A couple of times every fall we get those Heart Attack Saturdays. This was installment one for 2007.
Texas, Wisconsin, Hawaii, UCLA, California, Texas A&M and Nebraska all played games waaaay to close for comfort.
Boise State, Virginia Tech, Georgia and Auburn said goodnight to grandeur dreams of a national championship. Not that any had a huge shot before Saturday, it's just official now.
Is parity taking a strong football on college football now? Is the talent pool deep enough where you have to take 70 teams very seriously? I'll look more into this.
What 10 things did we learn this weekend?
- Everything you hear about the SEC is true. I arrived in Baton Rouge seven hours before kickoff and I was seven hours late to the tailgate. Everything was done right. The people were as nice as can be and were there to have a good time. The coeds…well, they were amazing.
- The ACC is terrible. Awful. Miami was embarrassed. Virginia Tech was embarrassed. I feel so much better about ranking them at the bottom of the BCS conferences a few weeks ago. We'll get into the two aforementioned teams below. It's looking like Georgia Tech and Clemson are going to be the ones standing around at the end of the year, unless Boston College has something to say about it.
- Lloyd Carr is done. Oregon completely outclassed Michigan. I give Oregon credit, though. I ranked the Ducks 18 preseason (USA Today poll had them at 36, AP at 29) and I still feel that high-octane offense is going to create some serious ripples in the Pac-10. But Michigan, unranked, is so bad. The wheels have completely fallen off. I am actually looking forward to an 0-2 Michigan playing an 0-2 Notre Dame. They'll both be back soon, but change is good.
- DeSean Jackson. Wow. I think he only had nine touches against Colorado State. That's not nearly enough. He's 2-for-2 on homeruns this season after a 73-yard run for a touchdown. Priority 1: Get him the ball. As far as Cal goes, I know they pulled off in the second half, but it wasn't a very impressive showing. Nate Longshore didn't have huge numbers. The Bears will go as he goes.
- Gotta love me calling South Florida. The Big East is ready to play with the big dogs. I love how Auburn received more votes in the USA Today poll this week than South Florida (ranked 26 and 27). I was a little worried about the Bulls' defense, but they stood tall against a senior SEC quarterback on the road. Don't sleep on the Big Four of the Big East.
- LSU is so fast; I really think the Tigers can give USC a good fight if they met for the title. Matt Flynn makes good decisions, leads his receivers and can tuck and run when necessary. After Saturday night, it's safe to say he's poised to lead the Tigers to a conference title. As I sat in Death Valley Saturday night, I could not get over the speed of LSU's defensive line. Glenn Dorsey is that much more impressive in person. I'm convinced he eats small humans for meals. As for Tech, completely beaten in every fashion. It was a true display of extreme athleticism versus home-grown talent. Speed killed Virginia Tech.
- I was wrong. Oklahoma is good. Miami has the athletes that Virginia Tech doesn't and the Sooners absolutely steamrolled the Hurricanes. It's going to be a growing process under Randy Shannon, as it generally is with a new coach, but until then, Hurricane fans are going to have just hope for the best but expect nothing big.
- Louisville won't outscore everyone this year. It's one thing to hang 58 on Middle Tennessee State, but you can't do that when Rutgers comes knocking. As important, and talented, as Brian Brohm is, he's just one piece to the puzzle.
- The same goes for Hawaii. While there are no West Virginias or Rutgers on the schedule, finishing against Boise State and at Washington is no easy task for a team that wins by one in overtime against Louisiana Tech.
- Penn State's defense will carry them to the Big 10 title. Although it would be pretty funny to see Michigan run the conference table and go to the Rose Bowl and Lloyd Carr just hangs on in Ann Arbor (although I kind of think he would go out on his own, even if that happened).
Comments (2)
I think my old boys can put the points on the board against Rutgers no question.
Morelli is going to kill Dear Old State somewhere down the road. He really hasnt taken the next step off the bowl game. That first half pick confirmed my fears about him. He has a cannon but seems to lack all the intangibles of a good QB.
My Hokie girl washed down the VT first half with Nachos and a margarita in State College.