Week 1 College Football Newsletter

The 2007-2008 season is officially upon us and it couldn't have been a more bizarre weekend (eh, check that, if Texas had lost to Arkansas State, that would've made it so). I don't have the stat book with me right now, but I wonder when Michigan, Notre Dame, Tennessee, and Florida State all lost on opening weekend. Texas eked out an 8-point win over Arkansas State. Virginia Tech had problems at home against East Carolina. Auburn received a big-time scare from Kansas State. South Carolina didn't look overly impressive against those might Rajun' Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette. Many more questions were left unanswered and even more questions fluttered about the college football landscape after the opening week.

The Bonehead Call of the Week
This goes to the one, the only, Brent Musberger. On Saturday evening, during the Tennessee/California game in Berkeley, this conversation occurred between Lisa Salters, Kirk Herbstriet, and Mr. Musberger.

Lisa: "Well Brent as you were mentioning, about those folks up in the trees, the reason that they're so upset is that, the University of California, has proposed a $125 million dollar project. They want to build a training facility for the athletes here at the University of California, and they want to build it right outside of the stadium.Well, the folks up in those trees say, 'You can build that facility somewhere else. We don't want you cutting down these trees!" So, Berkeley being Berkeley, they're up there in those trees. And so far, Berkeley hasn't gotten them down." Herbstreit: "Hey Lisa, Brent, what's with the tissue paper? What's that all about?" (describing a scene in which a Berkeley student in a tie-die climbs a tree clutching a 4-pack of Charmin and some kind of munchie.)Musberger: "The necessities of life, young man." Herbstreit: "So when you say livin, you..." Musberger: "I'm not kidding. Here it is from out behind on the western side of this beautiful stadium (camera pans to show the stadium from hovering blimp.) Now some of these trees have to come down. There's thirteen teams that have to be housed in here. The University has promised, PROMISED, to plant three trees for every one they cut down. Two saplings, and one mature tree. THREE FOR ONE IS A VERY GOOD DEAL IF YOU'RE A TREE-HUGGER!"(Pause, return to football action.)Musberger: "So, it will be California's turn..."

Musberger went on a rant previous to that in regard to the "hippies". There was an awkward silence from Herbstriet following these comments by Musberger. I can only imagine what Herby was thinking right then. But, where does Brent Musberger get off on these "hippy" and "tree-hugger" rants during a football game that is nationally broadcast? Viewers are there to watch a football game. It's the announcers' job to give the play-by-play, along with some interesting tidbits of information that their viewers may find interesting, especially if the game is a blow-out. They're not on their to make political statements. If they want to do that, make an appearance on a radio talk show, PTI, Around the Horn, or the O'Reilly Factor. What, if Herbstriet and Musberger do a game down in Texas, Arizona, or southern California and they see some Latino-Americans, will Musberger rant about illegal immigration? Keep the political comments to yourself, Brent, do your job (regardless of how poorly you do that job), and talk football.

The Bonehead Play of the Week
This goes to the Illinois Fightin' Illini. Down 13-6 to Missouri in the middle to latter portions of the second quarter, the Illini had the ball deep in Tiger territory, ready tie the game. Illinois fumbled the ball at the goalline and Missouri ran it back 100 yards for a touchdown. That was a HUGE (can't emphasize that enough) 14-point turnaround that put the Tigers up 20-6, en route to a 40-34 victory. Without that 14-point swing, Illinois could very well have won the game.

Conference Breakdown
ACC
Virginia Tech 17 East Carolina 7 (1-0)
Boston College 38 Wake Forest 28 (2-1)
Clemson 24 Florida State 18 (3-2)
Miami (Florida) 31 Marshall 3 (4-2)
Wyoming 23 Virginia 3 (4-3)
Central Florida 25 North Carolina State 23 (4-4)
Maryland 31 Villanova 14 (5-4)*
Connecticut 45 Duke 14 (5-5)
North Carolina 37 James Madison 14 (6-5)*
Georgia Tech 33 Notre Dame 3 (7-5)

Big East
West Virginia 62 Western Michigan 24 (1-0)
Louisville 73 Murray State 10 (2-0)*
Rutgers 38 Buffalo 3 (3-0)
South Florida 28 Elon 13 (4-0)*
Pittsburgh 27 Eastern Michigan 3 (5-0)
Washington 42 Syracuse 12 (5-1)
Cincinnati 59 Southeast Missouri State 3 (6-1)*
Connecticut 45 Duke 14 (7-1)

Big Ten
Appalachian State 34 Michigan 32 (0-1)*
Michigan State 55 UAB 18 (1-1)
Ohio State 38 Youngstown State 6 (2-1)*
Indiana 55 Indiana State 7 (3-1)*
Missouri 40 Illinois 34 (3-2)
Purdue 52 Toledo 24 (4-2)
Bowling Green 32 Minnesota 31 OT (4-3)
Wisconsin 42 Washington State 21 (5-3)
Iowa 16 Northern Illinois 3 (6-3)
Penn State 59 Florida International 0 (7-3)
Northwestern 27 Northeastern 0 (8-3)*

Big XII
Texas 21 Arkansas State 13 (1-0)
Nebraska 52 Nevada 10 (2-0)
Colorado 31 Colorado State 28 OT (3-0)
Kansas 52 Central Michigan 7 (4-0)
Auburn 23 Kansas State 13 (4-1)
Kent State 23 Iowa State 14 (4-2)
Georgia 35 Oklahoma State 14 (4-3)
Oklahoma 79 North Texas 10 (5-3)
Texas A&M 38 Montana State 7 (6-3)*
Texas Tech 49 SMU 9 (7-3)
TCU 27 Baylor 0 (7-4)
Missouri 40 Illinois 34 (8-4)

Pac-10
BYU 20 Arizona 7 (0-1)
Arizona State 45 San Jose State 3 (1-1)
UCLA 45 Stanford 17 (2-2)
USC 38 Idaho 10 (3-2)
Oregon 48 Houston 27 (4-2)
Oregon State 24 Utah 7 (5-2)
Washington 42 Syracuse 12 (6-2)
Wisconsin 42 Washington State 21 (6-3)
California 45 Tennessee 31 (7-3)

SEC
Alabama 52 Western Carolina 6 (1-0)*
South Carolina 28 Louisiana-Lafayette 14 (2-0)
Auburn 23 Kansas State 13 (3-0)
Georgia 35 Oklahoma State 14 (4-0)
California 45 Tennessee 31 (4-1)
Florida 49 Western Kentucky 3 (5-1)*
LSU 45 Mississippi State 0 (6-2)
Mississippi 23 Memphis 21 (7-2)
Arkansas 46 Troy 26 (8-2)
Kentucky 50 Eastern Kentucky 10 (9-2)*
Vanderbilt 41 Richmond 17 (10-2)*

The Conference Yo of the Week
It's tough for me to give a Yo to any conference in an opening week, with so many weak opponents' on these teams' slates, but I'm going to split the honors this week between the Big XII and the Pac-10. One major reason why is that between these two conferences, they faced a total of one Division I-AA opponent, in comparison to a total of 13 played by the other four major conferences. California got a huge win against SEC power Tennessee. Arizona State blew-out a bowl bound team from a year ago, in Dick Tomey's San Jose State Spartans. Oregon handled a typically explosive and pesky Houston Cougars' squad. Arizona and Washington State fell on the short end of the stick in week one, but against quality opponents, in BYU and Wisconsin. The Big XII has been notorious for scheduling Division I-AA schools, especially Kansas State and Oklahoma State. But, in week one? They both faced off against SEC school, in Auburn and Georgia. While the 'Dawgs manhandled the Cowboys, Ron Prince's Wildcats played Auburn tough until the very end. That 10-point margin of victory by the Tigers is rather deceiving, as they scored a late touchdown on a fumble return. But, I give credit to both K-State and Okie State for scheduling such tough first week opponents. Nebraska annihilated a usually decent Nevada squad. Colorado got a big rivalry victory against Sonny Lubbick and the Rams of Colorado State. The most surprising win of all had to of been Kansas' demolition at the hands of Central Michigan. I'm not surprised that the Jayhawks won, but in the manner they did at 52-7. The Chippewas are coming off a MAC title and a bowl victory from a year ago. That's a very impressive opener by Mangino's Jayhawks. Missouri held off an up-and-coming Illini squad. Texas Tech had no problems with SMU, a 6-6 team from a year ago. Texas looked less than impressive against Arkansas State, Baylor likewise against TCU, Iowa State looked pitiful against those mighty Golden Flashes of Kent State, and it's difficult to evaluate Oklahoma based on their performance against North Texas. All-in-all, though, based on the competition these teams faced in the opening weekend and the combined 15-7 record to show for it, I'm splitting the Yo of the week to the Pac-10 and Big XII.

The Conference Yo No of the Week
This could go several different directions, but like I did with the Yo of the week, I'm splitting this between the Big Ten and the SEC. They combined to face 8 Division I-AA opponents (four by each league) and actually lost one of those games. Minnesota lost to a less than stellar Bowling Green team. Iowa didn't look overly impressive against Northern Illinois (Garrett Wolfe-less Northern Illinois). Penn State throttled Florida International, one of only two winless teams from a season ago. The two most impressive showings may have been Purdue's route of Toledo and Illinois' near comeback against Missouri. Things weren't much different in the SEC. Tennessee allowed 45 points to the Cal Golden Bears in their primetime loss. Arkansas allowed 26 points to Troy. South Carolina had a one to two score lead the majority of the game, which is fine if they're playing a fellow SEC school, but not when they're playing Louisiana-Lafayette. Auburn got rather lucky (go figure, right) against another Big XII school, this time, Kansas State. Mississippi had to hold on for dear life against Memphis. The only two schools that impressed me were Georgia with their dominating victory against Oklahoma State and LSU, who made Slyvester Croom and his Bulldogs wish the season hadn't started for another couple weeks. The two conferences combined to go 18-5, but they were 7-1 against Division I-AA competition, which made them 11-4 against I-A and even some of those I-A schools aren't all too reputable. It's hard to tell a great deal from one week of football, but if I had to guess, there is going to be more parity in the Big Ten this year than in years past and the SEC won't be quite so dominant this year.

Game of the Week
Is there even a debate on this? I'll give some props to Missouri/Illinois and Colorado/Colorado State for some very suspenseful and entertaining ball games, but nothing this week could compare to the battle between Appalachian State and Michigan. If only I were Biff in Back to the Future II and had grasp to the Mountaineers' stunning 34-32 upset before it actually happened. I'd certainly be in the money right now, wouldn't be writing this darn thing, and would be on a cruise somewhere! But, alas, I'm not Biff (sighs). I laughed at first when I saw Appalachian State score their first touchdown to tie the game 7-7. I was laughing, knowing darn well that while it was close at that time, Michigan would pull away in the near future. Go figure, the Wolverines score on their next possession to take a 14-7 lead. There it is. One might as well chalk it up as being over, because there's no way that Division I-AA school will come back and play 60 minutes with Michigan, right? As Coach Lee Corso is famous for saying, "Not so fast, my friend." The Mountaineers scored the next 21 points en route to a 28-14 lead, before Michigan trimmed that to 28-17 at the half. That's when I started taking the possibility of this monumental upset seriously. I've heard of such games being close in the first quarter, perhaps the I-A offense is off to a slow start, and it's tied 7-7 after one. But, for a team to score 28 points in the first half? I've never heard of that occurring on such a stage before. But, as I kept waiting for, Michigan trimmed at the lead and at one point, actually took a 32-31 lead in the 4th quarter. I, again, thought it was about over at that point. I thought, well, Michigan wasn't focused at first, but they've got the game firmly in control now. But, again, I was wrong in my assumptions. Appalachian State scored the go ahead field goal to take a 34-32 lead late in the contest, before UM quarterback Chad Henne connected to stud wide-out Mario Manningham for a huge gain to get the Wolverines into field goal range for the potential go-ahead and most likely, winning field goal. The kick is up and it is...BLOCKED! Appalachian State took the ball and ran with it the other way, almost for an additional six points as time expired! That's right, folks. Division I-AA Appalachian State 34 Michigan 32! What a way to start the season. Unbelievable!

Biggest Disappointment of the Week
I'll give the runner-up to Notre Dame/Georgia Tech, but the winner goes to the battle (or lack there of) between Georgia and Oklahoma State. Under head coach Mark Richt, the Bulldogs definitely had an off year last season and were bound to rebound nicely this year, especially after the impressive bowl victory against Virginia Tech. Oklahoma State appeared to be a Big XII team on the rise, with explosiveness on the offensive side of the ball, and coming off a bowl victory against another SEC team in Alabama. This had all the makings of an entertaining game in the opening week. Explosive offense against stingy defense. Big XII vs. SEC. Up-and-comer vs. Established. It was anything but what I expected. From the opening kick-off until the clock read triple zeroes, Georgia had the game firmly in hand. Oklahoma State's offense was never able to get into any kind of rhythm and Georgia looked rather impressive on both sides of the ball. Hopefully, this game was simply an aberration from what we'll see the rest of the way for the Cowboys, but it's difficult to say at this point. All I know is if Oklahoma State wants to take that next step forward as a program and to be taken seriously, they'll need to perform better than a 35-14 whooping suffered at the hands of a club like Georgia.

Kudos
The sportsmanship shown in the game between East Carolina and Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Even though the Hokies won the game 17-7, directly following the game, players from both sides came together to embrace one another and join in a prayer. A tremendous amount of courtesy, consideration, and respect was shown by ECU, even after a difficult loss on the road. Kudos to both clubs, but especially to the Pirates for the class they showed during and after the game.

No Kudos For You
The number is down from week 1 of last year (27), but even then, 23 Division I-A schools squared off against I-AA teams this weekend. I-AA went 2-21 this opening weekend, with the before-mentioned upset win by Appalachian State over Michigan and Nicholls State also beat Rice (bowl team from a year ago) 16-14.

Player of the Week
I could go many different routes with this. Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan threw for over 400 yards and 6 touchdowns in one half of play, but that was against Northern Colorado. Nebraska tailback Marlon Lucky ran for over 200 yards, more impressive than Brennan, being that it was against Nevada, but not impressive enough. The winner? Appalachian State's quarterback, Armanti Edwards. The guy was 17 for 23 (73.9%) for 227 yards (13.4 ypc and 9.9 ypa) and three touchdowns through the air. He also ran the ball 17 times for 62 yards (3.6 ypc) and another score. The guy accounted for 289 yards and 4 touchdowns against Michigan in the Big House in quite possibly the biggest upset of the modern era (possibly ever). His leadership, efficiency, and clutch play should be commended. This will probably be the only time I reward a Division I-AA player with this honor all season and it may even be against my own personal rules, but the guy deserves it. Even Maize and Blue fans would probably agree to that.

Surprise of the Week
Again, like the game of the week, there really is no debating this either. I was slightly surprised at how Georgia Tech manhandled Notre Dame, but not totally and utterly shocked. Likewise, I was surprised at how easily Kansas took care of defending MAC champion Central Michigan, but the surprise of the week, quite possible the year, the decade, and as far as you want to take it back, was Appalachian State's 34-32 victory over Michigan. It was the first time in history that a Division I-AA team beat a ranked Division I-A team. I'd say that's reason enough for the honor.

Nebraska Game (from and unbiased person's viewpoint)
To say that Nebraska exceeded my expectations in their 52-10 blow-out win over Nevada would be quite the understatement. While they may have looked sluggish early on and first time starter under Bill Callahan at Nebraska, Sam Keller, looked to be a tad nervous in the first half, the Nebraska Cornhuskers settled down in the second half with good old-fashioned power football. In the game, Nebraska totaled 625 yards from scrimmage, a high under Callahan, including 413 on the ground (5.9 per carry). They held the ball for over 40 minutes compared to slightly less than 20 for the Wolfpack. Outside of an interception return for a touchdown by the Pack and a few dropped passes by Nebraska receivers (Nunn and Hardy, in particular), this was ABOUT as well as I could've expected Nebraska to play in their opening game against Nevada.

The Huskers were led by their offensive line and their defense. The O-Line gave Keller so much time in the pocket, rumor has it that Sam was able to call his mother collect on his cell phone for a minute before stashing it away and delivering the ball on target, with even a few seconds to spare before a Wolfpack defender was within breathing distance of the former Arizona State quarterback.

Defensively, outside of a few plays, Nebraska played very well, limiting the 'Pack and their Pistol Offense to 185 yards for the game. While Nebraska wasn't credit for very many sacks on the afternoon, they were in Nevada freshman quarterback Nick Graziano's face all afternoon. He was on his backside so frequently that he was about to order a large popcorn, some soda, put on some 3-D glasses, and watch a flick. As of Sunday morning, I bet he had wished that were the case.

In the grand scheme of things, we can only tell so much through this victory by Nebraska, especially considering the fact that 66 Nevada players are freshman or sophomores, but on Saturday, September 1st of 2007, Nebraska looked very impressive against what's usually a top tier mid-major school. They could improve on the penalties (8 for 65 yards), Grixby's awareness at corner (what else is new?), and butterfingers by the receivers, but other than that, this was about as well as even die-hard Nebraska fans could have expected their team of playing. Up next? A date at Wake Forest, who is coming off a 38-28 loss to Boston College in their opener.
Solich Update
As could be expected based on the opponent, Gardner-Webb, Frank Solich's Ohio Bobcats won their opener by the score of 36-14 to start the season at 1-0.

Gill Update
Unlike Solich's Bobcats, Turner Gill's Buffalo Bulls had to start their season with a bit more competition, in Rutgers. Buffalo lost their opener 38-3 to start their season at 0-1.

Random Note of the Week
Harrison Beck is slated to start this week for North Carolina State against Tom O'Brien's former club, Boston College. Good luck, Mr. Beck! You're going to need it!

Predictions
That's right, here's a new add-on to the newsletter. I made predictions last year in my blog on blogspot.com. So, why I didn't include them here? I don't know. I won't include all predictions in the newsletter, but if if the game includes a Division I-A school from one of the six major conferences and the opponent is not a Division I-AA school, I'll include that here. If you want to see the rest of the week's predictions, you can find them at this site: http://www.blogger.com/posts.g?blogID=20043224
In the 2006=2007 season, I went a combined 490-180 (.727). That includes a 26-6 (.813) record in the bowl games. Like this year, I didn't make any predictions in Week 1. I like to see the teams play one game before I make any wild picks. So, here we go...

Thursday
Oregon State at Cincinnati: Both schools looked good in their opening week wins, but I'd have to say the Beavers are much more prepared following their 24-7 victory against Utah than the Bearcats are after their 59-3 throttling of Southeast Missouri State.
Oregon State 27 Cincinnati 17

Middle Tennessee State at Louisville: The Blue Raiders are, dare I say, a tougher test for the Cardinals than their Week 1 opponent of Murray State, but that's not saying much. For Cardinals' fans who like seeing 73-10-type scores with their team as the winner, get ready for more of the same in this one.
Louisville 59 Middle Tennessee State 13

Friday
Navy at Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights better not look past these Midshipmen as some teams tend to do. Boston College about did that in the bowl game last year, only to come out of the game with a lucky 1-point last second victory. With the game in Jersey, I think Navy will hang tough for about a half, but Ray Rice will be too much for the Navy front seven in the second half.
Rutgers 35 Navy 21

Saturday
West Virginia at Marshall: After Week 1's performance, it appears to be more of the same this year as last year for the Mountaineers. They'll just try to find ways to outscore their opponents, because after giving up 24 to Western Michigan, it appears that their defense may not be up to juggernaut status quite yet. Even so, Pat White, Steve Slaton, and company will have plenty of firepower to blow past the Thundering Herd.
West Virginia 56 Marshall 17

Nevada at Northwestern: What can be made of these two clubs' opening performances? Sixty-six freshman and sophomores help comprise Nevada's roster, meanwhile Northwestern shut out Division I-AA Northeastern. With one year under newbie head coach Pat Fitzgerald, the game at home, and so much youth on the other side, I'm giving the slight edge to the Wildcats.
Northwestern 27 Nevada 24

Nebraska at Wake Forest: Wake always seems to be a very pesky opponent. WIth their constant motion on offense, gadget plays, and bend-but-don't-break defense, they're never an easy team to beat. But, they lost a great deal of talent following last year's ACC Championship, especially on the defensive side of the ball. So long as Nebraska doesn't play sloppy - aren't penalized much and don't turn the ball over, I think they'll come out with a nice road victory here, before going back home to play USC.
Nebraska 35 Wake Forest 17

Miami (Florida) at Oklahoma: These two teams are still mysteries at this point. Not much can be told about either club after Miami beat up on Marshall 31-3 and Oklahoma put up 79 points on North Texas. In either case, with the game in Norman and with Stoops and his crew having a bit more experience at their fingertips than Miami's new crew, I'm giving the advantage to the Sooners.
Oklahoma 24 Miami (Florida) 10

Miami (Ohio) at Minnesota: Why'd the Gophers can Glen Mason again? After that devastating bowl game against Texas Tech? Hey, at least they went bowling. I bet you they're regretting the decision now after their opening game loss to Bowling Green 32-31 in overtime. I would hope that they'd be able to rebound at home against Miami (Ohio), but I've been wrong before.
Minnesota 38 Miami (Ohio) 17

Akron at Ohio State: Can the mighty Zips do to the Buckeyes what the Mountaineers did to the Wolverines? I wouldn't bet on it, especially at the Shoe.
Ohio State 38 Akron 10

Duke at Virginia: After UVA's opening game loss to Wyoming by the score of 23-3, I would almost be tempted to go with the Dukies if it weren't in Charlottesville. But, on the other side of the coin, Duke lost to UConn last week 45-14. So, I can't say they looked all too impressive either.
Virginia 24 Duke 10

Alabama at Vanderbilt: Both teams are coming off games against Division I-AA opponents. While I believe (if he stays around) Nick Saban will turn the Tide around and back to prominence eventually, I also believe that Vandy may pull a Kentucky from last year and be bowl bound this season. With the game at home, I'm going with the upset. Those pesky Commodores do it again!
Vanderbilt 24 Alabama 21

Bowling Green at Michigan State: If the Falcons win this one, they'd start the season 2-0 in the Big Ten. With the game in East Lansing and the Spartans looking impressive in their 55-18 opening week victory against UAB, I'm not thinking that's going to happen.
Michigan State 42 Bowling Green 17

Rice at Baylor: Do I have to pick? Rice is coming off a 16-14 loss to Division I-AA Nicholls State and Baylor was shut-out by TCU last week, 27-0. Rice is heads and Baylor is tails. It landed tails. Okay, Baylor it is.
Baylor 24 Rice 21

San Jose State at Kansas State: K-State impressed me this past weekend in their 23-13 loss to Auburn. For anyone who watched the game knows, the score was much closer than that. I just hope that they don't summer a hangover against the Spartans. With the game in Manhattan, I'm not thinking that's going to happen.
Kansas State 31 San Jose State 13

California at Colorado State: As I just mentioned in the previous game, Cal better not be hung-over in Fort Collins this week following their huge home win against Tennessee. As I stated about West Virginia, from their Week 1 performance, Cal's offense appears to be one of the best in the nation, but I'm not at all convinced on their defense. If their offense falters at all in this one, they could be in trouble. Word of advice to Sonny Lubbick and company: Don't let DeSean Jackson touch the football! Unfortunately, for them, he will and Cal should win because of that.
California 42 Colorado State 24

Missouri at Mississippi: Ole Miss' defense is pretty underrated, but can they score enough to become bowl eligible this year? That's the question. While I feel they'll make this game a bit closer than Mizzou head coach Gary Pinkel would like, I do feel that the Tigers should get the victory.
Missouri 24 Mississippi 17

North Carolina State at Boston College: Tom O'Brien, welcome back! What a start he's off to with the Wolfpack. While BC started the season with a big 38-28 conference victory against defending ACC Champion Wake Forest, NC State started the year off with a big L at the hands of (gulp) Central Florida. Look for more of the same as BC welcome O'Brien back with another L and an 0-2 start with the Wolfpack.
Boston College 31 NC State 17

Oregon at Michigan: Let me get this straight...Michigan becomes the first ranked Division I-A school to lose to a Division I-AA team and yet they're an 8.5 point favorite against Oregon, a club who won 48-27 against Houston this past weekend and who runs a similar-style offense to that of Appalachian State? While it's extremely hard for me to believe Michigan will start the year 0-2, both games being at home, it was even more difficult for me to have believed they would lose to Appalachian State to start the year 0-1 in the first place. Until I see some life from the Wolverines' defense (or until they face Notre Dame), it'll be hard for me to pick them.
Oregon 38 Michigan 35

Boise State at Washington: This is a tough game for me to pick. Washington improved a great deal last year in Tyrone Willinghmam's second season as head coach there and they appeared to pick up right where they left off last week, in their 42-12 destruction of Syracuse in their opener. But, until Boise State loses, it's going to be difficult for me to pick against them. This will be a tough early season test, but I look for the Broncos to eke one out against the Huskies.
Boise State 31 Washington 24

Fresno State at Texas A&M: Here's another toughy. Pat Hill's Fresno State Bulldogs just aren't afraid to play anyone, anywhere, at any time, are they? College Station? Here we come! If this were two to three years ago, I might think about taking Fresno in the upset, but they've kind of lost their identity this past season+ and I don't look for them to suddenly find it again at College Station.
Texas A&M 27 Fresno State 17

UAB at Florida State: Do I have to even say much about this one? If Michigan State can beat the Blazers 55-18, I would think/hope that Bobby's 'Noles could beat up on the same UAB squad. I look for FSU to rebound nicely following the tough 24-18 loss to Tommy's Tigers.
Florida State 49 UAB 10

South Carolina at Georgia: Spurrier vs. Richt. Should be a great game with those two coaches going head-to-head, right? While I think it'll be a decent game, in no way do I think it'll go down to the final possession. Georgia looked very impressive in their 35-14 win against Oklahoma State, while South Carolina looked less than stellar against Louisiana-Lafayette, in their 28-14 win. With the game in Athens and some Gamecock players still in trouble, I look for Georgia to win this game rather comfortably.
Georgia 28 South Carolina 17

Notre Dame at Penn State: Considering the fact that I believe Penn State will be a better ball club than Georgia Tech this year and considering the other fact that Notre Dame lost to those same Yellow Jackets this past weekend in South Bend by a deceptive 33-3 score (it was worse than that), I look for Penn State to trounce on the Irish as well.
Penn State 38 Notre Dame 10

North Carolina at East Carolina: Butch Davis should improve the Tar Heels quite a bit in a rather short period of time, especially with how some ACC teams are floundering a bit right now. But, with only one game to their credit, a victory over a Division I-AA school and so much youth on the squad that Michael Jackson may become a Heels' fan soon, I look for the stingy Pirates' defense to do enough to hold off the young talent in the Tar Heel blue.
East Carolina 24 North Carolina 17

BYU at UCLA: BYU has an opportunity to start the year 2-0 against the Pac-10, as they beat Arizona 20-7 this past weekend. But, I'm not thinking that's going to happen. UCLA is much too quick on the defensive side of the ball and are ever improving on the offensive end. With the game being in L.A., that's just icing on the cake for the Bruins, as they should win and improve to 2-0.
UCLA 27 BYU 17

Southern Mississippi at Tennessee: If the game were in Hattiesberg, I might opt to take the Golden Eagles in the upset. But, I just can't see Phillip Fulmer and his 'Vols falling to 0-2 with a home loss to Jeff Bower's always stingy and pesky Southern Miss squad.
Tennessee 24 Southern Mississippi 14

Mississippi State at Tulane: For whatever reason, this will be the first game of Tulane's season. Mississippi State had it handed to them against LSU in their opener, 45-0. Keeping that already in mind, Sly Croom's crew will be seeing holes this week they never thought were possible and making the most of their opportunities against the usually sluggish Green Wave defense.
Mississippi State 28 Tulane 17

Kent State at Kentucky: Kentucky starts the year with Eastern Kentucky and then meets up with Kent State. Who's next? Anyone with the four letters K-E-N-T in their name? The Golden Flashes are coming off a victory over a Big XII school, in their 23-14 win over Iowa State, but the Suckclones aren't anywhere near as good a teams as these Wildcats. Look for Kentucky to improve to 2-0.
Kentucky 38 Kent State 17

UTEP at Texas Tech: Mike Price vs. Mike Leach. I actually hope this one is televised, because it could be entertaining, to say the least. However, in saying that and in seeing the Red Raiders annihilate SMU in their house 49-9, I have to go with the Red Raiders in this one as well.
Texas Tech 56 UTEP 35

San Diego State at Washington State: The Aztecs of SDSU are the only other school outside of Tulane to not have played this past weekend. Wazzoo played top ten Wisconsin tough for about three quarters, before the Badgers pulled away 42-21. I look for the Cougars to rebound in Pullman and even their record at 1-1.
Washington State 27 San Diego State 14

Syracuse at Iowa: Iowa looked anything but impressive offensively in their 16-3 victory over Northern Illinois this past week, but Syracuse, they looked even worse, losing by thirty points to Washington. Regardless of how unimpressed I was with Iowa in their first game, they should have no problems (knocks on wood) against the Orange.
Iowa 24 Syracuse 10

Indiana at Western Michigan: This is a game where the teams seem to be so evenly matched, that depending upon who the home team was, I'd most likely predict them as the winner. I'm going to do just that and go with the Western Michigan Broncos.
Western Michigan 27 Indiana 24

South Florida at Auburn: Here is my second upset special of the weekend. I already took Vandy over Alabama. Now I'm going to take South Florida over Auburn. The Tigers' offense has done anything but click over their previous 8 games. They've had to rely solely on their tough defense to win field position battles and put their offense/special teams in position to score. South Florida knows a thing or two about upsets, as they beat then undefeated Louisville two years ago and beat West Virginia last season. Jim Leavitt's team always plays aggressively and with more heart than I can see the Tigers playing with this weekend.
South Florida 17 Auburn 13

Virginia Tech at LSU: It was a very emotional opening win for Virginia Tech in their 17-7 victory over East Carolina this past weekend, but if they felt it was difficult running the ball and clicking offensively against the Pirate defense, at home mind you, that'll be nothing compared to the difficulties they'll face in Baton Rouge against LSU. If Tech can prevent themselves from turning the ball over, they may be in this game until the end, but even so, I have trouble believing they'll be able to win this night game in Baton Rouge, one of the toughest places for a road team to play, especially in the evening hours. This game starts at 8:15 CST...
LSU 24 Virginia Tech 14

UNLV at Wisconsin: Not even the richest gambling man in Vegas could convince me that the Rebels had a shot in this one. The Badgers should run away with it.
Wisconsin 42 UNLV 10

Colorado at Arizona State: I was glad to see Dan Hawkins and his CU squad get off to a good start. Sorry Husker fans. He went through an awful first year in Boulder and it was nice to see him get off to a better start this time around. In saying that, it'd be a huge boost to both his and his players' confidence if they were able to start the year 2-0 with huge wins against rival Colorado State at home and a road victory in Tempe against the Sundevils. While I think the Buffs should make this interesting for a half or maybe three quarters, I don't think their defense will be able to slow Rudy Carpenter and the Sundevils' offense enough to give their own offense an opportunity at winning the game in the end.
Arizona State 38 Colorado 24

Louisiana-Monroe at Clemson: This would be a major hangover if Clemson found a way to lose this one. I'm not going to say it's not possible, but as the Magic 8 Ball might say, it's highly unlikely.
Clemson 49 Louisiana-Monroe 10

Troy at Florida: Western Kentucky and Troy? Quite the non-conference schedule the defending champs have slated for themselves thus far, isn't it? Either way, the Gators will win going away.
Florida 45 Troy 10

Florida Atlantic at Oklahoma State: This will be a nice week for the men in white, black, and orange to rebound, following their very disappointing 35-14 loss to Georgia. The Cowboys should easily even their record at 1-1 with a win in Stillwater.
Oklahoma State 56 Florida Atlantic 14

Maryland at Florida International: Maryland faces Division I-AA Villanova and then one of two winless teams from a season ago, Florida International. While the Terps didn't look great in their 31-14 win over the Wildcats, they should have no problem beating the 0-12 2006-2007 squad that lies before them on Saturday.
Maryland 28 Florida International 3

Rant of the Week/Inside the Numbers: Downplay of THE upset
I've got to say, some people's reactions to the enormous upset this weekend between Division I-AA Appalachian State and Division I-A powerhouse Michigan is quite surprising, especially coming from the true blue fans themselves.One man wrote this comment, "Honestly this isn't that big of an upset." He continued to say that Division I-AA is extremely underrated.Another stated, "I ranked it #3 behind Temple in 1998 and NC State in 1998. Temple gets my top vote because they are horrible. I mean, they are so bad the Big East asked them to leave the conference."An obvious Michigan fan had this to say, "polls are hogwash. they are just someone's opinion. how are the national champs not ranked number one is a complete joke. they earned that spot last year.this isnt the biggest upset in college football because App St. is very good."Here was another comment, "they may be AA... but champs two years in a row? They can obviously play ball, and mchigan got caught sleepwalking, its a great upset, but app state is a great team.... if some random .500 AA team beat michigan, give me a call... app state could probably win the MAC this year, they are a good team"Here's another statement, "people are so quick to rank something that JUST happened as the "greatest ever" nowadays...i dunno why but it's a craze that has exploded in the last couple years...this is not the greatest upset in college football history, not by a longshot.1998 - Temple 28, Virginia Tech 24 (in Blacksburg)this Appalachian State team would kick the snot out of that Temple team...Virginia Tech was ranked #14 and undefeated."...and yet another, "It was a big upset, but people saying it was the biggest upset EVER are biased against small schools. People in Ann Arbor knew they were good. That's all the papers said around Ann Arbor BEFORE the game! App St. didn't win two national championships in 2 years for nothing! People who are talking so much trash about UofM are either biased or ill-informed about App St. They'd beat MOST teams in Div I and would EASILY be top 20 in the AP poll. Remember Marshall back in the 90's? That's App St. now ... just App St. is BETTER."...and (yawns) yet another, "Wow... you guys don't do much research when looking up biggest upsets of all time... It appears as though you just look up games involving Notre Dame and Ohio State... Back in 1998, a horrid New Mexico State squad went to play a Top 20 Arizona State team and pummelled the Sun Devils 28-0 in the first half, emptying Sun Devil Stadium for the entire second half of the game while coasting to a 35-7 win... Aggie fans were so excited they tore down the field goal posts at Aggie Memorial Stadium that night... Also, in 2001, Oberlin College (one week after forfeiting a game because they couldn't put enough players on the field, toppled a solid Kenyon College team, 53-22 to snap a 44-GAME LOSING STREAK."Thank you sir, may I have another? Yes, you certainly may, "Please!!!.......Michigan had not played a game yet, #5 ranking was idiotic. If they were say, 7-0 and the A state came in, then that would be an upset. You can't have an upset on perceptions. People thought Michigan was good but had no proof!!! Carr was right, he did not prepare his team for the game, what makes you think they will be prepared next week............have to wait and see."From a big bluer, "UM is GOOD and have every right to be ranked No. 5 in the nation. If anyone actually watched the game, App. St. could have knocked off USC this weekend if given the chance. Folks are ripping on UM for being overrated when the truth is that App. St. is underrated. It's only an upset because the difference in the sizes of the schools is so great and because App. St. is an FCS team. UM will probably win out, but I'm sure App. St. will be undefeated this year as well, and that needs to be taken into consideration when BCS time rolls around."No, we're not done yet. Here's yet another comment, "Initially, the App St. victory seemed like the biggest upset in college football history. But it occurred to me that in I-AA competition the champion is determined by a playoff system. Their national champion is not a function of traditional bowls (driven by marketability) or writers polls or coaches polls. National I-AA champions are determined on the field and not by pedantry of one form or another. It only stands to reason that division I-A "polls" are going to be littered with error. Thus "little" Boise State beats "mighty" Oklahoma. Michigan was ranked #5 simply because they were MICHIGAN. Last season's Ohio State/Florida I-AA" title game" was a crashing disappointment because the Emperor, Ohio State, sat on the throne without any clothes. So it is no surprise really that App St., with no storied tradition and no national exposure among writers or coaches could beat Michigan. I-AA has about half the scholarship players that I-A programs enjoy and relatively tiny stadiums. But they do have a playoff system. App St. was the true National Champion at the I-AA level the last two seasons. That makes them an excellent football team. Now, everyone knows it. Writers, coaches and commentators do not have to speculate. They've see it on the field. So, it wasn't the biggest upset. But it was a huge reality check."A Buckeye fan had this to say, "The stakes weren't high enough to warrant the biggest upset ever. what about Ohio State beating Miami in the 2002 national championship? No one gave OSU a chance in that game, and they pulled it off. I know, they were two D-I teams, both big schools, but the stakes were so much higher. ps. michigan sucks. go bucks!"Another Michigan fan putting in his/her half a cent, "i think it was a shocker. not an upset because i believe that they can beat most top ranked teams"I think George Walker Bush may have typed this comment, "ohio state, wisconsin, vt i mean there is many OVERRATED teams in which the mountaineers could destroy on there home field. plaus the funny thing is that michigan paid them to come to ann arbor..hahaha whodya think lost this deal?"And finally, "Michigan is one of the perennial overrated teams that's always in the top 25. They'd be ranked pretty high if they had 11 redshirt freshmen on both sides of the ball. Preseason polls are a joke anyway. In 2004, Troy was in their third year of DIV 1 (ranked somewhere around 118) beating a #17 Missouri team led by Heisman Hopeful Brad Smith by 10 on National TV. To put this into perspective, a few years prior to their move, they lost the I-AA playoff game 70-7 to Montana. This is only such a big deal because it's Michigan."This isn't an upset? It's not that much of an upset? There were no high stakes involved, which negates the fact it's an upset? It was the first game of the season, so it's not an upset? Appalachian State won two consecutive titles outright at the Division I-AA level through a playoff system, so it's not really an upset? It's only an upset because it was against Michigan? Ohio State over Miami in '02 was a bigger upset? Florida over Ohio State last year? Temple over Virginia Tech? NC State over Florida State? New Mexico State over Arizona State? Oberlin over Kenyon?There are different classes, different divisions, different leagues for a reason. There's a reason why you don't see the New York Yankees face the Richmond Braves during the course of the regular season. There's a reason why you don't see the New England Patriots square off against Boston College on a Sunday afternoon in October. You won't see Duke face the Boston Celtics anytime soon. You won't see the Nebraska Cornhuskers face the UNO Mavericks (University of Nebraska at Omaha) in November anytime in the near future. Division I-AA was 2-21 this weekend against Division I-A opponents. Their only other victory was a 16-14 win by Nicholls State over Rice. Outside of that and the 34-32 victory by Appalachian State over Michigan, Division I-AA went 0-21.These included:Boise State 56 Weber State 7Cincinnati 59 Southeast Missouri State 3Louisville 73 Murray State 10New Mexico State 35 Southeast Louisiana 14Ohio State 38 Youngstown State 6Florida 49 Western Kentucky 3Air Force 34 South Carolina State 3Northwestern 27 Northeastern 0North Carolina 37 James Madison 14Maryland 31 Villanova 14Kentucky 50 Eastern Kentucky 10Texas A&M 38 Montana State 7Southern Mississippi 35 Tennessee-Martin 13Ohio 36 Gardner-Webb 14Vanderbilt 41 Richmond 17Alabama 52 Western Carolina 6South Florida 28 Elon 13Louisiana Tech 28 Central Arkansas 7Indiana 55 Indiana State 7Fresno State 24 Sacramento State 3Hawaii 63 Northern Colorado 6There you have it. Outside of the two victories by Division I-AA, they were outscored 889-177 by Division I-A, a combined margin of 712 points in 21 games. The average score of those games was 42.3 to 8.4, an average margin of 33.9 points per contest. Even if you include the two victories by Division I-AA this past weekend, that closes the gap to a final score of 935-227 (difference of 708 points). The average score in these 23 games would be 40.7-9.9, an average margin of 30.8 points. The closest game between these two separate divisions outside the two losses was a 15-point victory by South Florida over Elon.If one wants to compare the teams that played one another based on their performances last season, the Division I-A squads finished 177-119 (.598), with 14 of the teams finishing with winning records and 9 finishing with losing ones. The Division I-AA teams were a combined 121-132 (.478), with 11 posting winning records and 11 finishing the season below the .500 mark. Of all the games played, seven of the twenty-two eligible Division I-AA teams (Central Arkansas got bumped up to I-AA this year) posted better records than their Division I-A opponent last year. With math as our guide, that means that fifteen Division I-A teams posted better records than Division I-AA opponent from this past weekend.The National Championship upsets of Ohio State over Miami and Florida over Ohio State were unexpected by the majority, sure, but many people still picked the underdog. These were the top two teams (according to the BS poll) in 2002 and 2007. It's not like a 16-seed with a .500 regular season record went on to win the national championship in college basketball. Ohio State went into the game last year with an unbeaten record and Florida came in with one loss. I'm sorry, but that is not a major upset. North Carolina State over Florida State was definitely an upset, but NC State has been a fairly steady and pesky college football program for several years. While it was an upset, the magnitude of the victory did not match, say, Temple's win over Virginia Tech. While yes, I agree, Temple has had a pathetic football program for several years now and were about booted out of the Big East, they are still a Division I-A program. That may have been the upset of the season and potentially even the upset of the '90s, but Temple is a household name for most college football gurus and have provided an upset or two throughout their pitiful history. Upsets like that have occurred before, where a typical doormat of a major conference knocks off an upper tier program in one of the six big name conferences. Illinois/Indiana/Northwestern in the Big Ten, Baylor/Iowa State (now) in the Big XII, Rutgers (before they got good) in the Big East, North Carolina in the ACC, Stanford and Arizona in the Pac-10, and the Mississippi schools, Kentucky (of the past), and Vanderbilt in the SEC. When Mississippi State upsets Florida, it's a huge upset, but with the scholarships, the coaching, and the parity at the I-A level, it is bound to happen once, maybe twice a year.But, that brings me to the Michigan game. While I despise pre-season polls, Michigan was unbeaten a season ago before falling to Ohio State in their regular season finale. They had arguments about being one of the two participants in the national championship game. On offense, they returned some key starters, in quarterback Chad Henne, tailback Mike Hart, Mario Manningham at receiver, amongst others. Offensively, this was to be their year. They were picked by many analysts to win the Big Ten and some even picked them as one of the two teams to face off in the final game of the season, the national championship. Michigan is a perennial powerhouse on the college football landscape. They regularly win 9 games a season. If they win 8, that's a down year and their head coach immediately lands himself on the hot seat. Unlike the previous scenarios I mentioned, this was the FIRST, count it, the FIRST time that a Division I-AA team had beaten a ranked Division I-A opponent. Mississippi State upsetting a team like Florida? It's happened before. A Temple upsetting Virginia Tech? It's happened before. An underdog in a title game getting the better of the favorite? Again, that's happened several times. This was the FIRST time in history that such a thing has happened. Ranked Division I-A schools face Division I-AA teams every year. Some (Texas Tech or K-State, for instance) will even face two Division I-AA squads in a single season. In the history of the polling system, this was the very FIRST time that such a thing has occurred. Why are people trying to downplay that fact? It's not an upset? Appalachian State over Michigan is not an upset? The Mountaineers could beat just about any team at the I-A level? Many gave Boise State grief last year, claiming they couldn't handle the weekly battles in a major conference, such as the SEC or Pac-10. But, all of a sudden, Division I-AA powerhouse, Appalachian State, could do that? I can honestly say that not one, not one credible, non-biased source picked the Mountaineers to win this game. Some people may have picked Florida over Ohio State, Ohio State over Miami, even a huge upset in a major conference, the magnitude of a Vanderbilt over a Georgia, but nobody picked Division I-AA Appalachian State over I-A power, Michigan. Only friends and family of Mountaineer players, along with coaches, fans, and the players themselves picked Appalachian State to win the game. ESPN commentator, Mike Tirico, made mention that the Mountaineers wouldn't get shut out in the game, that they'd score a couple times, but even he didn't say they'd win the game. Boise State's win over Oklahoma last year was nothing compared to this. Florida over Ohio State? Nothing. Ohio State over Miami, Mississippi State over Florida, NC State over Florida State, even Temple over Virginia Tech? Nothing. The whole David vs. Goliath cliche' in the sports world was given an entirely different meaning this past weekend. It made sense to refer to Boise State as David last year and Oklahoma as Goliath. We may need to re-phrase that cliche' for this monumental and historic upset. No longer does David vs. Goliath even make sense. How about the Microorganism vs. Goliath or the Ant vs. Goliath? That makes more sense for an upset of this magnitude. I've seen a great deal of upsets in my day and loved the majority of the, but never, never have I seen one quite like this. Is it the biggest upset in history? As always, that's debatable. But, it is definitely the biggest upset in college football during my lifetime.

Top 119 Poll
Will debut following Week 5's games. I will use the same formula as last year to conduct the poll, which includes a team's winning percentage, their opponents' winning percentage, and their average margin of victory per game.