One Foot Inbounds: Winning Matters Most

by Robert Weintraub

Let's get right to the heart of the matter -- should a team that wins a close game be punished by a drop in the rankings? Florida has gained mightily over the years from laying a few extra scores on outmatched competition. If "style points" matter, then they have to work both ways. On the other hand, winning is the only thing that matters. How do you say to Tim Tebow [1], who just led an expert final drive for the winning score at the gun over Arkansas (23-20), "sorry, that wasn't good enough. Win by 30 every time, please." After all, it's not as though Alabama was dominant against South Carolina -- not that dominant.

I went back and forth, and it seems that a case can be made for either Florida or Alabama. But I just can't justify dropping a team that has won 16 games in a row. They have several facets to shore up, like pass protection, run defense, and downfield passing. But the Gators get it done, and until they don't, they're my No. 1.

Mark Ingram has established himself as Tebow's equivalent in one respect -- when you absolutely need a yard, or a first down, or a goal-line touchdown, he's money in the bank. Now that he's taking direct snaps, he's guaranteed to have the ball in his hands come winning time, just like Tebow. The SEC title game just got even more intriguing.

I didn't see much action this week, instead I was consumed by a research trip to New York and spent five hours shivering at Yankee Stadium Saturday night. I would have much preferred watching Idaho improve to 6-1 with a 35-23 victory over Hawaii. Who needs Dennis Erickson? Robb Akey is doing a far better job in resurrecting the Vandals program, thanks in part to slugging safety Shiloh Keo.

I did see Boise struggle with Tulsa on Thursday night, and if G.J. Kinne, Golden Hurricane quarterback and the hardest name to say quickly in the FBS (formerly Division I), doesn't miss a wide, wide open receiver in the final minute, Boise's BCS may have been busted. But there is another example of team getting slammed for winning. Hey folks -- nobody is very good this year, haven't ya noticed? Since when did teams have to win by three touchdowns every week? Utah played pretty darn well in its BCS game last January, and some of the Utes regular season wins were Ugly Betties. Few saw them, though, save the nine people who get The Mountain on cable.

I guess the upshot is, if you're going to stink, don't do it on national TV.

Toedrags

• In the long-awaited D.C.-area Weakness Bowl, Virginia won over Maryland, giving the Wahoos an aura of, well, less futility than the Terps. Break up the Cavs -- they are 3-3 and unbeaten in the ACC, and all of a sudden, Al Groh seems a better coach than Rex Ryan.
• Jahvid Best -- do it against the big boys, if you please.
• In this Heisman-frontrunner free season, why not a freshman? Quarterback Matt Barkley was excellent at South Bend in Southern Cal's pulsating victory over Notre Dame. He hasn't been perfect, but in USC's money road games, Barkley has played well. Remember, he was injured and missed USC's pratfall at Washington, which in a way turns out to be the strongest bit of evidence in Barkley's favor of all -- without its freshman signal caller, USC was hopeless.
• By the way, you would think Mr. Decided Schematic Advantage would have some better goal line plays than that, no? True, Duval Kamara slipped on the final play, but that penultimate play was brutal. Here is where the Irish badly missed Michael Floyd's aerial agility.
• Ohio State, Kansas, Nebraska -- these were teams that didn't look good in winning, and it caught up to them Saturday. That's why I don't look down on winning ugly. Just getting Ws on today's ultra-level playing field is enough.
• I've talked about his strength and improvement as a quarterback before -- Saturday was Josh Nesbitt's debutante ball. It's been a long, long time since the Jackets had a home win as big as the 28-23 stuffing of Virginia Tech, and Nesbitt's three rushing touchdowns led the way. Suddenly, The Institute looks like the best team in the ACC, and an outside national title contender.

The OFI Top 25

[3]
Rank	Team	Delta
1	Florida [4]
2	Alabama [5]
3	Texas [6]
4	Southern Cal [7]	3
5	Cincinnati [8]	3
6	Boise State [9]
7	Oregon [10]	2
8	TCU [11]	2
9	Miami (Florida) [12]	2
10	Iowa [13]	2
11	Georgia Tech [14]	11
12	Penn State [15]	6
13	LSU [16]	3
14	Virginia Tech [17]	9
15	Ohio State [18]	11
16	Houston [19]
17	Oklahoma State [20]
18	Texas Tech [21]
19	West Virginia [22]
20	Notre Dame [23]	6
21	Brigham Young [24]	2
22	South Carolina [25]	7
23	Utah [26]
24	Oklahoma [27]	11
25	Central Michigan [28]
Last week's ballot [29]

Lurking -- Kansas, Boston College, Arizona, Oregon State, Navy, Idaho