College football musings ...

In honor of instant replay’s second season of widespread use in college football, we would like to take another look at some of last weekend’s developments and gauge their potential impact on this week’s games.
Upon further review ...
* Georgia coach Mark Richt should stick with freshman quarterback Matthew Stafford as his starter even though backup Joe Cox came off the bench to rescue a faltering offense in the Bulldogs’ 14-13 win over Colorado.
Stafford will be a dominant SEC player before long, but coaches and fans have to be willing to take the good with the bad when it comes to his development. First-year college players are going to be inconsistent. When a player happens to be a quarterback, his imperfections are going to be magnified.
As bad as Georgia's offense looked in falling behind 13-0, it wasn't all Stafford's fault. His receivers dropped at least four passes and an increasingly suspect offensive line didn't make it easy for the running backs to make plays.
Part of the growing process for any quarterback is learning from adversity. Stafford’s developmental clock might have been accelerated if Richt had left him in with the directive to lead the team or take his lumps.
* Alabama coach Mike Shula still thinks like an NFL offensive coordinator. In overtime of a 24-23 loss to Arkansas, Shula went conservative despite the fact that quarterback John Parker Wilson was having a career day. He called three straight running plays in an effort to center the ball up for kicker Leigh Tiffin. That's the smart decision in the NFL, where kickers make 40-yarders with the ease of extra points.
In college, however, that potential game-winning 40-yarder isn't as much of a gimme. Especially after your kicker has displayed a profound enough slice to merit consideration for the next Ryder Cup roster.
In hindsight, Shula should have given Wilson a chance to take a shot downfield for a closer field goal try or offered Jamie Christiansen a chance to kick the game-winner. Christiansen was healthy enough to do kickoffs and has been in pressure situations far more often than Tiffin.
* Auburn was smart to rest running back Kenny Irons last week against Buffalo. There wasn't anything to gain by playing him in a glorified scrimmage. He's not going to win the Heisman, so it was best to rest him for Thursday's game against South Carolina.
Incidentally, the Gamecocks are giving up 176.2 rushing yards per game, which ranks 101st nationally. That should motivate Irons to be at full-speed.
* With apologies to Auburn (ranked second in the AP top 25), Florida appears to be the SEC’s best team at this moment. The Gators are averaging 465.5 total yards per game while limiting opponents to 42 rushing yards per game.
Quarterback Chris Leak has finally started to produce in keeping with his potential, while Percy Harvin has augmented an already dangerous and deep group of skill players.
* Here's something I never expected to type: Georgia Tech just might win the Atlantic Coast Conference.
After seeing them blow past woeful Virginia last Thursday, a couple things stood out.
The defense, led by linebacker Philip Wheeler, has an abundance of speed.
The offense looks light years ahead of where it was last season, thanks to coordinator Patrick Nix. While quarterback Reggie Ball isn't an especially accurate passer, the Yellow Jackets have taken advantage of his mobility with designed quarterback draws, sprints and bootlegs. Ball has gained 197 yards and is averaging 5.1 yards per carry.
His mobility -- and Georgia Tech's willingness to use it -- could make the difference against Virginia Tech this Saturday. The Hokies administered a 51-7 swatting last season, but the Yellow Jackets didn’t have Ball in the lineup and frankly didn't have much of an offensive imagination when he was available.
If the Yellow Jackets aspire to achieve more than 7-5, this is the time to prove it. Virginia Tech was less than stellar in a win over Cincinnati last weekend, plus the ACC Coastal Division title is a more realistic goal now that Miami has fallen off the map.