Heisman Trophy and BCS title talk

Saturday night brought the Heisman Trophy picture into sharp focus.Let me first say that Oklahoma State’s defense is no joke. The Cowboys held Texas and Missouri, who are both in the top 5 nationally in scoring offense, to their lowest outputs of the year. All the more reason Graham Harrell’s dismantling of the Pokes’ secondary was super-impressive in Tech’s 56-20 blowout in Lubbock, Texas.Oklahoma State’s defense had only allowed six total passing touchdowns in Big 12 Conference play before Saturday. Harrell’s line: 40-of-50 for 456 yards and six touchdowns. I’d say he’s the current front-runner for the Heisman. And so would this comical video:Harrell and wide receiver Michael Crabtree even have a Web site dedicated to their Heisman campaigns. Yes, it might hurt their chances in splitting votes. But who’s more qualified for the trophy than Harrell right now? I’d say no one.Interesting piece Sunday on foxsports.com about how college football fans across America should thank Iowa for destroying Penn State’s hopes of playing in the BCS title game. The reason? It finally sets up the dream Big 12-SEC match-up for all the marbles.I couldn’t agree more with this assessment. I was excited when Penn State lost because I think the Nittany Lions would at best finish fifth in the Big 12. I can’t wait to see a Big 12-SEC title game. I don’t care if it’s Alabama-Texas Tech, Florida-Oklahoma or some other variety, based on how the season ends. Barring an insane scenario, the Big 12 will face the SEC in the title game, based on the BCS rankings that came out Sunday:1. Alabama 2. Texas Tech 3. Texas 4. Florida 5. OklahomaHere’s that foxsports.com article’s BCS projections: BCS championship game: Florida vs. Texas Tech Rose Bowl: Oregon State vs. Penn State Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. USC Fiesta Bowl: Texas vs. Utah (or BYU or Boise State) Orange Bowl: Big East vs. ACC championsI suppose they’re leaving out Oklahoma because it has the most difficult remaining schedule of any Big 12 team (vs. Texas Tech, at Oklahoma State). I wouldn’t sleep on the Sooners, though. They never lose at home (60-2 under coach Bob Stoops) and if they win out, consider that they would have beaten Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and likely Missouri all in a row to finish the season. If that’s the case, they’d likely play for the national title. I do realize that’s a big if.CBSSportsline also came out with their bowl projections and predicted an OU-Florida BCS title game. What are everyone’s thoughts on the BCS title game? Who deserves to play and what would make the best game?For local readers, the CBS prediction has Kansas facing Minnesota in the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., on Dec. 31.Moving along to the Week 11 awards:Performer of the week: Graham Harrell, Texas Tech Easy selection here. The Red Raiders, along with Alabama, are the only undefeated teams left among major conferences.Most significant win of the week: Texas Tech 56, Oklahoma State 20 The victory eliminated Oklahoma State from serious contention of winning the South.Biggest surprise of the week: The contributions from Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh How’s this for a line: 12 tackles and 2.5 sacks from his defensive tackle position, then a two-yard TD reception? I doubt anyone saw that coming.Now onto the Sorrentino Scale. The number that follows in parentheses is what place the team was ranked last week.1 (1). Texas Tech (10-0): At Oklahoma, vs. Baylor to close regular season. 2 (2). Texas (9-1): UT fans would be livid with the Cotton Bowl, but it may happen if OU wins out. 3 (4). Oklahoma (9-1): 653 total yards of offense against A&M; have averaged 62 points in last _three_ games; virtually unstoppable on offense; defense will decide season. 4 (3). Oklahoma State (8-2): Still rushed the ball effectively at Texas Tech (186 yards, three TD’s), but defense was lit up. Holiday Bowl very likely. 5 (5). Missouri (8-2): Control own destiny in North. 6 (7). Nebraska (6-4): 8-4 not out of the question with remaining games at K-State, vs. Colorado. 7 (6). Kansas (6-4): Path only gets tougher vs. UT, vs. MU in K.C. 8 (8). Baylor (3-7): Here’s where the conference takes a serious hit in depth. 9 (10). Colorado (5-5): Aren’t playing well enough to play in a bowl, but may. 10 (9). Texas A&M (4-6): Oklahoma set record for most points scored (66) at Kyle Field. 11 (11). Kansas State (4-6): Jeremy Maclin dominates K-State again (278 all-purpose yards, three TD’s). 12 (12). Iowa State (2-8): Still haven’t won in conference play; remaining games vs. Missouri, at Kansas State.Random shout-out of the week: KGPhoto I have to give credit to this guy for his comment in my blog from Sept. 28 on the state of the Tennessee Volunteers:”Don’t let the name, or orange sherbet uniforms fool you,” he said. “Tennessee is awful … The Vols lost to UCLA earlier this year. UCLA promptly turned around the following week, and got flogged by BYU 59-0.”Tennessee just hit rock bottom this weekend with an embarrassing 13-7 _home_ loss to Wyoming, which is a rather unimpressive 1-5 in the Mountain West this season. Ouch.That’s all for now, friends. As always, discuss._By the way, if you’re not following this blog [on Twitter][5], the question you should be asking is why not?_ [4]: /users/KGphoto/