What a week for upsets! Who knew this many teams would have been shocked by inferior teams, all in one week. Let's list them.
Utah State upsets Utah. The Aggies were excited to have beaten their rival for the first time in like 15 years. I actually watched the beginning of the game up until the blocked punt. That was crazy...blocked special teams kicks are usually what Utah does. And is anyone surprised at Wynn getting injured in only the 2nd game of the year? "Said no one ever!"
Oregon State upsets Wisconsin. This was a good win for the Pac-12. It's hard to travel across the country and get a win, or even score as the Badgers can tell you. Still, Wisconsin ended up firing one of their coaches because of this pathetic effort.
Mississippi State upsets Auburn. This one isn't a huge upset, but Auburn was expected to win. Miss State is really good this year, though.
Iowa State upsets Iowa. Really Iowa? You're supposed to be one of the best teams in the Big Ten, and you're not even the best team in your own state this year. And the state isn't Texas or California, it's Iowa.
LA-Monroe upsets Arkansas. This was the worst upset of the weekend. Arkansas dropped out of the AP rankings because of it. Missing Petrino yet?
Arizona upsets Oklahoma State. Rich Rod was able to pull off a win over the (what I think are) slightly overrated Cowboys from OK State. Speaks more of Arizona than it does Oklahoma State.
UCLA upsets Nebraska. Nebraska also lost to Washington a couple bowl games ago. They must not have good luck with Pac-12 teams. This was another Big Ten disaster this weekend.
Nearly upsets....
Notre Dame survives Purdue. This isn't good for ND. Purdue isn't as good as other Big Ten teams like Michigan or Michigan State, both of whom play Notre Dame this year.
Michigan survives Air Force. This was a home game...how bad is Michigan really?
Florida escapes Texas A&M. Texas A&M looks like they'll do fairly well in the SEC.
What We Learned:
This week, we learned a few things:
Alabama, USC, and LSU are the cream of the crop. Everyone else is 2nd-tier.
Michigan State and Ohio State may end up winning each of their respective divisions. The Big Ten may allow OSU to actually retain that title if they do. Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska were slotted to win the Big Ten or at least do well. I don't know if that's gonna happen...they look bad. And poor Penn State...
The Big 12 is overrated. Their best team, Oklahoma, isn't as good as people think they are. Their QB is suspect, and it's a good thing they play in a conference with weak defenses. Texas isn't back yet. OK State needs to realize that they lost their best QB and WR from last year so now they're rebuilding. West Virginia and TCU will need to prove they belong. K-State may win the conference...how sad is that!
Notre Dame won't get back to national prominance this year and may never again. The academic expectations are so strict, they can't get great players in. It's why Urban Meyer went to Florida instead of South Bend.
Tennessee is getting back to national prominance. Great...just what we need. Another SEC team getting better.
Florida State needs to play someone before we can determine where they're at. They may be in the top tier with USC, LSU, and Bama. But we won't know until they play someone decent.
Since Ohio State is my team, I'll always offer my thoughts on them. UCF is a decent team; not great, but not horrible. While it wasn't a big, dominating win, Ohio State has a lot of adjustments they need to make. The positive news is that they're making them, and they're winning games. Miller is becoming better and better, the defense line and secondary both look good, and with each game they play they gel a little more. Next week will be good to get through and prepare them for the upcoming Big Ten season. Great job, Bucks!!
What to Look for in Week 3:
Cal at Ohio State. Will be a good test for both teams.
Florida at Tennessee. This will be a good test for both teams, as both are up-and-coming. I think Tennessee edges out Florida in this one, especially with home-field advantage.
Arizona State at Missouri. Mizzou has a nice test this week after putting up a good fight against Georgia. Expect them to represent the SEC well against an Arizona State team still getting used to some things.
USC at Stanford. The first big tests for each of these teams. We'll get to see if USC is really all they're cracked up to be. We'll also see how good Stanford...isn't.
Notre Dame at Michigan State. If Michigan State wants to show that they're the true leader atop the Big Ten, this is the statement game to do it. Notre Dame struggled against Purdue. If Michigan States offense can play as well as their D, they'll be pretty Dangerous with a capital D.
Texas at Ole Miss. Ole Miss is starting out 2-0, but this will be a great test. Should be a good game to watch.
BYU at Utah. Always fun to watch these teams battle it out. The Utah State defeat adds an intrigue to the game. I think the Utes care about this game a little more than they did before. If they lose to the Cougars, they'll be the worst out of the big 3 Utah schools.
My Big 5 Picks:
I didn't list them last week, or for the first week, but here they were:
Week 1: 5-0
Ohio State over Miami (OH)
South Carolina over Vanderbilt (that one was a scare)
Oregon over Arkansas State
Virginia Tech over Georgia Tech
Michigan State over Boise State
Week 2: 5-0
Ohio State over UCF
Georgia over Missouri
Kansas State over Miami
Notre Dame over Purdue
Florida over Texas A&M
Here are my Week 3 picks:
Ohio State over Cal
TCU over Kansas
Tennessee over Florida
USC over Stanford
Michigan State over Notre Dame
2 comments:
oh how proud we are of the aggies. however, I would not say they are an inferior team anymore really. They went really far last year...and they are doing really well this year. They even won nike's most improved teams last year. It is all because of a different coach, a little more confidence in themselves and a drive to promote more talent to the game. truly, i believe that they will only improve as long as we have Gary Anderson!
Utah States record versus Utah last 12 games: 1-11. Make no doubt about it: they're an inferior team to the Utes. I think Gary Anderson is a great coach, though, and they continue to get better, but when it comes down to an overtime game because of a blocked punt recovery in the end zone, that's a game they BARELY won. The Utes played to their potential, just a little too late. Plus a QB knockout doesn't help any team, no matter how good (see Oklahoma vs. BYU a couple years ago). Utah is still a better team, but thye'll need to bring their game next time they go up to Logan.
Post a Comment