Looking Back at Week 1 and Looking Forward to Week 2

Sammy Watkins and Clemson made the first big statement of the 2013 college football season

Ah, college football is back. Here’s my take on three stories from the first week:

• Oklahoma State has a really good defense. Oklahoma State took care of Mississippi State on Saturday and, here’s the shocking part, it was the defense that carried them. The Cowboys gave up three points while forcing two turnovers in a 21-3 win. Mississippi State didn’t score after its first possession and they didn’t get close again until the final drive of the game, which ended in an interception. One of the biggest complaints of past OSU defenses has been an inability to get off the field. But on Saturday, Mississippi State went 2-for-16 on third down conversions. More importantly, the Cowboy defense was able to hold Miss. St. in check while the OSU offense got its legs under them.
• Notre Dame will be fine without Everett Golson. I know it was Temple, but Tommy Rees did a good job running the show in replacement of Golson. Rees is not the dynamic athlete Golson is, but he is more than capable of guiding the Irish offense. Notre Dame’s defense, no matter who is playing quarterback, will be the key factor in how far this team goes.
• The AAC is not only an arena in Dallas, but it is also a crappy football conference. I typed “AAC” into Google and here are just a few things that came up before I found the football conference: American Airlines Center, the American Alpine Club, the Aluminum Anodizers Council, Another Anime Convention 2013, the American Acupuncture Council and the Appalachian Athletic Conference. The last one is the most concerning because an NAIA conference comes up on a Google search before a DIVISION ONE FBS CONFERENCE WITH AN AUTOMATIC QUALIFIER IN THE BCS comes up. Needless to say, things aren’t going well for the American Academy of Chefs American Athletic Conference. The Conference Formerly Known As the Big East did not have a good coming out party on the field either. In the first weekend of the season, members of the AAC went 4-5 with wins over perennial powerhouses Purdue, Southern, Ohio and Akron. But that’s not the worst part. Not by a long shot. No, the worst part is that Connecticut and South Florida lost to FCS schools by a combined score of 86-39. It’s really a shame that Louisville will only have one tough conference game (Cincy) all year.

The Top 25 (last week’s ranking in parentheses)

1. Alabama (1) – Took care of business against Virginia Tech. Now the Tide get a week off before they head to Texas A&M to get revenge for last year’s loss.
2. Oregon (3) – Like most teams in these rankings, you can’t take much from Oregon’s week one game (home vs. Nicholls State)
3. Stanford (4) – The Cardinal get the season started on Saturday against San Jose State.
4. Clemson (9) – Huge win at home against Georgia. Clemson has beaten a top-10 SEC team in their last two games (also beat LSU in last year’s Chick-Fil-A Bowl).
5. Georgia (2) – Despite losing at Clemson, I still believe. But a home game against South Carolina is not the best way to recover from a week 1 loss.
6. Ohio State (5) – The Buckeyes started out hot against Buffalo, but the Bulls outplayed Ohio State from the second quarter on.
7. South Carolina (6) – Good win against UNC on Thursday.
8. LSU (8) – Solid win over TCU late Saturday night in Dallas. The Tigers should coast in their next three games, then it’s off to Georgia on Sept. 28.
9. Florida (7) – Florida rolled over Toledo and heads to the U this Saturday.
10. Texas A&M (10) – Beat Rice while Manziel continued to annoy most college football fans. Jesse Palmer had a good take on ESPN. (ESPN.com)
11. Louisville (11) – Cool schedule.
12. Michigan (12) – The Wolverines crushed Central Michigan on Saturday. They get a chance to really make some noise by beating Notre Dame this week.
13. Florida State (13) – That Jameis Winston fella is pretty good.
14. Oklahoma State (14) – Not sure how I feel about Gundy benching Chelf after two possessions, but a good win over an SEC team is a great way to start the season.
15. UCLA (17) – QB Brett Hundley is the real deal and if they get by Nebraska in two Saturdays, they will be undefeated heading into the Stanford-Oregon gauntlet in mid-October.
16. Oklahoma (16) – Weird game for the Sooners. They scored all 34 points in the second and third quarters and QB Trevor Knight only threw for 86 yards. But a shutout, even against Louisiana-Monroe, is impressive. OU opens Big 12 play this weekend at home against West Virginia.
17. Texas (18) – Looked in doubt midway through the second quarter against New Mexico State, but the Longhorns eventually rolled.
18. Nebraska (15) – Nebraska held off a late rally by Wyoming to take their season opener 37-34. They get Southern Miss at home this Saturday.
19. Miami, FL (19) – The U dominated Florida Atlantic on Friday and they get an extra day of rest before playing Florida at home this Saturday.
20. Notre Dame (20) – Notre Dame looked good against Temple. They had to the Big House this week.
21. Wisconsin (22) – Wisconsin beat Umass last Saturday and they will beat Tennessee Tech this Saturday. We won’t learn anything about the Badgers until they head to Arizona State in Week 3.
22. Washington (23) – U-Dub with an impressive win over Boise State at home. Could they be for real?
23. Arizona State (24) – Open the season with Sacramento State this Thursday.
24. TCU (21) – Tough loss to start the season, but the Horned Frogs will still be a force in the Big 12 with their defense.
25. Baylor (NR) – Baylor has a good chance to start 7-0, which will only make it that much more disappointing when they lose their final five games.

On The Way Out: Boise State 25

Big Games in Week 2

• Florida at Miami, FL, Noon ET, ESPN. Miami has a chance to make a huge statement at home against in-state rival Florida. I think Stephen Morris and Duke Johnson lead the Hurricanes to a big win. Miami 31, Florida 17.
• South Carolina at Georgia, 4:30 pm ET, ESPN. Even though Georgia lost its season opener they still have a realistic shot of getting to the national title game. Losing to Clemson doesn’t effect their SEC record, so they can still win the SEC East and then take down Alabama in the SEC Championship Game to reach the BCS national championship. But they have to win against South Carolina in the conference opener for both teams. I like UGA at home. Georgia 21, South Carolina 20.
• Notre Dame at Michigan, 8 pm ET, ESPN. Tommy Rees looked good last Saturday throwing for 346 yards and 3 TD’s against Temple. But a home game against Temple and a trip to Ann Arbor are two very different things. Rees will be OK, but the defense will carry the Fighting Irish to a close win. Notre Dame 20, Michigan 17.

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