Impressed/Depressed/Unmoved – College Football Week 1

A return of the annual column about my emotions during College Football’s first week. A word of warning: I will be talking about Appalachian State in this article.

IMPRESSED

Appalachian State

Taking out a Division I school is one thing. But taking out a Big Ten powerhouse? Just one word: wow. We loved the last minute field goal, the speed of wide receiver Dexter Jackson, and the blocked kick right at the end. To steal Jack Buck’s great words: go crazy folks, go crazy.

East Carolina

Losing 17-7 to a powerhouse like Virginia Tech on the road is certainly no disgrace for this Conference USA team. We loved the way the defence dominated the Hokies, and the fact that they weren’t winning at half time was somewhat of a travesty. In fact, it could have been a heck of a lot more if some of Carolina’s receivers had learned the art of catching.

Georgia Tech

Came into the harsh environment of Notre Dame and gave `Touchdown Jesus’ a good ole fashioned Southern ass-whoopin’. No, even without the accents, Georgia Tech’s defense were everywhere in South Bend on Saturday afternoon, conceding just 121 yards. If they carry on like this, then the Yellow Jackets are a real ACC title contender.

Missouri/Illinois

It might not be a game for those who loved defence, but these two schools gave us one of the games of the week. Illinois, down 23-6 at halftime, came back from the dead but at the end of the game couldn’t quite pull it out, with replacement QB McGee throwing an interception with 56 seconds left on the clock to give the Tigers a 40-34 victory.

California/Tennessee

Well, ABC’s first night game of the season lived up to its billing, didn’t it? Erik Ainge’s no-huddle offense worked a treat for the Vols, while the outright speed on some of Cal’s corps was an absolute delight. DeSean Jackson’s highlight reel touchdown stood out in a game that was one of the best advertisements for college football you’ll ever see. Sorry there had to be a loser.

Georgia

The second team from Georgia to make this week’s hitlist, but the Bulldogs defense – which limited the vaunted Oklahoma State offense to under 300 total yards – was fantastic. Adarius Bowman – aside from his touchdown – was limited to under 100 yards receiving, and Matt Stafford proved his worth on the other side of the ball in the Dawgs’ 35-14 victory.

DISTINCTLY UNMOVED….

We’re not thrilled by any team – and that includes my beloved Penn State – who schedules a crappy team and absolutely crushes them. Oh, and that includes the likes of USC, Oklahoma, Florida, Penn State and the rest of them should hang their heads in shame – particularly as Cal and Tennessee risked their National Championship hopes by playing out a doozy on Saturday night. Winning by 50 against lower class opponents really isn’t that impressive, guys. Unless of course, it’s Michigan, where you end up losing to a `worse’ opponent and quickly become the laughing stock of the country…..

Auburn

The first day of the season was not a great outing for the Auburn Tigers. While a win might be a win – in this case a victory over Kansas State – they are going to have to improve a ton to challenge for SEC West supremacy. Brandon Cox went through the first three and a half quarters of the game throwing two interceptions and no touchdowns, and the running game was virtually non existent. If Brad Lester’s academic issues continue, this could be a long, long season for Tommy Tuberville.

Clemson

It’s not that I was unimpressed by the Tigers in their 24-18 upset of the Florida State Seminoles. The first half they were absolutely fantastic. But such has been the attack of ‘Clemson schizoprenia’ over the years, the second half wasn’t. The running back duo of CJ Spiller and James Davis don’t seem to have a missed a thing, but if the injuries mount up like they did on Monday night, then this Clemson team might the shadow of its Week 1 self when they play South Carolina at the end of the season. And when they play the Gamecocks, will they be ranked? Depends what Tiger comes out, the roaring one of the first half, or the meek one in the second.

UNIMPRESSED

Virginia Tech

Sorry, Hokie Nation has been through a lot so you couldn’t really expect the ACC powerhouse to be on midseason form after this horrible, horrible tragedy. But after conceding four sacks and three turnovers, they’d better find some magic this week before their showdown in Baton Rouge next Saturday against LSU, or they’ll be toast.

Michigan

You lose to Division I-AA Appalachian State and you expect anything else? They should start making T-Shirts saying: “9/1: The Day Appy f***ed Annie”. On Monday, Lloyd Carr said that the program would start from scratch. After Saturday’s performance, I couldn’t agree more.

Notre Dame

Quarterback colleagues Demetrius Jones didn’t throw for most of the first half, and Evan Sharpley didn’t impress either. And Jimmie Clausen wasn’t brilliant either, was he? And to make matters worse for the quarterbacks, the Georgia Tech defense had them for breakfast, restricting them to 121. The fact that they coughed up 3 fumbles didn’t help them either. Now the vaunted Notre Dame schedule won’t help them – it’s Penn State’s filthy nasty defensive corps next.

Texas

I’m sorry, but squeaking by Arkansas State 21-13 doesn’t exactly fill me with hope for the Longhorns season. Sports Illustrated Heisman candidate Colt McCoy wasn’t wonderful throwing for two interceptions and just over 200 yards against this college football lightweight.