Week 1: You Think You Know....

Last night's fantastic Miami at Florida State capped off week one of the 2009 college football season. There was one shocking upsets, several surprising results and a few very close calls. I am going to start each recap with some observations I took from the weekend. Then, I will put a few teams or conferences into a disappointments list. Because I am such a positive guy, I will close with a list of teams or conferences that deserve some kudos (since this is sports, a nice pat on the ass).

Thoughts From The Couch

-The Big Ten had a nice record (10-1) but looked horrible doing it. Ohio State survived Navy by four. Iowa trailed Northern Iowa for most of the game before blocking two field goals to win by a point. IU barely beat Eastern Kentucky. Wisconsin only beat Northern Illinois by eight in

 Madison. Minnesota won by three at the Carrier Dome against a quarterback getting his first football action in over four years. That being said, those teams won. Purdue, Michigan State, Michigan (more on that later), Northwestern and Penn State all took care of business. I know one thing, Ohio State is going to need a Vince Young-like performance from Terrelle Pryor to even come close against the Trojans this Saturday.

-Miami and Florida State both impressed me last night. The game looked like one between the Canes and the Noles should look. It was hard hitting and there were plenty of athletes flying around. Jacory Harris and Christian Ponder both look like legit quarterbacks. I picked the U to win this one and I was glad they did. I expect both teams to challenge in the ACC.

-I am very happy I picked Cincinnati to win the Big East. They destroyed Rutgers in New Jersey, 47-15. Tony Pike and the Bearcats offense was unstoppable. The defense, which had to replace 9 starters from last year's unit, was better than expected. Cincinnati is now the clear favorite to win the Big East and return to a BCS bowl.

-I feel bad for Oklahoma. Sam Bradford, Jermaine Gresham and Gerald McCoy all turned down big money to return for a shot at the national title. Gresham was hurt before the BYU game and Bradford got hurt in the second quarter. Oklahoma lost to 14-13 to the Cougars and their hopes of a national title took a serious hit. BYU has games against FSU, Utah and TCU remaining on their schedule. If they can somehow run the table, the Cougars could find themselves in their first BCS game.

-Nice win for Notre Dame. I knew ND would put up big numbers on Nevada (Nevada was last against the pass last year) but I thought the Wolfpack would be able to score as well. I was not going to be surprised if this game was close. Maybe the Irish are better than I thought.

Shame On You
-I was absolutely stunned at how inept Illinois looked. Missouri beat them 37-9, their fourth

 straight win in the series. Missouri is probably not going to have the rebuilding year we thought they would. Blaine Gabbard is the real deal at quarterback and holding Illinois to nine points is an accomplishment. It appears they will challenge Kansas and Nebraska for the North title. Illinois was supposed to be at the top of the second tier of the Big Ten, right behind Ohio State and Penn State. They were supposed to have a high-powered offense. What in the hell happened? Basically, they have been Zookered. Ron Zook took them to a Rose Bowl and convinced people he could coach. Clearly, he cannot. Zook can recruit and he might be a really good assistant but he is not a head coach. They fell flat last season and appear well on their way to doing it again.

-The ACC disappointed me. I thought they were going to be an improved conference. A conference without a premier team but with a lot of pretty good teams. Whoops! NC State laid an egg on Thursday night, scoring only three points at home against South Carolina. Duke lost to Richmond (FCS champs, but still), Virginia lost to William and Mary (maybe IU can win at UVA), Wake Forest lost to Baylor (called it), and Maryland got drilled by Cal. Virginia Tech showed well against Alabama but still lost. The ACC went 4-6 (Miami and FSU don't count), not a good start.

-Colorado lost to Colorado State.  Coach Hawkins told everyone at the Big 12 media day anything less than ten wins was unacceptable.  I thought that was a stretch but I did think he had things going in the right direction.  This game sets the Buffaloes back in a big way and it might cost the Hawk his job.  Along that same line, Al Groh is as good as done at Virginia.  A loss to William and Mary to start off a make-or-break year will get you fired.  

-The MAC had a very bad week.  We are used to this conference giving BCS conference schools a lot of trouble and usually pulling off a few upsets.  Not this year.  The only positive was a Bowling Green victory over Troy.  Western Michigan got blown out at Michigan, Central Michigan was shut down at Arizona, Toledo gave up 52 to Purdue, Ball State lost at home to North Texas.  This conference still has some really good players but it was not a good start to the season.  

Bravo, Bravo

-There was trouble surrounding the Michigan program all week.  Current and former players

 were attacking Coach Rodriguez for an excessive work schedule and the fanbase has been split since this hire.  A lot of people expected Western Michigan to give the Wolverines a lot of trouble on Saturday.  Big Blue put all thoughts of an upset to rest early as Tate Forcier asserted himself with a nice opening drive.  Forcier and fellow freshman Denard Robinson looked really good and Michigan put their troubles aside for a week.  Winning cures everything.  Their home game against Notre Dame on Saturday got a lot more interesting.

-Kudos to Alabama.  The Crimson Tide answered a lot of questions about their offensive line and whether or not they could physically dominate teams the way they did last season.  I don't think their defense is quite as good as it was last season but they could be very soon.  The offense looked more potent than I ever saw it last year.  Greg McElroy looked good and Mark Ingram and Roy Upchurch were a really good 1-2 punch.  In my opinion, Julio Jones is the best wide receiver in the country.  He is so physically gifted.  Jones has great hands, great speed and he is a very good blocker.  I called for the Tide to go 12-0 before losing to Florida in the SEC title game and I like that pick.  

-There is no shame in losing at Ohio State.  Especially is you are the United States Naval Academy.  Navy came within a two-point conversion of tying up the Buckeyes.  They executed their offense very well all game long.  I thought the two-point play call was a very odd decision though.  Why would you pass the ball?  Anyway, great job by the Midshipmen.  

Overall, this was a very good first week of college football.  There are a lot of intriguing games on tap for week two and I will tackle those on Thursday.  Friday will be a preview of the Hoosiers and Broncos game on Saturday.  

One Lesson Learned

-If you have a chance to be picked in the top ten of the NFL Draft, take the money and go.  Bradford and Gresham both would have the first players taken at their respective positions but they decided to come back and I respect them for that.  However, their injuries remind me that in a violent game like football, you need to get paid while you can still play.  

Until next time, be vigilant and God Bless America.