College Football Weekly: Week 6 Winners and Losers

The second week in October has brought the first real sense of drama and discussion. The #1 team in the nation has fallen and now the debates begin as to who belongs in what spots in the rankings. There were some clutch performances in Week 6, so here are the winners and losers: Winners South Carolina Everything else aside, beating #1 Alabama was enough.

Alshon Jeffery and the Gamcocks knocked off a #1 team for the 1st time in school history (Al Messerschmidt-Getty Images) The second week in October has brought the first real sense of drama and discussion. The #1 team in the nation has fallen and now the debates begins as to who belongs in what spots in the rankings. There were some clutch performances in Week 6, so here are the winners and losers: Winners South CarolinaEverything else aside, beating #1 Alabama was enough. However, the performances put forth by various members of their team made it all possible. QB Stephen Garcia (17-20, 201 passing, 2 TDs) played the best game of his career, Alshon Jeffery (7 rec. 127 yards, 2 TDs) had two great touchdown catches and a highlight 45-yard one-handed grab that set up RB Marcus Lattimore's (109 total yards, 2 TDS rushing, TD receiving) 2-yard TD run with 7:01 left to wrap up the 35-21 upset. How about the Gamecock defense? Tide QB Greg McElroy was only sacked five times in the previous five games. He was sacked seven times on Saturday. As for Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson, they were held to 64 yards rushing combined. LSUThe 'Cardiac Kids' strike again. After pulling out a win over West Virginia and capitalizing on the last play of the game against Tennessee, the Tigers traveled into The Swamp and handed the Gators a loss on the strength of a Jarrett Lee 3-yard toss to Terrence Tolliver ion the corner of the end zone with 11 seconds left. The Tigers effectively used the two QB systems to their advantage as Lee threw for two touchdowns and Jordan Jefferson rushed for 2 TDs. Now, the Tigers sit at 6-0 and sit at 3-0 in first place in the ultra-competitive SEC West. Florida StateThe Seminoles offensive line put on a clinic against the Hurricanes. They gained 298 yards rushing and gave up no sacks against a talented front seven. The defense forced two turnovers and harassed an injured Miami QB Jacory Harris into a miserable 19-47 passing night. Are they back? There still remain tough games against N.C. State, North Carolina, Clemson and Florida, but the 'Noles are looking great. Michigan StateWith coach Mark Dantonio returning and coaching from the press box, the Spartans put on an impressive performance, whipping the Wolverines at the point of attack. They gained 249 yards rushing and controlled the game from the outset. Spartan RBs Edwin Baker and Le'Veon Bell combined for 225 yards rushing and 2 TDs. Kirk Cousins continued his solid season with 284 yards passing and a touchdown and the Spartan defense dealt a huge blow to Denard Robinson's Heisman hopes, picking him off 3 times. Michigan State have now beaten Wisconsin and Michigan and save from an Oct. 30 date at Iowa, they are angling to be a major contender for the Big Ten title. No doubt, they will be interested when #1 Ohio State visits Madison to take on the Badgers. Winners South CarolinaEverything else aside, beating #1 Alabama was enough. However, the performances put forth by various members of their team made it all possible. QB Stephen Garcia (17-20, 201 passing, 2 TDs) played the best game of his career, Alshon Jeffery (7 rec. 127 yards, 2 TDs) had two great touchdown catches and a highlight 45-yard one-handed grab that set up RB Marcus Lattimore's (109 total yards, 2 TDS rushing, TD receiving) 2-yard TD run with 7:01 left to wrap up the 35-21 upset. How about the Gamecock defense? Tide QB Greg McElroy was only sacked five times in the previous five games. He was sacked seven times on Saturday. As for Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson, they were held to 64 yards rushing combined. LSUThe 'Cardiac Kids' strike again. After pulling out a win over West Virginia and capitalizing on the last play of the game against Tennessee, the Tigers traveled into The Swamp and handed the Gators a loss on the strength of a Jarrett Lee 3-yard toss to Terrence Tolliver ion the corner of the end zone with 11 seconds left. The Tigers effectively used the two QB systems to their advantage as Lee threw for two touchdowns and Jordan Jefferson rushed for 2 TDs. Now, the Tigers sit at 6-0 and sit at 3-0 in first place in the ultra-competitive SEC West. Florida StateThe Seminoles offensive line put on a clinic against the Hurricanes. They gained 298 yards rushing and gave up no sacks against a talented front seven. The defense forced two turnovers and harassed an injured Miami QB Jacory Harris into a miserable 19-47 passing night. Are they back? There still remain tough games against N.C. State, North Carolina, Clemson and Florida, but the 'Noles are looking great. Michigan StateWith coach Mark Dantonio returning and coaching from the press box, the Spartans put on an impressive performance, whipping the Wolverines at the point of attack. They gained 249 yards rushing and controlled the game from the outset. Spartan RBs Edwin Baker and Le'Veon Bell combined for 225 yards rushing and 2 TDs. Kirk Cousins continued his solid season with 284 yards passing and a touchdown and the Spartan defense dealt a huge blow to Denard Robinson's Heisman hopes, picking him off 3 times. Michigan State have now beaten Wisconsin and Michigan and save from an Oct. 30 date at Iowa, they are angling to be a major contender for the Big Ten title. No doubt, they will be interested when #1 Ohio State visits Madison to take on the Badgers Losers Miami The Hurricanes had a huge opportunity to poke their name in the ACC and BCS picture with a victory on Saturday night. Instead, "The U" got blown away by their rivals from the north by the largest margin of defeat since a 47-0 loss to the 'Noles in Tallahassee in 1997. Jacory Harris struggled against a tenacious front seven and now his groin injury may linger for the majority of the season. MichiganMuch like Miami, Michigan came into this game with a chance to make a statement towards their conference and BCS hopes. From the get-go, the Wolverines came out flat, got pushed around at the point of attack and gave up 536 yards of offense to the Spartans. Denard Robinson might have taken himself out of the Heisman picture his performance, but he's the least of the Maize and Blue problems. Their defense has allowed 500 yards of offense two weeks in a row and competition doesn't get any easier. WisconsinThis might come as a surprise to some that they are listed as losers despite a 41-23 win over rival Minnesota. Their place as losers is because of Brett Bielema's decision to go for a two-point conversion with his team up 25 points with 6:43 remaining. His explanation was that he was following the chart according to the game situation. Really, Brett? Like pounding your rival for the seventh straight time wasn't enough? Bielema can say what he wants, but Tim Brewster, whose team has struggled mightily this year, wanted to hear none of it and neither will I. Handicapping the Heisman Race 1. QB Terrelle Pryor-Ohio StateStats: 68 comp. %, 1,394 yards passing-15 TDs, 3 INTs; 354 yards rushing-6.2 ypg, 3 TDs)Last game vs. Indiana: 24-30, 334 yards passing, 3 TDS Pryor has played a near flawless season thus far in leading the Buckeyes to the #1 ranking in both polls. He set a career high in passing yards in Saturday's 38-10 win over Indiana. Another big performance and a win in Madison could mean the Heisman would be his to lose. 2. RB LaMichael James-OregonStats: 114 att. 848 yards-9 TDsLast game @ WSU: 25 att. 136 yards-2 TDs; 2 rec. 87 yards-TD James sat out the first game against New Mexico stemming from off-the-field problems in the offseason. Since then, James has been on a tear. His 257-yard 3 TD performance against Stanford has put him on the map for the Heisman. In order for him to overtake Pryor, however, he will need to continue to put up huge numbers and will need the Buckeye junior to stumble in a bad performance and loss. 3. QB Cameron Newton-AuburnStats: 64 comp. %, 1,138 yards passing-12 TDs, 5 INTs; 672 yards rushing-9 TDsLast game @ Kentucky: 13-21, 210 yards passing; 28 att. 198 yards rushing-4 TDs Newton has brought back Auburn against Clemson and South Carolina in consecutive weeks. Against Kentucky, he accounted for 408 yards of offense, 74 yards on the final drive which culminated in Wes Byrum's 24 yard game-winning kick. Now, the Tigers are undefeated heading into their match up at home against the Arkansas. Another Newton led victory helps his candidacy. 4. QB Kellen Moore-Boise StateStats: 67 comp. %, 1,336 yards passing-14 TDs, 1 INTLast game vs. Toledo: 16-22 267 yards passing-3 TDs Moore continues to put up staggering numbers on the Broncos run. He's amazingly accurate and makes very few mistakes. For Moore to garner an invite to New York and a legitimate shot at the trophy, he has to keep up the pace and the Broncos have to keep winning impressively.