CFB Week 3 Recap

Welp, I now know what it feels like to live in Cleveland. It was a tough day of college football for me as a fan of my favorite teams. As a college football fan in general though, it was a pretty eye-opening weekend. By the end of this weekend, a lot of teams exposed themselves, including the team I have grown to love in my 22 years on this earth. On to the recap...

THE BIG 10 THINGS I LEARNED THIS WEEK
1.USC is the best team in the nation. I don't think there is going to be much argument anymore from the college football critics about this one. In just two games, the men of Troy have showed the college football world that they are gonna be tough to beat this year. Mark Sanchez is a more than solid quarterback, able to make plays with his feet if necessary but more importantly, confident in the pocket and has an accurate arm. The plethora of runningbacks is just scary and the wide receivers are underrated as well I think. But in the end, it;s the defense that will carry this Trojan team to the title. OSU did not play well but the Trojan D deserves the bulk of the credit. I mean, giving up just 2 first downs in the second half to a Buckeye offense opening up the playbook a bit to score is just scary. They can defend the run, they can defend the pass and they know how to get to the quarterback. This Trojan team should roll through PAC-10 play but this is college football. They won't. That doesn't mean they will lose, but it won't be easy.

2. Ohio State has a lot of work to do...and fast. This is a devastating loss for the Bucks for many reasons. First off, national title hopes are shot. If they thought they were after losing to Illinois last season, they are definitely now. And it's because their showing against USC proved to voters that even if they finish 11-1, they aren't ready for the big stage. Secondly, they have Wisconsin coming up in three weeks. And just like the USC game, they have two cupcakes to prepare for the big game in Troy and Minnesota. That means not only get Beanie healthy but also work on gettign Todd Boeckman back into that early 2007 form. Finally, they need to find more ways to get Terrelle Pryor involved. The guy is a playmaker even though I don't trust him to make a throw longer than 5 yards. Even try some formations with him and Boeckman in. Or more of the pistol formation. Who knows? I'll just say this: Whatever they did against USC....don't do it again.

3. Frank Beamer is not as dumb as I thought. I have said for three weeks now about how VT made the mistake of starting Sean Glennon over Tyrod Taylor. Well apparently, head coach Frank Beamer reads the blog because Taylor came in and the VT offense seemed much more smooth. They played an improved Georgia Tech team and won 20-17 but unlike their game against ECU, they were in control of this game throughout. Beamer ball was back on special teams and the offense was moving. Turnovers were not a problem and the defense played well because they weren't coming on the field every 2 minutes. Stripping Tyrod's redshirt was the right move and may be the reason why VT wins the conference.

4. The Big 10 is getting smaller by the week. It's tough being a Big 10 fan these days. I mean, you get your own network but all you see are crappy games with your crappy teams in them. And then, when the Big 10 has marquee games, they lose. Purdue was in control in their game versus Oregon but field goal kicking let them down. Michigan fumbled away any chance of getting a win against a hapless Notre Dame team. Ohio State laid an egg against the Trojans. And Wisconsin needed 3 missed Fresno State field goals to escape with a win. Illinois even had a close call with Louisiana-Lafayatte, only winning 20-17. A lot of people like to say Ohio State is embarassing the Big 10. I beg to differ. Every team is to blame for this and it's sad for a conference with a rich history of great football.

5. These early non-conference matchups are what we need every year. I am one of those people that think one day, we will see a playoff system in the FBS. And though that's years away, I have to believe games like OSU-USC, KU-USF and WISC-FSU are the kinds of games teams need in the opening weeks. It not only provides great games early in the year and gets the audience excited for the season to come, but it prepares the team for conference play better than any cupcake games will. And since the conference crown should be the focus for every team, these games should come more often. And after the past two years of seeing the AP voters getting the BCS title game matchup correct (at least I think so), I trust the voters to treat losses at the start against ranked teams the right way. I cna promise you, each of those 6 teams mentioned have learned some great things about their team and it will help them the rest of the year.

6. Woe is Rutgers. I was one who thought the loss to Fresno State was because that the Bulldogs were a slightly better team and wanted so badly to win in front of a national audience. Now, I just know that it's that Rutgers is just not good. Greg Schiano is a good coach and will probably turn the train around but right now, this is a team struggling for an identity. It's not running the ball like in years past with Ray Rice and others. It sure as heck ain't passing as seen by the 4 INT thrown by Rutgers QBs. And this team isn't about defense either, giving up 378 yards to a UNC team that has not turned the corner of being that good yet. Gonna be rough for Schiano and his staff this season but they better fix it quick because with the stadium renovations going on, there's nothing worse than having a crappy team playing in a nice new stadium. Normally when that's the case, the coach doesn't get to see the stadium for long.

7. SEC play this season will be ridiculous. And I'm saying this only after the first week of games. It's kind of cool being right in the middle of it here in Georgia because of the amount of rivalries and allegiances that are around here. A game like #2 Georgia @ South Carolina on paper should be a blowout but check the Vegas spread and you'll see, UGA was only favored by 7. Why? Because in the SEC, these teams know each other too well and the talent is so good across the board. Same goes for the matchup of #9 Auburn @ Mississippi State. It shouldn't be close but again, the SEC is full of great players. But to think already that UGA and Auburn are playing close games against teams like SC and MSU is crazy. Think about Georgia-LSU, Auburn-Alabama and LSU-Florida? Forget the Big Ten Network. Get me an SEC network.

8. Timeouts are important...figure it out coaches. Saw a lot of games today where timeouts were taken at odd times during games. And for me, an odd time for a timeout is anything outside of 2nd or 4th quarter because timeouts are so precious, especially with the new 40 second play clock. I saw teams like Fresno St, Georgia Tech, Mississippi State and South Carolina using timeouts at terrible times in a close game. In all 4 games, that timeout could have really helped in the end. Calling a timeout before a punt to me is dumb. Calling a timeout to consider going for it on 4th down also is dumb. Have your mind made up prior to the 3rd down play. That's why you have 10+ coaches on the staff. Also, that delay of game penalty in the first quarter really isn't gonna hurt as bad as not having that timeout when you wanna set up a score before the half. Hopefully now with teams figuring out the new play clock, the unnecessary timeout calls will drop but for now, those wasted timeouts have been just that, wasted.

9. A QB is gonna win the Heisman this year. It dawned on me today. The best players of the day were quarterbacks. Chase Daniel (MIZZ) throwing for 405 yards and 4 TD. Sam Bradford (OK) throws for 304 yards and 5 TD. Todd Reesing (KAN) and Jordan Grothe (USF) playing their hearts out in front of a national audience and proving they deserve a mention. Mark Sanchez (USC) in firm control of his offense. Graham Harrell (TTU) threw for 418 yards and 5 TD. Even Patrick Pinckney of ECU led his team from behind to secure a 3-0 start for the Pirates. But what about the non-QBs? Well, Jeremy Maclin (MIZZ) probably leads the list. Thanks to Daniel, he had a good day and has had a good start to the season. You can prolly add Knowshon Moreno (UGA) too though his 79 yd performance today was less than stellar though workmanlike. Beanie Wells has dropped off considerably due to injury and since I don't even consider defensive players, the list stops there. I hope more names from other positions come to the forefront but for now, get ready to add another QB to the winners list.

10. Frank Solich and Steve Spurrier are gonna go crazy. In Athens, OH, Frank Solich and the Bobcats were leading the best team in the MAC the entire first half. And then the wheels fell off. For a while, the Cats threw some duct tape on and all looked okay, But then, the tape came loose. Boo Jackson fumbled twice in key drives to give the Cats the lead late, including a fumble right on the goal line. Meanwhile, in Columbia, SC, Steve Spurrier saw his runningback Mike Davis fumble away what could have been the biggest win in Gamecocks history. Oh and did I mention his fumble also came near the goal line? These two coaches deserve better. They are in places where no matter how hard they work, they will never be to where they were. I think Solich is a darn good coach and has great players. But for some reason, they fail to execute in crucial times. Meanwhile for Spurrier, trying to recuit against the likes of Georgia, Clemson, and all other southeast schools, it's tough to buold a program to the likes of the Florida program he had in the 1990's. It's a shame for both too because with the right personnel and the right situation, these coaches could really make some noise.

11. Don't eat lunch while watching college football. I got a text from a friend in 'Sconsin informing me about this and well, right after he told me, I went online to check it out. Of course, I checked it out while eating lunch, which was not the smartest idea. The following YouTube clip is from the Cal vs. Maryland game. Enjoy the hit and make it all the way to the end.

Yea, that just happened. Not sure what the guy had for lunch but my guess is that he ate the Green Giant.

BEST GAME - #13 Kansas vs. #19 South Florida
If you missed this game like I did on Friday night, do yourself a favor and catch the trimmed-down highlights on ESPN.com. I caught the 2:30-5am replay. It was an amazing game, showcasing two programs that have truly made a turnaround from years of disappointment. Just 4 years ago, both these teams were the laughing stock of their conference. Now, they are competing for the top. But in this non-conference matchup, it was all about the offense. Kansas QB Todd Reesing helped the Jayhawks jump out to a 20-3 lead. But USF QB Jordan Grothe closed the gap to 20-10 at the half before rattling off 24 more unanswered points to give the Bulls a 34-20 lead. But Reesing and the Jayhawks fought back and tied it at 34. But a late INT (only turnover of game!) on KU's final drive gave USF a chance for a GW FG from their true freshman kicker, who was handed the job earlier in the week. The kick was good and USF won 37-34. Reesing finished with 373 yds, 3 TD and a rush TD (and that costly INT). Grothe finished with 338 yards and 2 TD through the air and 30 yards and a TD on the ground. It was a great game and I would hope Kansas doesn't fall to far after this loss cause they played their hearts out.

WORST GAME - #9 Auburn vs. Mississippi State
As much as I want to put the OSU-USC game up here just for lack of suspense throughout game, any game that finishes 3-2 deserves to be the worst of the week. I mean, 5 points in the whole game? That's just sad for any two college football teams. I wanna give the defenses credit but really? May wanna just say how bad the offenses were. Mississippi State had just 116 total yards. But what may be worse is that Auburn had 315 total yards and just 3 points! Oh and that safety Miss. State got....came from a penalty by Auburn in their endzone. Yea, that bad. The game was ugly in every way, including the two terrible calls to go for it on 4th down late in the game instead of punt AND Auburn's two fumbles with less than 6 minutes left to breathe life into the Bulldogs. All in all, just a bad game. BAD BAD GAME.

OVER/UNDER
After 3 weeks, I think it's safe to say that Vanderbilt is underrated. The Commodores are 3-0 and though their only quality win is against South Carolina, this is a team that has some much-needed confidence going into SEC play. They won't win the SEC at all, let's be serious, but considering publications like SI gave Vandy juts 3 wins this year, they are definitely exceeding expectations.
I could pick a lot of teams as overrated after this week but I think I will go with Arizona State. There is a lot of talk about the Sun Devils giving USC a run for their money in the Pac-10. Well, losing to UNLV at home is not a good sign. Losing in Vegas is one thing. Losing in Tempe is another. Maybe a lot of people overestimated how good this team is. They can prove me wrong easily by beating Georgia next week at home in the desert.

HE/SHE SAID WHAT?
"You know, if I were Maryland on first down...I would just take a shot. Because its either gonna be a passing interference, completion, or incompletion. No harm done."- Andre Ware (Apparently, Andre has never heard of something called the interception)

3 QUESTIONS
1. Well, OSU lost and lost bad and we know they aren't staying at #5. How far will they fall? (I'm going #13)

2. All 500 lbs of Charlie Weis fell back on his left leg and in his words, his knee is "blown up". Who recovers from their injury faster...Tom Brady or Weis?

3. Michigan today against Notre Dame: 7 fumbles (4 lost), 2 INT, and 7 penalties for 79 yards. How soon until Michigan fans call for Rich Rodriguez to resign?