The Pac-10 stinks. Sure, they have a ridiculously scary at the top that should cruise to an undefeated record, but beyond that there is pretty much nothing. All ten teams played this weekend, but only three won, and only two covered. The conference played the Mountain West four times this weekend, and neither won nor covered once. Two of their teams dropped out of the top 25, and there isn’t a team in there that appears to be a serious threat for anything. Oregon is the one team that is maybe promising, or at least they were until they lost yet another quarterback to injury. My beloved Big Ten gets a lot of abuse, but we look good compared to the Pac-10. And yes, I know about the Ohio State debacle, but I only barely consider them a part of the conference. The part of the conference that isn’t in Ohio went 7-2 on the weekend.
By the way, the lowly Big East was 2-2, and the lousy ACC was 6-3, though they played two conference games so they were 4-1 out of conference. The SEC was very strong – they went 8-2, and the only two losses were in conference games. The Big 12 was dominant, too – they went 6-2, and 6-1 ATS. If you’re following along, you’ll notice that the Pac-10was the only BCS conference that didn’t win the majority of their games. They don’t have the excuse of tough opponents to fall back on, either.
Maryland confounds me. I like them and they are terrible. I write them off and they pull a huge upset. They’ve earned a spot on my never-play list, and they’ll have to work hard to get off of it.
Oklahoma is spectacular. I am fairly certain that USC is the best team in the country, but I have no doubt that Oklahoma deserves their new number two ranking. Sam Bradford is a beast, and the defense s terrifying. I can’t believe that Bradford wasn’t the designated starter at the beginning of last season. It’s way, way too early to do so, of course, but I am already looking forward to the prospect of an Oklahoma-Missouri Big 12 Championship game. Bradford and Chase Daniel could cause the scoreboard to explode.
As a Michigan fan, I have decided that the easiest thing to do is to just pretend that that game never happened. It was proof of just two things. First, you can’t win a game when you turn the ball over every time you touch it. Second, Notre Dame isn’t ready for prime time. The Wolverines made them look good, but they still have more problems than anything reasonably approximating a good team can have. This win might get the public more excited about Notre Dame football, but they really shouldn’t be.
Wow, do I ever hate SEC football. I respect the conference, and I think they are probably the best conference out there, but when their teams get together they redefine boredom. Georgia and South Carolina took 60 minute to accomplish little, but their 14-7 game looked like an offensive explosion compared to the 3-2 mess that was the Auburn – Mississippi State game.
Let me say yet again what I say every week and will keep saying until he is replaced – Marvin Lewis is a truly awful football coach who is wasting a stunning amount of offensive talent. The Bengals were as bad as a team can be this weekend. Again.
I’d been calling Oakland the worst team in the league. Now I have Kansas City and St. Louis in a tie. The Rams are so bad I can’t even find words for it. Kansas City has already used three QBs in two games, and none have been worth a damn.
I’m getting tired of apologizing to Aaron Rodgers, but I have to do it again. Again, I have no idea where that performance came from, but I have to give him credit. He was spectacular, Favre was bland with the Jets, and people are about to forget that there was ever a controversy. I’m going to learn from this experience and keep my opinion that he will crash down to earth sooner or later to myself.
I guess we don’t have to fear too much for the Pats. Matt Cassel was fine, and their talent advantage pretty much everywhere else on the field was enough was enough. The thing to watch, though, is how Randy Moss behaves. He only had two catches today, and that won’t be anywhere near enough to please him.
I was really high on Jacksonville and Minnesota in the AFC. They are a combined 0-4. Oops.
Buffalo is a good team. Clearly the second best n the AFC East, they have clear playoff potential.
It turns out that Matt Ryan and Michael Turner are only superhuman when they aren’t playing against a defense.
JaMarcus Russell – 6/17 for 55 yards. Unbelievably far away from acceptable. The worst part wasn’t how he played. It was thatit’s hard to see signs that he might improve any time soon. It doesn’t help that Oakland is such a mess. I hope Lane Kiffin does get fired this week as reported – not because he deserves it, but because the whole situation is obviously broken – shattered – and maybe a new coach can turn things around a bit. Of course, Al Davis isn’t going anywhere, so the prospects are bleak.
If I was the Vikings’ GM I would be calling Tampa Bay now and every three minutes until the Bucs agree to trade Jeff Garcia to Minnesota. It shouldn’t be hard to make happen – Garcia is out of favor. He’s not going to perform miracles, but he is stable and more than competent, and he is so much better than Tarvaris Jackson it isn’t funny. Jackson might develop eventually, but Minnesota is too talented to waste this year waiting for him to come around.