Now we’ve got some things to talk about! The SEC isn’t indestructible after all. The PAC-12 is back. The Big 10 still sucks, and the Big East still somehow gets a BCS bowl bid. There have been a few surprises already: who had Auburn starting off 0-2, the Arizona schools and Notre Dame 2-0, and Arkansas losing at home to a Sunbelt team? Certainly more surprises to come…
Now here’s the Autumn Wind’s week 2 Top-10 recap:
1. No, Taylor Martinez is not winning the Heisman this year. Is that an echo from what I said last week? Well, UCLA proved my point. When Martinez and Nebraska are forced into a one dimensional offense (like they were for much of the second half), they’re extremely beatable. And when the Blackshirts give up over 650 yards of offense and lost time of possession nearly 2:1, it was surprising that Nebraska was even in that game at all.
2. In the preview I said “if Wisconsin is going to win the Big 10, they have to be able to win in a tough place like Corvallis” and last week I said “Careful going into Corvallis this weekend.” What an embarrassing performance by the Badgers. Sure, Corvallis can be a tough place to play, and has certainly seen some upsets over the years, but 7 points for this offense? Ouch. Maybe the Big 10 should give up their automatic BCS bid along with the Big East.
3. Two minutes to go at the Big House, and Air Force still had a chance at a victory over Michigan. This just isn’t the Big 10’s year. And how about this; Denard Robinson had more rushing and passing yards than Michigan had in total offense. I don’t think they’ll be able to get away with that against Notre Dame, Nebraska, Michigan State, and Ohio State. Good thing they have Massachusetts this weekend.
4. Despite trying to give the game away in the fourth quarter, Notre Dame found a way to win it in the end and improve to 2-0 on the year. Several other “experts” seem to think this could be a nine win team now. I’m still not seeing it, especially with five of their next six against ranked teams.
5. Chizik’s in trouble at Auburn, and look who comes to town this weekend. Can the Warhawks of Louisiana-Monroe take out the War Eagle and go 2-0 against the SEC? And it doesn’t get any easier for Auburn with LSU and Arkansas after that. Is 0-5 start a possibility? If so, Auburn finishes 4-8.
6. Missouri and Texas A&M go down in their SEC openers; but they didn’t go down without a fight. Those were fun games to watch; and just showed a couple more reasons why the SEC is the best in football. Adding Mizzou and A&M is a little different than the PAC-10 adding Utah and Colorado.
7. At the beginning, I thought the PAC-12 was a two trick pony, with Oregon and USC set to dominate the conference. I’m not so sure anymore after seeing UCLA take down Nebraska, Arizona take down Oklahoma State, Oregon State take down Wisconsin, and Arizona State beat up Illinois and have a chance to do the same to Missouri this weekend. What seemed to be a single circle on the calendar (November 3rd: Oregon @ USC) has now become a little more interesting.
8. Now Arizona fans know why Michigan ran Rich Rod out of town. Sure, their offense clicks, but their defense is so bad that teams like Oregon and USC may flirt with 70 or 80 points. A nice win against Oklahoma State for sure, but if the Cowboys don’t set school records for penalties and penalty yards (including two personal fouls by one player on a single play), it’s a different game. UofSuck will start out 3-0, but then finish 4-5. Enjoy it while it lasts, Tucson.
9. Just when I thought I’d seen it all, they had a running clock in the second half of the Florida State vs. Savannah State game, before they mercifully called the game because of weather. What’s next? Mom’s bringing them orange slices in little coolers during timeouts?
10. The most intriguing thing about Arkansas’ loss to Louisiana-Monroe is that there is now a scenario where a one loss SEC team doesn’t make it to the championship. Should Arkansas run the table, they don’t deserve a spot with that home loss to a Sunbelt team. And you better believe that Arkansas is going to be fired up for the game against Alabama this weekend.
Now on to the Top-10 in the standings:
Top-10:
#1 Alabama (2-0) – Test #2 this weekend @ Arkansas
#2 Oregon (2-0) – I’m waiting until Oregon actually has to play their starters in the second half.
#3 LSU (2-0) – Another 41-3 score is likely this weekend against Idaho.
#4 USC (2-0) – Suddenly, @ Stanford, @ Arizona, and @ UCLA don’t seem as winnable. The back end of their schedule has to have at least one loss (Arizona, Oregon, Arizona State, UCLA, Notre Dame), doesn’t it?
#5 Florida State (2-0) – The Seminole defense is only giving up 1.5 points a game. That’s pretty good, I think.
#6 Oklahoma (2-0) – A week off for the Sooners.
#7 West Virginia (1-0) – If they scored 70 in the Orange Bowl and 69 against Marshall, is 100 a possibility against James Madison?
#8 Georgia (2-0) – That road game @ Auburn near the end of the year doesn’t seem as scary.
#9 Clemson (2-0) – @ Florida State in two weeks; that’ll likely decide the ACC-Atlantic.
#10 Michigan State (2-0) – In the driver’s seat in the B1G.
Rising Fast:
The PAC-12 – 6-1 against major conferences this weekend; many of which were upsets (let’s forget about Washington losing 41-3 to LSU, Colorado losing at home to Sacramento State, and Utah losing to Utah State – maybe we can ditch those three schools and Washington State and change the name back to the PAC 8?).
Falling Faster:
Arkansas – All the preseason talk was about how Arkansas was finally positioned to not only win the SEC but also be in the BCS Championship. If lowly Louisiana-Monroe put up 550 yards, imagine what LSU and others will do?
Heisman Watch:
Matt Barkley, USC – A career high six TD passes against Syracuse. A good time for that to happen with Heisman candidate Geno Smith and West Virginia not playing this weekend. And next up for Barkley and USC, Stanford; while Geno will put up massive numbers against James Madison.
BCS Title Game Prediction:
Alabama v. Oregon – Defense wins championships; so I like Alabama to repeat and keep the title in SEC land for one more year.
Week 3 Big Games:
Florida @ Tennessee – Tennessee hasn’t beat Florida in 8 years; but neither team has done well recently against ranked opponents: Florida losing nine straight and Tennessee losing 11 straight. This one will be Florida on the ground and Tennessee in the air. Both teams have looked pretty good so far this year, but I give the slight edge to Tennessee in this one. Tennessee 27 Florida 24
Arizona State @ Missouri – Missouri is a seven point favorite in this one, and ASU’s defense has largely been untested so far this year. We know the Sun Devils will move the ball and score, but can they hold Missouri to under 30? Yes. This isn’t your Dennis Erickson Devils anymore. ASU 38 Missouri 27
USC @ Stanford – One of the more entertaining rivalries in the PAC-12 the last few years, but Luck is gone from Stanford, and USC’s offense is just too powerful. Eventually, USC and Kiffen will choke away a game they shouldn’t, but it won’t be this one. USC 41 Stanford 24
Notre Dame @ Michigan State – It seems like every time these two teams play, strange things happen. Last year, Notre Dame inexplicably blew out the Spartans 31-13. And of course two years ago, Sparty won in O.T. on the fake FG play where they snapped the ball about 12 seconds after the play clock expired (okay, maybe a little exaggeration). The bottom line is this: if Notre Dame can’t stop the run, this one gets ugly. And it will. Michigan State 31 Notre Dame 17
Week 3 Game of the Week:
Alabama @ Arkansas – I still have this as my game of the week for a few reasons. One, it’s a huge road test for Alabama. Two, it’s a bounce back opportunity for Arkansas. And three, both teams need this win to stay in the SEC picture. In 2010 season, Saban admitted that he didn’t do a good job of game preparation and relied too much on their previous national championship clout. And he vowed to not let that happen again. Another national championship and another #1 ranking later, I think he’s done a good job. Both teams are little banged up, but I don’t see Alabama losing this one. Alabama 30 Arkansas 16
Until next time…
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