Virginia vs Southern Miss: I gather that the U. of Virginia took note when Southern Miss adopted the rugby-style punt last year. The Golden Eagles soared on that tricksy-looking punt, turning the season around after an awful start marked by dreadful special-teams performances and eventually nabbing a ticket to a bowl game. When the 0-3 Cavs deploy the rugby punt, though, it doesn't feel like Southern Miss's quick-fix for a special-teams problem. Of course, nothing against UVa sophomore kicker Jimmy Howell; hell, the rugby punt's the best play that offense has. more ›

Virginia vs William & Mary: Good news, Tribe alumni! Those of you who survived your education and its notoriously high (if maybe misleading) suicide rate have a reason to keep on keepin' on after the season opener against UVa's Cavaliers. W&M officials ought to think about hiring on cornerback B.W. Webb as a campus counselor for at-risk students following his performance in the game. He was on call for three passes from Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell, turning the last of these picks around for a touchdown. Sewell was just one of three quarterbacks (in addition to Vic Hall and Marc Verica) to take the helm of an offense that coach Al Groh promised was all-new and all-different -- but proved to be all-slippery at best. In its 26-14 loss, Virginia committed a whopping seven turnovers, as if they were trying to catalog the possibilities for losing the ball. A bad snap, a fumble, a confusing backward pass, and a total punt fail contributed to Virginia's efforts to do 9999 damage to its season's prospects. more ›

LSU vs Arkansas: Sure, Arkansas won this nailbiter. And in the leadup to the game, all eyes might have been on Arkansas's dueling quarterbacks, brothers Casey and Nathan Dick. But the true star to emerge today was LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson. No, his numbers weren't electric -- 9 of 21 for 143 yards and 2 touchdown passes -- but they're downright remarkable for a true freshman. Jefferson ran for a respectable 50 yards and, moreover, showed versatility in the pocket, running tall for one long gain of 15. He looked good out there. If I'm Les Miles, I'm not feeling so sorry about my prospects after a tough year for Tiger quarterbacks. more ›

the Fiesta Bowl and the BCS Championship. more ›

There were a lot of games this week that really, uhh, sucked. In terms of competitiveness, at least. more ›