College Football: Issues, Concerns After Week 1

You really have to question my intelligence when I decide that I would like to put my thoughts on the first week of college football the day before the second week begins. I will do my best to avoid this happening again.

Anyway here's what I picked up from week 1...

Florida: The Gators romped Charleston Southern 62-3. We did not learn anything about the UF because a) they went against Charleston Southern and b) look at A. Saturday they play, gasp, Troy. But come September 19th the Gators will have there first challenge when they play Tennessee (an unknown team) in the Swamp.

Alabama: Saban's defense is definitely legit and a formidable opponent, but at the end of the day are they are good as they came across against Virginia Tech? Yes, they did beat a top 5 opponent 34-24, but that VTech offensive play calling is so horrid! It has to be frustrating being a VTech fan watching that offense. Also, Greg McElroy did get into a groove in the second half, but he was shaky for sure in the first. Still the young quarterback helped put up 34 points against a top 5 defense and that can not go unnoticed.

USC: The Trojans behind playboy Matt Barkley beat San Jose State 56-3. This week they go into Columbus and the general thought is Ohio State struggled against Navy so USC will win, right? In the words of Lee Corso, "not so fast my friends!" I originally said USC would lose to Ohio State and I can not change my opinion because week 1 did not go as flawless as I had hoped for Ohio State. Ohio State needs this game more than USC. USC does not run the triple option so Ohio State will have a better chance preparing for their opponent. Overall I just do not see a 19 year old freshman quarterback going into the Shoe in front of 100,000+ fans and pulling out a victory.

Oklahoma: Andre Ware was the only guy who said the offensive line for Oklahoma would cause huge problems for Sam Bradford. He said OU would lose 3 to 4 games this year because of it. He was laughed at, but after week 1 his proclamation holds true. BYU was causing havoc for Bradford all day before he left the game injured. Keep in mind OU was only up 13-7 when he went out! Major kudos to BYU for right out of the gates setting the tone for a season that could be nothing short of spectacular.

Oklahoma State: All I keep hearing is, "well I guess Georgia is not as good as we thought they were." Wait! What if it's just the fact that Oklahoma State is finally for real? In a game of epic proportions (highest preseason ranking ever for OSU) the Cowboys beat the Bulldogs in Stillwater 24-10. Despite the stingy UGA defense, Dez Bryant was still able to have his touchdown that would break open the game. Main thing is do not blow off Georgia for the rest of the season because after all, this could be a very special Cowboy squad.

Boise State: I am telling you in 10 years the Boise State Broncos are going to have a national championship. That school is not only winning against bigger schools they are doing it with the athletes. High school athletes are going there because the offense is fun and you get to get on the field right away. Why wait 2 years on the bench to play when you can start right from the get-go at Boise State? In the season opener the Broncos dismantled a Oregon team in the oddest final score I have ever seen, 19-8. I was very surprised to see Oregon not have any fight in them. Lackluster effort for a team in trouble.

Notre Dame: No lie, I was pretty impressed by the 35-0 win by ND against Nevada. First a shutout is a shutout. Second, Nevada has one the nation's best quarterback in Colin Kaepernick. College footbal guru, Phil Steele, named Kaepernick the 7th best quarterback in college football! And this guy could not muster any points? I honestly think that this Notre Dame has a chance to be a very special team. National championship caliber? No not quite, but BCS bowl bound for sure.

LSU: The first half was not what the LSU faithful where hoping for. The defense looked out of sync and Jake Locker was having his way. But in the second half things changed. Let's put it this way: if LSU were to have stopped Washington from that last scoring drive than Washington would of had only 150 yards in the second half! But as we know Washington drove down the field and scored with no time left to lose 31-23. The general negativity surrounding LSU already from LSU fans is sickening to even comprehend. I can understand questioning a defensive coordinator who is young and inexperienced, but John Chavis is neither of those. Chavis has experience and he has been successful many times in the past. Will LSU be holding opponents to 14 points a game? No, but I do know they will improve as the season goes on. I am hopeful the defense will come around.

Cincinnati: Maybe we were all wrong to think Cincy's 2008 season was an anomaly. Sure it was only one game, but it's hard to look back the lashing the Bearcats put on Rutgers this past Saturday. On Rutgers's home turf Cincinnati rolled to a 47-15 win! Rutgers, by many, seemed like the logical choice to be the team that represents the Big East in a BCS Bowl.

California: The jury is still out for this Golden Bears squad that I am convinced will falter midseason. Winning 52-13 is always reason to smile, but lets not get past the fact it is Maryland. We need more weeks to see California play before we make a better call on this team.

Miami-Florida: What a game. How Miami managed to stop Florida State that many times inside their four yard line is beyond me. Jacory Harris definitely showed he has the potential to be the next great Miami quarterback. Though one has to wonder is Harris that good, or just a product of a lousy Seminole defense? On the other side I have to say I was impressed with Christian Ponder of Florida State. No reason the Seminoles (or Hurricanes, whom I predicted would have 5 losses a week ago) can not go 9-3.

Penn State: Joe Pa's crew has got a defense. Period. So what if it's Akron the fact that a college team only got 8 yards in one half of football is amazing. The game was over at halftime. If Daryll Clark can stay hot than look for the Penn State game against Ohio State to decide whether or not Joe Pa returns to the national championship.

Illinois: I almost forgot to talk about this game. Missouri came into this game as a team the nation was expecting to have a major drop off. After being blessed with Brad Smith and Chase Daniel, Mizzo came into this year with no real quarterback threat. Yet somehow the Tigers managed to completely manhandle the Fightin' Illini 37-9? Hate to be bold, but Ron Zook's job is in trouble if he can not turn this around. Losing by 4 touchdowns to Mizzo when you have a senior quarterback in Juice Williams does not bode well at all. Should you be nervous about this season if you root for Zook's crew? Yes, gulp, oh yes.

Tennessee: I know it's only Western Kentucky. I know that WKU is about as bad as Division 1 football team as there can be, but still you have to acknowledge that Jonathon Crompton going 21 of 28 for 5 touchdowns is signs of improvement. Yes, I know Lane Kiffin left Crompton in the game well into the fourth quarter, yet I still can not help but think to myself that maybe Tennessee is a lot farther along offensively than we expected. And did I mention in his first game as a college back Bryce Brown went over the century mark? Yes it was Western Kentucky...but still.

Michigan: Western Michigan is no power house, but the school is a respectable MAC power team. When I take that into account and then I see that UM won 31-7 I have to say I think RichRod's offense is more in sync than we all thought. This weekend against Notre Dame will go a long way to tell us how good this UM offense is. ND will be favored, but to blow off Michigan would be silly.