College Football: 15 Frauds Heading into Week 2

If you could read lips (even a little bit), it was easy to see Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly wasn’t having a great afternoon Saturday.

It may have been a rough afternoon because of lightning delays, but we also learned the Irish really aren’t a relevant program again this season.

Notre Dame is a basically a mid-level Big East team.

So in just one very long weekend of action, we’ve learned a lot. Most importantly we’ve learned who the frauds are heading into the second week of the season.

It’s time to take a look at 15 frauds heading into this weekend’s games.

ADs from West Virginia/Marshall

It was one thing to sit through the first three-hour lightning delay, but after a fan was struck by lightning and another long delay they should have called the game.

West Virginia Athletic Director Oliver Luck probably did his best to convince Marshall’s Mike Hamrick to call it a game early in the fourth quarter.

But Hamrick likely felt a lot of pressure not to give in to Marshall’s “rival.”

Nearly seven hours after the game began, the two athletic directors finally decided it was time to call it.

Brian Kelly, Coach, Notre Dame

Anyone who watched Big East football while Brian Kelly was the coach at Cincinnati could not have been shocked his sideline theatrics Saturday.

But watching him implode and curse his way through a loss to South Florida was probably an eye opener for many Irish fans.

It wouldn’t surprise me a bit if Notre Dame’s players turn on Kelly and have a rougher than expected season.

Oregon State Beavers

We’ve all seen it before, but there’s still no excuse for losing to a Football Championship Subdivision team.

Yep, that’s what Oregon State did to kick off 2011.

What made it worse was there was a lot of talk that the Beavers would see a big improvement over last year’s 5-7 squad.

It’s not looking good for Mike Riley.

Lane Kiffin, Coach, USC

While USC won 19-17 over Minnesota, it took a late interception to seal the victory over a Gopher team that was expected to lose by at least two touchdowns.

Kiffin is now in his third season as a college coach and his teams are never impressive.

Just barely beating Minnesota is embarrassing for a program as talented as USC.

Auburn Tigers

This is an easy one.

Auburn should have lost to Utah State, but the Tigers found a little magic and pulled out a 42-38 win.

If not for a perfect bounce on an on-side kick, the defending BCS Champions would have lost its season opener.

Playing in the loaded SEC West is going to be very tough for Gene Chizik’s team. Is Auburn this year’s Texas?

TCU Defense

Gary Patterson’s teams have always been known for their stout defense.

There was nothing intimidating about TCU’s performance Friday in a 50-48 loss to Robert Griffin III, err, Baylor.

Griffin threw for 359 yards and five touchdowns as he picked apart TCU’s defense. Terrance Ganaway also rushed for 120 yards in the win.

Last year, TCU allowed an average of 12 points a game.

Notre Dame Quarterbacks

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly probably wishes he hadn’t pledged his loyalty to Dayne Crist during the preseason.

Now he has a quarterback controversy between Crist and Tommy Rees.

Crist struggled in the first half as South Florida built a 16-0 lead en route to a 23-20 win.

Rees did throw for 296 yards and two touchdowns, but he also had two picks.

David Cutcliffe, Coach, Duke

Duke was supposed to be much improved this year as David Cutcliffe began his fourth season.

Instead, the Blue Devils lost to Richmond for the third time in six years.

Cutcliffe is a great coach, but it just isn’t working at Duke.

Ole Miss Rebels

After dominating Brigham Young for three quarters, Houston Nutt’s team squandered the game and the Cougars won 14-13.

The Rebels have a serious talent deficiency and Nutt’s future in Oxford is unclear just one week into the season.

I wouldn’t be booking any postseason plans if I were at Ole Miss.

UCLA Defense

UCLA gave up 38 points to Houston, and you could argue the Bruins never really stopped the Cougars.

Instead, it was Houston that stopped itself on offense and not UCLA’s defense.

If UCLA’s defense keeps playing like this, it’s going to be another long season for the Bruins.

Notre Dame’s Red Zone Offense

If Notre Dame had held on to the ball Saturday, the Irish would have defeated South Florida.

Instead, three giveaways inside South Florida’s 20-yard line were too much to overcome for Brian Kelly’s squad.

Even with Kelly’s “explosive” offense, the Irish can’t give away chances at points.

Rick Neuheisel, Coach, UCLA

Rick Neuheisel entered the season on the hot seat and Saturday’s 38-34 loss to Houston was not a good start to 2011.

Neuheisel is now 4-15 on the road since returning to his alma mater.

If there was a bright spot it has to be UCLA’s offense, which looked much better than in recent years.

Aaron Murray, QB, Georgia

Look, Aaron Murray didn’t have a horrible game against Boise State, but he didn’t step up as a leader either.

Murray held the ball too long in the pocket, which resulted in a few sacks and set up too many third-and-longs.

In fairness to Murray, Georgia’s offensive line didn’t play very well either in the Bulldogs’ 35-21 loss Saturday night.

Oregon Ducks

Chip Kelly’s offense may pile up the stats against Pac-12 teams, but whenever they play a tough defense—from say the SEC—the unit falls apart.

When defenses have time to prepare for Kelly and his dynamic system, they have found a way to disrupt them.

Plagued by turnovers, penalties and other mistakes, Oregon showed it isn’t a BCS contender and might not be able to win the Pac-12.

South Carolina Defensive Backs

South Carolina’s highly touted defensive line didn’t play to bad, but the Gamecocks’ backfield was actually picked apart by East Carolina.

Of course, South Carolina went on to win 56-37 avoiding a horrendous meltdown in the season opener.

But Steve Spurrier has to be concerned with his defensive backs, who allowed Dominique Davis to pick them apart. The senior completed 37-of-56 for 260 yards and four touchdowns.

The talent is there, but right now it’s hard to feel confident about that unit.