Chuck Samples: College football overview, Week 1
By CHUCK SAMPLES
ISL Correspondent
What we learned from Weekend 1 of the college football season (as always, in no particular order):
1. No real surprises at the top. USC and Oregon hammered overmatched foes, and Alabama — ooooweee — made Michigan look like it didn’t belong on the same playing field.
2. Speaking of Alabama, and to a larger extent the SEC, it’s not a stretch to say the Tide had the most impressive conference showing of the weekend. LSU wasn’t all that impressive, while South Carolina’s title challenge may have taken a hit with QB Connor Shaw’s injury.
3. It’s only the first weekend, and with a loss to Michigan State we can now say goodbye to any talk of Boise State crashing the BCS party for this year. Which is a shame. Even though it’s going away — and none too soon — the BCS needs a team to continually point out its massive flaws in setup and logic. I wa hoping Boise State would get another chance this year. Now who takes that mantle? TCU is forever out of that picture — or at least until the Big 12 has major issues again.
4. Sometimes all it takes is one play to kickstart everything. Ohio State was scuffling against Miami (Ohio). Devin Smith makes a catch for highlight reels everywhere. The Buckeyes, trailing 3-0 before the catch, settle in and crush Miami.
5. Good thing for Nebraska fans Taylor Martinez had such a great game through the air. Losing Heisman Trophy candidate Rex Burkhead, or even seeing his time diminished with a sprained MCL, puts a lot of pressure on Martinez to replicate his 5-TD effort against Southern Miss weekend after weekend.
6. Emotion can only take you so far. Just ask Penn State, which controlled the first half against Ohio only to lose steam and the game. By the way, is it truly an upset if a whole lot of national pundits are calling you their “upset special?” Good to see the progress Ohio has made under Frank Solich. It would have been nice, though, for the O’Brien staff to get a win in the season debut.
7. Not sure what the choirboy-to-criminal ratio is at Notre Dame, and unlike a lot of football fans I’m not sure I care. Regardless, it does appear Brian Kelly has the Irish headed in the right direction.
Top 25 teams thankful to be 1-0:
Stanford. Struggled mightily against perennial doormat San Jose State until a late interception.
Oklahoma. Kicking game woes and early-season lack of chemistry between Landry Jones and receivers gave Sooners fans heart palpitations.
Kansas State. A 51-9 final is acceptable against Missouri State. A 9-9 score early in the third period isn’t, especially after Bill Snyder told his team he wanted a fast start.
Wisconsin. Escaped Division 1 FCS Northern Iowa, but letting a fourth-quarter lead get shaky won’t build any confidence in the Badgers.
Among the teams kicking themselves:
Auburn. Trailing Clemson 19-16 early in the fourth quarter, Auburn gets an interception, starts in Clemson territory and drives inside the 10. Holding penalty leads to field goal instead of touchdown, which may not have affected final tally but could have seriously swung momentum.
Toledo. Survived Arizona QB Matt Scott’s huge game (387 yards and two TDs), received three Wildcat turnovers and saw two short Arizona field goals go wide. Still lost 24-17 in overtime.
William and Mary. Statistically even with Maryland but late score dooms Tribe.
Maryland. Seriously, how do you beat William and Mary 7-6? Ralph Friedgen, where are you?
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