The first week of the 2012 college football season is almost in the books with just a handful of games left tonight and Monday. A few things were learned and some major question marks remain.
First and foremost we found out that Alabama is again the real deal. Michigan is probably not the best of the BIG X (MSU, Wisconsin or perhaps OSU are better), but the Tide rolled with ease over a pretty good football team none the less.
Did we learn anything about USC or LSU in week one? Probably not a lot. LSU, as usual, has some obvious chinks in the armor and even North Texas exposed some of them. Not so sure about USC. They are probably the real deal and will be in the hunt at he end.
Did the Irish beatdown of the Naval Academy show us much? Perhaps. Could it be that Notre Dame will be a top 15 team before all is said and done. This may be the year.
A few teams were embarrassed by IAA squads in the opener although nothing that would be considered stunning. Pittsburgh may be a joke and Memphis looks like they are starting just another year of Tiger football. I was going to say Houston, but Texas State is in their first year of D1 ball. Still, the Cougars have already shown just how far they have fallen. Likely going to be a long year for both Houston D1 football schools.
Which conference looks strongest with week one almost done. Hard to say. The SEC may (or may not) have the best team in the land, but they are likely again to prove to be hands down the best league. Some SEC teams extend their scrimmage time with IAA opponents and that does not give a clear picture of just how good a team is. That is not just a SEC thing though. Just look at Oklahoma State and KSU. The PAC 12 (10), with one (perhaps two) notable exceptions looks pretty weak. The Big Ten looks to be the Big Ten. There may some improvement in the ACC, with two or three teams to be taken seriously (FSU and Clemson). The Big East will remain the weak sister of the BCS leagues. It has a lot more in common with CUSA than any of the other BCS conferences.
It does not look like there will be another BCS buster team this year. Boise State may already be out of that particular picture with their opening loss to a good MSU team. The Broncos are in rebuild mode this season and will probably lose two or three. Houston and Tulsa are already done in that regard and TCU has moved into the "big time". I don't see anyone else really unless June Jones' group is for real. We will learn a bit more about them tonight when SMU squares off with Baylor. BYU a BCS buster? No. I don't see any MAC, WAC or SBC schools making the jump into BCS buster material. Shame.
I learned the other night that USC, Notre Dame, and UCLA are the only D1 schools that have not, at any time, scheduled a IAA opponent. I do not like any of these teams but have to give them props here. Placing a IAA school on the schedule kind of cheapens the game frankly. It proves nothing when the "big time" school goes to town and runs up the score. I (almost) always root for the lower division squad when they play a major college team. Once in a great while there is a huge embarrassment that causes severe damage to the big time program's season. That is great fun.
Looking forward to a fun season.
2 comments:
Alabama is very much the real deal. LSU looks typical to me; flakey at times but up for the challenge. Remember who there coach is and that he does things like eat grass. Georgia could be in the SEC championship.
Michigan was without their star running back but, no, not the pick of the Big 10. MSU didn't look all that good other than defense and their running back. Wisconsin looks to be their top team or maybe OSU.
You're being kind to say that Boise State is rebuilding. It looks like they have a ways to go; that was only a fair MSU team. The Irish over the Misdhipmen told us nothing; why do you ask, you know that.
SDSU played fairly well against the Huskies, but I think Rocky Long might shoot either himself or about five players for all the boneheaded errors. The fans may shoot him for pretending the team has no kicker. Two-point conversion are fun when they work, but they only work about 5% of the time. And when you're trailing by nine with three minutes left and have 4th and goal on the eleven, take the field goal. Moron.
I did not watch any of the SDSU game. I like the Aztecs but put them in the same category of the Houston Cougars. Good teams at times, with quality coaching, that never seem to quite make it.
It is early, but right now I have to go with Bama and USC as the hands down favorites for the championship game. LSU, Oklahoma, Georgia, Oregon and perhaps an ACC team are dark horses. I would include Ohio State maybe but they are on "probation" and can not play post season.
Long way to go yet. The Hogs may surprise but I doubt it.
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