Week one has come and gone, and all at once we know much more and absolutely nothing about the season ahead.

My thoughts?

I’ve already talked about the Appalachian State-Michigan upset. So where does Lloyd Carr go from here? Fans, media, and alumni have been calling for his head for years, and it didn’t take long this season for those cries to go up again. It’s hard to say exactly what is the coach’s fault and what lies on the shoulders of the players, and the reality is that both are responsible, but it is absolutely the coach’s job to get his players up for a game, regardless of the opponent. Mike Hart was the only Wolverine who showed up at all. Carr didn’t get his team ready to play Ann Arbor High School, let alone App State. I think that expectations at a lot of elite programs are absolutely ridiculous, but Carr hasn’t won a big game in years. If Michigan doesn’t rebound and deliver a Big Ten Title, a win over Ohio State, and probably a Rose Bowl victory, I think Carr will “retire” at the end of the season. If he does reach all of those goals, I think he might just retire.

Will Lloyd Carr be forced into retirement?

 

Speaking of coaches in trouble, Notre Dame got destroyed on their home field in Saturday’s opener. Is Charlie Weis’ job really in trouble? Not at the moment, but it’s already a topic of conversation- mostly because Tyrone Willingham (a black coach) got fired after achieving at least as much as what Weis (a white coach) will have at the end of this pathetic season (unless the J.C. he’s inserting at quarterback turns out to be a different J.C.) So why is Weis’ job safe for the foreseeable future? My guess is because Notre Dame fears the outcry that would come from the National Association of Obese Peoples if he were to be fired. The bad publicity is just more than they want to deal with…
Before I move on, it’s worth pointing out that while Georgia Tech is a very good team, and will be in the ACC title mix the whole season, Notre Dame put up a worse performance than Idaho did against USC and Arkansas State did against Texas (and both those teams were on the road).

Another team that will be in the ACC title mix, and my pick to win the Atlantic division, is Boston College. My condolences to those of you who missed their 38-28 win over Wake Forest on Saturday, because it was one of the best games of the weekend. Matt Ryan might be slightly under-the-radar, but he did his best to smack that radar right in the nose with 458 yards and 5 touchdown- and that was all after the first BC play from the line of scrimmage came in the form of Ryan throwing the ball directly into the arms of a Wake Forest defensive back. DeJuan Tribble led the Eagles on defense with three interceptions. Tribble (a Cincinnati product, for any local readers) is one of the best cornerbacks in the country, and while he’s respected by many in football, I think he will really have a coming out party this season. Wake Forest hung in this game for a long time, and while they won’t win another ACC championship, they showed they’re not going to return to the ACC basement, either.

There were a number of games this past weekend that didn’t get the hype of the Cal-Tennesse rematch, but were probably the best games of the weekend.

Colorado sneaked out a win over Colorado State with an overtime field goal. Many of you might say, “Yeah, but who cares?” The Colorado state rivalry is one of the best in college football and yet it is still a mystery to many fans. This year’s game was highlighted by more offense than expected, with redshirt freshman Cody Hawkins (the head coach’s son) looking surprisingly sound for Colorado. The game marked running back Kyle Bell’s return for Colorado State, after he missed all of last season due to injury. Bell is an absolute wrecking ball and his return could help the Rams surprise some people. He’s a thousand-yard back who will run through about 2,000 tackles while gaining those yards.

Another unheralded yet great game was Illinois meeting up with Missouri, one of the favorites in the Big 12 North (ok, so there are really only two “favorites” in the North: Missouri and Nebraska). Ron Zook has recruited some great talent to Illinois in his time there, including true freshman wide receiver Arrelious “Regis” Benn and sophomore quarterback Isaiah “Juice” Williams. Actually, if you don’t have a nickname, Zook just isn’t interested in you. Interestingly enough, Illinois looked like they were down and out of this game until Williams got injured and redshirt freshman Eddie McGee came in. The Illini had a shot to win on the final play of the game, but couldn’t get the job done. After losing an incredible amount of games last year by one score or less, this wasn’t the start to the season that Illinois wanted. For this team to turn the corner, they need to win those close games. They’re probably still a year or two away from that level, though, as there are just too many young guys without much experience.
One young guy who has already arrived, though, is Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel. The Big 12 Freshman-of-the-Year last season, if Missouri wins the Big 12 North, it will be because of this guy (and a defense that is less porous than last year). His 359 yards and three touchdowns should show you why. He is a great one, and if he went to one of the “elite” schools, the hype surrounding him would be unbelievable.

Speaking of incredible hype surrounding a quarterback, Jake Locker enters his first year as Washington’s quarterback under immense pressure. The Washington media is hailing him as the savior and golden boy, and nail him with the hope that he will return Huskie football to the national level at which it once rested. After Washington pounded Syracue on Thursday night, those expectations won’t be any lower. I didn’t expect to see much out of a freshman QB starting his first college game (on the road), but Locker surprised me. While he may face much better competition than Syracuse, he looked comfortable leading the offense. Locker threw for 149 yards, but that was on only 17/20 attempts, and he ran for another 83 (his two touchdowns came on the ground). His speed blew me away, especially coming from such a big guy; he was one of the fastest players on the field. One of the guys in the TV booth compared him to Vince Young, and that comparison isn’t too far fetched. I think he’s got a much better arm than Young, and we know what Vince was able to accomplish. Washington may not have the talent surrounding Locker to get back to the top yet, but there is little doubt that they are an improved (and improving) team. They probably would have made a bowl game last season if Isaiah Stanbeck hadn’t gotten injured, and they are sure to at least win some games they shouldn’t this year. If you get a chance to watch Locker this season, I suggest you take it.

The Huskies walloping of Syracuse led off a weekend in which the Pac-10 showed the world that they are the real deal. After taking a great deal of criticism, the buzz this season is that the Pac-10 Conference is the second-best conference in the land. Forget second-best, I say they are the best. Listen…
That sound you hear is the sound of every SEC-devotee clicking away from this page.
I’m tired of hearing that middle-of-the-conference teams like Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, and Arkansas would be champs in any other conference. Are those very good teams? Yes. Can they beat a lot of other teams in the country? Sure. But drop them in the Pac-10 and they are no better than Cal, UCLA, Oregon State, and Oregon. Cal showed us that on Saturday night. Don’t think that the Pac-10 can hang with the speed of the SEC? That’s funny, because I could swear I saw DeSean Jackson run by the entire Volunteer special teams on his way to a touchdown. I saw a freshman running back in Jahvid Best shake some supposedly superior Tennessee defenders out of their cleats.

Honestly, an argument like this probably won’t be resolved, and it’s relevancy is just as arguable as the topic. Does it matter which conference is better? No, but debate like this is what makes college football such a great sport.

Before I forget about the Cal-Tennesse game, did anybody laugh as hard at Brent Musburger as I did? I’m sure he endeared himself well to the Berkley community by repeatedly referring to some environmental activists as “tree-huggers” and “hippies.” Those aren’t necessarily offensive terms, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’s said some questionable things on-air. Quickly browse Musburger’s Wikipedia page, and you will see he has a history of getting in trouble for some questionable decisions.

Labor Day weekend closed with the newest installment of the Florida State vs. Clemson Bowden Bowl. At the rate this thing is going, it’s not even going to be competitive enough to deserve a “Bowl” title. After all the talk of the coaching shake-ups on the Florida State sideline, this Seminole team looked no different than the one that struggled last year. They couldn’t get a running game going, some key players didn’t make key plays, and they got outplayed. Bobby Bowden said at half time that his guys just weren’t making tackles and weren’t blocking. That’s a pretty self-incriminating statement, because with the talent FSU can recruit, failures like that rest firmly on the shoulders of the coaches. I do think Florida State will be a better team this year, and the way they played when they were riding some momentum showed they are capable of making plays. They made this game a lot closer than it looked like it was going to be. By the same token, Clemson almost let the game get away from them, and that has to be a slight concern. Whether these two teams can maintain some consistency will really be shown over the next couple of weeks. The excuse of Week One sloppiness won’t fly anymore. The bottom line, though, is that Clemson came away 1-0 in the ACC, and Florida State is 0-1.

Week Two looms on the horizon already, with some big games I’ll discuss throughout the week.

For now, a fantasy football draft looms on my horizon…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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