What we learned this week in college football: Week 7

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

A nice week in college football, featuring some close games pulled out by favorites, along with a few upsets, adding intrigue to the release of the first BCS rankings of the season. But with all the excitement, there's one thing we re-learned this weekend:

Football is just a game
We're reminded that in the great scheme of things football doesn't mean all that much after UConn's Jasper Howard was stabbed to death outside an on-campus dance Saturday night. The stabbing, which came hours after Howard had helped lead the Huskies to a win with 11 tackles and a big forced fumble and recovery, happened after someone pulled a fire alarm. An altercation occurred outside between two groups of people and Howard and another student were stabbed. If this story wasn't sad enough, Howard was going to be a father.

The BCS is still a lightning rod for controversy
It's incredibly clear that Alabama is the best team in college football at this point. Clear to everything except the BCS. Florida hangs at No. 1, followed by Bama, Texas and Boise State. The real problem with the BCS is it doesn't take into serious account the level of competition teams are playing. If that were the case, the 7-0 Crimson Tide, who has knocked off three ranked teams would be a clear-cut number one and Boise State would be nowhere near the top 5. Florida has played one ranked team and the rest of their FBS schedule had a combined 13-11 record. They also beat up on a 2-4 Charleston Southern team.

The Heisman is looking more like Tebow
Colt McCoy could have really boosted his stock with a big game against Oklahoma, but failed to do so. Jimmy Clausen had a more than respectable game, passing for more yards than any other quarterback has against USC and scoring the first two passing touchdowns against them all season, but he needed to complete one of his three passes on the four-yard line at the end of the game. Tim Tebow was Tim Tebow, completing 64 percent of his passes for 255 yards and a touchdown, while also leading the Gators in rushing yards. Alabama's Mark Ingram is the only non-quarterback gaining real consideration at this point and the last time someone besides a quarterback was Reggie Bush, who had over 2,100 total yards and 18 touchdowns in 2o05. Ingram is on pace for just under 1,900 total yards and 19 scores.

Matt Barkley is the real deal
Sure, Notre Dame's defense isn't the strongest by a long shot, but Matt Barkley showed the poise of an upperclassmen in one of the toughest places to be a visiting team in college football. When he had protection, he stood back there, read the coverage and fired the ball all over the field. When the Irish finally got pressure on him, he hit his outlets, who turned the short passes into big gains. All told, Barkley had 380 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Purdue is a team that gets up for the big game
The Boildermakers may have a putrid 2-5 record, but they have played three of the better programs in college football hard this season. It started against Oregon, where they lost a 38-36, scoring a touchdown with just over a minute remaining, but failed to convert the two-point conversion. Later, they gave up a last-minute touchdown to Notre Dame in a 24-21 loss. But they finally came through with a win in a big game, embarrassing Ohio State, 26-18.