WATERCOOLER CHAT: BCS STANDINGS CONSTANT OVER WEEKEND, COMING OUT FOR DOUG MARTIN, ANDREW LUCK SETS RECORD

FOOTBALL

In college football, it was a weekend that could have possibly given us a clearer picture of the BCS Championship, or completely send it into disarray as the top teams all had battles against quality opponents.  #1 Alabama had to take on their rival team LSU, #2 Kansas State had some tough competition in Oklahoma State, #3 Pittsburgh had a surprisingly challenging test against Pitt, and #4 Oregon had a slugfest with USC.  If they all won, the polls would remain roughly the same, but if they all lost, it would make the championship picture quite interesting.  So how did it play out?  Alabama barely got by LSU at the last second, Kansas State took care of OK State, but lost their starting quarterback Collin Klein in the process, Notre Dame got outplayed by an unranked Pitt, but still pulled it out in triple overtime, and Oregon had to score over 60 points in order to defeat USC.  With that, things will remain constant, but it’s quite possible that Oregon will jump Notre Dame in the rankings.  Alabama 21, LSU 17.  Kansas St. 44, OK State 30, Notre Dame 26, Pitt 23, and Oregon 62, USC 51.

And in the NFL, it was the coming out party for a rookie running back.  Many people predicted that Tampa Bay’s Doug Martin would have a ‘good year’. And thus far, they’ve been correct, he’s been pretty steady in his performance, but hasn’t shown us what he truly can do.  He was a relatively high pick in most fantasy drafts because of his potential, but had yet to put up a monster game.  Many compared him to Ray Rice, but that yielded criticism as Martin’s performances haven’t been nearly as marvelous as any of Ray Rice’s games.  All that changed yesterday, as Martin exploded for 251 yards and 4 touchdowns!  Those are the type of numbers we USED to see from running-backs earlier in the decade.  With that performance, he has silenced any of his naysayers and made a point to the NFL that he is her as a forced to be reckoned with.  An elite back in the making.  Tampa 42, Oakland 32.

And speaking of rookie performances, everyone knew it was just a matter of time before Andrew Luck had that ‘Peyton Manning’ esque performance everybody knew he was capable of.  Playing a Dolphins team that, if the playoffs started now, would actually get in (as would the Colts), Andrew Luck would need to bring his ‘A’ Game.  And he did just that.  Luck threw for a whopping 433 yards and two touchdowns, and set the record for most yards thrown by a quarterback in his rookie season.  This mark broke the previous record set by last year’s #1 pick Cam Newton.  Fortunately for Luck, his team also helped him secure the win, and the Colts keep playing hard for their cancer-stricken coach Chuck Pagano.  Keep in the mind, the AFC is up for grabs right now.  The Texans may have the best record, but they are by no means dominant.  It’s not unfathomable that the Colts make a run deep into the playoffs, especially with Luck improving every week.  Indianapolis 23, Miami 20.

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