What is Waco Kid's Weekly College Football Review? It is an ongoing weekly review of all things College Football!!
Each week upcoming games can be discussed and predictions made, name-calling after victories and general all-around college football discussion! Each week will be closed out by the next Monday and a new thread opened for the current college football schedule for each week.
Rules -
"Rules?? We don't need no stinkin’ rules!"
Actually we do.
WKWCFR rule 1
"Lies, damn lies and statistics!"
British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli
If you quote a stat, record, 3rd down conversion rate, an all-time mark or the number of jock straps an 85-man team needs ...
Post it! If you can't post a link to it, it's bogus!
What's valid in the Internet age? Just about anything! Any of the major sports publications, local newspapers, any of the big networks and official school and NCAA sites just to cover the big ones.
WKWCFR rule 2
Predictions must be posted 1 day in advance! If you haven't read the sports page and figgured out who's going to win by the day before ya never will!
Must be time stamped before Midnight the day before game-day, for any weekly games Thur-Sun on the current weekly schedule.
So there you have it, pretty basic! You can post on general topics of your favorite teams regardless of that week's opponent. Just remember WKWCFR rule 1
Polls
This week's top 25 games.
All Times EST
Thursday’s Game
No. 21 Auburn at Mississippi State, 7:30 p.m.
Friday’s Game
No. 23 West Virginia at Marshall, 7 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 18 Penn State, 7 p.m.
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 12 Miami, 3:40 p.m.
No. 4 TCU vs. Tennessee Tech, 7 p.m.
No. 5 Texas vs. Wyoming, 7 p.m.
No. 6 Nebraska vs. Idaho, 12:30 p.m.
No. 7 Oregon at Tennessee, 7 p.m.
No. 8 Florida vs. South Florida, 12:20 p.m.
No. 9 Iowa vs. Iowa State, 3:30 p.m.
No. 10 Oklahoma vs. No. 17 Florida State, 3:30 p.m.
No. 11 Wisconsin vs. San Jose State, Noon
No. 13 Virginia Tech vs. James Madison, 1:30 p.m.
No. 14 Arkansas vs. Louisiana-Monroe at Little Rock, Ark., 7 p.m.
No. 15 Georgia Tech at Kansas, Noon
No. 16 Southern Cal vs. Virginia, 10:30 p.m.
No. 19 LSU at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m.
No. 20 Utah vs. UNLV, 4 p.m.
No. 22 Georgia at No. 24 South Carolina, Noon
No. 25 Stanford at UCLA, 10:30 p.m.
- The_Waco_Kid
- 09-07-2010, 07:52 PM
- The_Waco_Kid
- 09-07-2010, 08:08 PM
ok now for something new! Top 25 predictions! take the Top 25 games i'll add each week and pick the winners!
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 18 Penn State, 7 p.m. - Alabama. Sorry JoePa not at Bama even without Ingram.
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 12 Miami, 3:40 p.m. - Miami. 'Canes put heat on Pryor and get a W at the 'Shoe.
No. 4 TCU vs. Tennessee Tech, 7 p.m. - TCU. Easy Win for TCU, Patty doesn't have letdowns.
No. 5 Texas vs. Wyoming, 7 p.m. - Texas. Gilbert Grape gets it going.
No. 6 Nebraska vs. Idaho, 12:30 p.m. - Nebraska. No Suh, no problem.
No. 7 Oregon at Tennessee, 7 p.m. - Oregon. Don't think that other UT is ready yet even at home.
No. 8 Florida vs. South Florida, 12:20 p.m. - Florida. Pope Urbie doesn't have a QB problem, yet.
No. 9 Iowa vs. Iowa State, 3:30 p.m. - Iowa. Rivalry game but no excuses if Iowa chokes.
No. 10 Oklahoma vs. No. 17 Florida State, 3:30 p.m. - Florida St. Upset. Landy ain't Tom, or Sam. the other Stoops gets some turnovers.
No. 11 Wisconsin vs. San Jose State, Noon - Wisconson. Badgers should control this one by running it.
No. 13 Virginia Tech vs. James Madison, 1:30 p.m. - Va Tech. Feel the pain and cash the check JM.
No. 14 Arkansas vs. Louisiana-Monroe at Little Rock, Ark., 7 p.m. - Arkansas. Mallett puts the hammer on D2 patsy.
No. 15 Georgia Tech at Kansas, Noon - Ga Tech. ROUT!!! Gill stunk in opener, 6-3 loss to D2 team .. at home! Welcome to the coaching hotseat and the big leagues Turner.
No. 16 Southern Cal vs. Virginia, 10:30 p.m. - USC. Kiffy rolls .. for now.
No. 19 LSU at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m. - LSU. Vandy is .. Vandy.
No. 20 Utah vs. UNLV, 4 p.m. - Utah. Underestimated both Utah and Wanny's penchant to choke.
No. 22 Georgia at No. 24 South Carolina, Noon - South Carolina. Steve Superior takes one from UGA, just like old times.
No. 25 Stanford at UCLA, 10:30 p.m. - UCLA. Stanford is overrated and UCLA should be pissed after losing opener to K St.
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 18 Penn State, 7 p.m. - Alabama. Sorry JoePa not at Bama even without Ingram.
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 12 Miami, 3:40 p.m. - Miami. 'Canes put heat on Pryor and get a W at the 'Shoe.
No. 4 TCU vs. Tennessee Tech, 7 p.m. - TCU. Easy Win for TCU, Patty doesn't have letdowns.
No. 5 Texas vs. Wyoming, 7 p.m. - Texas. Gilbert Grape gets it going.
No. 6 Nebraska vs. Idaho, 12:30 p.m. - Nebraska. No Suh, no problem.
No. 7 Oregon at Tennessee, 7 p.m. - Oregon. Don't think that other UT is ready yet even at home.
No. 8 Florida vs. South Florida, 12:20 p.m. - Florida. Pope Urbie doesn't have a QB problem, yet.
No. 9 Iowa vs. Iowa State, 3:30 p.m. - Iowa. Rivalry game but no excuses if Iowa chokes.
No. 10 Oklahoma vs. No. 17 Florida State, 3:30 p.m. - Florida St. Upset. Landy ain't Tom, or Sam. the other Stoops gets some turnovers.
No. 11 Wisconsin vs. San Jose State, Noon - Wisconson. Badgers should control this one by running it.
No. 13 Virginia Tech vs. James Madison, 1:30 p.m. - Va Tech. Feel the pain and cash the check JM.
No. 14 Arkansas vs. Louisiana-Monroe at Little Rock, Ark., 7 p.m. - Arkansas. Mallett puts the hammer on D2 patsy.
No. 15 Georgia Tech at Kansas, Noon - Ga Tech. ROUT!!! Gill stunk in opener, 6-3 loss to D2 team .. at home! Welcome to the coaching hotseat and the big leagues Turner.
No. 16 Southern Cal vs. Virginia, 10:30 p.m. - USC. Kiffy rolls .. for now.
No. 19 LSU at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m. - LSU. Vandy is .. Vandy.
No. 20 Utah vs. UNLV, 4 p.m. - Utah. Underestimated both Utah and Wanny's penchant to choke.
No. 22 Georgia at No. 24 South Carolina, Noon - South Carolina. Steve Superior takes one from UGA, just like old times.
No. 25 Stanford at UCLA, 10:30 p.m. - UCLA. Stanford is overrated and UCLA should be pissed after losing opener to K St.
- cptjohnstone
- 09-07-2010, 10:41 PM
No. 10 Oklahoma vs. No. 17 Florida State, 3:30 p.m. - Florida St. Upset. Landy ain't Tom, or Sam. the other Stoops gets some turnovers.
there is so much pissing and moaning up here in OK it is down right funny.
How does a 5 loss team go to thinking they are going to win the national championship the next year
there is so much pissing and moaning up here in OK it is down right funny.
How does a 5 loss team go to thinking they are going to win the national championship the next year
- TexRich
- 09-07-2010, 11:42 PM
Upset Saturday?
- DustyHands
- 09-08-2010, 12:16 AM
I actually like Ohio State, South Florida(!), OU, KS, Rockytop, and would love to see UVA upset USC. - but i don't feel good enough about any of those picks to wager.
TCU looked beatable early last year (saw them in person) but improved. I was worried, but they looked a lot better than OR State than reflected in the score.
ps- I feel gay commenting on uniforms but VTech- cant do a whole lot with orange and purple/maroon but those have to be the worst uniforms I've ever seen.
pps- I think ULMonroe is actually D1 but i may be wrong.
TCU looked beatable early last year (saw them in person) but improved. I was worried, but they looked a lot better than OR State than reflected in the score.
ps- I feel gay commenting on uniforms but VTech- cant do a whole lot with orange and purple/maroon but those have to be the worst uniforms I've ever seen.
pps- I think ULMonroe is actually D1 but i may be wrong.
- The_Waco_Kid
- 09-08-2010, 07:39 AM
pps- I think ULMonroe is actually D1 but i may be wrong. Originally Posted by DustyHandsAfter instant replay LOL they are. The Mighty Sun Belt conference.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/teams/nnb
- The_Waco_Kid
- 09-08-2010, 08:33 PM
I think this year could be a chaos year. Well i said that last year so i got a good chance to right this time! There's been some serious "Upset Saturday's" in recent years, however picking Free Shoes U over them Loser Sooners isn't a real upset. Neither is the Convicts over SweaterVest. but it will happen one Saturday this year, sooner or later 
- Judge Smails
- 09-09-2010, 01:35 AM
waco, love your thread. Will check in on the Bugeaters when we actually play someone. In the meantime, we are auditioning for a starting QB, rotating three ain't a long term plan
- The_Waco_Kid
- 09-09-2010, 09:58 PM
Judge Elihu Smails -
Spaulding, this calls for the old Billy Baroo.
This is a biggie! Don't let me down, Billy!
Forty thousand dollars...Billy
you won't need the 'ol Billy Baroo this week Judge.
No. 6 Nebraska vs. Idaho, 12:30 p.m. - Nebraska. No Suh, no problem.
now let's see, sometime on or about Oct 16th you might!
maybe by then Bo will find a QB!
Spaulding, this calls for the old Billy Baroo.
This is a biggie! Don't let me down, Billy!
Forty thousand dollars...Billy
you won't need the 'ol Billy Baroo this week Judge.
No. 6 Nebraska vs. Idaho, 12:30 p.m. - Nebraska. No Suh, no problem.
now let's see, sometime on or about Oct 16th you might!
maybe by then Bo will find a QB!
- The_Waco_Kid
- 09-11-2010, 03:25 PM
Let the upsets begin!! would never have thought Va Tech goes down at home to James Madison!
James Madison 21 Va Tech 16
Kansas 28 Ga Tech 25
didn't think the Jayhawks could stop Ga Tech's rush game. Apparently they did!
not shaping up to be a good day for Tech's is it?
I bet Va Tech falls completely out of the polls ala Michigan after the Appy St. upset. Also bet they are back in the polls by season's end same as Michigan.
got the UGA S Carolina game right, Steve Superior might finally be ready to make a move.
S Carolina 17 UGA 6
James Madison 21 Va Tech 16
Kansas 28 Ga Tech 25
didn't think the Jayhawks could stop Ga Tech's rush game. Apparently they did!
not shaping up to be a good day for Tech's is it?
I bet Va Tech falls completely out of the polls ala Michigan after the Appy St. upset. Also bet they are back in the polls by season's end same as Michigan.
got the UGA S Carolina game right, Steve Superior might finally be ready to make a move.
S Carolina 17 UGA 6
- The_Waco_Kid
- 09-12-2010, 11:02 AM
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 18 Penn State, 7 p.m. - Alabama. Sorry JoePa not at Bama even without Ingram.
(18) Penn St. 0 0 0 3 3 Final
(1) Alabama 7 10 0 7 24
Par for the course.
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 12 Miami, 3:40 p.m. - Miami. 'Canes put heat on Pryor and get a W at the 'Shoe.
(12) Miami (FL) 7 10 0 7 24 Final(2) Ohio St. 3 23 10 0 36
Whiffed this one, the other QB melted down. 'Canes aren't back. Pryor didn't impress me.
No. 4 TCU vs. Tennessee Tech, 7 p.m. - TCU. Easy Win for TCU, Patty doesn't have letdowns.
Tennessee Tech 0 7 0 0 7 Final(4) TCU 21 14 6 21 62
Patty doesn't do letdowns! Froggies roll.
No. 5 Texas vs. Wyoming, 7 p.m. - Texas. Gilbert Grape gets it going.
Wyoming 0 7 0 0 7 Final(5) Texas 3 17 7 7 34
More balance, Gilbert hasn't thrown an INT yet.
No. 6 Nebraska vs. Idaho, 12:30 p.m. - Nebraska. No Suh, no problem.
Idaho 0 3 7 7 17 Final(6) Nebraska 3 28 7 0 38
No Suh, no QB, no problem!
No. 7 Oregon at Tennessee, 7 p.m. - Oregon. Don't think that other UT is ready yet even at home.
(7) Oregon 3 10 14 21 48 Final Tennessee 6 7 0 0 13
Nope, not ready yet.
No. 8 Florida vs. South Florida, 12:20 p.m. - Florida. Pope Urbie doesn't have a QB problem, yet.
South Florida 7 0 7 0 14 Final(8) Florida 0 7 21 10 38
This time only sloppy for 15 minutes.
No. 9 Iowa vs. Iowa State, 3:30 p.m. - Iowa. Rivalry game but no excuses if Iowa chokes.
Iowa St. 0 0 0 7 7 Final(9) Iowa 7 21 7 0 35
Captain Kirk gets it done.
No. 10 Oklahoma vs. No. 17 Florida State, 3:30 p.m. - Florida St. Upset. Landry ain't Tom, or Sam. the other Stoops gets some turnovers.
(17) Florida St. 7 0 0 10 17 Final(10) Oklahoma 14 20 10 3 47
Whiffed this one too, other than Landry and the defense's bad opener took shot in the dark here, no dice.
No. 11 Wisconsin vs. San Jose State, Noon - Wisconsin. Badgers should control this one by running it.
San Jose St. 0 0 7 7 14 Final(11) Wisconsin 7 10 3 7 27
Badgers? We don't need no stinkin' Badgers! typical conservative grinder from the land of cheese.
No. 13 Virginia Tech vs. James Madison, 1:30 p.m. - Va Tech. Feel the pain and cash the check JM.
James Madison 0 7 7 7 21 Final (13) Virginia Tech 7 6 3 0 16
OMFG!!! What happened Frankie? no excuses you blew it.
No. 14 Arkansas vs. Louisiana-Monroe at Little Rock, Ark., 7 p.m. - Arkansas. Mallett puts the hammer on D2 patsy.
LA Monroe 0 0 0 7 7 Final(14) Arkansas 7 0 7 17 31
actually expected this to be worse, given Boobo's habit of runnin' it up. Not D2 patsy but patsy none the less.
No. 15 Georgia Tech at Kansas, Noon - Ga Tech. ROUT!!! Gill stunk in opener, 6-3 loss to D2 team .. at home! Welcome to the coaching hotseat and the big leagues Turner.
(15) Georgia Tech 7 10 0 8 25 FinalKansas 7 7 7 7 28
Whiffed this one too, Turner is now the anointed savior of Kansas football. This week. Ga Tech run game rolls snake eyes.
No. 16 Southern Cal vs. Virginia, 10:30 p.m. - USC. Kiffy rolls .. for now.
Virginia 0 7 0 7 14 Final(16) USC 0 14 0 3 17
Kiffy doesn't roll after all. USC doesn't look sharp, is it da coach, the team or both? We'll know soon enough.
No. 19 LSU at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m. - LSU. Vandy is .. Vandy.
(19) LSU 0 10 0 17 27 Final Vanderbilt 0 0 3 0 3
Vandy is Vandy. Lester still needs to show he can win without Nicky Satan's recruits. More on that later.
No. 20 Utah vs. UNLV, 4 p.m. - Utah. Underestimated both Utah and Wanny's penchant to choke.
UNLV 3 0 7 0 10 Final(20) Utah 3 14 14 7 38
Utes home win streak intact. not going to underestimate Utes again. Be careful Froggies you go to Salt Lake City later this year. Feel free to contact Judge Smails to borrow the 'ol Billy Baroo you may need it.
No. 22 Georgia at No. 24 South Carolina, Noon - South Carolina. Steve Superior takes one from UGA, just like old times.
(22) Georgia 3 0 3 0 6 Final(24) South Carolina 7 7 0 3 17
Just like old times. Are gamecocks Florida lite? To be determined.
No. 25 Stanford at UCLA, 10:30 p.m. - UCLA. Stanford is overrated and UCLA should be pissed after losing opener to K St.
(25) Stanford 10 3 15 7 35 Final UCLA 0 0 0 0 0
Not even close. Don't care for Jimmy H, not sure why just don't. Yep UCLA should be pissed because you stink.
(18) Penn St. 0 0 0 3 3 Final
(1) Alabama 7 10 0 7 24 Par for the course.
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 12 Miami, 3:40 p.m. - Miami. 'Canes put heat on Pryor and get a W at the 'Shoe.
(12) Miami (FL) 7 10 0 7 24 Final
(2) Ohio St. 3 23 10 0 36 Whiffed this one, the other QB melted down. 'Canes aren't back. Pryor didn't impress me.
No. 4 TCU vs. Tennessee Tech, 7 p.m. - TCU. Easy Win for TCU, Patty doesn't have letdowns.
Tennessee Tech 0 7 0 0 7 Final
(4) TCU 21 14 6 21 62 Patty doesn't do letdowns! Froggies roll.
No. 5 Texas vs. Wyoming, 7 p.m. - Texas. Gilbert Grape gets it going.
Wyoming 0 7 0 0 7 Final
(5) Texas 3 17 7 7 34 More balance, Gilbert hasn't thrown an INT yet.
No. 6 Nebraska vs. Idaho, 12:30 p.m. - Nebraska. No Suh, no problem.
Idaho 0 3 7 7 17 Final
(6) Nebraska 3 28 7 0 38 No Suh, no QB, no problem!
No. 7 Oregon at Tennessee, 7 p.m. - Oregon. Don't think that other UT is ready yet even at home.
(7) Oregon 3 10 14 21 48 Final Tennessee 6 7 0 0 13 Nope, not ready yet.
No. 8 Florida vs. South Florida, 12:20 p.m. - Florida. Pope Urbie doesn't have a QB problem, yet.
South Florida 7 0 7 0 14 Final
(8) Florida 0 7 21 10 38 This time only sloppy for 15 minutes.
No. 9 Iowa vs. Iowa State, 3:30 p.m. - Iowa. Rivalry game but no excuses if Iowa chokes.
Iowa St. 0 0 0 7 7 Final
(9) Iowa 7 21 7 0 35 Captain Kirk gets it done.
No. 10 Oklahoma vs. No. 17 Florida State, 3:30 p.m. - Florida St. Upset. Landry ain't Tom, or Sam. the other Stoops gets some turnovers.
(17) Florida St. 7 0 0 10 17 Final
(10) Oklahoma 14 20 10 3 47 Whiffed this one too, other than Landry and the defense's bad opener took shot in the dark here, no dice.
No. 11 Wisconsin vs. San Jose State, Noon - Wisconsin. Badgers should control this one by running it.
San Jose St. 0 0 7 7 14 Final
(11) Wisconsin 7 10 3 7 27 Badgers? We don't need no stinkin' Badgers! typical conservative grinder from the land of cheese.
No. 13 Virginia Tech vs. James Madison, 1:30 p.m. - Va Tech. Feel the pain and cash the check JM.
James Madison 0 7 7 7 21 Final (13) Virginia Tech 7 6 3 0 16 OMFG!!! What happened Frankie? no excuses you blew it.
No. 14 Arkansas vs. Louisiana-Monroe at Little Rock, Ark., 7 p.m. - Arkansas. Mallett puts the hammer on D2 patsy.
LA Monroe 0 0 0 7 7 Final
(14) Arkansas 7 0 7 17 31 actually expected this to be worse, given Boobo's habit of runnin' it up. Not D2 patsy but patsy none the less.
No. 15 Georgia Tech at Kansas, Noon - Ga Tech. ROUT!!! Gill stunk in opener, 6-3 loss to D2 team .. at home! Welcome to the coaching hotseat and the big leagues Turner.
(15) Georgia Tech 7 10 0 8 25 Final
Kansas 7 7 7 7 28 Whiffed this one too, Turner is now the anointed savior of Kansas football. This week. Ga Tech run game rolls snake eyes.
No. 16 Southern Cal vs. Virginia, 10:30 p.m. - USC. Kiffy rolls .. for now.
Virginia 0 7 0 7 14 Final
(16) USC 0 14 0 3 17 Kiffy doesn't roll after all. USC doesn't look sharp, is it da coach, the team or both? We'll know soon enough.
No. 19 LSU at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m. - LSU. Vandy is .. Vandy.
(19) LSU 0 10 0 17 27 Final Vanderbilt 0 0 3 0 3 Vandy is Vandy. Lester still needs to show he can win without Nicky Satan's recruits. More on that later.
No. 20 Utah vs. UNLV, 4 p.m. - Utah. Underestimated both Utah and Wanny's penchant to choke.
UNLV 3 0 7 0 10 Final
(20) Utah 3 14 14 7 38 Utes home win streak intact. not going to underestimate Utes again. Be careful Froggies you go to Salt Lake City later this year. Feel free to contact Judge Smails to borrow the 'ol Billy Baroo you may need it.
No. 22 Georgia at No. 24 South Carolina, Noon - South Carolina. Steve Superior takes one from UGA, just like old times.
(22) Georgia 3 0 3 0 6 Final
(24) South Carolina 7 7 0 3 17 Just like old times. Are gamecocks Florida lite? To be determined.
No. 25 Stanford at UCLA, 10:30 p.m. - UCLA. Stanford is overrated and UCLA should be pissed after losing opener to K St.
(25) Stanford 10 3 15 7 35 Final UCLA 0 0 0 0 0 Not even close. Don't care for Jimmy H, not sure why just don't. Yep UCLA should be pissed because you stink.
- The_Waco_Kid
- 09-12-2010, 06:29 PM
September 12, 2010
Rivals.com Staff
MORE: Week 2 winners and losers
Tom Dienhart's Week 2 awards
Wish I were him: Jim Harbaugh, Stanford
Glad I'm not him: Dan Hawkins, Colorado
Lucky guy: Bill Stewart, West Virginia
Poor guy: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Desperately seeking a clue: Tim Brewster, Minnesota
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech
Desperately seeking ... anything: Rick Neuheisel, UCLA
Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer reacts during Saturday's loss to James Madison. The Hokies dropped to 0-2 on the season.
TEAMS
Thought you'd kick butt, you did: Alabama
Thought you'd kick butt, you didn't: Virginia Tech
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you did: Penn State
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you didn't: Virginia
Dang, they're good: Iowa
Dang, they're bad: Duke
Did the season start? UCLA
Can the season end? Florida State
Can the season never end? Ohio State
GAMES
Play this again: Michigan 28, Notre Dame 24
Never play this again: Connecticut 62, Texas Southern 3
What? Gardner-Webb 38, Akron 37 (OT)
Huh? Kansas 28, Georgia Tech 25
Are you kidding me? South Dakota 41, Minnesota 38
Oh ? my ? God: James Madison 21, Virginia Tech 16
Told you so: South Carolina 17, Georgia 6
NEXT WEEK
Ticket to die for: Arkansas at Georgia
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: Air Force at Oklahoma
Best non-Big Six matchup: Fresno State at Utah State
Upset alert: Mississippi State over LSU in Baton Rouge
Must win: Florida over Tennessee at Knoxville
Offensive explosion: Texas at Texas Tech
Defensive struggle: Iowa at Arizona
Great game no one is talking about: Clemson at Auburn
Intriguing coaching matchup: Nebraska's Bo Pelini vs. Washington's Steve Sarkisian
Who's bringing the body bags? Ohio at Ohio State
Why are they playing? Massachusetts at Michigan
Plenty of good seats remaining: Northwestern at Rice
They shoot horses, don't they? Indiana at Western Kentucky
What we learned in Week 2
Each Sunday, our staff of college football experts will offer thoughts on things they learned over the weekend.
Olin Buchanan
South Carolina is a legitimate contender in the SEC East. Freshman running back Marcus Lattimore is a big reason. The Gamecocks have shown signs of challenging under Steve Spurrier, but typically have collapsed. But in a 17-6 victory over Georgia, the team showed that it appears to have a physical and tough quality that previous teams seemed to lack. Lattimore provides an element of power to a running game that was lackluster, quarterback Stephen Garcia keeps demonstrating that he's improved, the Gamecocks have big, strong receivers and Ellis Johnson has another strong defense. This looks like the season the Gamecocks finally have a realistic chance to reach Atlanta for the SEC championship game.
The explosiveness Oregon showed in a 72-0 victory last week wasn't just a by-product of playing lowly New Mexico. The Ducks weren't expected to match last week's scoring outburst against Tennessee, but they showed their quick-strike capability to turn a close game into a romp. After forging a 13-13 halftime tie with 10 second-quarter points, Oregon scored touchdowns on plays that covered 72, 76 and 80 yards to leave the Volunteers way behind. LaMichael James scored on a 72-yard run, Cliff Harris returned an interception 76 yards and Kenjon Barner returned a punt 80 yards. The Ducks originally trailed 13-3, but they scored 45 consecutive points in a 48-13 win.
Tom Dienhart
Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez may save his job. He entered the season on the hottest seat in America after posting a two-year record of 8-16 with no bowls. But he has the Wolverines off to a 2-0 start that few predicted. Saturday's 28-24 victory at Notre Dame was Rodriguez's biggest yet as Michigan coach and gives his program confidence and momentum entering a stretch of games that should result in a 5-0 start. By then, the Wolverines will be a confident team that may be able to win eight or nine games and keep Rodriguez in Ann Arbor.
Oklahoma is OK. The Sooners were one of the biggest disappointments of the first week, posting an unimpressive 31-24 home win over Utah State in a game in which OU yielded 341 passing yards and Sooners quarterback Landry Jones completed less than half of his passes (17-of-36). Was this really a national title contender? Oklahoma answered with a 47-17 thumping of Florida State. Jones looked like a Heisman contender in going 30-of-40 for 380 yards with four touchdowns, and OU's defense dominated until allowing 10 fourth-quarter points.
David Fox
One week after North Dakota State upset Kansas in his debut, Turner Gill led the Jayhawks to a win over Georgia Tech. Boise State's road to the BCS championship game just got tougher. The Broncos wisely left a bye week on their schedule after the opener against Virginia Tech on Labor Day. I'm sure Boise State wishes the Hokies had done the same. Despite not playing last week, Boise State left Week 2 with a loss thanks to Virginia Tech's shocking setback against James Madison. Going into the week, the Broncos' best-case scenario for the BCS title game was to go undefeated, have the Hokies win the ACC and have future opponent Oregon State make a strong showing in the Pac-10. Sure, Virginia Tech still can win the ACC, but the league isn't being held in high esteem after Miami, Florida State and Georgia Tech all lost in major non-conference games this week. Boise State shouldn't drop from the No. 3 spot in the polls, but the BCS computers, when they're released, will hammer Boise State's strength of schedule and Virginia Tech's ranking as a result of this week. Meanwhile, the human voters will have a tough time elevating a Boise State team whose marquee win of the season is shared by James Madison.
Turner Gill can adjust. Kansas' 6-3 loss to North Dakota State was perhaps the low point of the first week of the season -- at least for anyone other than North Dakota State and Missouri fans. The loss must have been the hardest on Gill, the new Jayhawks coach. But thanks to adjustments by Gill, Kansas made the starkest transformation of any team from Week 1 to Week 2. The Jayhawks won their first game since Oct. 10 of last season with a 28-25 upset of Georgia Tech. The offense that was so inept against North Dakota State blossomed under new starting quarterback Jordan Webb, a redshirt freshman. Rookie running back James Sims, who didn't have a carry in the opener, rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown against the Yellow Jackets. Kansas will have rough spots during the season with that kind of youth, and opponents might be more prepared than Georgia Tech. But Gill didn't win at Buffalo by chance. Kansas is in good hands.
Mike Huguenin
UCLA is running in place under Rick Neuheisel. UCLA has not gotten appreciably better in Neuheisel's tenure, and Saturday night's 35-0 beatdown by Stanford -- at home -- might be the low point. The Bruins actually have had an OK defense under Neuheisel, but the offense -- coordinated by Norm Chow -- has been a disaster. It all starts with the quarterback, and given the track records of Chow and Neuheisel, better quarterback play should be expected. UCLA went to the EagleBank Bowl last season, but the Bruins won't be going bowling this season, which makes the 2011 recruiting class a vital one for Neuheisel's long-term hopes.
Virginia might actually play a role in who wins the ACC. The Cavaliers trounced a solid Richmond program in Week 1, but everyone pooh-poohed the result because the Spiders are a FCS program. But the Week 2 results -- a three-point loss at USC in which the Cavaliers showed a lot of fight -- should actually get some notice. UVa outgained the Trojans and had a good night on the ground (150 yards) against what was supposed to be a stout USC front four. Virginia plays a patsy this week in VMI, then plays three consecutive ACC contenders -- Florida State, Georgia Tech and North Carolina. If the Cavs play like they did against USC and Florida State and Georgia Tech play like they did against Oklahoma and Kansas, respectively, on Saturday, Virginia could actually win both. At the least, the bet here is they upset one ACC contender this season. Because the Cavs are playing two FCS opponents, they need to win seven games to get to a bowl under new coach Mike London, who has the Cavs playing tough, aggressive football. Before the season, only the most passionate UVa fan would've said the Cavs had a shot at a bowl. Now that idea doesn't seem so far-fetched.
Steve Megargee
Florida State's defense has a long way to go. This season's Florida State defense will be better than last season's version. After all, it couldn't get much worse. That said, the Seminoles' 47-17 loss to Oklahoma showed this is going to be a long rebuilding process. Florida State's 59-6 victory over Samford last week created some false hope that new coordinator Mark Stoops could turn things around in a hurry, but the struggles against Oklahoma painted a much bleaker position. Florida State gave up 34 points in the first half alone and allowed Landry Jones to throw for four touchdowns and 380 yards. It could be quite a while before Florida State is merely adequate on defense, though Stoops' track record at Arizona suggests he eventually will get the job done.
The MWC isn't just a three-team league. The Mountain West Conference's detractors like to point out that the conference only has three quality teams: TCU, Utah and BYU. And then there's everybody else. Air Force's recent emergence shows that's no longer the case. Air Force quietly has earned bowl bids in each of the past three seasons, but the Falcons should start gaining more national attention in the wake of Saturday's 35-14 rout of BYU. This team might be ready to make a legitimate run at the MWC title. Air Force rushed for 409 yards, limited BYU to 88 passing yards and held the Cougars scoreless over the final three quarters. Air Force has a chance to make a huge statement next week when it travels to Oklahoma.
Rivals.com Staff
MORE: Week 2 winners and losers
Tom Dienhart's Week 2 awards
Wish I were him: Jim Harbaugh, Stanford
Glad I'm not him: Dan Hawkins, Colorado
Lucky guy: Bill Stewart, West Virginia
Poor guy: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Desperately seeking a clue: Tim Brewster, Minnesota
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech
Desperately seeking ... anything: Rick Neuheisel, UCLA
Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer reacts during Saturday's loss to James Madison. The Hokies dropped to 0-2 on the season.
TEAMS
Thought you'd kick butt, you did: Alabama
Thought you'd kick butt, you didn't: Virginia Tech
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you did: Penn State
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you didn't: Virginia
Dang, they're good: Iowa
Dang, they're bad: Duke
Did the season start? UCLA
Can the season end? Florida State
Can the season never end? Ohio State
GAMES
Play this again: Michigan 28, Notre Dame 24
Never play this again: Connecticut 62, Texas Southern 3
What? Gardner-Webb 38, Akron 37 (OT)
Huh? Kansas 28, Georgia Tech 25
Are you kidding me? South Dakota 41, Minnesota 38
Oh ? my ? God: James Madison 21, Virginia Tech 16
Told you so: South Carolina 17, Georgia 6
NEXT WEEK
Ticket to die for: Arkansas at Georgia
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: Air Force at Oklahoma
Best non-Big Six matchup: Fresno State at Utah State
Upset alert: Mississippi State over LSU in Baton Rouge
Must win: Florida over Tennessee at Knoxville
Offensive explosion: Texas at Texas Tech
Defensive struggle: Iowa at Arizona
Great game no one is talking about: Clemson at Auburn
Intriguing coaching matchup: Nebraska's Bo Pelini vs. Washington's Steve Sarkisian
Who's bringing the body bags? Ohio at Ohio State
Why are they playing? Massachusetts at Michigan
Plenty of good seats remaining: Northwestern at Rice
They shoot horses, don't they? Indiana at Western Kentucky
What we learned in Week 2
Each Sunday, our staff of college football experts will offer thoughts on things they learned over the weekend.
Olin Buchanan
South Carolina is a legitimate contender in the SEC East. Freshman running back Marcus Lattimore is a big reason. The Gamecocks have shown signs of challenging under Steve Spurrier, but typically have collapsed. But in a 17-6 victory over Georgia, the team showed that it appears to have a physical and tough quality that previous teams seemed to lack. Lattimore provides an element of power to a running game that was lackluster, quarterback Stephen Garcia keeps demonstrating that he's improved, the Gamecocks have big, strong receivers and Ellis Johnson has another strong defense. This looks like the season the Gamecocks finally have a realistic chance to reach Atlanta for the SEC championship game. The explosiveness Oregon showed in a 72-0 victory last week wasn't just a by-product of playing lowly New Mexico. The Ducks weren't expected to match last week's scoring outburst against Tennessee, but they showed their quick-strike capability to turn a close game into a romp. After forging a 13-13 halftime tie with 10 second-quarter points, Oregon scored touchdowns on plays that covered 72, 76 and 80 yards to leave the Volunteers way behind. LaMichael James scored on a 72-yard run, Cliff Harris returned an interception 76 yards and Kenjon Barner returned a punt 80 yards. The Ducks originally trailed 13-3, but they scored 45 consecutive points in a 48-13 win. Tom Dienhart
Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez may save his job. He entered the season on the hottest seat in America after posting a two-year record of 8-16 with no bowls. But he has the Wolverines off to a 2-0 start that few predicted. Saturday's 28-24 victory at Notre Dame was Rodriguez's biggest yet as Michigan coach and gives his program confidence and momentum entering a stretch of games that should result in a 5-0 start. By then, the Wolverines will be a confident team that may be able to win eight or nine games and keep Rodriguez in Ann Arbor. Oklahoma is OK. The Sooners were one of the biggest disappointments of the first week, posting an unimpressive 31-24 home win over Utah State in a game in which OU yielded 341 passing yards and Sooners quarterback Landry Jones completed less than half of his passes (17-of-36). Was this really a national title contender? Oklahoma answered with a 47-17 thumping of Florida State. Jones looked like a Heisman contender in going 30-of-40 for 380 yards with four touchdowns, and OU's defense dominated until allowing 10 fourth-quarter points. David Fox
One week after North Dakota State upset Kansas in his debut, Turner Gill led the Jayhawks to a win over Georgia Tech.
Boise State's road to the BCS championship game just got tougher. The Broncos wisely left a bye week on their schedule after the opener against Virginia Tech on Labor Day. I'm sure Boise State wishes the Hokies had done the same. Despite not playing last week, Boise State left Week 2 with a loss thanks to Virginia Tech's shocking setback against James Madison. Going into the week, the Broncos' best-case scenario for the BCS title game was to go undefeated, have the Hokies win the ACC and have future opponent Oregon State make a strong showing in the Pac-10. Sure, Virginia Tech still can win the ACC, but the league isn't being held in high esteem after Miami, Florida State and Georgia Tech all lost in major non-conference games this week. Boise State shouldn't drop from the No. 3 spot in the polls, but the BCS computers, when they're released, will hammer Boise State's strength of schedule and Virginia Tech's ranking as a result of this week. Meanwhile, the human voters will have a tough time elevating a Boise State team whose marquee win of the season is shared by James Madison. Turner Gill can adjust. Kansas' 6-3 loss to North Dakota State was perhaps the low point of the first week of the season -- at least for anyone other than North Dakota State and Missouri fans. The loss must have been the hardest on Gill, the new Jayhawks coach. But thanks to adjustments by Gill, Kansas made the starkest transformation of any team from Week 1 to Week 2. The Jayhawks won their first game since Oct. 10 of last season with a 28-25 upset of Georgia Tech. The offense that was so inept against North Dakota State blossomed under new starting quarterback Jordan Webb, a redshirt freshman. Rookie running back James Sims, who didn't have a carry in the opener, rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown against the Yellow Jackets. Kansas will have rough spots during the season with that kind of youth, and opponents might be more prepared than Georgia Tech. But Gill didn't win at Buffalo by chance. Kansas is in good hands. Mike Huguenin
UCLA is running in place under Rick Neuheisel. UCLA has not gotten appreciably better in Neuheisel's tenure, and Saturday night's 35-0 beatdown by Stanford -- at home -- might be the low point. The Bruins actually have had an OK defense under Neuheisel, but the offense -- coordinated by Norm Chow -- has been a disaster. It all starts with the quarterback, and given the track records of Chow and Neuheisel, better quarterback play should be expected. UCLA went to the EagleBank Bowl last season, but the Bruins won't be going bowling this season, which makes the 2011 recruiting class a vital one for Neuheisel's long-term hopes. Virginia might actually play a role in who wins the ACC. The Cavaliers trounced a solid Richmond program in Week 1, but everyone pooh-poohed the result because the Spiders are a FCS program. But the Week 2 results -- a three-point loss at USC in which the Cavaliers showed a lot of fight -- should actually get some notice. UVa outgained the Trojans and had a good night on the ground (150 yards) against what was supposed to be a stout USC front four. Virginia plays a patsy this week in VMI, then plays three consecutive ACC contenders -- Florida State, Georgia Tech and North Carolina. If the Cavs play like they did against USC and Florida State and Georgia Tech play like they did against Oklahoma and Kansas, respectively, on Saturday, Virginia could actually win both. At the least, the bet here is they upset one ACC contender this season. Because the Cavs are playing two FCS opponents, they need to win seven games to get to a bowl under new coach Mike London, who has the Cavs playing tough, aggressive football. Before the season, only the most passionate UVa fan would've said the Cavs had a shot at a bowl. Now that idea doesn't seem so far-fetched. Steve Megargee
Florida State's defense has a long way to go. This season's Florida State defense will be better than last season's version. After all, it couldn't get much worse. That said, the Seminoles' 47-17 loss to Oklahoma showed this is going to be a long rebuilding process. Florida State's 59-6 victory over Samford last week created some false hope that new coordinator Mark Stoops could turn things around in a hurry, but the struggles against Oklahoma painted a much bleaker position. Florida State gave up 34 points in the first half alone and allowed Landry Jones to throw for four touchdowns and 380 yards. It could be quite a while before Florida State is merely adequate on defense, though Stoops' track record at Arizona suggests he eventually will get the job done. The MWC isn't just a three-team league. The Mountain West Conference's detractors like to point out that the conference only has three quality teams: TCU, Utah and BYU. And then there's everybody else. Air Force's recent emergence shows that's no longer the case. Air Force quietly has earned bowl bids in each of the past three seasons, but the Falcons should start gaining more national attention in the wake of Saturday's 35-14 rout of BYU. This team might be ready to make a legitimate run at the MWC title. Air Force rushed for 409 yards, limited BYU to 88 passing yards and held the Cougars scoreless over the final three quarters. Air Force has a chance to make a huge statement next week when it travels to Oklahoma.
- DustyHands
- 09-13-2010, 01:22 AM
I actually like Ohio State, South Florida(!), OU, KS, Rockytop, and would love to see UVA upset USC. - but i don't feel good enough about any of those picks to wager.well... so much for south florida, though they put up a fight 1st 3 quarters, and the other UT, and almost on re: UVA, and don't think Ohio state was actually an upset... but glad my upset call on ULMonroe actually being D1 gave me a winning record!
TCU looked beatable early last year (saw them in person) but improved. I was worried, but they looked a lot better than OR State than reflected in the score.
ps- I feel gay commenting on uniforms but VTech- cant do a whole lot with orange and purple/maroon but those have to be the worst uniforms I've ever seen.
pps- I think ULMonroe is actually D1 but i may be wrong. Originally Posted by DustyHands
can't wait for the comments on BU vs. TCU... some good clean hate right there! BU has a good OL- old coach (a tcu alum) was a great OL, and helps recruit for that when you have a #1 pick, plus baylor has taken the foot off the gas and run the same plays on offense not wanting to show anything against two weak opponents, and griffin compared favorably to pryor when both were true freshmen, but not sure baylor will be able to pull off the upset.
TCU certainly never took the foot off the gas and Baylor's vaunted young DB's haven't seen anything like that yet.