Pass or Fail-Week 3

Every week, there are those performances that make us all stand in awe at the television, and then there are those that cause the spinach dip to fly off the coffee table.

Every week, each of those performances are complied here on the blog, offering a chance to relive those great moments and those not so great moments when you were cleaning the dip off the dog.

Week three saw a lot out of quarterbacks, and then a few coaches ready to make excuses.

Head of the Class: Jacory Harris is on fiah!!! The Hurricanes have blown through two ranked opponents this season with two still to go, but most of the credit in these games can be attributed to Miami quarterback Jacory Harris who was 20/25 for 270 yards and three touchdowns against the Yellow Jackets last Thursday night. On the year, Harris is 31/59 with five touchdowns and has paced the Miami offense with consistent play. He will face a tough test this week in Blacksburg against Virginia Tech, and the results will reflect largely on him, his team, and his Heisman hopes.

Pass: The one Rich Rod let slip away. The heading isn't a shot at Michigan, especially with Tate Forcier playing as well as he is right now, but it is more so that Ryan Mallett is that damn good. The Razorbacks quarterback has shown why he was such a highly recruited signal caller against Georgia, duplicating his fall scrimmage number of five passing touchdowns and 408 yards through the air. Mallett has yet to throw an interception this season, but will face an Alabama defense this week that is looking to add to their minuscule total of one on the season....that is, if his bullet of a ball can be caught by a defensive back without breaking their hand.

Fail: Oregon apparently has some green besides what they wear. For as much as the extremist fan talks about doing such a thing as this, Oregon fan Tony Seminary actually followed through with the threat of asking for his money back and got a $439 check signed by head coach Chip Kelly after Seminary complained about the Ducks performance in Boise on opening night. I personally don't believe Kelly should have paid the man half a G because his team got outplayed by a better team. If anything, Seminary should be charged more money for staying past the undercard to watch LeGarrette Blount go MMA on a Bronco.

Pass: Speaking of pass, that's all Landry Jones did. Who needs Sam Bradford when the moustache-wearing, gun-slinging Jones is out there throwing for a school record six touchdowns in Oklahoma's lopsided 45-0 win over Tulsa on Saturday. At a school that has plenty of history and a great run of recent quarterbacks (Jason White before Bradford), none of them could take advantage of a weaker team as much as Jones did. Jones may have one more game to shine before Bradford takes back over as the reigning Heisman winner began throwing once again earlier this week. All Sooner fans can take a deep breath knowing that not all is lost once Sam bolts for the money at the end of the year.

Fail: Blue Raider Football is for real! It was not so much a surprise to see Middle Tennessee State beat up on Memphis last week, but the fact the boys from Murfreesboro went up to College Park, Maryland and toppled the turtles is saying something....about Maryland and the ACC. The league is slowly fading into the dark depths of the BCS as an obscure league with no nationally prominent team. Sure, Virginia Tech and Miami are still up in the rankings, but both of those teams will surely end up with two loses at least once again this season. I know, I praised Miami not forty lines ago, but Virginia Tech and Oklahoma loom in the distance.

Pass: The legend of Greg McElroy continues to grow. It was impressive enough to watch Greg McElroy and the historic Crimson No. 12 grow up in the second half against Virginia Tech. Then he went all Ron Steele on us and broke a school record in only his second game as a starter. Saturday, G-Mac broke yet another record while going 13-15 in his half against North Texas. Starting with the second half against Virginia Tech, McElroy has completed 40 of 51 passes to 12 different receivers. McElroy has completed 66% of his passes this season, and if that trend continues, McElroy may emerge as Alabama's most legitimate Heisman contender in the school's history. Sure, it is early, but McElroy has it going right now.

Fail: USC's Christmas comes early this year...again. Watching the Trojans lose a game they shouldn't year after year has become commonplace in college football, but this is the second straight year Troy has been razed in the third week of the season. This season's loss came at the hands of the Washington Huskies, who, after losing every game last season, now have a winning streak after taking down the Trojans. There was a reason why I placed USC at No. 10 in the pre-season, and this game proved it all. New quarterback coming in (Matt Barkeley missing is no excuse), no go-to receiver, and replacing a lot on defense, including their entire linebacking core. Every now and then, teams like USC still have to rebuild, and this year is a rebuilding year...maybe. For all we know, the dynasty could be over.

Epic Fail: Urban Cryer is alive and kicking!!! There is only one thing that could beat USC falling on their face, and that would be Florida head coach Urban Meyer making an excuse a day about how Tennessee kept things close against the Gators on Saturday. Saturday night into Sunday, the first excuse emerged that UF was without three receivers. Sunday, apparently everyone in Gainesville came down with the flu. Monday, it became Florida's game plan to match the Vols idea to play conservative cause Lane Kiffin had chose not to win the game. All in all, Urban is finally realizing that Florida isn't the same team they were last year. Just as I mentioned about USC, Florida faces the issue of not having a go-to receiver this season, and it showed against the boys from Knoxville. The eye test is being applied, and it is now widely known that Florida is very vulnerable.