What a weekend. Not only was it extended an extra day, we FINALLY got to see some college football. And boy did we get to see some action. A few thoughts from the weekend:
- Cal paid Tennessee back in a big way Saturday night. Seemed as if the Bears could have put 60 on the Vols if they wanted to. Memo to the rest of America: Don't punt to DeSean Jackson. This win will surely fuel the Pac 10/SEC debate fires. But really all this means is Cal is better than Tennessee, not the Pac 10 is better than the SEC. And all it meant last year was Tennessee was better than Cal. With that said, this was a huge win for Pac 10's unfairly bashed image, and perhaps the critics will be silenced.
- Texas was less than impressive in it's season opening win over Arkansas State. This was a bit eye opening to see from a team many think will be in New Orleans in January. Colt McCoy, who only threw (7) INTs all of last season, threw (2) to the lowly Indians. Not only that, the Longhorn D which struggled in pass coverage last year, gave up 272 yards in the air and another 125 on the ground. Overall, the 'Horns got outgained 397-340. So what does it all mean? Well, not much, I would assume. If anything it showed Texas is good enough to just show up and win a game they are supposed to win, a feat that apparently isn't as easy as some expect (I'll touch on that later). The Horns however would be better served to put forth just a wee bit more effort against TCU this Saturday. And speaking of Texas...
- ...their rivals North of the Red River opened their season in a big way. The Oklahoma Sooners laid the smack down on North Texas. RS Freshmen DeMarco Murray and Sam Bradford made the most of their Sooner debuts. Bradford's performance was specifically of interest to Sooner fans, and he responded with a record setting night. It appears the Sooners QB questions have been answered, at least today. But Saturday's game against the always tough defense of the Miami Hurricanes will give us a better gauge of where Bradford and OU are really at.
- In the conferences marquee games, the SEC did not impress. Cal/Tennessee has already been discussed; and Auburn was fortunate to beat Kansas State, a team expected to finish third at best in the lowly Big XII North. Brandon Cox, who has taken his fair share of heat, did very little to cool things off. To top it off, he got nicked up pretty good in the game (sacked 5 times). If AU can't do a better job protecting Cox, they could be in for along year. Georgia however did quiet all the "upset alert" forecasters, and laid a can of whoop ass on Oklahoma State. Oklahoma State was one of 7 teams last season that averaged 200 yards rushing and passing per game. Georgia held them to under 200 in both categories, and only 266 total yards. The 'Dawg performance prompted Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy to say his team was "not ready for the big time". Ouch! The 'Dawgs may be more than just the sexy pick to win the SEC. They look like the real deal. Note: With this loss, the Big XII's winless sterak against ranked non-conference opponents has been extended to 17.
- Notre Dame got what it deserved, in a 33-3 thumping at the hands of Georgia Tech. It was sweet, poetic justice to see how bad the Irish are now that the bulk of Ty Willingham's players are gone. He'll never admit it because he's all class, but I'm sure Ty danced a little two step when he saw that score run across the ticker. I will thoroughly enjoy watching ND start off 0-8. And the way they looked Saturday, those final (4) games aren't gimmes. Charlie Weiss, go thank Touchdown Jesus those morons in South Bend were duped by those shams of BCS teams you put out the last two years and extended your contract until the next millennium, because the reality ND ain't what it was (and never will be) when you were a student is about to kick in real hard if it already hasn't.
- And going back to my previous statement about just showing up...the Michigan Wolverines learned a hard lesson about that, losing to (formerly) I-AA Appalachian State. The Wolverines can still regroup and win the Big 10 title, but those dreams of playing on the Bayou were dashed in week 1. Give Appalachian State all the credit in the world, they showed they belonged in the Big House. They were actually the faster team Saturday, if you can believe that. This game is being dubbed as the biggest upset in CFB history. And sure based on rankings, divisions, and all that crap it is. But tick for tack, player for player, what we saw Saturday was Appalachian State can compete with the big boys. While the Wolverines weren't quite their sharpest, by no means was the game given to Appalachian State. They took it, and it was quite clear by the middle of the second quarter the Montaineers could hang. As a matter of fact this isn't the first time Appalachian State showed they can suit 'em up with anybody. Just last season they gave LSU all they wanted. Sure the Tigers pulled away for a 24-0 win. But it was 14-0 coming into the 4th quarter. The Mountaineers made sure Tiger fans stayed all four quarters that night. But the ball game aside, what does this all mean? Well for me it means, the Carr era is over. Actually it was over about 3 years ago in my opinion. Rumors that Carr was retiring after this season are pretty much cemented now. I can only wonder how players will respond to him in the wake of this.
- And finally, congrats to the Virginia Tech Hokies as they continue the healing process. The Hokies may have been less than stellar in their season opener, but as we have learned time and time again: Sports are a great healer in this country. And that is what was really important Saturday, some normalcy and sense of moving on. Go Hokies and God Bless!
Week 1 picks:
9-2 straight up
7-4 against the spread
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