Week 2 is in the books and the excitement has only just begun. We have had some great upsets again this week, along with some surprise results. Alabama had a week off to get ready for “Johnny Football,” while most of the Top-10 took care of business.
One thing to pay attention to right now is how long can the ACC keep its new momentum — with Clemson beating Georgia last week and Miami upsetting Florida this week? Let’s get into some of the news and thoughts from this past week of action.
Oregon danced all over Virginia.
1) Oregon does not care who the opponent is. Oregon outlasted Virginia, 59-10. At times during the game, the Oregon offense looked sluggish and not moving as fast as it usually does, but the score would tell you otherwise. Oregon will have those kinks worked out by the time Tennessee comes to town.
Tennessee seems to be firing on all cylinders by beating upset-minded Western Kentucky, 52-20. Should be a great game next week, in Eugene.
2) Ohio State beat up on San Diego State 42-7 today – but at a cost. Braxton Miller went out hurt in the 1st quarter and did not return. The Buckeyes love to see Miller take off with the ball, but if Urban Meyer expects his quarterback to lead OSU to Pasadena, then Miller needs to cut down on the hits he is taking. Ohio State fans should rest at ease knowing that backup QB, Kenny Guiton, can get the job done, if called upon.
3) Clemson did what it was supposed to do against Division FCS power, South Carolina State. Clemson won 52-13 – go figure. I can see Clemson rolling through their schedule until their game against Florida State. FSU looks to be a real threat after beating Pitt, 41-13, with its redshirt quarterback Jameis Winston. FSU’s QB looked like the second coming of Charlie Ward. It will be a great game for everyone to watch.
Another game that could finally have a little fire added back to it, will be the FSU vs. Miami game. Miami looked like it was ready to get back onto the national stage after beating Florida 21-16. I heard the ‘Canes are taking Jeff Driskel out for dinner, after he gave them 5 turnovers. The ACC has a real shot to build some positive momentum, with Clemson and Miami beating SEC teams.
4) What a game between the hedges. Georgia beat South Carolina 41-30 to end a 3-game skid vs. the Gamecocks. Aaron Murray threw 4 TDs to help the Bulldogs get back on track after the Clemson loss. After Saturday, Georgia is in command of the SEC East. Now the only real threat to Georgia will be Tennessee, since Florida showed everyone today that they will not be capable of much the rest of the season.
Texas A&M won a thriller, 65-28, over Sam Houston State and did not let an FCS upset them like, you know, Oregon State did last week.
LSU got an offensive boost from QB Mettenberger, throwing 5 touchdown passes. Does LSU finally have an offense to match its defense?
5) Michigan “ended” the rivalry vs. Notre Dame on a high note winning 41-30. Devin Gardner showed Michigan fans that their offense will be in good hands the rest of the season, and be able to put Michigan in the B1G race. Sad to see this series come to end . . . another casualty of “realignment” and schools chasing after the money.
Michigan State did not let a little rain delay hold them back from beating a talent-less South Florida football team 21-6.
Penn State is not letting sanctions hold them back from putting together a decent season. They are 2-0 after demolishing Eastern Michigan 45-7. The Nitany Lions are going to be fine, despite all the sanctions, thanks to incoming freshmen quarterback, Christian Hackenberg, taking over the offense. He is poised for big things.
Wisconsin shut out Tennessee Tech 48-0. Should be interesting to see how they do vs. some real opponents.
6) Teddy Bridgewater threw 4 touchdowns to keep his Heisman campaign alive and well, vs. Eastern Kentucky. Winning 44-7 is nice, but Louisville will need some signature wins if it expects to make some national news. Their two major opponents on the schedule are already letting them down. Cincinnati got blown out by Illinois 45-17, and Rutgers lost to Fresno State last week. Louisville will be left out of the title game if there are 3 undefeated teams at seasons end. The American Conference is just as bad as the former Big East was.
7) I really thought Oklahoma would blow out West Virginia today, but they only came out with a 16-7 win. Texas embarrassed the whole BIG-12 by getting blown out by BYU 40-21. BYU rushed for over 500 yards vs. Texas. I guess Texas’ defense is still not there. Either BYU is that good or Texas is that bad . . . still.
Baylor, Texas Tech, TCU, Oklahoma State, Kansas State all won . . . heck, even Kansas won. It was an overall good day for the BIG-12 (minus Texas getting steamrolled, of course). The BIG-12 is still so wide open . . . anyone can win it at this point. I would love to see a non-traditional power team such as Baylor or TCU, win it all.
What an exciting week of college football. I think this could be the year the BCS goes haywire. At this rate we are going to have a few undefeated teams and a lot of hurt feelings at the end of the season. It looks like the winner of Alabama/LSU will be undefeated. Clemson should roll over the ACC and handle FSU in “Death Valley,” this year.
Louisville does not play anyone and will go 12-0. Oregon is the best of the PAC-12 and will be undefeated. Braxton Miller will lead Ohio State to another undefeated season and you might get Fresno State as a BCS buster with an undefeated season. That would truly be BCS chaos. It would be a crazy way to see the BCS come to an end.
This season could be one of the best we have seen in a long time. After seeing the SEC struggle the past two weeks, I also think we will finally have a different conference take home the crystal trophy.
Now I am off to go watch Lou Holtz and Mark May on ESPN argue why Notre Dame is the best – no matter what happens.
NATIONAL NEWS:
1. Hawaii emergency
2. South Carolina coaches fought
3. Baylor can score
4. Nebraska black shirts show up
5. College football mailbag
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Jeff Hostetler may not have won a Super Bowl with the Giants ( though his uncle of the same name did). He has been an obsessed college football fan living in Florida ever since the Gators beat FSU in the Sugar Bowl to earn the UF’s first national championship.
Ever since Jeff has immersed himself in everything possible related to college football. He enjoys watching, writing, playing, and otherwise obsessing over all things football. A graduate of the University of Florida, he brings a perspective to FishDuck free of our extreme green & yellow homerism glasses to look at the current landscape of collegiate athletics.