CFB Week 2 Recap

Well, I came into this week of college football with a lot of excitement in one game and not much more for other. Not one game this week had two ranked teams facing each other. But in the end, still had some good games and more teams exposed themselves as contenders or pretenders.

THE BIG 10 THINGS I LEARNED THIS WEEK
1. Ohio State without Beanie is not good - Yep, I just said last week that they would be fine with the trio of RBs in the stall. Well, I take that back (will do that a lot this year). Though OSU rushed for 162 yards, that was against an OU defensive line that is giving up a ton of weight to the OSU O-line. And while I think the trio (M. Wells, Herron and Saine) has a ton of talent, Beanie just brings so much more to the table. Speed, quickness, strength and ability to break tackles. All of those will be needed against USC and were almost needed against OU. The offense just looked stagnant without and put mroe pressure on Boeckman, who looked terrible for the third game in a row, going back to the title game against LSU. They say you never know what you have until it's gone. Well, all us OSU fans know now and we all want him back.

2. OU should compete in the MAC - and I mean this seriously. I saw a really good OU team today. Starting with the offense, the QB play was solid. Whether it was Theo or Boo, their ability to scramble and avoid sacks is a huge asset. Their accuracy is getting better as well and even decision-making when out of the pocket. In the pocket, both have work to do but it's encouraging to see the offense move. The running game got some sizable yards too, rushing for 145 against a good OSU defense. The defense though is what surprised me the most. Against Boeckman, they got pressure. The pass defense gave the OSU WRs fits all day. Against Pryor, it was domination by the 'Cats. The option: shut down. They just put more in the box and forced him to throw long if he wanted a lot of yardage. Well, Pryor still hasn't thrown a pass longer than 10 yards yet so it was a great strategy. In the MAC, games won't be as brutal and crowds won't be as large. This team has the talent. Get rid of the senseless turnovers (5 today) and this team can compete. They may not win the conference but they should compete for the crown.

3. The ACC is really bad - I said last week that the ACC is giving the Big Ten a run for their money as the worst conference of the Power 6. Welp, forget that. Just give the ACC the honor. One team in the top 25 and that team (Wake Forest) had to kick a 41-yd game-winning FG to beat an Ole Miss team that went 3-9 last season. Other than that, it is just filled with a ton of mediocre teams. Clemson showed they weren't ready for the big stage yet. VT was up just 3-0 on Furman at the half today. Yeah, FURMAN! Wins from ACC teams today came over the likes of William and Mary, Western Carolina, Richmond and the Citadel. This is a bad conference and it's a shame right now they get a guaranteed BCS bid because teams like BYU, E. Carolina and Fresno State would roll in this conference.

4. Ty Willingham is cursed - The guy just can't catch a break. He gets screwed at Notre Dame. Then, goes to Washington in hopes of turning around the Huskies. Well, that's tough when you are trying to recruit people to a place like dreary Seattle. But then today, his play-making QB Jake Locker (266 total yards and 3 TD) scores with just 2 seconds left, cutting the score to 28-27, and throws the ball in the air after scoring. A flag is thrown for unsportsmnalike conduct. 15 yards and making the tying extra point a little bit tougher. Of course since Ty is coaching, BYU blocks the XP and wins. Now, people are complaining about the call. Let's be frank: the ref followed the rules. Maybe it was bad judgment but it was the rule. But he did NOT determine the outcome of the game. Locker did when he threw the ball AND the Washington special teams for allowing the kick to be blocked. Get off the ref's back please ESPN. In the end, blame Locker, the line and the rulebook.

5. Nate Davis is really, really good - Got a text from a friend on Friday as Davis was playing asking how OU could not have gone after Davis more during recruiting. I concur with the question. They may have but even if they did, they missed out on a great quarterback. I got my first look when he (playing for Bellaire) single-handedly tore apart my high school football team's defense in the second round of the playoffs. Ball State was smart and let him start as a freshman and now, he is a stud. Against Navy, Davis threw for 326 yards and 4 TD. Not bad huh? I know it's been a while since the MAC produced a quality QB (Roethlisberger) but Davis may be the next. Just remember that name. Oh, and the name is his favorite receiver, Dante Love. The former Cincinnati Withrow product caught 9 passes for 165 yards and 2 TD. With Davis under center, his stock and skills will rise.

6. East Carolina is for real - I picked against them twice. Well, I have learned now. I knew they were good coming into this year but not THIS good. The VT wins was helped by some VT special teams errors. This win over WVU was just straight legit. Pat White, a former Heisman hopeful, was held to just 72 yards through the air and 97 on the ground. For White, those numbers are not good. Meanwhile, ECU QB Patrick Pinckney was spot-on, throwing for 236 yards and a TD. But beyond those numbers, 8/16 on 3rd down, no turnovers and a time of possession advantage of more than 10 minutes. The best news for the Pirates is that their schedule just gets easier. Their 3 hardest games the rest of the way: @ UCF, vs. Marshall, and vs. UTEP. Skip Holtz is doing something big in Greenville and with these two wins over ranked teams, not only have the Pirates made their case for the Top 25 but to really be considered for a BCS bowl if they run the table.

7. Notre Dame is not winning 11 games - Well, we all know this, except Lou Holtz. But after today's victory over San Diego State, I think a lot of us saw that the Irish still have a lot of work to do. Jimmy Clausen does look better but the Irish in general really don't. The turnover bug hit them 4 times, inclduing one fumble in the red zone. Against an Aztec defense that lost to Cal-Poly (who?), the Irish ran for just 105 yards as a team. Simply put, that's not gonna cut it this season. The schedule may be easier this year than others but even the next 3 games (Mich, @ Mich St, Purdue) will be tough if they play like they did today. It was nice to see Clausen turn the team around in the final quarter for the final 14 points of the game but just like OSU, gotta turn it on early against better competition.

8. "Spurrier Scoring" is back - Remember the days when Steve Spurrier coached the Gators and no matter who they were playing, they would score 60-70 points? Well, that was the case this weekend for sure. Maybe it was due to the lack of good games or abundance of bad teams playing great ones but man, scores were lopsided. 56-17 Georgia. 52-3 Missouri. 51-14 Wisconsin. 66-24 Oregon. 69-0 Florida State. 66-3 California. 67-7 TCU. 69-10 Kansas State. And the best one of them all, 83-10 Arkansas State. Obviously, people think scoring a ton of points equals more votes in the poll. Worked for USC jumping Georgia last week. Don't think it will work for Arkansas State but man, 83 points! That's NCAA Football '08 on PS2 scoring.

9. Antonio Henton is just fine in Statesboro - I knew when OSU lost Henton, they lost a good quarterback. Well, thankfully, Henton found a home and is playing well. After a tough start against Georgia (which every team will have), he showed what he's all about against Austin Peay. The numbers aren't amazing (Just 68 yards passing and an INT) but it's everything else. Down 20-13, Henton engineered three scoring drives in the 4th quarter. First, a 4 yd TD run to tie the game. Then, a 16 yd TD run to take the lead. And finally, a 2 yd TD pass to give the Eagles some breathing room. Now, I don't know how this will translate into the SoCon season but Eagles fans have to be pleased so far and Buckeye fans have to be happy for a guy that never got his chance in Columbus.

10. Mark May talks a lot of jibberish - This is something I knew already but today, he just went on and on and on about nothing. He argues with Lou Holts for the sake of arguing and while that was fun and fine with Trev Alberts, it's just not fair against Lou. He's old and losing his mind already. Don't call out his faults and then ramble on and on and on about nothing important. All day, he kept talking about how the celebration call runied the game and how Ohio State's close win over Ohio showed how they have no chance against USC. Mark, shut up, You played college football and know that teams look past other teams, especially in the case of OU/OSU. That's like saying you are gonna go into a 100 meter race with Usain Bolt the same way you would with Drew Carey. It's just not the case and thankfully, Lou argued all night with him about it to make me feel better (and laugh). But regardless, stop talking about nothing and don't go Trev Alberts on us.

11. Chris Spielman should never, EVER work sidelines again - When I saw the announcing lineup for the OU/OSU game, I laughed cause I knew it would just add to the fun of the game. Well, it did. As if Pam Ward wasn't enough, they put Chris Spielman, less than 15 hours from Friday's Ball State game on the OSU sideline. Let me tell ya, the guy was worthless. He talked about "looking into player's eyes", OU wanting it more than OSU numerous times (uh....duh), and the "advances" of of breaking it down on the sideline (he means advantages). All in all, he was terrible. I heard from a friend who was on the sideline too that he was livid on the safety/fumble TD call and was fist-bumping people on the punt return TD. So not only is he not good at his job, he also isn't professional. Just another reason why being a former player does not equal broadcasting success.

BEST GAME - Ohio vs. Ohio State
Come on, you expected me to pick something different? Sorry, but it's my blog and my opinion. For a loyal fan of both teams, this was the exactly the game I wanted. One that showed the best of OU, gave OSU fans like me a scare, and forced OU to come back and play well, like they will have to later in the year. The game stayed close. Both teams played good and bad at times. And OU got some great exposure on TV, which will hopefully help recruiting. But above all, I just hope OU got some respect. Bobcats fans know OSU has better football and always will. But for 3 quarters today, the Buckeyes and their fans were scared. And after today, hopefully the 'Cats can get some more respect in Columbus.

WORST GAME - Miami (OH) vs. Michigan
HAHA, I know what you are thinking but really, I debated this for awhile. But really, this was a bad game to watch. It might have been close but both teams were so bad, it made it tough to enjoy. Now as a guy who hates both teams, I wanted to enjoy it during commercial breaks but it was hard. Drives stalled quickly. Passes were overthrown over and over. 14 punts in the game, 7 for each team. In fact, Miami had 12 drives. 2 FG, 7 punts, 2 turnover on downs and a fumble. And after going 2-for-2 in their opening drives, Michigan missed a FG and punted six times. BORING! And since neither team has a star player, this game was not worthy of ESPN2.

OVER/UNDER:
Well, I may be jumping to conclusions but I am starting to think that Georgia Tech is underrated. There was a lot of talk about how Paul Johnson would do in his first season at the helm. The former Navy head boss was known for his triple option and trying to implement that is tough. Well, so far, so good. The Yellow Jackets are 2-0 and played a decent BC team and won 19-16. SI picked them to go 3-9 and last in the ACC Coastal division. Well, don't look now but with 10 games left, they are 1-0 in the ACC and a win away from 3 wins.
And after two weeks, I am confident in saying that Pittsburgh is overrated. Last week, a loss to Bowling Green at home. This week, at home as well and the Panthers almost lay an egg and lose to Buffalo. They did win 27-16 but with 10 minutes left, the score was just 17-16 Pitt. Buffalo is not a good team, or at least, should be not be competing with a team that I and others thought would win the Big East. Something tells me Dave Wannstedt better start packing his stuff.

HE/SHE SAID WHAT?
"They are having a hard time getting to the quarterback because of his elusivity." - Ray Bentley talking about OU quarterback Boo Jackson (The word is elusiveness)

3 QUESTIONS
1. I saw a lot of facebook status updates and AIM away messages from OU students saying how proud they were of their Bobcats. You think that pride will lead to more fans at this Saturday's game against Central Michigan?

2. Is Beanie gonna be back for USC?

3. Obviously, my APPY did not come true this week. Is Cincinnati that bad or is Oklahoma that good?