More play on Halloween themes with the non-AQs

Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson

Can’t get enough of Halloween around here. I’ll be working, so I’m not dressing up, though living in Colorado, the Balloon Boy costume seems to be a crowd favorite. I stole this post from ACC blogger Heather Dinich. I thought it might be fun.

Scariest offense: Houston’s offense has been downright ridiculous this season. Led by quarterback and Heisman hopeful Case Keenum, the Cougars lead the nation in total offense and even in their one loss this season they managed to rack up 664 yards.

Most frightening D: It seems like every year TCU has one of the best defenses in the country with its suffocating front seven. Defensive end Jerry Hughes is ranked fourth in the country with 1.29 sacks per game.

Most haunting loss: There are a couple of candidates for this category, but I’d say the blue and red Cougars own this category.

BYU probably would have been the leading non-AQ team in the BCS standings heading into last week’s game against TCU had it not lost to Florida State. If the Cougars had been undefeated and lost to TCU, they might still have been in the hunt for a BCS bowl berth. At the very least, they wouldn’t have dropped from the BCS standings.

Houston also would be in contention for a BCS berth had it not gotten comfortable against UTEP and allowed the Miners to notch an upset victory. The Cougars will continue to stay in the BCS standings with wins, but they likely won’t be participating in a BCS bowl.

Best costume: Freddie Barnes as Fred Biletnikoff. Through the first half of the season, there’s not a receiver in the country who can match Barnes’ numbers. Through seven games, he has 99 catches for 1,054 yards and nine touchdowns. To put that in perspective, he’s just seven catches, 337 yards and three touchdowns short of matching the receiving totals of the entire Florida receiving corps.

Best coach to get candy from: There’s not a more energetic or boisterous coach in the country than Idaho’s Robb Akey. After two down seasons, he’s taught his team to believe in itself and win games. To a team that’s won three games in the past two years combined, winning is the best candy Akey can pass out.

Your worst nightmare: None of the non-AQs make a BCS bowl. Let’s face it, making a BCS bowl isn’t just about the prestige for the team that gets in, but also about the money for the conference. Losing that extra $9.5 million would be a nightmare for both the WAC and the Mountain West.

The non-AQ ghosts: Florida Atlantic redshirt sophomore running back Alfred Morris ranks eighth in the country in rushing with 117.50 yards per game, but has gone relatively unnoticed this season by anyone outside of the Sun Belt. Crazy thing is, Morris nearly went unnoticed by his own team. Had it not been for Jeff Blanchard‘s injury early in spring practice, Morris would be sitting on the bench.

More play on Halloween themes with the non-AQs

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