Week 2 College Football Newsletter

The Bonehead Call of the Week
This goes to ESPN "analyst" Kirk Herbstreit for his GameDay comments in regard to the South Florida/Auburn game. Herby felt that USF had no chance in the game, that Auburn would pull away in the second half for the simple fact that Auburn was aware of their upset alert in the game. "So many people have been talking about South Florida being a potentially troubling game that Auburn is now aware of and will be ready." What? If some people in the media hadn't spoken out about the possibility of a South Florida upset, Auburn wouldn't have been prepared and therefore, wouldn't have won? What's the coach's job on any given week? Whether the opponent is Florida State, Appalachian State, or USC, it's the coach's job to prepare the team for that opponent. While some media hype about a potential upset may add a little incentive for certain players on a team or it may motivate them some, when it comes right down to it, a team's preparation throughout the week is the key ingredient to how they play on gameday. Do the players and coaches study film? Match-ups? An opponent's weaknesses and how they can potentially exploit those holes? It shouldn't be the media's job to notify a team that their opponent is good and could potentially upset them. Coaches should prepare their teams in an equal manner, regardless of their opponent and study each opponent as if they were the second coming of the '95 Cornhuskers. Oh, this just in...Oregon is uncertain of who they're even playing this weekend (Fresno State), so expect an upset. Meanwhile, Ohio State is wary of playing Washington and are aware of the potential upset, so it's not going to occur. By the way, South Florida won the game 26-23 in overtime. It looks like Herby wasn't aware that regardless if Auburn was or was not aware of the potential upset alert they received from members of the media, it'd take some awareness by the Tigers on the field in order to carry out a victory, which didn't occur.

The Bonehead Play of the Week
I'm giving this to Wake Forest back-up quarterback Brett Hodges in the Demon Deacons 20-17 loss to Nebraska this past Saturday. Wake was down 20-17 midway in the 4th quarter when their defense gave the offense a golden opportunity to, at worst, tie the game and force an overtime session. Husker quarterback Sam Keller had the ball batted out of his hands which was picked off by one of the big men up front and the Deacons' offense took over inside the NU 10-yard line. On third-and-goal, Hodges scrambled some to his left and instead of throwing the ball away and setting up a field goal attempt by Mr. Automatic, Sam Swank, he threw the ball into double coverage and it was picked off by Zack Bowman. Even a blind man could've seen that he shouldn't have thrown the football. Unfortunately, Hodges isn't a blind man, could see the double coverage very clearly and attempted to throw the ball through two defenders en route to the go-ahead score. For the first time in his illustrious career, Hodges' pass didn't zip through a transparent defender; it was picked off and the Huskers were victorious.

Conference Breakdown
*indicates Division I-AA opponent

ACC
LSU 48 Virginia Tech 7 (0-1)
Oklahoma 51 Miami (Florida) 13 (0-2)
Boston College 37 North Carolina State 17 (1-3)
East Carolina 34 North Carolina 31 (1-4)
Clemson 49 Louisiana-Monroe 26 (2-4)
Virginia 24 Duke 13 (3-5)
Maryland 26 Florida International 10 (4-5)
Florida State 34 UAB 24 (5-5)
Georgia Tech 69 Samford 14 (6-5)*
Nebraska 20 Wake Forest 17 (6-6)

Big East
West Virginia 48 Marshall 23 (1-0)
Louisville 58 Middle Tennessee State 42 (2-0)
Rutgers 41 Navy 24 (3-0)
South Florida 26 Auburn 23 OT (4-0)
Cincinnati 34 Oregon State 3 (5-0)
Connecticut 38 Maine 0 (6-0)*
Pittsburgh 34 Grambling 10 (7-0)*
Iowa 35 Syracuse 0 (7-1)

Big Ten
Oregon 39 Michigan 7 (0-1)
Michigan State 28 Bowling Green 17 (1-1)
Purdue 52 Eastern Illinois 6 (2-1)*
Ohio State 20 Akron 2 (3-1)
Iowa 35 Syracuse 0 (4-1)
Wisconsin 20 UNLV 13 (5-1)
Minnesota 41 Miami (Ohio) 35 3OT (6-1)
Northwestern 36 Nevada 31 (7-1)
Illinois 21 Western Illinois 0 (8-1)*
Indiana 37 Western Michigan 27 (9-1)
Penn State 31 Notre Dame 0 (10-1)

Big XII
Texas 34 TCU 13 (1-0)
Oklahoma 51 Miami (Florida) 13 (2-0)
Oklahoma State 42 Florida Atlantic 6 (3-0)
Texas A&M 47 Fresno State 45 3OT (4-0)
Texas Tech 45 UTEP 31 (5-0)
Baylor 42 Rice 17 (6-0)
Missouri 38 Mississippi 25 (7-0)
Northern Iowa 24 Iowa State 13 (7-1)*
Kansas 62 Southeast Louisiana 0 (8-1)*
Kansas State 34 San Jose State 14 (9-1)
Nebraska 20 Wake Forest 17 (10-1)
Arizona State 33 Colorado 14 (10-2)

Pac-10
Arizona 45 Northern Arizona 24 (1-0)*
Arizona State 33 Colorado 14 (2-0)
Oregon 39 Michigan 7 (3-0)
Cincinnati 34 Oregon State 3 (3-1)
Washington 24 Boise State 10 (4-1)
Washington State 45 San Diego State 17 (5-1)
California 34 Colorado State 28 (6-1)
UCLA 27 BYU 17 (7-1)

SEC
Alabama 24 Vanderbilt 10 (1-1)
Kentucky 56 Kent State 20 (2-1)
Tennessee 39 Southern Mississippi 19 (3-1)
South Florida 26 Auburn 23 OT (3-2)
South Carolina 16 Georgia 12 (4-3)
Florida 59 Troy 31 (5-3)
LSU 48 Virginia Tech 7 (6-3)
Missouri 38 Mississippi 23 (6-4)
Mississippi State 38 Tulane 17 (7-4)

The Conference Yo of the Week
While they received a share of the honor last week, alongside the Big XII, I'm giving the Pac-10 the full honor this week. Two schools within the conference, Washington and UCLA, ended what were the two longest active winning streaks in the country, as Washington beat Boise State 24-10 and UCLA defeated BYU 27-17. Oregon also clobbered Michigan at the Big House, 39-7. California defeated an always pesky Colorado State team, 34-28. Arizona State pulled away from Colorado in the second half, 33-14. The only disappointing game for the conference was a 34-3 thrashing Oregon State suffered at the hands of Cincinnati. The Pac-10 went 7-1 on the weekend, with two teams having off (USC and Stanford) and one playing a I-AA school (Arizona's 45-24 win over Northern Arizona).

The Conference Yo No of the Week
It was a tougher decision last week. That's no such case this time around, as the ACC finished the weekend 6-6, with some horrendous losses by regular powers in the conference. Virginia Tech was pounded by LSU in Baton Rouge on Saturday night by the final score of 48-7. It wasn't much better in Norman, as Miami got shattered in the second half by the Sooners, 51-13. Two of the most anticipated games of the weekend weren't games at all, with the ACC squads losing by the combined score of 99-20. Ouch! Wake Forest handed a game to Nebraska, falling 20-17. East Carolina upended North Carolina 34-31. Maryland didn't exactly blow-out Florida International (winless a year ago), 26-10. Georgia Tech blew-out mighty Samford 69-14. Florida State had their share of problems with UAB, winning 34-24. Clemson allowed 26 points to Louisiana-Monroe in their 49-26 victory. Finally, in two conference battles, Virginia had problems putting Duke away, winning 24-13 and Boston College won the first Tom O'Brien Bowl, beating North Carolina State by 20, 37-17. The ACC finished the weekend going an even 6-6, with one of those wins coming against a I-AA school (Georgia Tech over Samford). The ACC's off to a dreadful start, with the only three teams playing decently: Clemson, Boston College, and Georgia Tech. I thought last year was a rebuilding one for the conference. There may be even more rebuilding this season, if that makes any sense...

Game of the Week
5. South Carolina 16 Georgia 12 - An old-fashioned, hard-nosed, defensive SEC slugfest. Some may find these kinds of games boring, but I'm not one of those people. With the energy on the field and even the sidelines (visor man himself!), big hits on a consistent basis, and the game going down to the final possession, it makes for quite the intense and entertaining game.

4. Nebraska 20 Wake Forest 17 - This was an odd game. While Nebraska seemed to be the quicker and more talented of the two teams, Wake's constant misdirection plays kept NU's defense off-balance throughout and if Wake made the most (or even anything but the least) of their opportunities, they may have come out with a victory. They made the very least of those opportunities, however, and NU did just enough to win this tightly contested battle.

3. Texas A&M 47 Fresno State 45 3OT - Down 22-7 in the second half, Fresno State tied it at 29 a piece to send the game to overtime. It took three overtimes for the Aggies to pull out the 47-45 victory in one of the wildest games I've witnessed in the first two weeks of the '07 season.

2. Hawaii 45 Louisiana Tech 44 OT - Hawaii was involved in a high-scoring affair. Who would've thought? Louisiana Tech was actually in control of the contest throughout the majority of regulation, but the Warriors found a way to tie the game and send it to overtime. After Hawaii scored on their initial overtime possession and kicked the extra point to take a 45-38 lead, the Bulldogs struck quickly to pull with a single point, at 45-44. They'll kick the extra point and send it to a second overtime, right? Not so fast. They went for the dos and the pass was batted down by June Jones' club, able to sneak out with a one-point overtime victory.

1. South Florida 26 Auburn 23 OT - Auburn gave South Florida every opportunity to take control of the game and run away with it, but the Bulls had problems making the most of those opportunities. Auburn turned the ball over four times in the second half and not until that fourth opportunity did USF actually convert on a field goal. Their place kicker, Alvarado, was 2-6 on field goal attempts in the game, if that tells you anything. Luckily for he and the team, he had a chance to partially redeem himself toward the end of regulation when he tied the game 20-20 with his second converted field goal of the evening. The Bulls held Auburn to a field goal on their first overtime possession and then it was Matt Groethe's time to shine. South Florida's quarterback threw a picture perfect game-winning touchdown pass on his 21st birthday to lift his 2-0 Bulls over the SEC giant Auburn Tigers at their home stadium, 26-23. While South Florida beat a then unbeaten Louisville squad two years ago and beat West Virginia in Morgantown last year, this has to arguably be the biggest win in the young program's history.

Biggest Disappointment of the Week
5. Penn State 31 Notre Dame 10 - While I picked Penn State to win and by a rather large margin, I keep waiting for Irish coach Charlie Weiss to get his team back on track. He got off to such a quick start at Notre Dame a couple years ago, that perhaps the expectation bar was raised a bit too high, especially for how much talent he lost in the off-season. But after two weeks, Notre Dame is ranked 119th in total offense. Up next? A ticked off Michigan school in Ann Arbor. Good luck!

4. Arizona State 33 Colorado 14 - In Dan Hawkins' second season with the Buffaloes, things got off to a much better start than last year. Their opening 31-28 overtime victory over inner-state rival Colorado State seemed to be the kind of game Colorado couldn't win just a season ago. While I thought Arizona State would get the best of Colorado in the end with the game being in Tempe, I thought Colorado would make a better game of it. They're still quite the mystery and their 19-point loss this past weekend makes just as much sense anymore as their overtime victory over Colorado State. Up next? Florida State, who's also quite the mystery. What should come about in that contest? Who the heck knows...

3. Oklahoma 51 Miami (Florida) 13 - Why was Larry Coker fired? A lack of discipline? Whew. After Miami seemed to hang in this game until early in the 3rd quarter (21-13), Oklahoma put their game into another gear, stopped twiddling their thumbs, and decided to blow-out the once mighty Hurricanes

2. Oregon 39 Michigan 7 - Again, I picked the correct team to win this one, but 39-7? At the Big House? Michigan allowed 624 yards in this game (could've/should've been more), the second most ever allowed by a Wolverine defense. The score could've been a lot worse, as Oregon didn't score the final two times they had the ball inside the Red Zone. To make matters worse (as if that's possible at this point), Michigan starting quarterback, Chad Henne, was injured and will be out 2-3 weeks.

1. LSU 48 Virginia Tech 7 - The game of the night. An early top ten duel. An opportunity for the Hokies to rebound from their mediocre showing against East Carolina. A blow-out if I ever saw one. Before the opening kick-off, LSU was credited for sacking Tech sloth quarterback Sean Glennon 5 times, picking the ball off a couple more times, causing a few fumbles, and taking a 24-0 lead. The Hokies should just be thankful at this point that this was a non-conference game and that they play in the uber-weak ACC.

Kudos
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers for their first win as a member of Division I-A. This is their first season as a Division I-A school and while that victory came at the hands of West Virginia Tech (if it were only West Virginia or Virginia Tech, that'd be quite impressive), the score and statistics compiled by the Hilltoppers was quite impressive. They scored 49 points in the first quarter and 35 in the third en route to their 87-0 victory. While they only garnered just over 400 yards in the game, their defense allowed just 15 net yards and forced 7 turnovers (4 fumbles lost and 3 interceptions)! West Virginia Tech went past the first down marker just twice in the game, threw for 42 yards and rushed for -27.

Also, kudos to both Washington and Boise State. Ty Willingham's Huskies ended Boise State's nation-leading 14-game winning streak with their 24-10 home victory against the Broncos. It's an impressive feat for both teams, for the Huskies to end the country's longest winning streak and for the Broncos to have won 14 consecutive games in the first place. Congrats to both teams and coaches for their feats.

No Kudos
Iowa State and Syracuse. Syracuse was, at one point, a Big East powerhouse. Remember #5? Oh, what's his name? Oh yeah, Donovan McNabb? How about Dwight Freeney? They're both former Orangemen (now the Orange). The Orange(men) were regular contenders for the Big East crown, but they are now, without a doubt, the Big East doormat. The 'Cuse started the season losing by 30 points to Washington, 42-12 and this past weekend, they were shut-out by Iowa, 35-0. In two weeks, against potentially mediocre to slightly above average teams, they have been outscored 77-12. It's arguably been worse for Iowa State, who, until last year, had put together a fairly successful bowl run in the Big XII conference under former head coach, Dan McCarney. Iowa State started their year with a 23-14 loss to Kent State and this past weekend, it got even worse for the Suckclones. They fell victim to Division I-AA Northern Iowa by the score of 24-13. They've been outscored 47-27 by one I-AA team and another average mid-major school. I bet you Dan McCarney's thanking his lucky Buddha that he's now at South Florida.

Player of the Week
Dennis Dixon, QB, Oregon. The Oregon quarterback completed 16 of 25 passes (64%) for 292 yards (18.3 ypc and 11.7 ypa), three touchdown passes and no picks. He also ran the ball 16 times for 76 yards (4.8 ypc) and an additional touchdown. Total those numbers up and Dixon was responsible for 368 of Oregon's 624 yards and 4 of their 5 touchdowns. As Oregon led 32-7 at the half, Mike Bellotti's playcalling became a bit more conservative in the second half, so Dixon's numbers aren't even as jaw-dropping as they could've been, and that's saying something!

Surprise of the Week
Wisconsin 20 UNLV 13. Wisconsin lost one game last year and that was about the total of victories for the Rebels from a season ago. Regardless, the Badgers found themselves down 10-9 going into the 4th quarter and if not for a late touchdown, might've fallen victim to the second embarrassing Big Ten loss in as many weeks. The Big Ten's lucky that the ACC still exists, as there's still a major conference which they may be able to look better than.

Nebraska Game (from an unbiased person's perspective)
It's amazing how different a team can look from one game to the next. Following Nebraska's 52-10 trouncing of Nevada to start their season, one couldn't be anything but impressed, especially with speedy tailback Marlon Lucky and the plethora of talented tailbacks coach Bill Callahan has at his disposal. The offensive line opened holes so large that I could've run for 127 yards and a couple scores and they gave Sam Keller so much time to fling the ball that he was able to run around Memorial Stadium, buy a couple sandwiches at Subway, come back and complete the pass before any pressure was exerted by the Wolfpack defense. The defense looked sturdy, especially against the run. But, a lot can change in a week, for whatever reason and that was no different here for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

The run game wasn't nearly as dominant against the Deacons as it was against the Wolfpack in Week 1. Against Wake, Nebraska ran the ball 34 times for 115 yards (3.4 ypc). The before-mentioned Lucky carried the ball 24 times for 90 yards (3.8 ypc) and a score. The passing game was decent, but NU's receivers had some butterfingers again. Terrence Nunn had a solid outing, but Maurice Purify looked a bit rusty, catching only three balls for 30 yards. Sam Keller completed 24 of 41 passes (58.5%) for 258 yards (10.8 ypc and 6.3 ypa), but threw two interceptions, one at a very critical juncture of the game. Kudos for spreading the ball around, though. Keller completed passes to seven different receivers on the afternoon.

Defensively, Nebraska played pretty well in coverage, outside of a couple pass interference calls and one that wasn't called on Cortney Grixby in the 4th quarter. The final pass by Wake Forest on 4th down appeared to be uncatchable, so I didn't have a big problem with that not being called, but on the play before, it did appear to me that Grixby got to the receiver a bit early. But, while coverage was solid for the most part, the Huskers allowed 236 yards on the ground on 53 carries (4.5 ypc), including wide-out and special teams' man Kenneth Moore, who ran 8 times for 116 yards (14.8 ypc) and a score. Outside of his success, the Deacs ran the ball 45 times for 120 yards (2.7 ypc).

Overall, Nebraska appeared to definitely be the quicker and more talented of the two teams, but they were very lucky to go back to Lincoln 2-0. I don't know if they were looking past Wake onto USC or what all the factors were in their performance, but Wake Forest probably should've won the football game. In the first quarter, back-up quarterback Brett Hodges hit his speedy receiver/special team's man Kevin Marion in stride on a deep route. The closest man to Marion may have been his own quarterback and he could've cartwheeled into the end zone for the go-ahead score. The ball went right through his hands and that was just one opportunity Wake Forest failed to convert in the game. Hodges threw two interceptions, one which came in the 4th quarter, just three plays after his defense picked off Keller inside the Husker 10-yard line.

Third downs were also a problem for Nebraska. While they converted on only 3 of 15 third downs (20%), Wake Forest converted on 9 of 20 (45%). This helped aid Wake's advantage in time of possession, as they held the ball for over 32 minutes in the game.

After two games, it's difficult to evaluate the Huskers' football team. While their talented linebackers, especially Octavien, were all over the field against Nevada in Week 1, the announcers rarely called their names against Wake until the 4th quarter. Sam Keller and his receivers don't seem to have much chemistry with one another yet, but hopefully Nunn's solid outing this past Saturday is a positive sign of things to come from him and I'd have to imagine that it's only a matter of time before Keller is able to utilize the dangerous Purify, who was a bit rusty in his first game of the season. But, as usual, only time will tell. What I'm more curious about, from an offensive standpoint, is how consistent and effective the Huskers' run game will be this season. Was the explosion for 400+ rushing yards against Nevada simply an aberration or were their struggles against Wake more of an aberration? While Marlon Lucky has definitely improved in his patience as a running back this year, I'd still like to see Callahan run (throw, in this case) some more screen and flat route plays to give Lucky better opportunities (especially against speedy defenses, such as USC) to get into open space, where he is the most dangerous.

Defensively, the secondary has appeared to be pretty solid, for the most part, in NU's two games thus far. Their front seven, I'm not so sure about. Nebraska has only two sacks in two games this season and defensive coordinator, Kevin Cosgrove, will need to learn how to make adjustments as the games progress. Wake Forest ran the exact same misdirection play with Kenneth Moore eight times in the game and not until that eighth time did NU stop him for no gain. Before that, Moore ran all over the Husker defense, time and time again. While it's the defense's job to execute the gameplan, I honestly don't think Cosgrove gave his defense any adjustments to execute during the course of the game. If that continues to be the case, NU could be in trouble, especially against a club like Kansas in Lawrence.

While Nebraska will be better prepared this year than last and the game is in Lincoln, it's still going to be very difficult for them to defeat USC on Saturday night. It's not impossible. As we saw two weeks ago at the Big House, nothing is impossible anymore in college football. Both teams will have plenty of motivation going into the contest. Nebraska would like to avenge last year's loss to the Trojans and would like to finally defeat a marquee team under Bill Callahan. On the other side, with LSU and Oklahoma looking so impressive this past weekend against typical ACC giants, Virginia Tech and Miami (Florida), USC has a lot to show the national audience. They've only faced one team thus far and that club was Idaho.

Solich Update
Ohio rallied in the 4th quarter to upend the Rajun' Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette (who only lost 28-14 the week before to South Carolina) by the final score of 31-23. While Frankie's Bobcats have yet to play a conference-MAC game, they are 2-0 out-of-conference. Up next? An angry Virginia Tech squad in Blacksburg. Might as well chalk them down as 2-1 following this week's match-up, but I won't do that quite yet.

Gill Update
Turner Gill should schedule Temple every year. That may be possible with the Owls now being a member of the MAC. Gill got his first career victory as head coach of the Bulls last year with an overtime win over the Owls. He and his Bulls evened their record at 1-1 this past weekend with a 42-7 thumping of Temple. They're now 1-0 in the MAC and 1-1 overall.

Random Note of the Week
North Carolina State's quarterback, Harrison Beck, completed 26 of 50 passes this past weekend against Boston College for 321 yards, no touchdowns, and five interceptions. He also lost a fumble in the 37-17 loss to Tom O'Brien's former club. All-in-all, the former Nebraska back-up was responsible for six turnovers. Congratulations Mr. Beck!

Predictions
This time, there's no need to browse my online blog for the mid-major conference picks, as I'll just lay out all 50 predictions this time around, major and mid-major schools. I won't predict games that include I-AA schools, though.

Thursday
West Virginia at Maryland: Even though they struggled in the first half against Marshall this past weekend, the Mountaineers still found a way to score 42 second half points and their explosive offense will be too much for the 'Terps.
West Virginia 45 Maryland 24

TCU at Air Force: TCU had a strong first half showing against Texas last week, but fell flat in the second half, especially offensively. Air Force is no push-over, especially in Colorado Springs, but I still like TCU to rebound from their loss with their quick and aggressive defense getting the best of the Falcons' option attack.
TCU 24 Air Force 17

Friday
Oklahoma State at Troy: Due to Okie State's explosive offense, I'm going to take them, but don't be surprised if Troy pulls off the upset. Troy has already played SEC stud Arkansas in a 46-26 loss to the Razorbacks and scored 31 points on the defending National Champion Florida Gators in their 59-31 loss to Urban Meyer's club. While they have allowed 105 points in two games against stellar competition, they've scored 57 points (28.5 ppg). So, while I do see OSU coming out of Troy, Alabama with a victory, don't be surprised to see the Trojans fight the Cowboys with everything they've got and don't be surprised to see Troy score some points.
Oklahoma State 45 Troy 35

Saturday
Temple at Connecticut: UConn is on the verge of starting the year 3-0, but will they potentially be bowl bound? That's hard to say, as the three wins would've come against the likes of Duke, Maine, and Temple. Either way, with a dominating victory over the Owls on Saturday, they will indeed be 3-0.
Connecticut 45 Temple 3

Akron at Indiana: The Hoosiers have begun the season with a similar philosophy as the just mentioned Huskies, after squaring off with the likes of Indiana State, Western Michigan, and Akron. Oddly enough, Western Michigan and Akron are better than Duke and Temple, in football anyway. Like UConn, Indiana, with a win on Saturday, will improve to 3-0.
Indiana 38 Akron 17

Pittsburgh at Michigan State: Who to pick? Who to pick? Pittsburgh has spanked the likes of Eastern Michigan (the worst of the Division I-A Michigan schools) and I-AA Grambling, while Michigan State pounded UAB, before receiving a threat versus Bowling Green. With the game in East Lansing, I give the slight edge to the Spartans.
Michigan State 31 Pittsburgh 24

Virginia at North Carolina: Where's George Welsh when you need him? UVA, while never spectacular, could always be counted on for a 7-4 regular season under Welsh. That has been anything but the case in the years since. They're in even more trouble than usual this year, following a 20-point loss to Wyoming and a narrow victory over Duke. Carolina, meanwhile, appears to have the quickness and talent offensively to put up a few points here and there, but too much inexperience on the defensive side of the ball will make them more prone to giving up a few points as well. Even with that, I give the edge to the Heels in Chapel Hill. It'll only be a matter of time before Butch Davis gets the Heels rolling again.
North Carolina 31 Virginia 24

Illinois at Syracuse: Even with the Illini falling a bit short against Mizzou in their opener, they have a golden opportunity to start the year 2-1 with a victory on Saturday. They don't have an excuse not to with how Syracuse has been playing. The Orange have been outscored 77-12 in their two games thus far and while this game should be a bit closer than their previous two games, I still look for Illinois to get the victory.
Illinois 24 Syracuse 10

Cincinnati at Miami (Ohio): Just how good is Cincinnati? As usual, it's hard to say at this point, but with their 34-3 exhibition against Oregon State this past week, one can't say they're not impressed by the Bearcats' quick start this season. While a potential let-down from such an impressive outing on the national scene is possible, even that won't prevent the 'Cats from defeating the Red Hawks on Saturday.
Cincinnati 42 Miami (Ohio) 7

Buffalo at Penn State: Turner Gill, fresh off a 42-7 triumph over Temple, is now ready to gear his Bulls up for a victory in Happy Valley! Alright, so I kid. Congrats on your victory, Mr. Gill. Enjoy it, because you'll be wishing you were facing Buffalo again this upcoming weekend. PSU improves to 3-0.
Penn State 38 Buffalo 6

Eastern Michigan at Northern Illinois: Does one need to even pick this game? Both clubs come into the contest at 0-2. Eastern Michigan was beaten 27-3 against Pittsburgh in their opener and then lost 38-16 to Ball State. NIU fell to Iowa 16-3 and then to Division I-AA Southern Illinois 34-31. Since both squads have looked so pitiful thus far, I'm going to pick the home team.
Northern Illinois 27 Eastern Michigan 21

Central Michigan at Purdue: Toledo, Eastern Illinois, and now Central Michigan. Joe Tiller's Boilermakers certainly are having to rev up their engines early in the season, aren't they? Granted, they should not take CMU lightly, the defending MAC Champs, but while the Chippewas should score a few points in this game, it won't be enough for the victory.
Purdue 48 Central Michigan 27

Mississippi State at Auburn: For how porous Auburn's offense has been, not only this season thus far, but the final half of their '06-'07 campaign, one has to believe they can lose just about every SEC game they play. The potential is there. But, thanks to their quick, stingy, and aggressive defense against the inconsistent Bulldogs' offense, Auburn should come out of this game unscathed.
Auburn 24 Mississippi State 6

Minnesota at Florida Atlantic: Minnesota has played two overtime games in two weeks, one of which consisted of three overtimes. That streak should come to an end this weekend with a comfortable victory over Howard Schnellenberger's club.
Minnesota 38 Florida Atlantic 24

Iowa at Iowa State: While Iowa didn't look impressive in their opening win over Northern Illinois, compared to Iowa State, the Hawkeyes have looked reminiscent to LSU. On that note, they should have no problem defeating the Suckclones.
Iowa 24 Iowa State 10

Ohio at Virginia Tech: Hyped Freshman sensation Tyrod Taylor will make his first collegiate start for the Hokies in this game. He looked pretty good (all considering) in his half of work against LSU this past weekend. It'll be a good situation for him, as he has seen the tremendous defense of LSU up close and in person (and in Baton Rouge at night), so his first start at home against Ohio? No problem.
Virginia Tech 31 Ohio 3

Western Michigan at Missouri: Mizzou shouldn't take the Broncos lightly, but they should be able to garner enough yards and score enough points to put away WMU in the 3rd, maybe the 4th quarter.
Missouri 38 Western Michigan 24

New Mexico at Arizona: When will Mike Stoops take Arizona to a bowl game? This may not appear to be an important game for Stoops and company, especially in regard to their potentially going bowling this year, but if they fall to New Mexico in Tucson and drop to 1-2 before conference play begins, the Wildcats could be in for another long season. Fortunately for them, I don't see that happening, well, losing to the Lobos anyway.
Arizona 24 New Mexico 17

Tennessee at Florida: As usual, this was an extremely difficult game for me to pick. With it being at the Swamp, I initially gave the slight edge to the Gators. However, it's just been noted that Florida receiver Caldwell will not be playing on Saturday. Also, Tennessee is much more prepared for Florida than vice versa. The 'Vols have already had to play Cal in Berkeley and an always pesky Southern Miss club. Florida has faced Western Kentucky in the Hilltoppers' first game as a Division I-A team and Troy. Weighing all those factors, I like the 'Vols to pull off a minor upset over the defending champs.
Tennessee 34 Florida 31

Notre Dame at Michigan: For the first time in history, both Notre Dame and Michigan are off to 0-2 starts. Those losses haven't been pretty either (losses usually aren't, but anyway...). Notre Dame has been outscored 64-13 against Georgia Tech and Penn State. Michigan has been outscored 73-39 against Appalachian State and Oregon. Both teams have lost their last four games, going back to last season. While Notre Dame may be a bit more prepared from a competition standpoint, I can't see Michigan losing three consecutive home games to start the season. Look for Mike Hart to have a huge game on Saturday to lead the Wolverines to their first victory of the season.
Michigan 31 Notre Dame 17

Army at Wake Forest: The defending ACC Champs, Wake Forest, has started the year 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the ACC conference. To their credit, with all they lost on defense (their entire secondary just about), it's rather difficult to start the year off with Boston College and Nebraska, and Wake only lost those two games by the combined score of 58-45 (average of 29-22.5). Army is looking pretty awful, even by their standards, so Wake should have no problem notching their first victory of the season at home against the Black Knights.
Wake Forest 34 Army 0

Utah State at Oklahoma: Oklahoma put up 79 points in their opener against North Texas (who's probably better than Utah State) and 51 points this past weekend against Miami (Florida) (who's definitely better than Utah State). Expect plenty of points by the Sooners in this one and not too many from the Aggies.
Oklahoma 84 Utah State 10

Ohio State at Washington: Here we have it. My upset of the week. Last week, I picked South Florida to defeat Auburn and this week, I'm taking the Huskies over the Buckeyes. Ohio State has been anything but spectacular thus far. A 3-2 halftime lead over Akron? Meanwhile, Washington looks to have improved for the second consecutive season and have started the year 2-0 with wins over Syracuse and Boise State by the combined score of 66-22. Their victory over BSU last weekend snapped the Broncos nation-leading 14-game win streak. With the game in Seattle, with the Buckeyes still trying to find some chemistry and answers to their young club, I look for UW to get exactly that, the W and improve to 3-0.
Washington 21 Ohio State 17

Texas at Central Florida: The 'Horns looked asleep in the first half against TCU a week ago, but they finally played with some life and motivation in the second half. I look for that to carry over into this game and for the Longhorns to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Texas 45 Central Florida 17

Florida International at Miami (Florida): Good memories. Remember last year's battle between these two teams? The fight? The brawl? The helmets flying? The stepping on guys' heads? The suspensions? Yeah, that's the game I'm referring to. I'll be interested to see what occurs in this game. Will it be a sequel to last year's blood-bath or do the coaches treat the players with shock therapy if they so much as talk trash to the opposing team? Either way, Miami should win this one rather easily.
Miami (Florida) 38 Florida International 0

UCLA at Utah: Oregon State, Air Force, and now UCLA - not an easy start to the season for Utah. They won a bowl game just a season ago, but with this loss on Saturday, they'll fall to 0-3, including an 0-1 start in the Mountain West Conference. Meanwhile, it'll be a 3-0 start for Karl Dorrell and his Bruins, including a 1-0 start in the Pac-10.
UCLA 31 Utah 13

Ball State at Navy: Ball State should be able to make this one interesting and entertaining, but Navy's option offense at home will be too much for the Cardinals.
Navy 35 Ball State 24

Southern Mississippi at East Carolina: This was an extremely difficult game to pick, especially with ECU playing at home, but it's hard for me to pick against Southern Miss in Conference USA games. My gut is telling me to go for the Pirates, but I just can't do it. As usual, I'll probably have wished that I went with my gut.
Southern Mississippi 27 East Carolina 24

Louisiana Tech at California: Cal got very lucky last weekend, as they snuck by Colorado State 34-28, following their impressive 45-31 victory over Tennessee. They shouldn't have any problems this week at home and should roll past the Bulldogs.
California 52 Louisiana Tech 21

Arkansas at Alabama: While Alabama is extremely tough in Tuscaloosa, I'm still not sold on Saban having turned this team around in his first season there. In saying that, I think the 'Hogs stud tailback, Darren McFadden, will be a bit much for the Tide in this one. It should be close, but I like the Razorbacks.
Arkansas 24 Alabama 17

Mississippi at Vanderbilt: If Vandy wants to become the Kentucky (from last year) of this season, they have to win games like this. They have to win conference games at home, especially against the likes of Mississippi. It'll be no gimme, but I look for the Commodores to improve to 2-1 on the young season and 1-1 in conference.
Vanderbilt 24 Mississippi 17

Louisiana-Monroe at Texas A&M: A&M may be a bit bushed after last week's three overtime affair with Fresno State, but lucky for them, they're playing in College Station against Louisiana-Monroe. Aggies in a rout.
Texas A&M 38 Louisiana-Monroe 14

SMU at Arkansas State: Not much is known about Arkansas State at this juncture, just that they played an unfocused Texas squad tough in Week 1. SMU is coming off a 6-6 campaign from a year ago and seem poised to do something similar again this season. With their weapons on offense, I look for that to be a bit too much for ASU.
SMU 31 Arkansas State 21

Toledo at Kansas: A perfect third week match-up for Kansas. They've scored 114 points in two games (average of 57.0). They were against Central Michigan and Southeast Louisiana, but still, CMU is the defending MAC Champion. Toledo, meanwhile, has allowed 104 points in two games (average of 52.0), including giving up 52 to those same Chippewas. Look for a lot of points to be scored in Lawrence on Saturday, especially by the Jayhawks.
Kansas 59 Toledo 17

Fresno State at Oregon: If Fresno had won the game at College Station this past weekend and the game didn't go into three overtimes, I may have been tempted to pick against the Ducks in this one, especially following their dominating 39-7 victory over Michigan. They'd be due for a let-down. But, Fresno will be exhausted and even with a slight let-down, I can't see the Ducks losing this one at Autzen.
Oregon 45 Fresno State 21

Houston at Tulane: Where Houston goes, points will travel and this game will be no different. Look for the Cougars to light up New Orleans on Saturday, meaning, the Green Wave defense.
Houston 45 Tulane 24

Louisville at Kentucky: As usual, I couldn't handle just one big upset for the week, so here is my second. Louisville's defense allowed 42 points last week to Middle Tennessee State of all teams, the same Blue Raiders' squad that lost to Florida Atlantic by two touchdowns in Week 1. While Kentucky hasn't faced any stiff competition yet (neither team has), I look for their offense to explode against the Cardinals and hold off the ever efficient UL offense just enough for the victory.
Kentucky 48 Louisville 45

Boston College at Georgia Tech: Two of only three teams in the ACC looking halfway decent thus far. Yet, it's difficult to evaluate either club fully, especially Georgia Tech. They looked mighty impressive in their 33-3 shellacking of Notre Dame in their first game, but as we've seen since then, the 119th ranked offense in the country, the Irish, don't look very good this year. Then Tech annihilated Division I-AA Samford, but then again, it was Samford. Meanwhile, Boston College is 2-0, with both those games coming in conference, one against defending ACC Champ Wake Forest and the other against former head coach Tom O'Brien's new club, North Carolina State. Based on what all I've seen thus far, I'm giving the slight edge to Boston College. Quarterback Matt Ryan is one of the more unheralded and underrated quarterbacks in the country and should lead the Eagles to a big victory in Atlanta.
Boston College 24 Georgia Tech 21

Wyoming at Boise State: The Blue Turf provides miracles for the home team Broncos and that should be no different in this game, as Boise comes off their first loss in over a year. Fortunately for them, the loss was out-of-conference and they have an opportunity with a win against Wyoming to get back into a groove, especially offensively, heading into conference play in the next week or two. They should do just that and improve to 2-1 on the young season.
Boise State 31 Wyoming 20

Duke at Northwestern: Duke playing away from home? Easy pick...whomever they play against! The 'Cats improve to 3-0 and Duke "surprisingly" falls to 0-3.
Northwestern 38 Duke 14

Middle Tennessee State at LSU: MTSU put up 42 points against Louisville, 14 points against Florida Atlantic. How many against LSU? Considering the fact LSU has allowed only 7 points in two games (versus Mississippi State and Virginia Tech), I'm not thinking very many.
LSU 49 Middle Tennessee State 0

USC at Nebraska: The game of the week - #1 USC vs. #14 Nebraska in Lincoln. Please, I beg that it's not like last week's Game of the Week! I don't think it will be, but wouldn't entirely rule out that possibility. While Nebraska may have been slightly looking past Wake this past weekend and onto their big match-up with the Trojans, their inconsistency in many phases from Game 1 to Game 2 worries me some. What Nebraska has going for them are three things: 1) Home atmosphere (weather potentially), 2) Two games under their belt against perennial bowl contenders (Nevada and Wake Forest), and 3) Motivation - to avenge for last year's loss to the Trojans and make a showing on the national stage against the top ranked team in the country. USC has played only one game thus far, a 38-10 victory over Idaho, with this past weekend being a bye. While I think that Nebraska will be a bit less conservative in their playcalling this year than last and while I believe they'll play it close through about halftime, I just don't see USC losing this one. Pete Carroll always has his team geared up to play, especially in these big nationally-hyped and televised games. With LSU demolishing Virginia Tech 48-7 last Saturday and Oklahoma pummeling Miami (Florida) 51-13, USC, like Nebraska, has something to prove on Saturday, to themselves and the rest of the country. I don't expect and don't want to see a blow-out, but at the same time, I won't be surprised if it happens. In any manner, I look for USC to pull away late in the 3rd quarter en route to their 10-point victory.
USC 31 Nebraska 21

UTEP at New Mexico State: Mike Price vs. Hal Mumme. Expect plenty of gadget plays and lots of points. Price and Mike Leach went head-to-head last week, with Leach winning the battle 45-31. Expect something similar this time around, but with Price being the victor.
UTEP 45 New Mexico State 31

Texas Tech at Rice: Rice is 0-2 against the likes of Nicholls State and Baylor. Even at home, don't expect a close game from the Owls. Tech should win and win big in this one.Texas Tech 63 Rice 21

BYU at Tulsa: Not much is known about either team at this point. BYU has beaten Arizona by 13 points and lost to UCLA by 10. Tulsa, in their only game to date, defeated Louisiana-Monroe by 18 points. With the game at home, I'm tempted to go with the Golden Hurricane, but feel that the Cougars' offense may be a bit too much for Tulsa's defense to handle.
BYU 34 Tulsa 24

Hawaii at UNLV: After a scare against Louisiana Tech a week ago, Hawaii should be ready for this one. UNLV has to be emotionally and mentally torn following their 20-13 loss to Wisconsin. Keeping that in mind, I look for the Warriors to do what they typically do, score a lot of points and with that, improve to 3-0 on the season.
Hawaii 66 UNLV 17

San Diego State at Arizona State: With three consecutive wins to start the season, Sundevils' new head coach, Dennis Erickson, is off to a great start in Tempe. Wait, check that, he's 2-0, but will be 3-0 following a victory on Saturday against the Aztecs.
Arizona State 49 San Diego State 13

San Jose State at Stanford: This is a difficult game to pick, but San Jose State appears to be having a bit of a down year following their bowl run a season ago. With the game at home, I look for Stanford to garner their first victory of the season.
Stanford 24 San Jose State 21

Florida State at Colorado: The Mystery Men do battle. FSU fell behind Clemson 24-0 early on in their first game of the season, before coming back and making the game a bit more respectable, only to fall 24-18. Then, after falling behind 17-3 to UAB in their second game, they came back again, only to win 34-24. Colorado needed a comeback of their own to send their duel with Colorado State in overtime, only to win 31-28. They got off to a good start against Arizona State this past weekend before the Sundevils' dominated the second half of play in the Buffaloes' 33-14 loss to the Sundevils. Even with the game at home, it's difficult for me to see Colorado victorious in this one. While I think it's quite obvious that Florida State has underachieved thus far, I can't make that same assessment of Colorado.Florida State 31 Colorado 17

Idaho at Washington State: The Vandals facing a Pac-10 squad on the road? I don't care who that Pac-10 team is, I'm going with the Pac-10 school. Cougars in a blow-out.
Washington State 45 Idaho 14

Inelligible Games
Citadel at Wisconsin
Western Carolina at Georgia
Furman at Clemson
Eastern Kentucky at Western Kentucky
Norfolk State at Rutgers
Delaware State at Kent State
New Hampshire at Marshall
Wofford at North Carolina State
Idaho State at Oregon State
Alcorn State at UAB
Texas State at Baylor
McNeese State at Louisiana-Lafayette
South Carolina State at South Carolina
Missouri State at Kansas State
Jacksonville State at Memphis
Nicholls State at Nevada

Week 2 Record: 42-8 (.840)
Overall Record: 42-8 (.840)

Rant of the Week
Why is it, even at the very start of the season, that the SEC is presumed to be the best conference in college football? At the end of last season, I had no problem making the claim that I felt the SEC was the strongest conference, but at the start of another season, how can we make such a claim? From what I've seen so far this season, the ACC and Big Ten have looked anything but superior to the other conferences. Last season, I felt that the Big Ten was the 5th best conference in college football and the ACC was #6 and thus far, I feel that they haven't improved their status any in the college football landscape. Typical Big Ten powerhouse Michigan is 0-2, losing to I-AA Appalachian State and 39-7 to Oregon, both coming at home. Michigan State had problems with Bowling Green this past weekend. Wisconsin was lucky to get by UNLV. Northwestern won a close game against the very youthful Nevada Wolfpack. Minnesota has played two overtime games against MAC schools, losing their opener to Bowling Green and beating Miami (Ohio) this past weekend. Purdue has faced no reputable competition thus far. Ohio State struggled against Akron. Iowa struggled against Northern Illinois. Illinois almost beat Missouri, but fell short in the end. Indiana has yet to face a major conference opponent. Penn State has looked solid in their two wins, but those victories were against Florida International (0-12 last year) and 0-2 Notre Dame. So far, the conference has done little to impress me.

The ACC has done even less. Virginia Tech struggled in their opener against East Carolina and then got spanked by LSU. Miami (Florida) faced a similar fate against Oklahoma. Florida State wasn't that far off from starting the season 0-2, but a second half spurt against UAB prevented that from occurring. Virginia lost 23-3 to Wyoming and then sputtered against Duke. Duke hasn't improved any, if that says anything. North Carolina State is 0-2, following losses to Central Florida and Boston College. North Carolina is 1-1, with that one win coming against Division I-AA James Madison. Defending ACC Champ Wake Forest is 0-2 to start the season, with losses to Boston College and Nebraska. Maryland is 2-0, but has outscored Division I-AA Villanova and 0-12 Florida International from a season ago 57-24 (average of 28.5 - 12.0). Georgia Tech has looked solid, but against who? They pummeled Notre Dame, who is now 0-2 and then blew-out Division I-AA Samford. Clemson looked fairly impressive in their opener against Florida State, but as we saw this past weekend, FSU hasn't looked too solid thus far. The most impressive team thus far has been Boston College, who came back from 14-0 down against Wake Forest to win 38-28 and punished Tom O'Brien's new club, North Carolina State, 37-17.

So, sure, those two conferences have struggled early on, to say the least. But, in the long run, could they make it up and at the end of the season, prove to be two of the stronger conferences in the country? I honestly don't see it happening, but yes, that is possible.

That brings me to the SEC. What has the conference done THUS far to warrant them with the label of best conference? Arkansas has beaten Troy and even then, allowed 26 points to the Trojans. Alabama beat up on Division I-AA Western Carolina in Week 1 and defeated Vanderbilt in Week 2. Auburn fell this past weekend to South Florida and could very well have lost their first game to Kansas State. They're very lucky not to be 0-2 right now. While Georgia looked solid in their opener against Oklahoma State, the tides altered drastically from Week 1 to Week 2 for them, as they lost 16-12 to South Carolina. The Gamecocks may have looked impressive against Georgia, but didn't look so against Louisiana-Lafayette in their first game of the season. Florida beat up on Western Kentucky, in the Hilltoppers first game as a Division I-A club and then allowed 31 points to Troy in their 59-31 victory over the Trojans. Mississippi started the year with a win against Memphis (oh boy) and then lost by two touchdowns to Missouri. Mississippi State began the year by getting shut-out by LSU 45-0 and then toppled Tulane 38-17. Tennessee was controlled by Cal from start to finish in their game at Berkeley and their 39-19 win against Southern Miss is a bit misleading. Southern Miss was in that game until the very end. Kentucky has beaten up on Eastern Kentucky and Kent State. Vanderbilt beat I-AA Richmond in their opener before losing 24-10 to Alabama. The only club that has really impressed me thus far is LSU. They've outscored their two opponents, Mississippi State and then #9 Virginia Tech, by the score of 93-7. But, outside of them, what evidence do we have to justify that the SEC is better than any and every other conference? Tennessee is thin at receiver and appears to be rather weak on defense. Georgia is inconsistent at quarterback and tailback. South Carolina is a bit of a mystery still, because of their early season suspensions. Alabama has yet to beat a well renowned SEC team (or any team, for that matter). Auburn's quarterback, Brandon Cox, makes me look quick, if that tells you anything. Vandy and Kentucky have potential, but as usual, that "P" word is oh so dangerous. The Mississippi schools could upset one SEC opponent somewhere down the line, but it looks unlikely they'll win consistently this year. Florida lost so much talent in the off-season, that it's difficult for me to believe they could make another run at a title, this year anyway. Their offense has put up quite a number of points, but that was against Western Kentucky and Troy. They also allowed 31 points to the Trojans. Arkansas will be dangerous with the threat of Darren McFadden, but their passing game doesn't look impressive and their defense didn't show up in their opening affair against Troy, allowing 26 points to the Trojans. So, while LSU looked brilliant on Saturday night against Virginia Tech, let's not speculate too much about one conference being superior to them all, especially in Week 2 (going on Week 3) of the season. The SEC lost a ton of talent this past off-season and I don't use that term lightly (as if one could). There's a lot of football left to be played, but as of right now, I think it's way too early to proclaim that this is the best conference in the country. In fact, the conference which has impressed me the most thus far (and to my surprise) has been the Pac-10, but I'm not going to jump to the conclusion that they are, by far and away, the best conference in the country. Let's allow results and time to be our guide.

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.