College Football: Week 1 Wrap-Up

Boise State def. Oregon 19-8
Oof. One of the worst games I've ever seen. Oregon did basically nothing right all night (except for LeGarrette Blount's impressive and oh-so-inappropriate right hook) and Boise State should have won about 41-8. But a couple of embarrassing missed field goals and what seemed like about nine ridiculous turnovers basically kept them from scoring any points. The broadcast team picked Kellen Moore as their player of the game, but should have picked RB Jeremy Avery, whose spectacular cutbacks on sweeps allowed the Broncos to keep Oregon's (admittedly woeful) offense off the field. The best parts of the game were the cuts to Mike Bellotti, who consistently looked like he had swallowed a bug.

Minnesota def. Syracuse 23-20
Entertaining game, if not fantastically played. After giving a balanced offense the old college try, Minnesota finally woke up in the 3rd quarter and just directed every play at Decker, which was much more effective. But of course the real story was the resurgence of Syracuse football. Paulus was good too, even a little better than I expected. Marrone didn't ask too much of him, but he delivered as a game manager and especially as a leader (you can't really do much worse than a bad snap and turnover on your first play from scrimmage, so I thought he did a good job rallying the troops). And his 'I wish I were in the NBA' face after that boneheaded interception in OT was pretty priceless. Overall though, fans were in the seats, there was some semblance of an offense, the defense was hitting hard, Donovan McNabb made an appearance - the Orangemen are back!

Michigan def. Western Michigan 31-7 / #23 Notre Dame def. Nevada 35-3
These are grouped together because the only reason they're interesting is that the winners play each other next week. The Wolverines came out firing and seem to have found a quarterback in Tate Forcier. Still, numerous errors, particularly on special teams leave me a little on edge. Meanwhile, I'm upgrading Jimmy Clausen from 'pale imitation of his brothers' to 'good imitation of his brothers'. Nevada was hapless, but Clausen and Notre Dame looked really comfy. As much as it kills me to say this, I'm worried about Michigan's ability to keep up with the Irish receiving corps.

#5 Alabama def. #7 Virginia Tech 34-24
Sort of dull game, considering how close it was. No obvious Tyrod Taylor mistake, but I still maintain that he's not much of a quarterback. One of my major problems with the spread offense (and there are many) is that it causes people to mistake anyone athletic for a quarterback. On the other side, Greg McElroy had a successful debut and the Alabama defense looked ready for the SEC grind. Nice win for the Tide.

#11 LSU def. Washington 31-23
Not unlike the Minnesota-Syracuse game, though better played. LSU got good performances from its key players--notably QB Jordan Jefferson and the defensive line--and ran away with the game at the end, but the Huskies looked like a different program from last year. Jake Locker threw 45 times with only one real mistake (though a pick-six is a big mistake) and the pass happy offense allowed him to use his running skills late in the game when it really counted and when the Tigers were tired. Heads up, Dawgs, you're back in the mix.

This week's 'Yell at the TV' moment: THROW IT AWAY, GREG!!!

In other news: Needed: innovations in chin strap technology after an incredible number of lost helmets.....You gotta like Max Hall, but BYU just pulled off perhaps the most unimportant upset of all time. If Oklahoma runs the table, they'll still play for the title.....Lots of typos on ESPN this weekend. My favorites were 'Oregon suspsneds LeGarrette Blount' and 'What does Locker and Dennis Dixon have in common?'.....Caught a half of the Cincinnati-Rutgers game. Get yourself a look at Bearcats QB Tony Pike.....Wasn't originally planning on watching Miami-Florida State, but glad I did. Abominable special teams and swiss cheese zone defenses notwithstanding, it was the best game of the weekend.....Jacory Harris just called his shoulder injury a "bad funny bone incident".....I realize hindsight is 20-20, but why in the world did Navy pass for their potential tying two point conversion? This is like Shaq deciding to fool the defense with a three pointer.