Fact or Fiction: With Tyler Cobb and Tyler McKenzie (Week 6 Edition)

Statement 1: Illinois head coach Ron Zook is making the right decision by benching Senior QB Juice Williams in favor of Junior QB Eddie McGee.

Tyler Cobb: Fact. The Fighting Illini have really underachieved this season with a lot of talent surrounding Williams. McGee knows how to run the offense and after a disappointing 1-3 start, why not take a chance on McGee?

Tyler McKenzie:

Statement 2: After a few years of struggling, Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden should step down from the job.

Tyler Cobb: Fiction. A lot of people will say fact but Bobby is a FSU legend. As long as the man has been coaching there and every thing that he has done for that program, I believe he should be able to retire on his own terms.

Tyler McKenzie:

Statement 3: The Missouri-Nebraska game (8:00 p.m. Central Time, ESPN) on Thursday night will be for the Big XII North division title.

Tyler Cobb: Fiction, but this could possibly become a fact. Heading into tomorrow's showdown, Missouri is unknown to alot of people around the country--Nebraska isn't. If Missouri wins, it could show they are for real. Otherwise, the North comes down to the Kansas Jayhawks and Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Tyler McKenzie:

Statement 4: Tim Tebow will play Saturday night at LSU, and Florida will come out victorious.

Tyler Cobb: Fact. I am indeed rooting for LSU to win on Saturday but I just don't see Tebow not playing and the Gators losing this game in primetime with the whole nation watching. Tebow will do his normal thing and Florida will win a close one.

Tyler McKenzie:

Statement 5: The Florida Gators are the best team in the land.

Tyler Cobb: Fact. It could be argued that Alabama is just as good if not better than the Gators, but until Florida either loses a game or Bama can beat them, I will stick with the fact that Florida truly is the number one team in the land.

Tyler McKenzie:

Urban Meyer: "Tim Tebow a Game-Time decision for Saturday."

Whether Tim Tebow will play Saturday against LSU probably won't be determined until game time, Florida coach Urban Meyer said Wednesday.

Meyer said any announcement about Tebow's playing status wouldn't come "until the foot hits the ball down there."

Meyer said he expects Tebow to practice for the second straight day Wednesday but that the Gators' star quarterback has still not been cleared for contact after suffering a concussion Sept. 26 against Kentucky.

"I think that this will be a decision not made today," Meyer said. "After yesterday's practice, I was told to game plan with the intent that there's a chance that Tim could play. That's all I know. All the other stuff ... we'll make a decision as we get closer.

"Is it an advantage for us not telling? I'm not worried about that right now," he added.
Meyer said there would be ongoing evaluation and communication up until the 8 p.m. kickoff Saturday.

Meyer said he would err on the side of caution on whether to play Tebow even if the quarterback gets medical clearance. Tebow underwent more testing Wednesday morning.
Meyer also said the crowd noise at Tiger Stadium could be a factor.

"If the noise bothers Tim, he won't be in the game. It means he's still symptomatic [from his concussion]," Meyer said.

If Tebow can't play, sophomore John Brantley will start at quarterback for the Gators.

Washington, Mizzou Feel They Have Something to Prove

The situation seemed made to order. After years when Mizzou's running game was an afterthought, something you turned to to give the receivers a breather or keep the defense honest, here was its chance. With new quarterback Blaine Gabbert taking over, an established tailback in Derrick Washington and a line with only one new face, there was no reason Mizzou's running game couldn't step out into the open this season.

Only it hasn't happened. The Tigers are running it more and, at least based on the numbers, enjoying it less. A year ago, the Tigers averaged 5.2 yards a rush. This year, it's down to 3.8. Even though they are running the ball about eight times more a game, their average is 143 yards, 10 yards less than a year ago. A year ago, Washington averaged 5.9 yards a carry. This year, he's at 4.4.

Now, with Mizzou opening its Big 12 season against Nebraska on Thursday night, would be a good time for that change to happen if the Tigers have designs on the Big 12 North title, but of course, it's also the toughest time for it to happen. The Cornhuskers are allowing just 113.2 yards rushing per game this season, fifth best in the Big 12. And with the team's leading tackler, 6-foot-4, 300-pound Ndamukong Suh, playing defensive tackle — "That's crazy!" Washington said — whatever yards Mizzou can get will be well-earned.


While Gabbert's passing has managed to keep Mizzou out of trouble as the Tigers got through their nonconference season 4-0, the team has turned to its backs more than it did when Chase Daniel was taking snaps. In the early going, some of the struggles could be attributed to opponents concentrating on stopping the run and waiting to see whether the inexperienced Gabbert could beat them. As Gabbert establishes himself as a field leader — he leads the Big 12 in passing efficiency, so that point may be getting across — that may change and the running might get easier.

The troubles may be clearest in Washington's numbers. Not only is his average carry down 1½ yards, the gap is even bigger when you consider that a year ago after the nonconference season, he was averaging 6.8 yards a carry. He's gaining almost 2½ yards less per carry than he was at the same point last season. And now is when it gets hard.

Washington, for his part, preaches patience. Not by the fans or the media who want to know why the Tigers aren't running better, but from himself and the team's other running backs. If it looks like he's lost a step because he's not hitting holes, he feels it's because he's getting to the holes too quickly.Mizzou has changed its blocking schemes this season, going to a zone system, and Pinkel said the transition is taking longer than they had expected, though the linemen admit that the zone scheme is actually easier than what they were using last year. The team has also been lining up more tightly on offense than a year ago.

At the same time Washington is talking about slowing down a step, his linemen are talking about speeding up.

Struggling Illini Bench Senior QB Williams after 1-3 Start

After a 1-3 start, Illinois has decided to make a change at quarterback.

Senior Juice Williams has been benched in favor of junior Eddie McGee for this week's game against Michigan State, Fighting Illini head coach Ron Zook announced on his radio show Monday morning. McGee, who has filled in for Williams multiple times during the past three seasons, will make his first career start against the Spartans.

Zook said Sunday on a conference call with reporters that he was considering changes at every position, including quarterback. Williams is a four-year starter and the Big Ten's most experienced quarterback, but he has struggled this season, ranking last in the league in pass efficiency (101) and throwing four interceptions and only one touchdown.

McGee is 19-for-30 for 211 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions on the season. He has appeared in 19 games in his career.

"Believe me, this is not all on Juice," Zook said on his show. "The poor guy has at times played extremely well, but the thing you try to do in athletics is you're trying to get a spark.

"This is not a knee-jerk reaction. This is a lot of thought and what-if, what-if, what-if. But the bottom line is we're in a part of our schedule now where we've got to go play."

McGee led Illinois to its only victory Sept. 12 against Illinois State after Williams went down with an injury early in the first quarter.

Williams, who has made 38 consecutive starts, became Illinois' career total offense leader last Saturday against Penn State. He led the team to the 2008 Rose Bowl and set total offense records in three stadiums last fall before a steady decline.

Welcome Aboard College Football Fans, Listen Up!

Welcome to the College Football blog. There is two of us writing for this blog, and them two people are me, Tyler Cobb, and Tyler McKenzie. In this blog we will update you around the world of college football and keep you up-to-date on the run to the 2009 NCAA National Championship game in January of 2010.

We will be keeping you updated on the new rankings that are released weekly, we will give you our own anaylsts on different stories and on certain teams and players that we believe are worth being heard about. Also, we will be giving you our own thoughts and opinions on the heisman watch and our players of the week.

Also, in this blog, we will be giving you a poll questions on the side bar that will feature the top few games for the next upcoming week on the schedule, and we would like for each person to vote once. The game with the most votes at the end of the weekend will be selected as this blog's "Game of the Week". For each week, the "GOTW" will feature a game preview and recap.

Please feel free to critisize any article you'd like--or give it some props. You can leave questions or comments on the comments area under each article. Thanks for reading and enjoy.