Week One Postgame: West Coast Rising

You don't have to watch SportsCenter every day or spend 12 hours in front of the television every Saturday if you want to keep up with college football. Let me do that for you, so you can check out my weekly postgame report all fall.

The postgame report is simple. We'll take an overview of the weekend in college football. Then, we'll have a 3-up, 3-down (for the sake of football we'll have Third-Down Conversions and Three-and-Outs) teams on the rise and teams on the decline based on the weekend's performances. Finally, we'll preview the week ahead and what implications lie in the upcoming weekend. I'll close with a rundown of my 1-25 rankings.

*Of note, all rankings are Associated Press as of the previous week, unless listed as "new, latest, current," etc. or "Coaches' Poll, Harris Poll," etc. During the upcoming week's "Gameplan" rankings are current.*

Play-by-Play: The Rise of the West Coast

For years now the SEC, Big 12, even the Big 10 have been widely considered better than any West Coast team not named the Trojans.

This past weekend, the West took a big step back into the national limelight:

— No. 3 Oklahoma's loss (14-13 to BYU) took down a big buck for No. 4 USC (56-3 win over San Jose State) in its hunt for the National Championship. With a road game at current No. 8 Ohio State this weekend, the Trojans can vault right into the discussion with Florida and Texas.

— The Mountain West's No. 20 BYU, as already mentioned, did themselves a huge favor in busting the BCS by defeating Oklahoma and jumped up to the No. 9 ranking. The Cougars have a challenging schedule, but home-field advantage is in their favor from now on. The four most difficult opponents remaining (Florida State, current #16 TCU, Air Force, and current #17 Utah) will all have to travel to Provo to face BYU.

— Perennial BCS wrecker No. 14 Boise State quieted the quack of No. 16 Oregon (and LeGarrette Blount, who we'll discuss later), 19-8. The Broncos have an easy road ahead, and the win will serve as the biggest print on their BCS resume come December. Moreover, Boise State's defense proved it can stop one of the more prolific offenses in country.

—No. 12 Cal absolutely destroyed the ACC's Maryland in a 52-13 blowout and showed for once it can be a contender, instead of a pretender.

— Coming off the most embarrassing season in the school's history (a winless 0-12 campaign), unranked Washington stuck with No. 11 LSU for four quarters before falling 31-23 to the 2007 National Champion.

Third-Down Conversions

Small-conference BCS busters — Current No. 9 BYU and No. 12 Boise State put together impressive wins against ranked teams to insert themselves in BCS discussions. BYU has put themselves in a position where, if they run the table, they'll most assuredly be given a BCS bowl berth.

In fact, BYU's schedule is such that it could even suffer a loss and remain in the talk. Boise State's objective is simple: it must win every game it plays. A BYU loss certainly wouldn't do BSU any harm either, as BYU is currently in front of the Broncos for a coveted BCS bid.

Pete Carroll's Football Factory — Not only did Carroll's true freshman Matt Barkley (15/19, 233 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT) look like a total stud in his first start, but up north UW head coach Steve Sarkisian and defensive coordinator Nick Holt have changed the mindset of a Husky team that went winless last year. Sark and Holt were both part of Carroll's staff before moving to Seattle this past spring. Also of note, former Trojan and 2009 No. 5 overall pick, Mark Sanchez, will start his first pro game this coming weekend for the New York Jets.

Alabama — The Crimson Tide ran the regular season table last year but were never really a part of the SEC Championship game in a 31-20 loss to Florida, and were then shown up in the Sugar Bowl against a fiesty Utah team. No. 5 Alabama controlled the tempo in a 34-24 win over No. 7 Virginia Tech. I'm not sold V-Tech ever deserved to be a Top 10 team, but I am convinced Alabama has moved on from last season's fall in the postseason.

Three-and-Out

Sam Bradford's Sooners — Coming into the season, the Oklahoma defense was supposed to lead the team despite an offense led by the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner (Sam Bradford). When Bradford went down in the first half against BYU with an injured shoulder, it was really up to the defense to carry the torch. To its credit BYU only grabbed 14 points, but the Oklahoma offense crumbled without its leader and the Sooners' title hopes were kicked out the door like a puppy that peed on the floor.

LeGarrette Blount Quacks Up — No. 16 Oregon's starting running back LeGarrette Blount guaranteed Boise State "an ass whippin'," and since he couldn't deliver it during the game he took the liberty of producing it after. Walking off the field, he punched Broncos DE Byron Hout (who had taunted him) in the face, and later needed to be restrained from going after BSU fans in the tunnel. Blount has been suspended for the season, but what will this mean for the Ducks?

Blount's punch was the only attack from an otherwise punch-less offense. Oregon's offense averaged nearly 42 points last season but was held to just 8 in Boise. Chip Kelly's transition from offensive coordinator to head coach has looked anything but smooth. The good news is the loss was out-of-conference, but this team doesn't look like the BCS team I said they could be a week ago.

Ohio State's Preparation — Critics questioned the choice for No. 6 Ohio State to schedule Navy in Week One before the Week Two matchup with current No. 3 USC. Navy runs a triple-option offense based solely on the run. USC runs a pro-style offense that often uses three wide receivers and just one running back. The questions turned into an interrogation after the game as the Buckeyes just barely snuck past the Midshipmen, 31-27. Thus, not only does Ohio State have to completely shift gears for USC, they certainly aren't riding any momentum after struggling to beat the Naval Academy in the Horseshoe.

Extra Point

Miami's 38-34 win over No. 18 Florida State was an instant classic, as illustrated by ESPN replaying it on ESPN Classic on Tuesday night. The teams exchanged leads right until the very end, and FSU finished two yards short of winning the game. It was great to see these two teams put on a show on national TV, just like old times. However, only time will tell if this was a showdown between two powerhouses rising back to prominence or if it was just an evenly matched game between two borderline Top 25 teams. I think the truth falls somewhere in between.

This Week's Game Plan

#3 USC at #8 Ohio State, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN

Everyone has been talking about this matchup for months. In fact, in Ohio they've had this game circled since last September. Last season when these two met, the build-up was the same for what turned into a 35-3 rout by the Trojans. This year, the Buckeyes have more things working in their favor: they're at home as opposed to L.A., Terrelle Pryor is the unquestioned leader of the offense, and USC's true freshman QB will make his first ever road start.

As was the case last season, I'll be fortunate enough to take in this game in person. It should be a different game from last season but, at the end of the day, the winner will be the same. Ohio State raised too many red flags against Navy, while Barkley looked as comfortable as sitting on the living room couch against SJSU.

USC 28, Ohio State 17

#18 Notre Dame at Michigan, 3:30 ET, ABC

The Fighting Irish have been fighting for credibility, taking a big step by drubbing a not-too-shabby Nevada team 35-0 last week. Now they'll have to go on the road against a prominent program similarly fighting to gain credibility that beat Western Michigan 31-7 last week.

Last year, this matchup was the fulcrum on which the teams' respective seasons tilted. After a 3-9 campaign in 2007, Notre Dame leveraged the 35-17 win to go 6-6 and win the Hawaii Bowl. Michigan, on the other hand, combusted and stumbled to a 3-9 campaign of their own.

This year, the game could again serve as a springboard for the winner and a wrecking ball for the loser. I think that's a little drastic on both accounts, and with their off-the-field issues behind them, Michigan proves Notre Dame still has another level to go before deserving its Top 20 ranking.

Michigan 31, Notre Dame 28

Clemson at #15 Georgia Tech, Thurs 7:30 ET, ESPN

Clemson started last season ranked ninth in the country but took a big hit to Alabama in Week One. They sleep-walked to a 7-6 season that concluded with a loss to Nebraska in the Gator Bowl. That's a long way down for a team ranked with the preseason elite. The Tigers, supposedly a team on the rise in 2008, instead went heavily on the decline.

This season it's Georgia Tech that's supposed to be on the rise, but a 37-17 win over Jacksonville State gives no measurement on how good this team might be. Then again, neither is Clemson's 37-14 win over Middle Tennessee State.

The only thing we know for sure is that in an ACC that lacks a true powerhouse (Virginia Tech plummeted out of the Top 10 after a loss to Alabama), the winner of this game could make a big early-season move toward competing for the ACC title. The loser will likely fade into oblivion and wash up in the Gator Bowl on New Year's.

The matchup is made more compelling by appearing on Thursday night. Both teams have had significantly less time to prepare for this game, and it should be a disadvantage to Clemson to have to go on the road in the middle of the week like this.

Georgia Tech 30, Clemson 18

My Top 25

1. Florida
2. USC
3. Texas
4. Alabama
5. Penn State
6. Oklahoma State
7. Cal
8. BYU
9. Boise State
10. Ole Miss
11. Ohio State
12. LSU
13. Oklahoma
14. TCU
15. Virginia Tech
16. Miami
17. Utah
18. Georgia Tech
19. Georgia
20. Cincinnati
21. UNC
22. Missouri
23. Florida State
24. Oregon
25. Michigan State