As the season approaches the halfway mark next week, Alabama’s Tide is no longer crimson from embarrassment and Pitt is truly the pits. On that note, here’s a look at the season’s surprises and disappointments while wondering whatever happened to Adrian Peterson.
Surprises
1. No. 7 Alabama (5-0). Still fighting out of the depths of NCAA probation with nine fewer scholarship players, third- year coach Mike Shula may have the best team in the Southeastern Conference. Besides Brodie Croyle becoming the school’s all-time touchdown pass leader with 56, the defense is sixth nationally (251.20 yards per game). Somewhere Bear Bryant is finally smiling.
2. No. 12 Notre Dame (4-1). Former Patriots architect Charlie Weis has turned Brady Quinn into Tom Brady with a better haircut. Quinn’s 13 TD passes are four short of last year’s total, along with 1,621 yards on 65 percent passing. With virtually the same offensive personnel as last year’s 6-6 team, Weis has jumped the offense from 346.2 yards per game to 504.2, ninth in the country. Now Weis has two weeks to prepare for USC, the same time frame he had for two winning Super Bowls.
3. No. 20 UCLA (4-0). Suddenly coach Karl Dorrell’s cool demeanor on the sideline is, well, cool. He has transformed the Bruins from a middle-of-the- pack team in a mediocre conference to a contender in one of the nation’s best conferences. Drew Olson has bounced back from offseason knee surgery to throw for 1,049 yards on 70 percent passing, with eight TDs. Sure, the Bruins had to come from behind Saturday to beat Washington. But they don’t win that game a year ago.
4. No. 16 Penn State (5-0). Those vultures hovering around central Pennsylvania have gone southwest to Pittsburgh for the fall. Joe Paterno, at 78, is back. His Nittany Lions are off to their best start since 1999, thanks to one of the nation’s best defenses and his own growth as a coach in his 40th year. With nine starters back on defense, they held Minnesota, the nation’s top running team, to 129 yards Saturday. Derrick Williams, a – gasp! – true freshman, scored two TDs against Minnesota and the winning score at Northwestern.
5. No. 14 Wisconsin (5-0). Picked for the Big Ten’s second division with a rebuilt offensive line and only four returning starters on defense, the Badgers are giving outgoing coach Barry Alvarez a nice send-off. That new defense is 10th nationally against the run (77.4 ypg), and why again exactly did Brian Calhoun leave Colorado? He’s only third in the country in rushing (145.4 ypg), and no one has scored more than his 10 TDs.
Disappointments
1. Pittsburgh (1-4, preseason rank 23). OK, so the NFL isn’t always a breeding ground for college coaches. Explain how Dave Wannstedt has taken an offense with eight starters back and loses to Ohio and Rutgers, teams Walt Harris beat last year by a combined 45 points? Maybe the Dolphins knew something.
2. Oklahoma (2-2, preseason rank 7). No offense, Oklahoma, but you have no offense. After playing for the past two national titles, the Sooners’ offense has dropped to 95th (315.75 ypg) in the nation. Freshman Rhett Bomar, 94th in pass efficiency, threw the team’s first TD pass of the season Saturday. Outside of 220 yards against Tulsa, Adrian Peterson has 172 yards in three games and now a sprained ankle.
3. Purdue (2-2, preseason rank 15). Thank you, readers, for not reminding me Purdue was on my preseason list of dark horses. Now it’s merely a tired old nag. How was I to know a defense with 11 starters back would give up 1,193 yards in its past two games? It’s 110th defensively (468.5 ypg) and 116th (346.0) in pass defense.
4. Michigan (3-2, preseason rank 4). Thanks to a bad day for one Michigan State kicker Saturday, Michigan isn’t bumping Pitt here for top honors. To be fair, tailback Mike Hart’s injury put too much pressure on quarterback Chad Henne, who hit only 35-of-78 passes with two interceptions in losses to Wisconsin and Notre Dame. Still, last week was the first time Michigan hadn’t been ranked since 1998.
5. Iowa (3-2, preseason rank 11). Big Ten contenders don’t get blown out by Iowa State 23-3. They rush for more than minus-9 yards against Ohio State. Kirk Ferentz’s coaching genius has taken a hit. Quarterback Drew Tate slammed his helmet to the Ohio Stadium turf, a perfect metaphor for a season going nowhere fast.
Staff writer John Henderson can be reached at 303-820-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com.
