1. Notre Dame is awful. I was pretty sure that the experts who were saying that Notre Dame was going to win nine or ten games this year were crazy. Now I know for sure. They rallied to beat San Diego State, but that’s not much of an accomplishment when you are playing one of the worst teams in division one and you are favored by 21.5 points. The Irish looked confused, lethargic, unprepared and very predictable. They were sloppy, and they got lucky. Charlie Weis is a terrible coach, and I have no faith in his ability to turn ths mess around.
2. Peyton Manning is human. The Colts just didn’t look good on Sunday against the Bears. Manning’s numbers were decent, but he just couldn’t get anything going, he didn’t look comfortable, and the Colts could never establish the run. I’ve repeatedly suggested that the Colts are in for a step back this year, and I’m feeling better about that tonight. I would love nothing more than to be right about that one. I think it is especially striking that the team was opening a new stadium and yet they looked like they didn’t care.
3. East Carolina is no fluke. It doesn’t take a genius to figure this one out. When a Conference USA team beats Virginia Tech and then dismantles West Virginia in consecutive weeks they are doing something right. I know which team I am going to boldly pick to win the C-USA East.
4. There is no need to panic about Ohio State. Beanie Wells wasn’t playing, no one cared about playing Ohio, and the last thing they wanted to do before playing USC is risk an injury or let the Trojans see into anything meaningful from their gameplan. I’m not saying the Buckeyes will win, but I do know that this will help make their odds more attractive.
5. Oklahoma is really good. I was undecided about this team before the season, but I am sold now. Sam Bradford has been spectacular. Ryan Broyles made a heck of a debut. The offensive line is amazing. The Big 12 is tough, and the Sooners have a tough schedule, but I have high expectations for them.
6. The AFC is a mess. Things seemed so straight forward a couple of days ago. But then the Colts lost. And the Jags. And the Chargers. The Pats won, but suffered the worst possible loss in Brady and could be in trouble. It’s too early to panic, of course, but if today’s results didn’t shake your confidence a bit then you aren’t human. What are the chances of all those losses hapening in the same weekend? There were a lot of seemingly safe moneyline parlays lost this weekend.
7. BYU was disappointing. The Cougars wanted to be a BCS buster. Those hopes are still alive, but they have a heck of a lot of work to do. The Huskies aren’t that good, yet they came within a terrible call from a referee of a win.
8. The Bills are legit. Seattle wasn’t good, and they have no receivers right now, but Buffalo still was impressive. They played a pretty complete game, and have to be considered a legitimate outside shot at a playoff spot. I hope people don’t catch on quickly so they can delier some ATS pleasure.
9. Arkansas State is a great story. Last week they upset Texas A&M. This week they scored 83 points. The Sun Belt wasn’t supposed to be competitive, but now it certainly is. These guys play Alabama this year in a game that could give Saban nightmares if these guys haven’t come down to earth by then.
10. The Chiefs are doomed. So are the Rams. And the Bengals. I’ve said this before and I’ll say this again – Marvin Lewis is the worst coach in the NFL and desperately needs to be fired. He’ll run that team into the ground if they don’t get him out of there. I guess he pretty much has already.
