NCAA Week 6: What We Learned

Week 6 of the college football season brought us some entertaining barnburners, a few surprises here and there, and for the most part, some not so surprising results.

Ohio State may be better than we thought ... You may say it was Northwestern, but that just means you haven't been paying attention lately. Ohio State was down double digits at times during this game, and Braxton Miller didn't look like his normal self, but somehow, some way, he fought through his mistakes to carry his team to victory (you listening, Tony Romo?). It was basically a case of Ohio State having more athletic players, but a well-disciplined team still almost brought them down. This will definitely be one game video -- of the three each opponent is allowed -- Michigan will request. Time will tell if this was the challenge that propelled the Buckeyes to the national championship game. 

Ole Miss is still Ole Miss ... Remember two weeks ago when some experts -- looking at you, Desmond Howard -- thought that the Rebels would upset Alabama? What happened to Ole Miss? The schedule caught up to them; that's what happened. Everyone got carried away when they went to Austin and beat up on a bad Texas team. But when SEC play started, we found out that Ole Miss is still Ole Miss. Mistake prone, bad quarterback play, bad play-calling Ole Miss. Remember that the next time you want to pick a sleeper in the SEC. 

Georgia is not the best team in the SEC ... Sorry Danny Kanell, but once again, you were wrong. After beating the mighty LSU Tigers, Kanell proclaimed Georgia as the team to beat in the SEC; problem is, someone forgot to tell Tennessee. The Vols were one fumble away from having the biggest upset in college football this season. Keep in mind, this is the same UT team that had 59 points put on them by Oregon. I realize UGA had a lot of injuries, but that was mostly on offense. The Bulldogs' biggest problem -- and it will continue to be -- is they are not very good defensively. That's the difference between them and Alabama. That's why they have one loss and the Tide has none. At some point, if Georgia wants to win a national championship, they've got to play well defensively. 

Oregon wants to play a tougher schedule ...They are the No 2 team in the country, but why? Who has Oregon played to earn that position? Tennessee? Cal? To be fair, it doesn't help when big-brand programs keep cancelling out on them. Think Georgia and Kansas State, for starters. Texas A&M was embarrassed into reconsidering; no one believes their lame excuse for trying to duck out -- pun intended -- in the first place. Yes, it's impressive what the Ducks have done offensively, but it seems other teams' preferences for cupcakes over challenges has had a knock-on effect at Oregon. The Ducks know Stanford, UCLA, and Washington are no joke. Having at least one of their non-cons being a big-brand challenge would have helped in their preparations for those upcoming games.

Maryland is not a Top 25 team ... Terrapin fans thought this was finally their year, and then reality set in Saturday when Florida State beat the snot out of them. Again, as with Ole Miss, people were fooled into believing that the Terps were good. Then that ACC schedule kicked in on them. Maryland may be better this season, but they weren't Saturday; not even close. Good luck in the Big Ten.

Tune in next week when we'll learn the answer to these questions:

• How badly will Oklahoma beat Texas?
• Will Missouri upset Georgia?
• And will Oregon finally earn their No 2 ranking if they beat Washington?

See you next week!