Week 1 is in the books, and my Top-10 is largely unchanged. I just flip-flopped Clemson and Georgia. I don’t get why the AP makes changes at the top when you don’t play or you still win. Does Stanford really look that bad by not playing that they drop in the polls? And does Oregon’s blow out against whomever they played (I really can’t remember) all of the sudden make them look better than Ohio State because the Buckeyes struggled at times against Buffalo? I’m glad the playoffs will be chosen by a committee rather than letting the human polls have such an impact…
Now here’s the Autumn Wind’s week 1 Top-10 recap:
1. Do you think some of these schools are rethinking paying FCS teams a ton of money to come play? Seven FCS teams took down FBS schools this weekend, most notably Eastern Washington going into Corvallis and taking out the ranked Beavers and not so surprisingly North Dakota State taking out Kansas State in Manhattan. I mean, we knew K-State wasn’t going to be the team they were last year, and the Bison have a history of beating FBS teams (now 7-3).
2. Oh boy does Kevin Sumlin have his hands full with Johnny Autograph. Not only did the spoiled little rich kid make a mockery of himself against Rice, but after the stupid taunting penalty and bumping through his coach after Sumlin tried to talk to him, his response is to bench him for the rest of the game? If you really want to make a statement Kevin, bench him for the next game AND the first quarter against Alabama. Watching this spoiled little rich kid melt-down is supposed to be TMZ material for the likes of Lindsay Lohan and Miley Cyrus, not the defending Heisman winner. Oh, and did I mention this was Rice? If lowly Rice (who put up 509 yards of offense by the way) gets under Manziel’s skin this easily, imagine what Saban, C.J. Mosley and company are gonna do when Alabama comes to town in a couple weeks.
3. Washington’s “upset” of Boise pretty much eliminates the BCS buster for the year. If Washington can figure out how to win on the road, they’ve got a chance to make some noise in the PAC-12 North. And, they do get Oregon at home. Of course though, they’ll likely lose on the road @ Illinois this weekend.
4. When I mentioned Boise losing “pretty much eliminates” a BCS buster this year, keep an eye on the Western Kentucky @ Tennessee game this weekend. Western Kentucky could make it 2-0 against the SEC, and don’t think that won’t come into play if they end up running the table.
5. I’m torn on the NCAA’s new targeting rule – aka, the when in doubt, throw ‘em out rule. I understand the emphasis on player protection and the typical 15-yard penalty wasn’t deterring any hits. But, it’s football. Hard hitting is part of the game. Clowney’s hit against Michigan in the bowl game last year probably qualifies under this new rule. And I hate when I see players slide to avoid a hit to the mid section that results in a blast to the head. We’ll see what impact this new rule has, and so far I think the refs are batting about 50/50 when it comes to “correct” interpretation of the rule.
6. A few Top-25 teams escaped with wins this weekend; most notably Ohio State and Nebraska. Ohio State just looked slow, and Nebraska’s defense obviously hasn’t improved since last year. Being outgained by Wyoming in Lincoln is never a good thing. At least Ohio State and Wisconsin aren’t on the schedule.
7. The PAC-12 South is the only unbeaten conference or subconference after week 1. And with Utah and Colorado in the division, that’s saying something. Of course Utah barely got by Utah State and Colorado always struggles with Colorado State…
8. Speaking of struggles, Notre Dame didn’t give up a rushing TD until game 8 against Oklahoma last year, and already gave up one against Temple this year. That’s right, a team picked to finish in the basement of the Big East…errrrr….AAC scored a rushing TD against Notre Dame. Uh oh. But, Rees and the offense looked better than I thought they would; sadly, it won’t be enough to get by Michigan this weekend.
9. LSU had an efficient, balanced offense and stellar defense against TCU, yet the game was still in doubt into the 4th. Miles’ offensive looked good under their new offensive coordinator, but going 13-19 on 3rd down will always make an offense look good. LSU should cruise to 4-0 before they travel to Georgia on September 28th.
10. The game of the week lived up to the hype with Clemson holding off Georgia for a huge opening night win. Tajh Boyd is now in the Heisman discussion, and Sammy Watkins continues to live up to the hype at wide receiver. Ultimately, Clemson needed this one more to stay in the National Title hunt, but Georgia has to beat South Carolina this weekend, or they’re done.
Now on to the Top-10 in the standings:
Top-10:
#1 Oregon (1-0) – 59 point favorites and they covered! And they’re crawling up the AP poll as well. Don’t worry, they’ll have you #1 soon enough.
#2 Ohio State (1-0) – A little hint; don’t let teams like Buffalo keep it close if you want to stay #2.
#3 South Carolina (1-0) – Gonna need to improve on both sides to have a chance this weekend against Georgia.
#4 Stanford (0-0) – Week 1 bye? Really?
#5 Alabama (1-0) – The defense and special teams looked great. The offense? Not so much…
#6 Louisville (11-0) – No that’s not a misprint. I’ve you 11-0 to save me the trouble of updating it every week. Note that I’m not sure you win @ Cincy to end the year…
#7 Clemson (1-0) – Impressive win to open the season. Next up: October 19th when Florida State comes to Death Valley.
#8 Oklahoma State (1-0) – Bring on the U.T. San Antonio Road Runners!
#9 Georgia (0-1) – By far the best one loss team in football.
#10 Florida (1-0) – What was Herbstreit smoking that he had you losing to Toldeo?
Heisman Watch:
Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina – If this is the kind of scrutiny he’s going to be under every game, he doesn’t stand a chance. I’ve never seen as much attention paid to whether or not a defensive lineman was in the game or not, if he had one hand or two hands on his knees during a huddle, how much he was breathing or not, etc. etc. etc. Yikes. Hope that’s just a week 1 thing.
BCS Title Game Prediction:
Oregon v. Ohio State – Oregon looked great; Ohio State did not. But, unlike the AP, I don’t change rankings when you win.
Week 2 Big Games:
Florida @ Miami – Old rivals (errr….big regional game?) that haven’t met since 2008 are back at it for one last time. Florida’s defense picked up right where they left off last year. Miami’s not quite back to the Miami of old, but they’re on their way. I like Florida 27 to 17.
Notre Dame @ Michigan – The last three between these rivals have been chaos – Michigan blowing a 21-7 lead in 2010 only to score in the final minute to win it; Notre Dame blowing 24-7 4th quarter lead, ending with three lead changes in the final two minutes in 2011; and of course the ugliness of the 2012 game in which we realized that Notre Dame’s defense was legit, forcing six turnovers and holding Michigan to six points. There will be more points than the 13-6 version of last year. Let’s pick Michigan 23 to 20.
Week 2 Game of the Week:
South Carolina @ Georgia – Georgia had its heart stomped out in Death Valley last weekend, but they can get right back into it this weekend at home against South Carolina. In order for my prediction of an SEC-less BCS Championship, I need Georgia to win this one. And have Georgia beat LSU. And LSU beat Alabama, and Alabama beat A&M. Piece one starts this weekend: Georgia 34 South Carolina 24.
Until next time…
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