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Trench Warfare: Why Line Play Is Defining This Year’s National Title Race
Halfway through the season it is becoming clear who can contend for a national title and who cannot, and it all starts in the trenches. Offensive and defensive line play have always been important, but this year it is taking center stage, making a difference for the real contenders.
We start in Eugene, Oregon where Indiana went on the road to a top 5 team and just bullied the Ducks in a 30-20 win where the Hoosiers were in control throughout. It is amazing what Head Coach Curt Cignetti has done to bring this program together, and it starts up front with the team being able to run the football and stop the run. It helps to have a quarterback that is thought of highly by NFL Draft experts, but in the trenches, the Hoosiers stood up on the road and proved they belong in the conversation for a national championship.
Florida State showed why they are not ready for prime time, because they only have the trenches handled on one side of the ball. After blasting Alabama in week one, the Seminoles could not control the line of scrimmage when Pitt had the ball Saturday, falling 34-31 after a 2nd half surge by the Panthers FSU could not recover from, falling to 3-3 overall. Florida State was not good at stopping the run and could not generate the pass rush they needed. Freshman Pitt quarterback Mason Heintschel torched FSU for 321 yards in the air. “We need to be the aggressor.” Head Coach Mike Norvell told the media, “I thought there were too many slow reactions.” Getting pushed around by Miami is one thing, but having it done by Pitt is another entirely.
The list of teams that can win it all is getting shorter, and Miami should be considered a contender. I think 4 to 5 SEC teams can be involved as well if it comes down to being a bully on the line of scrimmage. In the Big 10, we have already covered that Indiana belongs. Add Ohio State and possibly Oregon to that list. I can’t see a Big 12 team like Texas Tech or Utah holding up in the trenches, but that’s why they play the games, and not just settle for my opinion on the matter. I have a new number one this week, Ohio State. Their win against Texas looks much better now that the Longhorns beat Oklahoma. In addition, they’ve now beaten Illinois and are the only team to beat Washington. That combination of wins is better than the fading Miami wins over Florida State and Florida.
TOP 25 FOR THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 13TH
- OHIO STATE (6-0) most dominant team to date and wins are pretty good
- INDIANA (6-0) At Oregon is the best individual win of the season, also crushed Illinois
- MIAMI (5-0) The kind of offensive and defensive line that can win it all
- TEXAS A&M (6-0) Don’t think they can go the distance undefeated, but have earned their spot here
- OLE MISS (6-0) LSU is best win, and really struggled with awful Washington State this week
- TEXAS TECH (6-0) QB health a question, but 9 sacks against Kansas!
- ALABAMA (5-1) Now only team to beat UGA, Missouri, and Vanderbilt
- GEORGIA TECH (6-0) No losses, but best wins are Clemson and at Colorado. Not buying it yet
- GEORGIA (5-1) Only team to beat Tennessee, loss is close one to Bama
- OKLAHOMA (5-1) Wins over Michigan and Auburn. QB play hurt them against Texas
- LSU (5-1) Go to Vandy next, then home for Texas A&M
- MISSOURI (5-1) Gave Bama all they had
- UTAH (5-1) Routed Arizona St. and now UCLA win looks better
- TENNESSEE (5-1) Need better wins, but only loss is OT to Georgia
- SOUTHERN CAL (5-1) Beat Michigan, only loss was late at Illinois
- NEBRASKA (5-1) Win at Cincinnati week 1 is better than we thought
- BYU (6-0) Won at Arizona in OT, but wins are pretty poor
- OREGON (5-1) Have no good wins at all now that Penn State is terrible
- USF (5-1) Knocked off previously unbeaten North Texas in a playoff elimination game
- VIRGINIA (5-1) Worst loss of the one loss teams (at NC State)
- VANDERBILT (5-1) Wins at South Carolina at Va Tech don’t stack up with the rest of the ranked teams
- CINCINNATI (5-1) Best win is home over Iowa State
- TEXAS (4-2) Only team to beat Oklahoma, only lost to Ohio State by 7
- UNLV (6-0) How about Dan Mullen? Win over UCLA gets them in now that the Bruins look better
- MEMPHIS (6-0) reserving judgement until I see them play USF
