CFB Week 1 Recap

Week 1 is in the books (kind of). There are still games to be played on Monday but this holiday weekend is not going to stop me from writing my recap on Saturday night/Sunday morning like I plan. There will be recurring segments each week so hope you enjoy. Again, this is one man's opinion and as most of you like to point out, a bad one at that. But it is what it is. Onward.

THE BIG 10 THINGS I LEARNED FROM WEEK 1
1. Ohio State and Georgia will be just fine without Chris Wells and Knowshon Moreno - well, at least for Ohio University and Central Michigan. No, but in all seriousness, they'll be fine without their star running backs if either sustained big injuries. Ohio State has two backs, Brandon Saine and Daniel Herron. Oh, and of course, the forgotten Wells, Maurice Wells. Georgia has a great back-up back as well by the name of Caleb King. In fact, he outrushed Moreno with 12 carries for 95 yards. Yea, that's almost 8 yds/carry. Both teams recruit well enough to always be stacked at this position. Or more importantly, recruit offensive lineman so well that even if OJ Simpson came to play, he'd have huge holes to run through. Obviously, both teams are much better with these players but without, they'll be okay. Again, for at least one week. After that, well, let's just say neither wants to think past next week yet.

2. Urban Meyer is the Thad Matta of college football - You ever notice that? Check it out. Thad Matta began at Butler. All he did there was get the team to 24 wins and the 2nd rd of the NCAA tourney in his one and only year. Then it was off to Xavier for 3 years, including 3 consecutive 26-win seasons, 2 league titles, and the Elite Eight in 2004. Then, it was off to Columbus to take charge of the Buckeyes, which of course has been more 20-win seasons, great recruiting and a trip to the National Championship in 2007. At both of his previous stops, he left the program than when he left and both are prospering still under new coaches. Take a look at Urban Meyer and it's the same thing. First head coaching gig at Bowling Green and in his first season, engineered the greatest turnaround in NCAA history and won Coach of the Year. Two years later, he heads to Utah and with the help of QB Alex Smith, leads the Utes to an undefeated season and a BCS bid in just his second year. Now, he's at Florida and well, he's already won a title there. But look at his programs now. BG beats #25 Pitt at Heinz Field and Utah beats Michigan at the big house. Meyer and Matta not only are great coaches but just like a good house guest, leave places better than when they found them.

3. Some QB decisions backfired - You can take a look at a lot of schools probably here but I will look specifically at 2 schools: South Carolina and Virginia Tech. At S. Carolina, Spurrier went with sophomore Tommy Beecher under center and talk about a mistake. The kid goes a respectable 12/22 but only for 106 yards (4.82 yds/comp). Oh, and add 4 INT to that before he got knocked out due to a "head injury" (hurt ego/confidence maybe?). His replacement was Chris Smelley, also a sopohomore but a bit mroe seasoned after getting some PT last year. What does he do? How about 5/5 for 92 yds and 2 TD! The 'ol ball coach may wanna make the change here and soon. The Gamecocks won 34-0 but trust me, not thanks to the offense. Virginia Tech's decision was dumb to me before the game began and afterwards, it proved me right. When Frank Beamer announced that Sean Glennon would get the start and Tyrod Taylor would redshirt, my jaw dropped. Taylor is a dual threat that also was undefeated last year as a starter. Seemed like an easy decision but Beamer went the other way and boy, did it backfire on him. Glennon goes 14/23 for 139 yds and 2 INT. The first INT was in the red zone, with the Hokies knocking on the door of scoring first. The second was in the 2nd quarter and in VT territory and the INT was returned to the VT 1. Hokies were up 14-0 at the time. ECU would punch it in and well, go on to win 27-22. Both Beamer and Spurrier need to make changes and soon or these could be long seasons for them, their team, and their fans.

4. Terrelle Pryor is going to be good - and maybe beyond just being good, he is going to be a crucial part of this offense all season. If you happened to watch the boy wonder, you saw what he brings to the table A sufficient throwing arm, developing awareness, an NFL-ready body, and the capacity to run and run hard. Now, I don't want to gush too hard becasue he was facing Youngstown State but he was quite impressive in his time on the field. His passes were on point (4/6) and his runs for the most part had great results (9 car, 52 yards). His TD run though showed just how tough he is going to be. The kid is huge and will be hard to tackle. Unlike Troy Smith, Pryor will take lickin' and keep on tickin' for another 5 yards. In no way do I want him to supplant Boeckman or get into a Stanley Jackson/Joe Germaine platoon situation but I do want to see him in games to not only get some experience for the future but also as a change of pace, especially against a team like USC. Just gives them more to prepare for. Was he worth all the hype? we still don't know for sure but as of now, I'm a fan.

5. Michigan is gonna be bad...really bad - Every pundit and fan like me knew this would be a rough year for them but after watching them play Utah, I think we all took a hard look at ourselves and thought about just how bad this team is. And maybe bad isn't the right word. Young is more like it. I mean, when you start 6 true freshmen and 6 redshirt freshmen, you're not going to dominate any team, especially a solid, veteran squad like the Utes. Richie Rod has his work cut out for him. The talent is just not there. The attitude showed at times when they could taste chances to win the game but for the most part, the Wolverines look over-matched, out of sync, and mentally fatigued. If it weren't for 2 bonehead plays by Utah, Michigan would have lost by 20 or more probably. I mean, first time losing to non-FCS teams 2 years straight since 1984. If it hasn't been said publicly yet, I'll say it now. This is a rebuilding year. Let them take their lumps (and there will be many) and watch these boys next year be ready for real competition cause even right now, I don't know if they can finish in the top half of the Big Ten, and that's saying something.

6. ECU and BG aced their auditions - I know this is still me dreaming but man, wouldn't these two teams fit well in a better conference than the conferences they are in. ECU is good and will be for awhile as long as Skip Holtz is coach and the weather stays nice. They'd fit well in the Big East in my mind. And as for BG, the Big Ten still wants to go to 12. That's not a secret. Makes sense location-wise and this is a team that is consistently near the top of the MAC. And remember, the MAC has 13 teams for some reason. They can drop one. Hopefully, a good season from both will bring about some talk.

7. The ACC and Big Ten are competing for the worst conference - Yes, a dubious honor for both but man, talk about sad debuts for both. I have been very vocal about how weak the Big Ten is and well, I still think it is despite a 7-3 record in Week 1 (Losses by MICH, MSU, and ILL). And when compared the Power 6 conferences, I will be the first to put the Big 10 in the bottom slot this season. But check out the ACC and well, they're making a run at that bottom spot. Of the 11 of 12 teams that played (FSU idle), the conference went 7-4. But consider the losses. VT downed by ECU. NC State skunked 34-0 by S. Carolina. Virginia crushed by USC. Clemson embarrassed on national TV by Bama. Now, consider these wins, or "wins". North Carolina wins 35 to 27 over McNeese State. Maryland wins 14 to 7 over Delaware. Georgia Tech and Miami beating Jacksonville State and Charleston Southern. This is slightly pathetic. The big guns go down and the smaller ones either almost do or play teams no one had heard of just to look good. Thank you ACC for making the Big Ten almost look palpable.

8. Buckeyes and Indians share something - Remember the Indians of the 90's that had so much talent on a small payroll that they got rid of some of their younger names? Or get rid of a player since they never developed in Cleveland just in the end to see them flourish somewhere else. The likes of Casey, Sexson, Giles, Phillips, Guthrie etc... Well, Ohio State is sort of doing the same with its quarterbacks. Just see Antonio Henton at Georgia Southern and Rob Schoenhoft at Delaware. Henton had it rough, facing UGA today but he held his own against the Dawgs. Scheonhoft kept his Blue Hen team in it in a game against Maryland before falling 14-7. Both should be good on their new teams and I sincerely hope they are. Once a Buckeye, always a Buckeye in my mind (unless your name is Maurice Clarett).

9. Cupcakes are tasty, but not fun to look at - No, I don't mean the food. I mean games like OSU-YSU, Penn State-Coastal Carolina, Oklahoma-Chattanooga, Auburn-LA Monroe, and South Florida-Tenn. Martin. Yea, it's nice to see your team score at will. Fun to yell "Go for it" on every 4th down because you know you have a good chance to get it. Fun to know that no matter hwo bad your team plays, it still is going to win by at least 20 points just on talent alone. Well, these games stink and are as appealing as NFL preseason games. And honestly, have the same meaning. Now props to teams like USC (Virginia), LSU (App. St.), Georgia (GA Southern), Texas (Florida Atlantic), Florida (Hawaii), Pitt (BG) and VT (ECU) for scheduling either a team in the FCS that is up and coming or a non-FCS team that always make some noise in there. So much so, they are good enough to beat quite a few FCS teams any day. And for teams like VT and Pitt, yeah, the loss looks bad but neither was going to make the BCS title game so it doesn't hurt that much. And know both know what they really have while teams like OSU, Penn State and Auburn just think they know. Do all of us fans a favor and stop doing this please.

10. The amount of reviews is getting ridiculous - Just another sign that we are a society of nothing is good enough. I almost miss the day when the refs just got the call wrong and we moved on with it. Now, any questionable call is reviewed and in some games, that can be upwards to 10 calls. That's just crazy. I know we want to get it right but you know, sometimes when that ball comes out a split second after his knee hits the ground, he deserves to lose that fumble. Or that player who got a pinky on the line deserves that Pick 6. If they could just go with the NFL system, I'd be happy but this system now sucks. A replay official just buzzing down at will. And you can bet most of them are old guys who are blind as a bat and just wnat a second, third and tenth look at it before play moves on. The college game is long enough. Please don't extend it anymore. Students in the stands wanna get back to their daytime/nighttime actvities.

11. Lou Holtz is no longer an analyst. He is an act. - This hurts me to say but he is either losing his mind or ESPN is paying Lou to be a circus act. It all started when I saw his Dr. Lou bit on Gameday. Completely unnecessary and provides worthless information. It wasn't funny. It was catually quite boring and he gave the viewer nothing fulfilling. At least with the pep talk, you got some great laughs and maybe a magic trick. Not only that but today, he again reiterated his idea that Notre Dame will win 11 games. But he did this after saying Penn State will win 11 games. Someone please tell Lou that it will probably take an 11-1 or 12-1 record to even make the BCS title game this season so right now, he is putting the Irish and Nittany Lions in that conversation? Gimme a break. Lou, just stay lovable and outspoken against May but don't go making predictions like that. Your already small amount of credibility needs to stay intact and picks like that don't help.

BEST GAME: Virginia Tech vs. East Carolina.
By far, this game wins this title. 16 points scored from special teams. ECU scoring the last 14 points in a 1:40 span to take the lead for good. And a mini-upset that showed just how worthless preseason rankings are. There may have been only one lead change but the game had great play on offense, defense and the aforementioned special teams. And it helped that it was at a neutral site, just making the ups and downs of the game that much sweeter. (2nd - Utah vs. Michigan)

WORST GAME: USC vs. Virginia.
I began watching this game with such excitement to see two Power 6 conference team tassle for a good half before the Trojans decided enough was enough. Welp, that didn't happen. How bout USC just imposing their will early and often en route to a 52-7 win. It's not that it wasn't a good game. It just wasn't fun to watch for the casual viewer. Thankfully, Utah vs. Michigan was on at the same time. (2nd - NC State vs. South Carolina)

OVER/UNDER:
The team that is overrated was easily the Clemson Tigers. They laid an egg today, plain and simple. Not one offensive touchdown. Their star back James Davis held to 13 yds rushing. Alabama was in control the entire time. The Tigers just went from a team hoping for a lot this year to wishing it hadn't opened with Alabama (which Bowden said numerous times in press conferences - wrong attitude in my mind for the players).
A team that is underrated is in fact Alabama. I know, shocker right? But really, this is a team that is supposed to be a year away from winning games like the Clemson one. But Nick Saban had that defense ready to play and his offense reaped the reward of that. They feasted on a fatigues defense all night and cruised to a 34-10 victory. Just another team to add in the SEC mix.

HE/SHE SAID WHAT?
"Part of the ligament that they replaced in him was a ligament from a cadaver. Yeah, he's got a part of a dead man in him, but his game is alive!" -Mark Jones refering to Missouri's Jeremy Maclin during game vs. Illinois on ESPN (That's just sad, corny, and forced all in one)
NOTE: For a great list of a ton of great quotes from CFB announcers all day, go here

3 QUESTIONS TO PONDER
1. Tim Tebow threw for just 137 yds and a TD in the air today and also did not rush for a touchdown for the first time since the 2006 season. Sign of new offensive scheme for Gators or was Hawaii's defense that focused on stopping Tebow and nothing else? (UF won 56-10)

2. Forget depth charts and what Senator Tressel may say. If OSU QB Todd Boeckman gets hurt, who comes in to play QB? Pryor or Bauserman?

3. What is it with the Wyoming Cowboys that the Ohio Bobcats can't pull out a victory?