The power of "M"

I told you guys I would be back midweek, and like you, I honestly did not know if I would get around to this post. But here I am, watching baseball and hockey, yes hockey.

I listed some topics that I would be writing about in my last post and I’m here to discuss the power of the letter “M” in college football this year.

Zach Mettenberger is off to the best start at quarterback in LSU history, throwing for 1,398 yards and 13 touchdowns with just one interception. Mettenberger is flourishing under offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, completing 64.1 percent of his passes. But most importantly, he's shaved that dang mustache.

The quarterback who bested Mettenberger last week is Aaron Murray of Georgia. Murray has the Bulldogs off to a 3-1 start with 1,338 yards passing, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions. But bigger than the senior gunslinger’s numbers are his two wins over top-10 teams, the one fact that has plagued Murray through his career.

It seems silly to list Heisman-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel third, but after that matchup between the Tigers and Bulldogs, do you blame me? Manziel is having another big season by the numbers, throwing for 1,484 yards, 14 touchdowns and four interceptions, while rushing for 314 yards and three more scores. Texas A&M is 3-1 this season, but have road games against LSU and Ole Miss coming up.

Alabama has won three of the last four BCS National Championships and are led by three-year starter A.J. McCarron, who has thrown for 882 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions. McCarron might not have the glaring numbers, but he finds ways to get his team the win as his Crimson Tide are 4-0 and ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll. Roll Tide.

*Side note* These last four signal callers could be the reason SEC defenses are suffering and playing into some Pac-12 and Big-12 like shootouts.

Back to action, I’m going to move away from the SEC for a minute, but stick with the theme of “M.”
Marcus Mariota has Oregon 4-0 and ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll, throwing for 1,003 yards, nine touchdowns and zero interceptions. Mariota has also rushed for 295 yards and five touchdowns in the Ducks explosive offense.

Braxton Miller has returned to his position as the starting quarterback for No. 4 Ohio State, throwing for 406 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. Miller reminded Buckeye fans just what he could do, completing 17-of-25 passes for 198 yards and four touchdowns against Wisconsin, who is a little better team than Florida A&M.

Keith Hogan, hold on, I realize his name does not start with an “M,” but Hogan is from McLean, Virginia. Hogan has Stanford 4-0 this year and ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll, throwing for 832 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Moving on from the list of quarterbacks (see what I did there?).

Maryland, Miami, Missouri and Michigan are all off to 4-0 starts this season, but are heading into the teeth of their schedules. Maryland is coming off a 31-0 win over West Virginia and faces Florida State this weekend. FSU has a young quarterback that didn’t make my list, but only because he lacked a certain letter to flow with my story, but definitely has the skills to contend with those others. Miami has a win over Florida earlier this year, forcing five turnovers against the Gators. The Hurricanes have Georgia Tech this week and a matchup with Florida State on Nov. 2 looming. Missouri is a big surprise at first, but then I dug deeper for you. Mizzou has wins against Murray State, Toledo, Indiana and Arkansas State. The Tigers are about to find out just how good they are with games against Vanderbilt, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina coming up this month. Michigan is lucky to be 4-0, and could very well be 2-2, with losses to Akron and Conn. Devin Gardner wearing #98 is pretty funny though.

Louisville limps in as an “M,” and it’s only because I want to see more out of the Cardinals. They have found ways to win and Teddy Bridgewater is tearing it up, throwing for 1,214 yards, 14 touchdowns and just one interception, but I’d still like to see a little more from the No. 7 team in the country.

Alright, enough of this “M” theme, three players that deserve some mention this week are as follows.
Tajh Boyd has Clemson at No. 3 in the AP Poll, throwing for 994 yards, nine touchdowns and no interceptions with a big win over Georgia. However Clemson is looking to take the next step and that involves wins over Florida State and South Carolina.

Blake Bell has taken over the starting quarterback job for Oklahoma, hopefully for the rest of the season, as the “Belldozer” has shown he’s just as capable throwing as he is running. Bell has thrown for 683 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions this year, while also rushing for 114 yards but no scores on the ground. Bell has the Sooners rolling and hopefully for my father’s sake, the defense holds up.

Finally, I come to the part of the story that has my roommate doing back flips. Lache Seastrunk I think will be the top pick in the NFL Draft next June, or whenever it is. Seastrunk has rushed for 417 yards and six touchdowns in the Baylor high-flying offense, which I think is quickly challenging the Ducks for the most efficient and higher-scoring offense. Seastrunk is strong and quick out of the backfield, a lot like that fellow in Minnesota, Adrian Peterson.

If you’re looking for something to watch Saturday, Bama starts at noon. But if you want the games that are going to shine and impress, Ohio State travels to Northwestern in a Big Ten battle, and Stanford hosts the high-flying offense of Washington in the nightcap on ESPN. I’m calling an upset in at least one, but coming on here to say that Northwestern gives the Buckeyes a run for their money. OSU wins, 38-32, and Washington wins on the road, 44-35.

No matter who you watch though, its college football and its fun.

Thanks for checking in and I’ll be back later this week.

Wing Man out.