College round-up

Stanford @ Oregon

The NFL draft is always of course, a lottery. However there are some picks that it feels far more easy to be confident in. Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck is one such player.

From all the college games I have seen this year (and some of the pros), Luck has shown the most poise, awareness and accuracy. Most importantly, he remained consistently productive in this game and looks set to have an immensely bright future ahead of him.

ESPN commentator Brent Musberger assessed that Luck reminded him of a certain Peyton Manning, and it wasn't all hyperbole. There are still obviously areas which need development; Oregon managed to stifle Luck with blitz pressure from the cornerbacks in the second half.

But his easy-looking throws behind an offensive line that often blocked as a single wall were a joy to behold, and play-action was run with deadly efficiency by the Cardinal. Luck is also able to throw with stunning accuracy whilst on the move and tellingly, he also stood in and took hits to deliver an accurate ball, the sort of plays that have pro scouts drooling.

Ultimately Stanford couldn't halt the Oregon offensive juggernaut. You know exactly what's coming when you face the Ducks; read options, sweeps and screen passes aplenty, but it's quite another thing stopping them.

Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas inflicted damage most effectively on the ground, and although he passed for three touchdowns, the Ducks' down-field threat is reliant on catching the opposition on the backfoot. The big pass plays for Oregon were largely as a result of blown coverages by Stanford defenders biting on play-action fakes.

Alabama @ South Carolina

The week prior to Terrelle Pyror's troubles in Madison saw a South Carolina team led by the brilliant efficiency of quarterback Steven Garcia beat the then #1 ranked Crimson Tide.

Garcia was 9/9 at the half as the Gamecocks opened up a 21-3 lead that proved to be too difficult to surmount for the visitors.

Aided by strong performances from running back Marcus Lattimore and the reliable hands of receiver Alshon Jeffery, Garcia made the plays look easy. The Gamecock offense took the yards in manageable chunks over the middle of the field, and when they were forced or chose to go deeper down the field, Garcia's pinpoint accuracy was highly impressive.

Garcia actually looked more comfortable with these difficult throws; he was more wayward with the shorter screen passes and crossing routes. He began the second half with a poor mental error-choosing to rescue an errant snap by flinging it out the back of his own endzone for a safety, rather than simply falling to the ground and taking the lost yardage. But he recovered the very next drive to show impressive leadership in dragging his team down the field and scoring once more; over the course of the game South Carolina took advantage of a sluggish-looking Alabama linebacker corps and frequent poor tackling.

Offensively Greg McElroy looked his usual relaxed self, perhaps overly so; he appears to suffer a touch from Brett Favre-itis in hanging on to the football for lengthy periods of time even as the pressure closes in. He turned the ball over on a fumble ending one drive, while at other times taking disastrous sacks in the redzone that cost the Tide critical points.

Poor field goal misses and botched extra-point snaps also contributed to a stuttering performance by the #1 team, the only bright spots coming with McElroy taking advantage of a Julio Jones match-up on shorter back CC Whitlock to score the first touchdown, and spotting a coverage error from DeVonte Holloman in burning the Gamecocks deep with a Darius Hanks score to begin the fourth quarter.

The final 'gamble' came with Alabama's fake field goal attempt, coming after Tide freshman DeMarcus Milliner had broken up a pass and allowed a Will Lowery interception. The attempted fake failed disastrously, South Carolina promptly marched down the field and scored, and Alabama's further two possessions yielded no reward.