Maxwell Pundit
1.) Troy Smith, Ohio State
2.) John David Booty, USC
3.) Darren McFadden, Arkansas
4.) Colt Brennan, Hawaii
5.) Dwayne Jarrett, USC
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1.) Lamarr Woodley, Michigan
2.) Troy Smith, Ohio State
3.) John David Booty, USC (just for you, Don Nacho)
4.) Brady Quinn, Notre Dame
5.) Darren McFadden, Arkansas
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WRITER: Rapid-fire is so much easier...let's just do it that way.
AUDIENCE: Yeah sure, cool by us!
WRITER: Good, b/c I wasn't going to write out explanations either way.
1.) TIE -- Lamarr Woodley, Michigan / Troy Smith, Ohio State
2.) Marshawn Lynch, Cal
3.) TIE -- John David Booty / Steve Smith, USC
4.) Brady Quinn, Notre Dame
5.) TIE -- Colt McCoy, Texas / Reggie Nelson, Florida
Also Considered
Various Louisville Players
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Another rapid-fire edition -- tell us why we're high in the comments:
1.) Troy Smith, Ohio State
2.) Lamarr Woodley, Michigan
3.) TIE -- Pat White/Steve Slaton, West Virginia
4.) Reggie Nelson, Florida
5.) TIE -- Colt Brennan, Hawaii / John David Booty, USC
Also Considered:
Brady Quinn, Notre Dame
James Lauranitis, Ohio State
Steve Smith, USC
Limas Sweed, Texas
Ted Ginn, Jr, Ohio State
Mike Hart, Michigan
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Consider this the ultra-brief edition -- we're using that as our out, since the field is pretty uninspiring right at the moment. With a balanced Michigan team getting contributions from a number of different players, it looks like Troy Smith's to lose at this point; but don't discount the darkhorse Booty, who could make a serious push with big games against Cal, Oregon and Notre Dame:
1.) Troy Smith, Ohio State
2.) Steve Slaton, West Virginia
3.) Lamarr Woodley, Michigan
4.) Marshawn Lynch, Cal (due in large part to his driving skills)
5.) TIE -- Limas Sweed, Texas / John David Booty, USC
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We took last week off -- sometimes you just have to indulge in a week away from the Punditry. So much Ballot Burn. But we're back, with Maxwell Pundit Vote Number Seven. Rawk:
1.) Adrian Peterson (Oklahoma)
Yes, we know -- he's done for the season, his career as a Sooner virtually certain to have concluded last Saturday. Consider this one final tribute to one of the best college backs we've ever seen, a guy whose career we're sad to see end early.
2.) Troy Smith (Ohio State)
Shocker, we know.
3.) Calvin Johnson (Georgia Tech)
Injuries to Manningham and Jarrett make him a virtual lock for the Biletnikoff and any other Top WR in the country honors.
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AP Photo/Charlie NeibergallHere's our Maxwell Pundit vote numero cinco:
1.) Troy Smith (Ohio State)
Has to move back up, between Adrian's week off and Ohio State's romp at Iowa. Anyone questioning if the Buckeyes were for real after Penn State (ourselves included), got a pretty resounding answer on Saturday.
2.) Adrian Peterson (Oklahoma)
Had a week off to get ready for this week's Red River Showdown with Texas, where he could cement his legacy (and place atop our ratings) with a big day against the 'Horns.
3.) John David Booty (USC)
Continuing to play well in close games (10 TDs, 2 INTs), even if they are coming against opponents who aren't the Trojans' toughest. As good as he's looked, still needs a Leinartesque big game against Washington or Arizona State to avoid the charge of guys like Calvin Johnson and Jonathan Stewart on our Top 5.
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Here's our Maxwell Pundit vote (#4 for those of you scoring at home):
1.) Adrian Peterson (Oklahoma)
Such a stud. Destined to be called "a true professional" about 2,500 times by Joe Theismann during his pro career.
2.) Troy Smith (Ohio State)
Still the man, but finally made some mistakes against Penn State and JoePoo.
3.) Steve Slaton (West Virginia)
Really getting anxious to see him run against a real opponent. 80 yards against East Carolina isn't knocking anybody's socks off.
4.) John David Booty (USC)
People are knocking J.D. Booty's performance on Saturday night, because he threw his first INT of the season. We'll go ahead and take a 67% completion percentage, 700 yards passing, 7 TDs and 1 INT thru 3 games any day of the week.
5.) Mario Manningham (Michigan)
Wish we had this guy in our starting fantasy lineup after those last two games. He just caught another touchdown this morning. Can't be stopped.
Receiving Consideration, With Varying Degrees of Seriousness
Chris Leak (Florida)
Lamarr Woodley (Michigan)
Rudy Carpenter (Arizona State)
Rey Maualuga (USC)
Drew Tate (Iowa)
Kenny Irons (Auburn)
Marshawn Lynch (Cal)
James Laurinitis (Ohio State)
Jonathan Stewart (Oregon)
Brady Quinn (Notre Dame)
Dwayne Jarrett (USC)
Calvin Johnson (Georgia Tech)
Garrett Wolfe (Northern Illinois)
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The aforementioned Separation Saturday may have helped to shake out the Rankings and conference standings, but they didn't do much to help illuminate the Maxwell Pundit picture, except to remove Brady Quinn from contention for awhile. Troy Smith's a strong QB on a potentially great team, who has some tough games immediately in front of it. Steve Slaton is running wild over some patsies, but he's so good and so fast, it sure seems like he could do it against anyone. Adrian Peterson looks like he did in 2004. John David Booty looks strong leading the Trojans -- but has bigger challenges ahead on his schedule as well.
1.) Troy Smith (Ohio State)
He's damn good, there's no question about that. As someone (sorry, we've read a lot of college football coverage in the wake of -- say it with me -- Separation Saturday) pointed out, he hasn't even started showing off his out-of-pocket skills yet.
2.) Steve Slaton (West Virginia)
We tried to put him after J.D. Booty at #4, but he ran past him and into 3nd place. Then he did the same thing to Adrian Peterson to get to #2, before getting stopped by the Ohio State offensive line as he tried to get to Troy Smith. True story. And with East Carolina, Mississippi State, Syracuse, and UConn on the slate for his next four games, Slaton is a runaway truck with no brakes. Louisville, November 2nd. If he manages to keep up the pace he's on now (and seriously, who is going to slow him down?), then runs well/beats Louisville, he'd have a good case for the hardware (as a sophomore no less) -- even with the 'Eers Charmin-soft schedule.
3.) Adrian Peterson (Oklahoma)
Ran all over a pretty tough Ducks defense for 211 yards and what probably should have been a win. Looks superhuman right now. Seriously, at one point his eyes caught the camera and we thought we saw one of those red lasers (a la Arnold in T2 when his head's been smashed up). His big national showcase, and chance to make a play for #1 -- the Longhorns and the Red River Showdown -- waits for him in a fortnight. That's right, a fortnight.
4.) John David Booty (USC)
Big mouth Andre Jones and Company weren't exactly formidable competition for Booty -- but he looked confident and will continue to benefit immensely from the best receiving corps in the nation.
5.) Prescott Burgess (Michigan)
If we're going to give Zbikowski a nod for a badass pick-and-runback, we can't ignore the 2 picks and subsequent returns by Burgess (one for a TD on the second play of the game), who, along with the rest of the Wolverines, made Saturday morning as delightful as any in recent memory for us.
Others Possibly Up For Some Form of Consideration
Kenny Irons (Auburn)
Rudy Carpenter (Arizona State)
Mario Manningham (Michigan)
Chris Leak (Florida)
Dwayne Jarrett (USC)
James Laurinitis (Ohio State)
Drew Tate (Iowa)
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We were conspicuously absent from Maxwell Pundit vote #1, but we're back with a vengeance for week 2. Here's how we see the top of the heap in college football:
1.) Troy Smith (Ohio State)
He won the biggest game of the year so far, and honestly, he's got to be our #1 just for that corner-of-the-endzone pass to Ginn. A perfect bomb, right where it needed to be. Spectacular.
2.) John David Booty (USC)
Sure he had the week off. But his opening on the road was still the most impressive non-Buckeye performance of the season, placing him at #2 (for now -- another solid turnover-free performance against Nebraska this week could put him up at #1).
3.) Steve Slaton (West Virginia)
100+ yards on 8 carries? Assuming he can shine against a legitimate BCS team (i.e. Louisville), Slaton could quickly make himself a Maxwell lock the way he's playing right now.
4.) Tom Zbikowski (Notre Dame)
Notre Dame looked good against Penn State, there's no denying that. But there's just no way we can give a nod to Brady Quinn at this point (see explanation below). On the other hand, Zbikowski and his amped-up pick+runback to put the dagger in the Nittany's back -- now that we can give props to.
5.) Adrian Peterson (Oklahoma)
Looked good against Washington, in a game that Oklahoma should have won much more decisively. After two games, there's little doubt watching the Sooners -- Oklahoma's entire season rests on how well AD runs.
Under Consideration / Keeping An Eye On...
Brady Quinn (Notre Dame)
We know, eventually he's probably going to crack our Top 5. But everyone's heir apparent to Matt Leinart on the college football landscape (or at least its magazine covers) just hasn't impressed us enough, even in the big win over Penn State. So let us enjoy our Quinnless Top 5 as long as we can.
Rudy Carpenter (Arizona State)
Ruuuuuuuuuudy!!!!!
James Laurinaitis (Ohio State)
Did somebody say Katzenmoyer?
Kenny Irons (Auburn)
Dissing Kenny in favor of Adrian Peterson is a pretty close call. Kenny's game vs. LSU and Adrian's game vs. Oregon could lead to a quick reversal.
Erik Ainge (Tennesee)
His uncle is still figuring out how to screw this up for young Erik. Ask any Celtics fan -- give it time, Danny will find a way.
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