Pass or Fail-Week 7

As the midpoint of the season has now passed, the best and the worst performers have been well documented each week.

Now that 2009 is on the back slope, the top performers are now due praise for their first-half impressions just as much as the goats are worthy of their ridicule.

Here are the mid-point winners and losers in what has been an unpredictable 2009.

Head of the Class-Mark Ingram wasn't a five-star? Explain yourself, Rivals. What Alabama running back Mark Ingram has done in the first half of the season has been nothing short of remarkable. In a backfield that came into the season by committee, Ingram has taken over roughly 75% of the carries for the Crimson Tide offense. Aside from setting his single game career high in rushing three separate times this season, Ingram has rushed for 905 yards, averaging 6.7 yards per carry, 11 total touchdowns, 30 runs of at least ten yards, and ten runs of at least twenty yards. Alabama plays a tough defense the next two weeks in Tennessee and LSU, and if Ingram can maintain a decent pace through those two games, he could coast his way to forcing voters to wait until the last minute after the SEC Championship Game before they cast their Heisman ballots.

Pass-There is football outside Boise in Potato country? The biggest story out of Idaho may no longer be the Broncos and the Smurf Turf, but possibly the Vandals out of Moscow (Moscow?) Idaho. The boys in brown and gold art sitting atop the WAC standings at 3-0 with cross-state rivals Boise State. Robb Akey is no doubt the leader for Coach of the Year, but after darlings Washington, Michigan and Miami have captured the country and fallen flat, the hopes of Vandals fans is that the same fate does not wait for them now that the rest of the country has caught on to their dirty little secret.

Fail-I hate to say I told you so, Florida fans, but I did. There was a reason I had Oklahoma as my pre-season #1 team over the Florida Gators, and it is starting to show. The explosion of the Gator attack has all but disappeared with Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy. Teams now focus on Aaron Hernandez and Riley Cooper during Tebow's passing attack, while the offense under Steve Addazio is leaning heavily upon the running game of Tebow, Demps and Moody. Under Dan Mullen last season, UF's offense was flying high. Now, the Gators struggle to put more than 23 points on the board against the SEC. There are six more games for Florida to regain their composure, or their season could get pretty long, pretty fast.

Pass-Remember when I hated the ACC? You know, like last week? Yea, about that....The ACC has quickly turned from one of the worst conferences in America in the first two weeks (they lost to two FCS teams in week one) to becoming the most competitive conference, internally, in college football. Virginia has gone from door mat to leading the Coastal Division all by themselves. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Miami are all now in a dead-lock with each other in second place in the same division, and North Carolina, who was supposed to take a step forward this season, is sitting behind Duke. Let's not forget the Atlantic Division that has every team with at least two losses already and the demise of Florida State. It may not get the amount of press as the top teams will for the rest of the year, but it is definitely the league to watch as it seems every other conference has one team head and shoulders above the rest.

Fail-Sam Bradford has destroyed Oklahoma's season single-handedly. It all started with BYU in week 1 when the reigning Heisman winner made me look like an idiot. Now, Oklahoma is sitting at 3-3, barely hanging on to a ranking at number 25, and Bradford is 1-2 this season as a start, getting injured twice. Oklahoma should have sent in for a redshirt after the loss to Miami despite the potential to win the Big XII. Now, Bradford seems to be out for the season, his announcement is coming shortly after post time, and his chance at an extra year is questionable. Now, Bob Stoops is looking at his worst season since his first year in Norman, and the weapons around Landry Jones seem to be dwindling come next year.

Pass-Would the person who had Iowa in the mid-season Big Ten undefeated team poll, please come claim your giant jackpot. The Hawkeyes beating Penn State was not exactly surprising, having beaten the Nittany Lions six of seven times this decade, but the continued success by coming back from double digit deficits in two straight games against Wisconsin and Michigan have Iowa in the top 10. The Hawkeyes have two road games left, this week against Michigan State and November 14th at Ohio State, standing in their way of an undefeated season. It may be a long shot, but the idea of winning the Big Ten and going to the Rose Bowl is certainly in their own hands.

Fail-Jeer, jeer to ol' Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish were expected to do great things this season, mostly because of their weak schedule. Well, they have taken advantage of the poor schedule, but have struggled to beat some of those weaker teams. Notre Dame four wins come against teams with a combined record of 12-15 and the two losses come against teams, Michigan and USC, who are 10-3. There is nothing special about Notre Dame any more, and the fact their schedule only has one remaining ranked team on it (Pittsburgh), the Irish could back their way into the BCS yet again, just to get their ass handed to them, yet again.

Epic Fail-Forget the NBA. The SEC are the ones who need replacement officials. In an unprecedented move today, the SEC suspended the officiating crew that has had an impact on both the Georgia/LSU and Arkansas/Florida games. The crew is out of work until the weekend of November 14 and may not get a bowl assignment. Sure, it may just be one crew, but the fact still remains that these men are doing this for a living, and they are having an impact on the games that make Gary Danielson salivate in joy, which is never a good thing. Mike Slive can only hope the office doesn't have to hand down another apology to another team in his league this season, or there could be some real issues to discuss come Destin next spring.