2011 - week 1

Whew. That was intense, and awesome. What a great way to start the season. I was wondering if you wanted some better games? Let's get right to it.

Best individual start.

Wisconsin would have demolished UNLV whoever was at QB, but Russell Wilson, who transferred over from NC State couldn't have dreamed of a better start. He went 10-13 for 255 yards and 2 scores, and scored on a 46 yard run. The Badgers were already ranked 11th thanks to a strong defense and fantastic running game with Montee Ball and James White. But now with Wilson looking like he'll be every bit as dynamic as people thought, Wisconsin could run the table. Watch out for them. Final score 51-17, Wisconsin.

Friday night lights.

No it wasn't a Texas high school game, but it felt like one. Baylor and TCU played one of the best games of the year in week one. TCU was coming off a magical 2010 season in which they beat Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. Baylor, for them, was also coming off a great season in which they got to a bowl game for the first time since World War I. TCU was replacing starting QB Andy Dalton, who had been there for 13 seasons, along with a number of other starters from a year ago. I just had a feeling Baylor was going to pull this one out, and it looks like I'm a genius. Even after TCU lead after the first quarter, I knew the game wasn't over. Baylor outscored the Frogs 20-7 in the second, and completely took over the momentum. They kept it going into the second half when they jumped out to a 47-23 lead in the third quarter, and seemed to be able to score at will. But TCU decided it wasn't over either. They came roaring back to take a one point lead with just 4 minutes to go! WHAT?! It was time for Baylor QB Robert Griffin to take that next step and pull the upset. And that's exactly what he did. He lead them down the field, and the Bears kicked a field goal with just over a minute remaining! Baylor then picked off TCU quarterback Casey Pachall on TCU's attempt at coming back to end the game. Man, that's how you make a name for yourself. Griffin was unstoppable, and the rest of the Big 12 will have a lot of trouble with him this year. Final score 50-48, Baylor.

Don't listen to the hype.

Why I didn't listen to my own advice when it comes to Notre Dame I'll never know. It's been well documented how much better people, and the media, think Notre Dame is than they really are. It all stems from their tradition, but they haven't done much of anything since about 1991. And whaddya know, South Florida goes into South Bend and beats them. Granted the Irish turned it over five times, three inside the red zone, but hey, that's part of the game. At one point head coach Chip Kelly was so mad it looked like his face was going to explode, literally. He only let starting QB Dane Crist play the first half, then pulled him for Tommy Rees. Rees will be the starter for the next game at Michigan too. But until I see it, which may not be ever again, Notre Dame will not get me on the hype machine. Final score 23-20, South Florida.

Slow starts and unimpressive wins.

South Carolina, everyone's pick to win the SEC East, needed a rally to come back from 24-14 halftime deficit against East Carolina. As stated before, Spurrier letting five-time-suspended-from-the-team QB Stephen Garcia come off the bench was no surprise. He started Conner Shaw to "send a message" I'm sure. But he won't do that again. Garcia plays the rest of the way. Final score 56-37, South Carolina.

The score of the Texas-Rice game was 13-6 at halftime. So much for the Mack Brown re-imagining of the program for 2011. That's not to say it won't get going at some point, but come on, it's Rice. They needed a trick play reverse pass to get the momentum going. Final score 34-9, Texas.

Kansas State beat E. Kentucky 10-7. Yep.

Missouri squeaked out a win over Miami(OH) 17-6.

USC needed Matt Barkley to break a school record for completions in a game(34), and Robert Woods to catch 17 of them to beat Minnesota 19-17. Neat.

The "what in the hell was that?" game of the week.

The defending national champs needed a late miracle rally to beat Utah State, at home. This actually was a good game just for entertainment. Auburn was down ten with just 3:38 to go, scored, then recovered the onside kick! Then went down and scored again to finish them off, 42-38. The offense will always be ok under Gus Malzahn, but the defense I'm not so sure about. Exciting, but weak.

Also weak.

But not in a football sense, was Maryland's uniforms. I mean did they decide, "hey, I have a great idea. Let's take the colors and design of the Maryland state flag, put it on each side of the jersey and the helmet in a way that will make it the ugliest uniforms in the history of college football. How does that sound?" Because that's exactly what they did. At least they beat Miami who were playing without half of the team due to suspension. Look for yourself: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/09/06/140226571/maryland-debuts-uniforms-and-the-country-cringes

Not a good audition.

If SMU was trying to let the Big 12 know how they would fare if they joined the conference, they didn't make a good first impression(as if we didn't know this already). Sure SMU has been to a couple of bowl games the last two years, but did we really think they could join the Big 12 if A&M left? Starting QB Kyle Padron decided to throw interceptions on their first two possessions, and got pulled immediately. Ironically A&M, the team leaving, was the opponent for this audition, and it wasn't even a game. SMU's defense had no chance of stopping the Aggies offense(458 yards total). And despite a valiant effort by backup QB J.J. McDermott, it was never going to be. A&M not only showed they are a good team, but also that SMU doesn't belong. Final score 46-14, Texas A&M.

Stanford QB Andrew Luck's unnecessary second season of NFL draft film because he's going to be the number one pick barring an injury, went pretty well. He passed for 171 yards thanks to short fields all game long, and threw a couple of td's, and ran for another.

Now the big games.

Although most people will look at the final score and the name of the team and take way too much into consideration, Boise State was impressive...puke. They did have to travel to Atlanta in Georgia's backyard, and pulled it out. A huge 'but' though, this is not the same Georgia team from a few years ago. I know they're ranked, but they shouldn't be. They were 6-7 last year, and will probably be the same this year. Head coach Mark Richt doesn't have it anymore. There is some talent in Athens, but it's not working like it used to. QB Aaron Murray is a good quarterback, but he doesn't have many weapons. And they are going to rely on a true freshman running back to carry the load. Nonetheless, Kellen Moore of Boise State was his methodical self, throwing for 261 yards and three scores. Boise State should go undefeated again(pray they don't) and will have a chance to play for the national title. The question will always be, can they do it in a big time conference? Final score 35-21, Boise State.

Defense wins again.

Have you ever heard me say defense wins championships? I thought so. Well Oregon now knows that too. LSU brought the hammer down in Jerryworld on the flashy, fast-paced offense that hasn't worked when they play a real defense. Case in point. LSU was playing with their backup quarterback because of well, you know why, as well as missing one of their starting wide receivers. QB Jarret Lee only passed for 98 yards, yes, 98 yards, and they put up 40 points and won by 13. Why you ask? LSU forced four turnovers, and held Oregon to well under their season average from a year ago of points and yardage. LaMichael James rushed for about 121 yards a game last season, in this game he was held to just 54. That fast-paced thing doesn't work when the defense is just as fast, and they hit you in the mouth. Guess what? Defense wins championships. Final score 40-27, LSU.

My two faves.

Oklahoma rolls in their home opener over Tulsa, looking like the number one team should look. Landry Jones lit it up all over the field, as did Ryan Broyles, who catches double digit passes seemingly every game(14 in this one). But we expected that from them. The real story was Dominique Whaley, a walk on who walked four td's in. No, I've never heard of him either, But he rushed for 131 yards as well. Looks like OU's running game is in good shape too. Final score 47-14, Oklahoma.

The Hogs took care of business over lowly Missouri State. The Tyler Wilson era started well, with him throwing for 260 yards and leading Arkansas to touchdowns on their first four possessions. The defense also played well, in what should be a real strength of the team this year. They held MO State to just 163 total yards of offense for the game. The star of the game was Joe Adams however, who returned not one, but two punts for touchdowns. Arkansas has so many play makers this year, there may not be enough time in a game to get all of them the ball. But I'll take that problem any day. Final score 51-7, Arkansas.

Until next week.