My Initial Sunday Morning Thoughts

Teams that Impressed me the Most:
1) Alabama - At this point it's tough to tell whether Bama is that good or Clemson is that bad but they dismantled a team I thought was Top 10 coming into the season. The defense was suffocating and the offense was very balanced. Wilson made a couple bad throws but he kept his composure and managed the game well. This game will definitely get the attention of other teams around the SEC.

2) Missouri - Illinois was looking for revenge coming into this game but Missouri was having none of that. Missouri's defense needs to improve but the offense was amazing all night. This looks like a Top 10, maybe Top 5 team, and with that schedule an undefeated regular season is not a huge stretch. Keep an eye on the injury to star playmaker Jeremy Maclin. With a couple cupcakes on the schedule look for his playing time to be limited in the coming weeks.

3) Southern Cal - Virginia is not a top team by any means but USC deserves credit for actually scheduling a team with a pulse in Week 1. Southern Cal dominated from the opening kickoff and showcased the caliber of talent on this team. Sanchez appeared to have no lingering affects from his knee injury but he also never really got hit either. McKnight is as good as advertised and the defense is stout. With 2 weeks to prepare for OSU, they will be tough to beat in the Coliseum when the Buckeyes come to town.

Teams that Should be Embarrassed:
1) Virginia Tech - Beamer Ball gets the tables turned on it when a blocked punt for a TD results in Tech losing their opener. Poor offense, poor defense, Tech was bad across the board. Wake Forest appears to be the class of the conference at this point after Clemson and Tech losses this weekend.

2) Clemson - Their is too much talent on this team for that kind of result. I question the coaching staff for never working to establish the run and for having a true freshman in the game at RB early on with Davis and Spiller on the team. If Bowden doesn't right the ship fast, then this will be the beginning of the end of his tenure in Death Valley.

3) Miss State, UNC, and Arkansas - Miss St. lost to La. Tech, UNC did everything they could to lose to McNeese State, and Arkansas struggled with Western Illinois. I know the gap has narrowed in college football but this is inexcusable. Reigning SEC coach of the year Slyvester Groom undid a lot of the ground he gained last year with this one. UNC has yet to turn the corner with Butch Davis and they need to be improving quicker than this. Petrino's debut was almost soured by a 1-AA team and Nutt left more talent than that in Fayetteville.

4) Georgia, Oklahoma, Ohio State, West Virginia, Texas Tech, Arizona State, South Florida, and Penn State - No excuse for playing the caliber of team these teams played to start the season. Of note Oklahoma played a 1-AA team that won 2 games last season and Texas Tech's "improved" defense gave up 17 second quarter points to Eastern Washington.

I'd include Pitt on this list but they had no business being ranked in the Top 25 to begin with. The long weekend means we aren't done with Week 1 just yet and we still have some great games on tap.