Here we are...Monday morning - Labor Day weekend. The absolute PERFECT sporting weekend. All College Football without the NFL mucking it up - that comes next weekend. And the weekend isn't even over - tonight we get FSU and Miami - a classic that has been not so classic lately - but it is STILL FSU/Miami.
So, what do we know of what has transpired to date:
1) The ACC isn't any better - in fact, it might be worse than last year. Yes, the league sent 10 teams to bowl games last year but that was because they performed at "just the right" level to qualify that many teams in a bloated bowl season. The ACC lost all the marquee out of conference games with Bama blasting the Hokies in the 4th quarter (see BigOrange's write-up) , NC State embarrassing itself at home against South Carolina, and Maryland getting absolutely PASTED by California on the road.
Furthermore, two of the gimme games were horrible black-marks on the league. The Colonial Conference dominated ACC play by beating Duke and Virginia. Virginia lost to William & Mary - if I were associated with the University of Virginia, I'd HAVE to make the call - the Al Groh experiment is a complete and utter failure. AL Groh took a program from one of the best coaches of the last 20 years, George Welsh, and just destroyed it. He should be fired immediately.
2) Boise State will be a ridiculous thorn in the BCS side. To Touchdown Tim's insistence, Boise should have the same opportunity as anyone in D1A. I guess. Here's the thing - now that Boise beat the CLEARLY over-rated Oregon Ducks and it's Tyson-like banned running back, they have to merely do the following for an undefeated season: beat Miami (Ohio), Fresno State, Bowling Green, UC Davis (Div II), Tulsa, Hawaii, San Jose State, Louisiana Tech, Idaho, Utah State, Nevada, and New Mexico State. That's it. They get through that slate unscathed (a VERY good possibility) and they are in the mix. Sorry, that schedule is a complete joke. Say what you will about the unfair edge the BCS conference teams have. Even add that the WAC conference has had great success against the BCS teams. But be fair and consider this - when the ONLY real test is one game per year, you are likely to have success in that test. Oregon, for example, will continue on and face a number of big games this year. USC? has Ohio State, ND on the road, plus all the Pac 10 biggies. Even ACC teams have considerable in-league contests throughout the year. There is a reason for the virtual lock-out from the title game - those teams just don't stand up to the same full season test as the others. (Cue Touchdown Tim rant now!)
3) Sam Bradford was critical to Oklahoma's success - yes, BYU was holding it's own at the time Bradford was knocked out. But who here thinks Bradford wouldn't have done a little better down the stretch?
4) Tyrod Taylor is not the QB people were hoping he'd be. Tyrod was totally outclassed by a QB that had taken all of 20 snaps in college.
5) 5 star QB recruits are ready for the big-time. USC started a TRUE FRESHMAN under center this week. The result? Matt Barkley went 15-19 for 233 yards 1 TD and no INTs. This is a kid that was taking snaps in high school 7 months ago.
6) The Jimmy Clausen hype train has left the station. Get ready. 15 for 18, 4 TDs, 315 yards. Never ye mind he faced a defense that ranked DEAD LAST in pass defense for the 2008 season. Now, he did do well - I don't take that from him. But relative to the hype say, a Matt Barkley, will get, I'm guessing Clausen is a few ticks away from being hailed as the second coming of Joe Montana. Let's let him get through Michigan and Michigan State over the next two weeks first.
7) Max Hall is the perfect Quarterback name.
8) Since I did address scheduling - Florida does deserve some shaming. Charleston Southern, Troy, and Florida International. In the part they can't control, they don't see Ole Miss or Bama during the regular season. The ONLY road test is at LSU. This isn't exactly the stuff of title games. It is possible a monster SEC title game between Bama and UF is shaping up and, if so, that's quite a feather in the cap to the victor. Still, Florida? You can do better than that.
9) Florida's first REAL game will be against Tennessee in Gainesville. Tennessee made it's Lane Kifflin debut. To read the reviews, you'd think Kifflin took Fulmer's ghost and wrung him by the neck in front of his team who was apparently scared into playing as though their very lives depended on it. 600 YARDS OF OFFENSE!!! TENNESSEE HASN'T BEEN FIRED UP LIKE THAT IN YEARS!!!! Maybe so, but just remember, this was Western Kentucky. Lane's mouth wrote a few checks during the offseason. Florida needs a statement game. Let's hold off on the Kifflin accolades for a few weeks.
10) Greg Paulus threw a critical interception in overtime that sealed a victory for visiting Minnesota. We might forgive Paulus for being a little rusty - he hasn't played for 5 years. Not a bad debut for the scrappy little Blue Devil. But, as I observed in a weekend blog, he still works the refs - gotta love the Coach K influence there.
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