After far too many hours of watching pep bands, cheerleaders, and screaming college kids yelling: “We’re number one!” at the camera, here’s who impressed, depressed and neutralized us on Week 2 of the college football season.
IMPRESSED
TEXAS: “Mack Brown is a choker- he’ll never win a big game,” my buddy Chris said to me before the Ohio State showdown on Saturday. One great Vince Young play and a safety later, the Longhorns, who for most of a game looked as though they’d brought a knife to a gunfight, came out of the horseshoe with a 25-22 win. And now Oklahoma are struggling, this is the best chance for Mack and co to run the Big 12 table and at least have a claim to a game with USC.
NOTRE DAME: Charlie Weis is in and Notre Dame are back. Coming into the Big House with a little bit of hope and a quarterback called Brady (Quinn), the Irish came away with a 17-10 win and a number of Pontiac gamebreakers. With their disgustingly nasty schedule, they could well be playing in a BCS game come January. And now they are back in the top 10 for the first time in years.
ARIZONA STATE: Listen, we know that switching the game from Baton Rouge to Tempe was probably one of the reasons why Saturday’s game with LSU was darned close and they played such gutsy football. Even though they lost, it’s hard NOT to be impressed with quarterback Sam Keller, who threw for 461 yards and 4 TD in a their heartbreaking 35-31 loss to Tigers. Heisman Watch, anyone?
MINNESOTA: We know that their first two games against Alaska and Tulsa are joke schedules, but RB Laurence Moroney is for real. Running over the Colorado State Rams for 133 yards on 26 yards was pretty impressive- but the way that he bulldozed their D was even more. We can’t wait until the Golden Gophers hit the Big Ten schedule, because we’ll see what they are made of. Michigan and Ohio State beware.
IOWA STATE: Yeah, in a rivalry game anything can happen. But on Saturday, Iowa State’s 23-3 victory against Iowa was anything but luck. We don’t know if QB Brett Meyer (14-24, 154 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) or RB Stevie Hicks (28 carries for 118 yards) are for real, but at Cyclone Stadium they sure as hell looked the part.
CITADEL: Let’s be honest- if you’re a Division 1-AA team, you don’t expect to get many points against Florida State- let alone a defence that sacked the hell out of the Miami Hurricanes on Monday. So when you see a side, normally the red-headed school child of NCAA football play with such heart and go 10-3 up on the Seminoles, it’s good to make you cry. Normal service was resumed in the second half, but hey, Citadel can hang their heads up high.
CLEMSON: It’s not often that we’re going to be saying how impressed we are by Clemson, but this team seems to be going the right way. Going 2-0 isn’t that impressive, but when you see that they’ve won battles against then-ranked Texas A&M and in hostile confines of ACC rival Maryland, you can see why people were talking up Charlie Whitehurst last year.
VANDERBILT: The usual doormat of the SEC is now 2-0 after beating upset-minded (usually) Wake and always dangerous Arkansas. It won’t last though, but for the moment, we’re impressed. They’ve got Ole Miss, Richmond and local rival Middle Tennessee State next. 5-0 anybody?
NEUTRAL
PENN STATE: Penn State are 2-0 for the first time in years. They have an excellent pair of playmakers in Justin King, Deon Butler and Derrick Williams, and Michael Robinson threw for 220 yards. Only problem is is that it was against Cincinnati. Their defense was good, though.
OHIO STATE: Although Columbus and every Buckeye fan is “depressed” after their loss to Texas, they’ve got a heck of a defense. The unfortunate thing about it is that QB Zwick couldn’t keep a hold of the ball and they couldn’t stop Vince Young. Then again, could Michigan last year?
LSU: They came out for their first game of the season and beat dangerous Arizona State in Tempe in an emotional game that all of America was rooting for. But don’t get me wrong, when you give up 461 passing yards and 99 yards of rushing to a team that lost its two best running backs, don’t expect me to say that their performance was wonderful. Florida, who’s got the best passing team in the SEC, will be rubbing their hands with glee.
DEPRESSED
IOWA: It’s a rivalry game. Anything can happen in a rivalry game. But did anyone in their right mind think that Big Ten favorite Iowa would lose in such a fashion to Iowa State? It wasn’t just the fact that Drew Tate got injured- the Hawkeyes were outplayed all over the park.
MICHIGAN: Dropping the ball on the goal line, giving up a TD when your team in the red zone, and basically sucking up are three reasons why Michigan frat boys were quietly burning effigies of QB Chad Henne on Saturday after the Notre Dame loss at the Big House. No excuse for throwing stuff on the field, though.
WASHINGTON: The Huskies continue playing like they are (the latest debacle- a 56-17 home loss to Cal), and Tyrone Willingham’s will be playing golf on Saturdays before October ends.
OKLAHOMA: Adrian Peterson maybe a running back with a big future for Sundays, but the Sooners sucked it up for the second time in two weeks against bad opposition. Before Peterson’s touchdown in the fourth quarter, Bob Stoops’ team were never safe.
ARKANSAS: How the mighty have fallen. Once ranked and competitive, losing at 28-24 at home to the Vanderbilt Commodores doesn’t show that your team isn’t having fun in the SEC, it shows that your team SUCKS.
PITTSBURGH: Just one word: Ohio. Dave Wannstedt’s definitely brought the days of the Dolphins back to 0-2 Pitt, hasn’t he?