Week 1 recap

[cubuffsman78]

I'm going to be doing a weekly column every Monday for my newspaper just glancing at some of the highlights of each weekend's football action. Here's the first version of it.

Suprise! Appalachian state steals NCAA spotlight If someone told me before Saturday that a North Carolina college would make big news this weekend, they probably would’ve meant Butch Davis making his coaching debut at the University of North Carolina. However, Davis’ debut was overshadowed — as was every other major story in the first week of college football — by Division I-AA Appalachian State’s Mountaineers and their 34-32 victory over fifth ranked Michigan. The two time defending DI-AA national champion Mountaineers showed that they can compete with the elite of DI-A by topping a Michigan Wolverines team that many believed would compete for a Big 10 conference title. The upset is being billed as the biggest of all time. It was just last season that a DI-AA team defeated a DI-A school when Montana State narrowly defeated my beloved Colorado Buffaloes. However, no team ranked in the top 25 has ever lost to an opponent of a lower division — until Saturday that is. Usually in games as close as this one, it’s the higher ranked team that comes up with the big play to win the football game. That wasn’t the case in this one. Instead, App. St. blocked a Michigan field goal on the last play of the game to clench their upset bid. The question now is whether Appalachian State is that good of a team or is Michigan that bad of one. Personally, I think Michigan is still a viable opponent in the Big 10 and will compete with Wisconsin, Ohio State and Penn State for the conference title. That would mean that the Mountaineers are simply that good of a team. I can’t say that I’ve seen many of their games, but after this victory, anything but another national championship in DI-AA should be considered a disappointment for the Mountaineers. A possible move into the more competitive DI-A could be discussed as well. Schools moving into the largest division of college football have experienced mixed results in the past 10 years. There are the disasters that are Florida International and Florida Atlantic that are just happy to win a couple of games a season, but there are also great success stories. The University of South Florida moved into DI-A seven seasons ago and claimed victories over the Big East elite schools — Louisville and West Virginia — in the past two seasons. The Bulls are considered a sleeper pick with the potential of winning the conference this season. Marshall’s Thundering Herd is another great example of a team moving into the higher division and finding success. In their nine seasons as a DI-A school, the Herd has made seven bowl appearances. It’s not out of the question that App. St. could find the same success. Whether they do or not, they have the public’s attention at least for one week. More observation’s from this weekend’s football action… Georgia Tech 33, Notre Dame 3 Notre Dame is one of the more overrated teams in the NCAA. Georgia Tech is one of the most underrated. That was shown clearly in this game. The 30-point loss is the worst opening season loss in Notre Dame history. I saw this coming. The Irish lost a ton of offensive weapons and Charlie Wise can’t decide who his quarterback of the future should be. Realistically, the Irish could be 0-5 before they find a victory. Their loss along with Michigan’s really puts a damper on their Sept. 15 matchup. The Yellow Jackets have a very strong defense and a great running game. They’ll make a run at the ACC title and a BCS game. Tech’s Tashard Choice is the best running back that the average fan doesn’t know about. Virginia Tech 17, East Carolina 7 It was more than just a football game in Blacksburg, Va. Sports can heel. It’s a way to take your mind off of troubles and place your emotions in something hopefully positive. The emotions of this game were very well publicized. The tragedy that occurred at Virginia Tech a few months ago might be old news as far as the nation is concerned, but it’s still fresh on the minds of the Hokies’ fans and students. East Carolina did two things that will be positive for Virginia Tech in the long run. 1) They made a monetary donation to the school’s memorial fund. 2) They challenged the Hokies on the field, providing the team with a test that will better prepare them for LSU next week. While Tech’s offense struggled for consistency, the defense showed why they are tops in the nation. They were put on a spot to make a big play and produced points, following a Victor Harris 17-yard touchdown run. It was a game changing play that placed momentum in the Hokies’ favor. I picked Virginia Tech to make it to the BCS Championship Game against USC in my preseason bowl predictions. That selection had nothing to do with the tragedy and everything to do with their top tier defense and explosive running back Brandon Ore. LSU will be favored next week, when the Hokies visit. One team will leave the game with their apparent national title dreams shattered. My bet remains that it will be the Tigers, who will suffer that setback. Texas 21, Arkansas St. 13 The Texas Longhorns are one of the most overrated teams in the nation right now. I felt that way before this game. I’ve heard Big 12 and national championship predictions for them that are incredibly far fetched. The Longhorns were out gained offensively and were fortunate to escape with a victory. The only statistical category they led in was penalty yards. This team is going to struggle defensively. The pass defense was one of the nation’s worst last season, but could be worse this season with close to no experience in the secondary. The team’s top two pass rushers also moved onto the NFL. It seems that a new player is being suspended each week, which is taking its toll on the linebacking corp. My biggest reason for not buying into Texas’ chances is the loss of defensive coordinator Gene Chizik, who took over head coaching duties at Iowa State this season. Big 12 title? Try being the third best team in the conference behind Oklahoma and Texas A&M and being even par with Oklahoma State. Texas Tech at SMU, 3 p.m. today The Bowden Bowl featuring Florida State and Clemson is getting prime time treatment by ESPN tonight, but the most entertaining and surprising game of the night could be the appetizer. I know several Texas Tech fans won’t like reading this, but the Red Raiders are going to have their hands full with the SMU Mustangs. Tech has a quarterback — Graham Harrell — finally returning to their system, but feature new faces at nearly every other position. The Mustangs return experience and feature a signal caller of their own — Justin Willis — that knows how to win football games. Both were Texas high school stars with Harrell winning state championships on his way to becoming the most prolific passer in the state’s history. Willis played for Denton Ryan and led SMU to a 6-6 record, making the Mustangs bowl eligible for the first time in more than 20 years. They didn’t get a bowl bid, but will contend for one again this season. I think Tech will pull out the win, but it won’t be a blowout like most want to believe.

[black19]

What? No mention of the Terps!? j/k

[cubuffsman78]

Originally Posted by black19 What? No mention of the Terps!? j/k

They play football? :lol:

[Kevman21]

Michigan dropped out of the top 25 in the AP poll. Technically, numbers wise, they are #33 in the poll. That's a big jump from #5 to #33. Does this come as a surprise to people or do you think they deserve to not be in the top 25 anymore. I was talking to my friend across the hall in my dorm, and I was telling him that they should be out of the top 25 but they probably wouldn't have and maybe drop to a 20ish range. Anybody think they should still be in the top 25? I mean it's not a stretch because they did lose to the best that DI-AA has to offer, but then again, they did lose. Just curious to see what other people think.

[bdc02]

Originally Posted by Kevman21 Michigan dropped out of the top 25 in the AP poll. Technically, numbers wise, they are #33 in the poll. That's a big jump from #5 to #33. Does this come as a surprise to people or do you think they deserve to not be in the top 25 anymore. I was talking to my friend across the hall in my dorm, and I was telling him that they should be out of the top 25 but they probably wouldn't have and maybe drop to a 20ish range. Anybody think they should still be in the top 25? I mean it's not a stretch because they did lose to the best that DI-AA has to offer, but then again, they did lose. Just curious to see what other people think.

obviously im biased but losing to App. State because you werent prepared o took them too lightly you should drop... but IMO not that far prolly around 20ish like you said.

[cubuffsman78]

Originally Posted by Kevman21 Michigan dropped out of the top 25 in the AP poll. Technically, numbers wise, they are #33 in the poll. That's a big jump from #5 to #33. Does this come as a surprise to people or do you think they deserve to not be in the top 25 anymore. I was talking to my friend across the hall in my dorm, and I was telling him that they should be out of the top 25 but they probably wouldn't have and maybe drop to a 20ish range. Anybody think they should still be in the top 25? I mean it's not a stretch because they did lose to the best that DI-AA has to offer, but then again, they did lose. Just curious to see what other people think.

I would personally drop them out of the top 25. But there is a catch to that as well. I still believe them to potentially be one of the top 20 teams in the country. However, they need to prove that potential first.

I believe I posted a couple weeks ago that Michigan was too highly ranked in the polls in the first place. I didn't like what they had lost on defense. I feel the same way about Florida and Texas actually. I think they'll both lose soon and find their way out of the top 10.

[porky88]

They don't deserve to be in the top 25. You lose to a AA Team the first week of football and you should drop very far. What happen was what needed to happen.

What's funny is Denis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart are coming to Big House next week and they'll run that spread offense. It's going to be an interesting game to watch.

[NYJets30]

I felt they did deserve to drop out of the top 25. Who knows, maybe it will lite a fire under them and they'll be playing with a vengeance for the rest of the season trying to prove it was a fluke

[cubuffsman78]

Originally Posted by porky88 They don't deserve to be in the top 25. You lose to a AA Team the first week of football and you should drop very far. What happen was what needed to happen. What's funny is Denis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart are coming to Big House next week and they'll run that spread offense. It's going to be an interesting game to watch.

Interesting? Yes. Entertaining? Only if you're an Oregon fan or loathe Michigan. What a thrashing.

[bdc02]

Originally Posted by cubuffsman78 Originally Posted by porky88 They don't deserve to be in the top 25. You lose to a AA Team the first week of football and you should drop very far. What happen was what needed to happen. What's funny is Denis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart are coming to Big House next week and they'll run that spread offense. It's going to be an interesting game to watch. Interesting? Yes. Entertaining? Only if you're an Oregon fan or loathe Michigan. What a thrashing.

thrashing is right... enough to make you not even admit to being a Michigan fan.