(Sports Network) - Nearing the halfway point in the college
football season, there are certainly some surprising developments along with
the usual subplots. The reported demise of a conference may have been
premature. The NCAA can't get out of its own way, and two national powers got
their leaders back. It all adds up to what should be an exciting last six weeks
of the regular season.

BACK IN THE SADDLE: Both the Florida Gators and Oklahoma Sooners got their
Heisman Trophy winners back under center this past weekend.

Florida's Tim Tebow suffered a concussion in a win over Kentucky two weeks ago,
and although he didn't miss a start, there was the real possibility that he
may have sat at LSU this week, something no one would blame him for. However,
Tebow is a warrior and although he didn't light up the Tigers, he did manage
the game well, throwing the only TD in the contest in the second quarter in a
13-3 defensive struggle. Concussions are tough to come back from in a short
period of time, but expect Tebow to be much sharper this week against Arkansas,
and the rest of the way.

The Sooners suffered big-time with Sam Bradford on the sideline, although his
freshman replacement, Landry Jones, played well. Still, Oklahoma dropped games
to both BYU and Miami-Florida and is now all but out of the national title
race. There is still a Big 12 title to decide though and Bradford looked solid
in his return this weekend, passing for nearly 400 yards (389) and one TD. The
nation will see just how far he has come this week, as Oklahoma and Texas
collide in Arlington.

MICRO-MANAGING: Does anyone out there not think the NCAA is a little too
meddlesome? I know it is a slippery slope when it comes to players and
corruption from outside influences, but Oklahoma State having to continue its
season without star wideout Dez Bryant is ridiculous. Yes, the kid lied to
the NCAA, but he lied about an incident that wasn't a violation. Bryant spent
some time with Deion Sanders and because he failed to disclose it fully to the
NCAA, he is now ineligible. The Cowboys are going through the appeals process,
but shouldn't the NCAA just employ some common sense? This is not a nefarious
rule-breaker, but a talented player who crumbled under the pressure of the
NCAA. The job of the NCAA should be to protect the student-athlete, but once
again failed to do so here.

BETTER THAN ADVERTISED: Has the Big East taken a step back in terms of national
prominence? That is the sentiment around the country, but if you were to ask
the 10 teams that have already played Cincinnati and South Florida, the answer
may be different. Both teams come into their showdown this week with
unblemished 5-0 records.

The Bearcats are getting it done behind the efforts of their Heisman Trophy
candidate, Tony Pike, under center. Pike has completed over 66 percent of his
passes, for 1,493 yards, with 13 TDs and just three INTs. Cincinnati has big
wins over Rutgers, Oregon State and Fresno State already, and there are very
few bumps left in the road, with USF and West Virginia looking to be the
toughest matchups the rest of the way. An undefeated season will obviously
earn the Bearcats a well-deserved BCS Bowl game, but could it be for a
national title?

USF has suffered a huge setback with the loss of talented QB Matt Grothe, but
the Bulls are built around defense and that is where they have thrived,
ranking fifth nationally in scoring defense (9.4 ppg) and 10th in total
defense (263 ypg). The competition hasn't exactly been top-notch (Wofford,
Western Kentucky, Charleston Southern, a struggling Florida State and
Syracuse), but that will change this week with Cincinnati. West Virginia
and Miami-Florida are still on the docket as well.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Texas Tech QB Steven Sheffield passed for 490 yards and
seven TDs in his first career start, as the Red Raiders routed Kansas State.
Other QBs of note include Bowling Green's Tyler Sheenan (505 yards and four
TDs against Kent State), Houston's Case Keenum (434 yards, four TDs against
Mississippi State), Florida State's Christian Ponder (359 yards, five TDs
against Georgia Tech), Georgia Tech's Josh Nesbitt (140 rushing yards and
three TDs, 131 yards passing and one TD against FSU), Wake Forest's Riley
Skinner (360 yards, four TDs against Maryland) and Duke's Thaddeus Lewis (459
yards and five passing TDs, one rushing against NC State).

The top tailbacks include Memphis' Curtis Steele (240 yards, two TDs against
UTEP), Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers (189 yards rushing, 82 receiving, four
TDs against Stanford), North Texas' Lance Dunbar (187 yards, four TDs against
UL-Lafayette) and Western Michigan's Brandon West (153 yards, three TDs
against Toledo), and BYU's Harvey Unga (149 yards, three TDs against UNLV).

SNEAK PEEK: There are four top-25 showdowns this week, but the Red River
Rivalry tops them all, as the annual clash between Oklahoma and Texas will
take center stage. The Sooners have their Heisman winner back under center,
while the Longhorns hope it isn't long before their signal-caller (Colt McCoy)
wins the award.

Other intriguing top-25 collisions include eighth-ranked Cincinnati at 21st-
ranked South Florida, sixth-ranked USC at 25th-ranked Notre Dame and fourth-
ranked Virginia Tech at 19th-ranked Georgia Tech.




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