10 Things We Learned In Week 2 Of College Football
With two weekends behind us it is still very early in the college football season but there has already been a number of big splashes made.
Virginia Tech can expect to fall out of the top 25. USC struggled to put away Virginia at home and Michigan has a budding star who might be the leading Heisman contender. These were a few of the headlines from a busy second Saturday in football.
Here are the ten things we learned after week two of the 2010 college football season.
10. Maybe the ACC Isn’t so Good After All
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The ACC had a chance to show the country that it was the premiere conference in the nation. Instead they fell apart at the seams. All four of the division’s ranked teams lost. Monday, Virginia Tech could not hold on to a late 4th quarter lead and lost to Boise State. They followed that up by losing at home to FCS member James Madison. Florida State was throttled by Oklahoma, Georgia Tech lost to a lowly Kansas team and Miami was abysmal in a loss to Ohio State.
The season is far from over but if this weekend is any indication, things might get a lot worse for this conference. The ACC is guaranteed an automatic BCS Bowl bid but their chances of producing a national champion are all but gone. If this is the best the ACC has to offer, they are not very good.
9. Terrelle Pryor Is On His Way
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Terrelle Pryor was poised, booming with confidence and good enough to lead his team to victory. Pryor went 12 for 27 and threw for 233 yards and a touchdown. His best drive of the game happened early in the 2nd quarter when he hit DeVier Posey for a 62 yard gain and followed that up with an 18 yard touchdown pass to Brandon Saine. He didn’t put on the greatest passing performance but he didn’t turn the ball over and made big plays when his team needed them. Pryor also added 113 yards on the ground and another score.
More than anything it was Pryor’s decision making that made the difference. He was more efficient than Hurricane quarterback Jacory Harris and never put his team in any bad spots. On a big stage and in a big game Pryor again shined. If Ohio State is going to contend for a national title then Pryor must continue to improve and make good decisions. Combine that with his athletic ability and strong arm and the Buckeyes can be every bit as good as their no. 2 ranking.
8. It’s Going to Be a Long Year for Virginia Tech
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The good news for Virginia Tech is that the week that wouldn’t end is finally over. The bad news, they are 0-2 and look completely lost. “I don’t know what’s going on,” tailback Ryan Williams said. “I really don’t.”
After dropping a close game to Boise State last week, Virginia Tech looked to take their frustrations out on James Madison university but it didn’t work out that way. The Dukes took a lead in the 4th quarter and managed to somehow hold on. The win is one of the biggest upsets in college football’s recent history.
For Virginia Tech, the season doesn’t figure to get any easier. Next, they play a 2-0 East Carolina team who defeated the Hokies two years ago. They still have games against conference foes Miami, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Boston College but are most likely more concerned with winning their first game of the season.
A season that began with so much promise is now a season that Virginia Tech must try and salvage. Their shot at winning a national title is over but they can still post double digit wins and win the ACC.
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7. The Big 10 Is Wide-Open
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The Big Ten figured to be at most a three team race between Iowa, Ohio State and Penn State with Wisconsin not too far behind. After two weeks of play, you can throw in Michigan and Michigan State. Ohio State is still a heavy favorite to win the conference but they are by no means a lock.
Michigan might have the best offensive weapon in the conference in Denard Robinson and Wisconsin has a trio of quality running backs. Penn State was hammered by defending champion Alabama but they are a young team who figures to get better as the season progresses. Michigan State is probably the weakest of all the teams at the top of division their undefeated after two games. The Spartans will get their first real test against Notre Dame next week.
The best team in the Big Ten might be Iowa. The Hawkeyes have given up seven points in each of their opening two games. Ricky Stanzi is a veteran quarterback and the Hawkeyes have two punishing rushers in Adam Robinson and Jewel Hampton. The defense appears strong and though they might not always win pretty, their smash mouth style will make them a tough game for anyone.
6. Oklahoma Is Back
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What a difference a week makes. Seven days ago, Oklahoma looked like a team who had fallen from the elites. It was to be expected after they lost Heisman trophy winning quarterback Sam Bradford, tight end Jermaine Gresham and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy to the NFL. Still fans in Norman had to be worried when Oklahoma only beat Utah State by six points. Worry no more Sooner nation. Oklahoma took it to Florida State 47-17. It was the Sooners 32nd straight victory at home.
Sophomore quarterback Landry Jones threw for 321 yards and had three touchdown passes all before halftime. Jones would finish the game with 380 yards and four touchdowns. The game was over by the half. The Sooners jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The offense scored on its first four possessions and ended the game with 487 total yards.
Oklahoma will host their third home game of the season next week against Air Force. After that it’s on to play at Cincinnati and the Red River shootout with Texas the following week. Oklahoma looks primed and ready to make a run towards Glendale and the BCS title game. Boomer Sooner!
5. Don't Mess With The FCS
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Teams from the Big six conferences looking for easy wins and a chance to pad stats might want to leave the FCS (football championship subdivision) alone.
No one will ever forget when Appalachian State went into the Big House in 2007 and beat a ranked Michigan team on opening weekend. Last week Ole Miss lost in overtime to Jacksonville St. and North Dakota St. beat Kansas. This weekend wasn’t any kinder to the power conferences. South Dakota won in Minnesota and James Madison had the biggest upset of them all. The Dukes went into Blacksburg and beat the no. 13 ranked Hokies 21-16. Virginia Tech had managed to beat the Dukes by a combined score of 90-0 in their previous two meetings. James Madison’s coach Mickey Matthews called the win the biggest of his career.
Once the whipping boys for ranked teams, now FCS members pose a legit threat at not only making games competitive but winning them. So top ranked teams beware and choose those non-conference games wisely. Next up for the FCS is Portland St. at Oregon. The Ducks would be wise to not take the Vikings lightly. Otherwise they could be the next Goliath to fall.
4. Denard Robinson Is The Best Player In The Nation
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Rich Rodriguez entered year three in Ann Arbor trying to save his job. After two weeks his team is ranked and he has perhaps the nation’s most versatile offensive threat. Robinson is arguably a more complete dual threat quarterback than either Tim Tebow or Vince Young (both of whom won national titles).
Robinson guided Michigan to a come from behind victory over Notre Dame. In the process he threw for 244 yards and a touchdown. Robinson was even more amazing running the ball, he ran for 258 yards (breaking his own rushing record) and two touchdowns, one of which was an 87 yard bolt. It’s too early to pick a Heisman winner but Robinson is definitely the front runner.
Michigan has a long way to go but they are ranked for the first time in two seasons and the Big Blue faithful have reason to smile. They are taking a step in the right direction towards a return to prominence. The challenge now is to keep the momentum going for the entire season. Last year, Michigan started strong but sputtered down the stretch. The Wolverines must keep Robinson healthy and not read the press clippings. If they can do those things the sky is the limit in Ann Arbor.
3. Alabama Keeps Rolling on
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Alabama is a team on a mission. They take the field like a team more than ready to defend a national championship. Nick Saban has a strangle hold on his boys and seems dead set on keeping them focused on playing in the moment. Saban is all business all the time. Saturday’s game in Tuscaloosa was supposed to be a battle of top 25 teams. Instead the Crimson Tide absolutely dismantled no. 18 Penn State. Running back Trent Richardson ran for 144 yards and a score in leading his team to a 24-3 victory. Greg McElroy added two touchdown tosses and threw for 229 yards.
Alabama’s defense laid the hammer down on the Nittany Lions all day. The Tide forced four turnovers and held Penn State to 283 total yards. The Crimson Tide’s defense has given up just a pair of field goals in the first eight quarters of the season.
The scariest fact is they have done all this without Heisman winning running back Mark Ingram. Ingram has missed the first two games of the season with a knee injury. Richardson has proved he is more than capable of replacing him and has run for 210 yards and three touchdowns in two games.
Alabama will go on the road next week to play Duke but their next big test should be a matchup in Fayetteville against Arkansas in two weeks.
2. Oregon Has The Best Offense In The Country
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The Ducks score at will and have an umpteen amount of available options offensively. Their first victory was a 72-0 blowout of New Mexico that had to be taken with a grain of salt considering the opposition. Then they went into Knoxville and played an even half of football with Tennessee before exploding for thirty two second half points and winning 48-13.
LaMichael James returned from suspension and scored on a remarkable 72-yard run. James would finish the game with 134 yards on 16 carries. The night however belonged to Darron Thomas. Thomas threw for 202 yards and a pair of touchdowns and solidified himself as the starting quarterback. Kenjon Barner would score on an 80 yard punt return and cornerback Cliff Harris would return an interception 75 yards for another score.
The Ducks put up 447 yards of total offense and scored more points in Neyland stadium than any non-conference opponent in the last two decades.
Oregon looks like one of the top two or three teams in the country and with so many weapons they can score at will. They already have four players who’ve scored rushing touchdowns and they’ve totaled 1,167 yards of offense in their first two games.
Currently ranked no. 5, if Oregon continues to dominate opponents this way they will find themselves atop the polls in no time.
1. Boise State Lost Without Playing a Game
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For the past few years, Boise St. coach Chris Petersen has lobbied for big name schools to play his team and they all declined. Then Virginia Tech stepped up and gave Boise an opportunity to play in front of national television audience in primetime. Boise St. delivered and won the game. Unfortunately for the Broncos, Virginia Tech was upset at home on Saturday by James Madison. The loss takes some of the luster off of Boise’s big win. The latest polls show no. 3 Boise St. slipping farther behind Alabama and Ohio St. in the rankings. This must be news in Boise because they didn’t even play a game this weekend.
The Broncos needed Virginia Tech to win the rest of its games in order to boost their resume and give them a realistic chance at playing for a national title.
As it stands, Boise has about the same chance of getting in the title game as the two loss Virginia Tech. The Hokies are unquestionably the toughest game on Boise’s schedule and their fall from the top 25 is a huge blow to Boise’s strength of schedule.
Fair or not the voters will look at the rest of the WAC and see a bunch of middle and low tier teams and punish Boise for playing them. Now their best chance at getting in the championship will depend on the rest of the top 25. If Boise State can finish the season as the only undefeated team they will have a stronger case, especially if Virginia Tech were able to crawl back into the polls.
Still the voters and the computers may prefer to put two, one loss teams from the power conferences in the championship instead of an unbeaten Boise State team.
Win out and Petersen’s team can expect to play in their second consecutive BCS bowl game but not much more.
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