It was the first chilly Saturday of the year. It was also the first Saturday with a large number of interesting games. Coincidence? Yeah, probably...
#1 Oklahoma-23, #5 Florida State-13
Allow me to preface this by saying that the ACC had a really good day. Stunningly good, especially compared to the conference's early performances in previous seasons.
That said, the ACC still won't get any national love until they beat a #1 (or at least Top 5) team. Since Virginia Tech has been criminally incapable of doing so, the conference had to pin its hopes on someone else, and Florida State put up a good fight. The game was hard-hitting, defense-oriented football, with the added plot twist of FSU losing their star quarterback E.J. Manuel. At the point Manuel went out, I figured the game was over. Instead, the Seminoles' backup Clint Trickett tossed FSU's lone touchdown of the game and made things interesting for a while. But Oklahoma somehow managed to win a road game, which is only surprising because they seem to play about 1 per year. As a result, the ACC remains a conference that hasn't had a big win in a long time. Look, this was the big game this week, there's not much to add to the dang conversation...
North Texas-0, #2 Alabama-41
I want to write something harsh here about Alabama's nonconference schedule, but they at least had the decency to play Penn State (a semi-good team) last week. We don't know too much about 'Bama yet, but they'll be playing Arkansas and Florida these next two weeks, which should give us an idea of just how good the Tide are. Or should that be Tide is? Heck, I don't know.
What I do know is this: North Texas is still not very good. Big shock there.
#3 LSU-19, #25 Mississippi State-6
It was good to see that some SEC teams still play defense. After watching South Carolina, Georgia, and Auburn demonstrate defensive ineptitude on a grand scale these first few weeks. Mississippi State and LSU put on an excellent defensive show on Thursday night. A few folks might murmur that this was boring, but these people are probably Southern Cal fans, and their opinions won't count again until next year. LSU has looked good, and they should be able to hammer through West Virginia, provided that the couch burners don't pelt the Tigers with flaming upholstery.
#4 Boise State-40, Toledo-15
Boise beats Toledo. Nothing to see here, move along.
#6 Stanford-37, Arizona-10
Stanford has been starting slow this season. The good news for Luck and crew is that they can start as slow as they like for about a month and a half until they play Southern Cal at the Coliseum. They'd best quicken up, though, if they hope to beat the Trojans and the Ducks to take the Pac-12 and get a shot at the national title.
Tangent time! What I want to know is this: Who the heck drew up the Pac-12's divisions?! How did Stanford and Oregon wind up together? For that matter, how did Cal get stuck in that division, too? Meanwhile, perennial conference favorite Southern Cal is in a division with a group of teams that haven't been good in at least 2 years. This is a political move, dang it, to ensure that the Trojans are perpetually in the championship game every year. And I might be the last person in the college football world to have figured this out, but that doesn't make me any less angry about it...
#7 Oklahoma State-59, Tulsa-33
The only truly remarkable part about this game was the amount of time it took before the thing started. The game ended at 3:35am, albeit with the same results it would have had if it'd ended at 3:35pm. Well, maybe fewer fans killed by lightning thanks to the late start. But that's about it.
Good news for football fans, though, we might see one of the last great Big 12 matchups this weekend when OSU plays Texas A&M. Well, that or we'll see a 65-63 game that ESPN will call a "shootout" while I mutter crazily about defenses in next week's post.
#8 Wisconsin-49, Northern Illinois-7
Northern Illinois is better than most non-AQ teams (Well, they were good last season. Every year's a crap shoot with these mid-level teams). It was nice of Wisconsin to play the Huskies at a neutral site, especially considering that the #7 team in the nation boldly plays 4 games away from home this season. Their first true road game is October freakin' twenty-ninth! Please, someone, explain how this is legal! I don't deny that good schools should play their cupcake games at home, but how is it possible for a team to have 7 home games, a neutral site game, and 4 road games?
As it stands, Wisconsin looks to face 2 possible road tests: Ohio State and Illinois. A team devastated by scandal and a team coached by Ron Zook. Have fun in the BCS, Badgers! Better hope you don't play Boise, there, Badgers. You don't do real well against good nonconference teams...
Idaho-7, #9 Texas A&M-37
Speaking of Texas A&M...this game looked like it coul--eh, who am I kidding? We all got what we expected in this one.
Washington-38, #10 Nebraska-51
I've had my fill of Nebraska/Washington games. The Huskers took the rubber match of their three game series, which is something that should only ever be written about baseball. A quick memo to the bowl committees: I do not care what these two teams' records are come December: do not let them play each other again. There's 120 1A teams in college football, no reason 2 of the three should play one another three times in a year outside of conference play...
Navy-21, #11 South Carolina-24
South Carolina has risen to be a top team thanks to a very strong rushing attack led by Marcus Lattimore. That's the good news for the Gamecocks. The bad news is that their defense is in 100th place in terms of scoring defense. South Carolina had best find itself a defense quickly with their SEC schedule starting this week, because there will always be at least one game in that conference wherein a team's defense has to carry an offense that hits a brick wall. Right now, South Carolina's defense couldn't hope to do that. The good news is that SC should have some time to straighten things out; even though they're in the mighty SEC, they don't play a currently ranked team until November 5th. Beware of Vandy, though (and I say that only half sarcastically, because the 'Dores are 3-0...)
Arkansas State-7, #12 Virginia Tech-26
What I have learned from Virginia Tech football thus far this season:
1) The defense appears to be back, healthy, and ready to play.
2) Logan Thomas will someday be a good quarterback.
3) Today is not "someday"
4) As it stands, Logan Thomas is a mediocre quarterback who will need the Hokie defense to be playing its best in every single game this season. If the defense has a down game, even against a lesser foe, Tech will lose.
What I anticipate happening:
1) Tech will lose its game against Clemson on October 1
2) Somewhere along the line, Tech will also lose a game to an opponent they should beat (Think Duke, Boston College, or Wake Forest)
3) I will stop writing in numbered lists that make me look like a smug and pretentious feminine hygiene product.
Troy-28, #13 Arkansas-38
Troy never gave up in this game. They also fell behind 24-0 at one point and scored their last touchdown with 28 seconds to go, making this game look a heck of a lot closer than it actually was. To quote Public Enemy, "Don't believe the hype."
Missouri State-7, #14 Oregon-56
Missouri State's scheduler should be injured by what's left of the team. They've had to play 2 ranked schools in three weeks! And not, like, #23 and #25. We're talking 2 schools that were in the BCS last season! Who the heck made that decision. (I know, I know, paycheck. Spare me the comments.) (Pfft, like you're reading the review of the Oregon/Missouri State game...)
#15 Michigan State-13, Notre Dame-31
Is this the Notre Dame we were promised before the season?! A Notre Dame that is the 18th best team in the nation? Or is it just that Michigan State probably isn't as good as their ranking indicated? Yeah, I'm banking on #2, too.
#16 Ohio State-6, Miami-24
You know, the ACC had a good weekend. Just thought I'd reiterate that. Both of these teams had rough offseasons, and it was really only a matter of time before reality caught up with Ohio State. The Buckeyes, like too many other teams, play only one semi-difficult nonconference game per year (occasionally less than that). So after a way-too-close matchup with Toledo, the Buckeyes rolled into Miami and got beaten by a team that lost to Maryland 2 weeks prior. It'll be interesting to see where these two schools go from here, but I think that, by virtue of playing in a weaker conference, Miami will come out of 2011 looking a heck of a lot better than Ohio State.
Tennessee-23, #17 Florida-33
Give Tennessee credit, they hung in a game with their hated southern rivals. But a late charge couldn't make up the 10 points spotted to the Gators early, hence the final score. These two teams are still an enigma in my mind. As near as I can tell, history will repeat itself with these two: they could both be mediocre (last season), Florida could be good and Tennessee bad (2009 season), or they could both be good (the 1990s). But since we're three games in, the only way to find out is to keep track of these two as they play. I know, a noncommittal review if there ever was one.
#18 Arizona State-14, Illinois-17
Well, the Sun Devils' stay in the Top 25 was awful brief, now wasn't it? Give ASU credit, they played a much tougher nonconference schedule than most, going up against 2 foes from AQ conferences. Their reward? By losing this game in week 3 of the season, Arizona State could go undefeated the rest of the way and they would almost certainly not make the National Title game. Gotta love this system!
#19 Auburn-24, Clemson-38
I really wanna hype up my conference of choice some more, but we all know Auburn was living on borrowed time. If they hadn't had home field advantage in weeks one and two, there's a very real chance they could've been 0-2 coming into this game. So congrats to Clemson for exposing Auburn as a shell of last year's championship team.
There are real highlight for Clemson is that they staged an excellent comeback after falling behind 14-0 and 21-7. They also have 4 consecutive home games to open up the year, but we'll ignore that for now. If Clemson can beat Florida State at home and Virginia Tech on the road, though, I believe we'll have found ourselves the ACC Champion for 2011 by week five.
Auburn, meanwhile, gets to dust off and tune up against an awful Florida Atlantic team. Then they play South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, and LSU in consecutive weeks, with 3 of those games on the road. Have fun, Tigers!
#20 West Virginia-38, Maryland-31
Maryland, probably the 4th or 5th best team in the ACC, made a real run at a comeback against the best of the Big East. Oh, sorry, I was doing that ACC thing again.
Ahem, the couch burners of Morgantown managed to use the power of inbreeding to narrowly defeat a team with none of their tradition or recruiting pull.* Those same furniture-torching, cousin-marrying, mediocre-conference-dwelling West Virginians had best hope that their team can put together two good halves of football, or it'll be a long game this week against LSU.
Oh, and the Maryland/Temple game might actually be good! (See Bottom 95 for all your hot, breaking Temple news!)
#21 Texas-49, UCLA-20
Texas avenged the first of its many miserable losses from last season. Well, one down, 6 to go! Texas now gets to play (and likely destroy) Iowa State. Then we'll see just how much better this year's edition of the Longhorns are when they play Oklahoma in the Red River Non-violent-substitute-for-the-word-"Shootout"-goes-here. Should be a good one!
Florida A&M-17, #22 South Florida-70
About the only good thing Florida A&M can take away from this is that if you mumble the score really fast, then it kinda sounds like they tied. South Florida looks like they could be West Virginia's lone threat in the Big East, but there's a looooooong way to go before the Bulls play the Generic Hill People Stereotypes in their season closing game on December 1.
UL-Monroe-17, #23 TCU-38
After getting beaten by Baylor in the opener, TCU seems to have recovered nicely. They don't get tested again until they go to San Diego State on October 8, so look for that to be the day we find out how far-removed these Horned Frogs are from last year's Rose Bowl Champs.
Stephen F. Austin-0, #24 Baylor-48
The weather in the Midwest really sucked this weekend. So did this game...
And now, gird your loins for Tales from the Bottom 95:
Wyoming is 3-0! Great job, Cowboys...Penn State very narrowly edged past Temple. That's not a particularly good sign for the Nittany Lions as the meat of the season draws ever-nearer...Iowa staged a massive rally to beat Pitt on Saturday. This week we'll learn if that was Iowa's fighting spirit, Pitt's ineptitude, or both...Georgia Tech avenged last year's loss to Kansas by running up the score on the Jayhawks in Atlanta. The Jackets may be back atop the ACC sooner than you'd think. The Jayhawks, meanwhile, are already counting down the days to basketball season...Vandy creamed Ole Miss. Houston Nutt should probably print some copies of his résumé while he still gets free ink...Georgia grabbed their first win of the season, albeit against Coastal Carolina...Duke beat Boston College. Heaven help us all if Richmond were to join the ACC, because there's at least 2 teams in the conference they could beat...Carolina defeats UVa. This game won't really be in good perspective until both teams play a few more ACC foes...Florida International is 3-0? The heck?!...Houston still can't play defense...Lastly, Hawaii had to go to Las Vegas. Wow, leaving Hawaii to go to Las Vegas. The only bad part about the trip must've been the beatdown the warriors suffered at the hands of UNLV...
That's all for this week! See you next time! West Virginia fans, be sure to dictate your hate mail to one of the 5 literate people in your state!
