ESPN gameday crew final thoughts

GameDay crew final thoughts

RECE DAVIS

"I don't think there's any team, including Alabama and Oregon, who stand head and shoulders above the rest of the field, at least no one has proven to do so yet. Every team I've seen has some warts. Now, Oregon's haven't necessarily been exposed yet because they haven't played anybody yet, but I think it'll make for a very balanced season in conference races.

"One of the things I've noticed about games is we've seen a lot of teams make sizable comebacks, and I think [that's] because of the number of teams that play at a fast tempo. Teams have to start changing their thinking as to when they're going to start milking the clock. LSU kind of came fairly close to letting Auburn get back in the game. Rutgers doesn't run tempo necessarily, but Arkansas sort of let them get back into the game. I think you almost have to play longer as if the game is in doubt when you have a lead. It doesn't mean be stupid, but you have to be careful not to take your foot off the gas too early because teams are now more capable than ever of making sizable comebacks."

Helmet stickers go to ...

• WR Kevonte Martin-Manley and CB B.J. Lowery, Iowa
• RB Tyler Gaffney, Stanford

MARK MAY

"It was one of those strange Saturdays that's a rare occurrence where there weren't any big games on the slate. Of all the top-10 teams who played, no one was super impressive. There wasn't anyone who ran away or flexed their muscles and said, 'This is our week.' Everyone just got the job done, and the bottom line was there were no upsets in the top 10. Everybody finished off what they had to do. Nothing exceptional happened, but nothing bad happened to anybody in the top 10."

Helmet stickers go to ...

• DE/LB Dante Fowler, Florida
• S A.J. Hendy, Maryland

LOU HOLTZ

"I'm glad we're getting into conference play because we had enough 70-7 games [Saturday]. But it's starting to take shape and the one thing that's obvious is that you never have the same team two weeks in a row. As a matter of fact, you don't even have the same team two halves in a row from what I've seen. You never know what to expect in college football. LSU and Stanford were very impressive for a half."