Week 4 is in the books, and with it went Ryan Mallet and UT. Lets rundown the happenings of this weekend:
- I predicted in the week 4 preview podcast that Mallet would throw for 350 and Ingram would rush for 150 in a 'Bama win (to be fair I also predicted a win for the Razorbacks). Oddly enough that is almost exactly what we saw on Saturday in Fayetteville as 'Bama beat the Razorbacks 24-20. My preseason Heisman winner selection Ryan Mallett made several poor throws, specifically in the final 5 minutes that ultimately buried the Razorbacks. Heading into the game, Nick Saban's crew had allowed a single touchdown in 3 games. The Razorbacks scored on the second play of the ball game. On the first drive, Mallett was 2-2 with 74 yards and a touchdown. In the remaining 59+ minutes of the ballgame , Mallett was 23-36 for 283 yards with 3 INTs and zero touchdowns. In the final quarter, he was a pedestrian 4-11 for 44 yards with 2 INTs. He made several costly throws in both halves that proved costly to the Razorbacks. In the first half he missed a wide open receiver at the 5 yard line because of an overthrow. He later threw an INT in the endzone, costing the Razorbacks a scoring opportunity. For all intensive purposes, the game ended with 90 seconds left when Mallett failed to throw the ball sufficiently out of bounds when throwing it away. Robert Lester made the pick, allowing the Tide to run out the clock. Mallett had the absolute opposite of a Heisman moment at the very worst time. When the Razorbacks needed him to make a play, he was unable to equal the success he had in the first half. Mallett led the hogs to 20 points, just 7 more than Duke scored a week earlier. While Ingram tore up the defense, two McElroy interceptions kept the game in hand despite over 200 yards rushing from the Tide. It's a disappointing finish for the Razorbacks, who were up 13 with 20 minutes to play. I still think the Razorbacks can run the table and finish second in the SEC West this season but nobody is going to forget the final 5 minutes that killed Mallett's Heisman campaign. Ingram, on the other hand, has replaced Mallett as my Heisman favorite. He was incredible in person and nobody is slowing him down this season.
- In other news, UT apparently sucks. I wrote more in depth on the defeat in the A$$ Whooping of the week this week. What has to be upsetting for a Texas fan is the upcoming Longhorn schedule. UT gets OU, bye, Neb in the next 3 weeks. Texas seems poised for a 3-3 start to the season. The Horns will still have Robert Griffin, Daniel Thomas, and Kendall Hunter on the schedule after giving up 264 yards rushing to UCLA. All of 3 of those players and their teams will be trying to run it through Texas in a similar fashion.
- OU struggled at Cincy and now has 1 supremely impressive win and 3 uninspiring victories. OU appears to be struggling to get into a rhythm and UT may be in a coma. The 2010 installment of the Red River Rivalry may lack the excitement of previous years.
- The pride of the Big 12 North also struggled on Saturday, beating SDSU 17-3. This result is surprising considering the clinic Nebraska put on in Washington last week.
- Boise beat Oregon State by 13. Jock Talk has nothing more to say about these unbelievably overrated smurfs or their chances of playing in the championship game.
- Marcus Lattimore entered the Auburn game surrounded by hype following his performance against Georgia two weeks ago. Lattimore struggled and was outshined by the quarterbacks. Cameron Newton had a phenomenal performance (158 passing, 176 rushing, 5 total TDs) and was able to lead the Auburn to the victory. Newton could creep up the Heisman list with continued performances like this. Auburn still has marquee match ups against LSU, Arkansas, and Alabama, meaning Newton will have plenty of chances to impress voters and the general public.
- Denard Robinson left Michigan's game in the first half, but still managed 100+ rushing yards and was impressive passing in limited action. He will be fine for Big 10 play.
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