UNLV, Utah State, Weber State and Air Force.
Though currently ranked No. 11, look for the overrated Utes to lose three of their final four games and end the season out of the polls.
Sorry, Salt Lake City, no Bowl Champion Series for you.
Coach of the Half: Joe Paterno. Simply put, his 43rd season coaching Pennsylvania State, and his 81st breathing, might just be his best. The man is older than most languages but has led his Nittany Lions to an 8-0 record with their last major test this week at Ohio State.
Penn State’s scoring offense and scoring defense are both top 10 in the country even though JoePa coaches from the press box due to sore legs. The guy is a legend, and sneaking into the BCS championship game would be the perfect ending for his coaching career.
On a side note, I hear he’s always wanted to coach at Tennessee. They should have an opening by this time next week.
That’s all for this season’s Middy Awards. Join me again next year when we congratulate Texas for still being good and Utah for still being overrated.
E-mail Feder at jfeder@media.ucla.edu if you think your team is rated about right.