Hobbitcore's College Football Corner (Week 2)
HEADLINES
-So I guess technically I got my Game of the Week pick right. Not really though. I expected Alabama to be the better team. I don't think anybody expected that. I think a lot of people are about ready to change their picks for the BCS title game--including me. What impressed me most was the confidence of A.J. McCarron and the dominance of the very young defense. If there was any doubt that Nick Saban is the best coach in college football right now, that's out the window.
-Michigan State RB Le'Veon Bell looks to be in Heisman form already as do USC QB Matt Barkley, and West Virginia QB Geno Smith. Denard Robinson and Landry Jones? Not so much.
-Speaking of "not so much", there are several Top 25 teams who should be very worried right now:
Oklahoma looked very mediocre against lowly UTEP. There was a lot of speculation about how Landry Jones would fair without his favorite target Ryan Broyles and he definitely looked lost at times. The teams were tied at halftime and Oklahoma took a 10-7 lead into the fourth quarter.
South Carolina looked very beatable against an underrated but unranked Vanderbilt team. Connor Shaw banged up his shoulder pretty bad in the second quarter and had to come out. He eventually re-entered the game in the third quarter and now according to Spurrier, he can barely move his arm.
Georgia led the University of Buffalo Bulls 24-16 at halftime. Not ideal.
Wisconsin had to fight off a late rally by Northern Iowa to squeak out a 26-21 win.
Michigan State and Boise State have elite defenses and Michigan State may have a Heisman candidate in Le'Veon Bell but both left Friday's game with more questions at QB than answers. Boise State likely won't find their way back into the Top 25 again this year with all the questions they have on offense.
Florida didn't exactly look like world-beaters either, having more trouble with Bowling Green than expected. They took a 17-14 lead into the fourth quarter and had 14 penalties for 106 yards.
-The Bill O'Brien era begins with a loss. It's kind of a shame. I kinda feel for this team and their fans right now. They had nothing to do with any of this Jerry Sandusky business. It was sort of interesting how the adrenaline and emotion of the moment barely carried the Lions to halftime and then it was like a sugar crash...BAM! Deflated. Give Ohio credit, they're a good football team but you still gotta feel for Penn State at least a little bit.
-So Oklahoma State somehow got lucky enough to get Savannah State University on the schedule. They scored 35 points in the first quarter. Then they added another 14 in the second quarter. 21 more in the third and another 14 in the fourth. Final: 84-0. They were favored by 58 points. Vegas totally banked on this one too because 69% of people bet on Savannah State. I guess they thought no one could beat anyone by 58 points. Guess they've never heard of the famous 1916 Georgia Tech v. Cumberland College game. Next up for the Tigers of Savannah State: No. 6 Florida State.
-Speaking of cupcakes, it appears to be cupcake week in college football. I guess Week 2 is as good a time as any. Check out this Saturday's delectable dessert menu:
Western Kentucky at No. 1 Alabama (poor, poor Western Kentucky...could Alabama crack 100?)
Washington at No. 3 LSU (yeah I know Washington is in the Pac-12 but...still...)
Florida A&M at No. 5 Oklahoma (Landry Jones and co. need this...BAD)
No. 11 Michigan State at Central Michigan (I just wanna see Le'Veon Bell steamroll the Chippewas' defense)
Ball State at No. 12 Clemson
-Speaking of the Canes, let me just say this one more time: What a bummer that Teddy Bridgewater de-committed from Miami after Randy Shannon was fired. This kid is gonna be a stud. He was 19/21 today. Even against Kentucky, that's impressive.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati -- ESPN -- Thursday, 8pm
Last week Pittsburgh got absolutely taken to the woodshed by...YOUNGSTOWN STATE! I think we know all we need to know about the Panthers. Gonna be a long year in Pitt.
Hobbitcore sez: Cincinnati
Utah at Utah State -- ESPN2 -- Friday, 8pm
BATTLE OF THE BROTHERS. Over 100 meetings between the in-state rivals since the first meeting in 1892. The key to this game will be the production of Utah QB Jordan Wynn who went down with an injury in the fourth game of 2011 and sat out the rest of the season. I like the Utes to win a close one but don't count the Aggies out, they're very competitive and it IS a rivalry game. But Utah has won 20 of the last 22 in this rivalry and they've won the last 12 also.
Hobbitcore sez: Utah
UCF at No. 14 Ohio State -- ESPN2 -- Saturday, 12pm
Braxton Miller is looking scary. UCF doesn't stand a chance in the Horseshoe.
Hobbitcore sez: Ohio State
Miami (FL) at No. 21 Kansas State -- FX -- Saturday, 12pm
With Duke Johnson emerging to fill Lamar Miller's shoes and Stephen Morris developing great timing with his receivers, the biggest question mark about the Canes is their defense. As Al Golden said earlier this week, Collin Klein may be the best running quarterback in the country. 6'5" 225 lbs of POWER. I don't think this defense can handle that. It will be a shootout but the Wildcats will squeak out a win.
Hobbitcore sez: Kansas State
Penn State at Virginia -- ABC -- Saturday, 12pm
Last week Penn State's adrenaline rush gave way to a massive crash in the second half. This week they venture out of Happy Valley and into hostile territory. I don't think the result will be too different against an underrated Virginia team. Should be interesting to see how much production the Cavs can get out of Michael Rocco against this tough Penn State defense but the Nittany Lions won't be able to generate any offense against a formidable Virginia D.
Hobbitcore sez: Virginia
Auburn at Mississippi State -- ESPN -- Saturday, 12pm
Auburn is coming off a tough loss in Death Valley. I like them to bounce back in Week 2 and get a very tough win over the Bulldogs in a defensive battle.
Hobbitcore sez: Auburn
No. 2 USC vs. Syracuse -- ABC/ESPN2 -- Saturday, 3:30pm
Why is this even on TV? Wait, actually this is one of the more interesting games of Week 2. That's a commentary on Week 2 not this game. This is a USC showcase game.
Hobbitcore sez: USC
Air Force at No. 19 Michigan -- ABC/ESPN2 -- Saturday, 3:30pm
The first day of the rest of Denard Robinson's season. Show us something, Denard.
Hobbitcore sez: Michigan
No. 24 Florida at Texas A&M -- ESPN -- Saturday, 3:30pm
Texas A&M welcomes its first SEC opponent to College Station. Should be a pretty interesting matchup. Florida was looking pretty shaky last week against Bowling Green. Jeff Driskel was named starting QB by the skin of his teeth. I'm interested to see if he can throw the ball against the Aggies secondary which has been a weakness in recent years. I'll take the 12th man in this one. It's the only thing that really tips the scale in one direction or the other.
Hobbitcore sez: Texas A&M
Purdue at No. 22 Notre Dame -- NBC -- Saturday, 3:30pm
Looks like Notre Dame has finally figured out how to score points. They shouldn't have too much trouble racking up a bunch more against the Boilermakers although don't be surprised if Purdue chalks up a few points of their own.
Hobbitcore sez: Notre Dame
No. 13 Wisconsin at Oregon State -- FX -- Saturday, 4pm
Montee Ball padding stats.
Hobbitcore sez: Wisconsin
Washington at No. 3 LSU -- ESPN -- Saturday, 7pm
I'm fairly shocked that LSU is only favored by 24 in this game. This is another showcase game.
Hobbitcore sez: LSU
No. 7 Georgia at Missouri -- ESPN2 -- Saturday, 7:45pm
The other "Welcome to the SEC" game. I wouldn't count Missouri out of this one but I don't see them beating Georgia right now. Bulldogs have a lot of work to do to erase a shaky performance in Week 1. I think they will.
Hobbitcore sez: Georgia
NO GAME OF THE WEEK OR UPSET OF THE WEEK THIS WEEK BECAUSE THIS WEEK IS FUCKING BORING AS SHIT
Out-of-Whack Spreads
No. 18 Ohio State (-18) over Central Florida
No. 22 Notre Dame (-14) over Purdue
No. 7 Wisconsin (-7) over Oregon State
My Heisman Ballot
1. QB Geno Smith, WVU
2. QB Matt Barkley, USC
3. RB Le'Veon Bell, MSU
BCS Predictions
ACC: Clemson over Florida State
Big XII: West Virginia (Landry Jones needs to find some rhythm and timing with SOMEBODY in that WR corps fast or the Mountaineers are going to run away with the Big 12 in their first year)
Big East: Louisville (looked pretty good against Kentucky)
Big Ten: Michigan over Wisconsin (as bad as Michigan looked against Alabama, I still don't see the Spartans beating them with big questions still at QB)
Pac-12: USC over Oregon
SEC: Alabama over Georgia (yeah, I'm not picking against Alabama ever again...)
NEW FEATURE: My Top 25
1. Alabama
2. USC
3. Oregon
4. LSU
5. West Virginia
6. Georgia
7. Clemson
8. Arkansas
9. Florida State
10. Ohio State
11. Wisconsin
12. Michigan State
13. Virginia Tech
14. Nebraska
15. South Carolina
16. Michigan
17. Texas
18. Kansas State
19. Oklahoma State
20. Notre Dame
21. TCU
22. Louisville
23. Tennessee
24. Texas A&M
25. Florida
-So I guess technically I got my Game of the Week pick right. Not really though. I expected Alabama to be the better team. I don't think anybody expected that. I think a lot of people are about ready to change their picks for the BCS title game--including me. What impressed me most was the confidence of A.J. McCarron and the dominance of the very young defense. If there was any doubt that Nick Saban is the best coach in college football right now, that's out the window.
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| Le'Veon Bell breaking some ankles |
-Michigan State RB Le'Veon Bell looks to be in Heisman form already as do USC QB Matt Barkley, and West Virginia QB Geno Smith. Denard Robinson and Landry Jones? Not so much.
-Speaking of "not so much", there are several Top 25 teams who should be very worried right now:
Oklahoma looked very mediocre against lowly UTEP. There was a lot of speculation about how Landry Jones would fair without his favorite target Ryan Broyles and he definitely looked lost at times. The teams were tied at halftime and Oklahoma took a 10-7 lead into the fourth quarter.
South Carolina looked very beatable against an underrated but unranked Vanderbilt team. Connor Shaw banged up his shoulder pretty bad in the second quarter and had to come out. He eventually re-entered the game in the third quarter and now according to Spurrier, he can barely move his arm.
Georgia led the University of Buffalo Bulls 24-16 at halftime. Not ideal.
Wisconsin had to fight off a late rally by Northern Iowa to squeak out a 26-21 win.
Michigan State and Boise State have elite defenses and Michigan State may have a Heisman candidate in Le'Veon Bell but both left Friday's game with more questions at QB than answers. Boise State likely won't find their way back into the Top 25 again this year with all the questions they have on offense.
Florida didn't exactly look like world-beaters either, having more trouble with Bowling Green than expected. They took a 17-14 lead into the fourth quarter and had 14 penalties for 106 yards.
-The Bill O'Brien era begins with a loss. It's kind of a shame. I kinda feel for this team and their fans right now. They had nothing to do with any of this Jerry Sandusky business. It was sort of interesting how the adrenaline and emotion of the moment barely carried the Lions to halftime and then it was like a sugar crash...BAM! Deflated. Give Ohio credit, they're a good football team but you still gotta feel for Penn State at least a little bit.
-So Oklahoma State somehow got lucky enough to get Savannah State University on the schedule. They scored 35 points in the first quarter. Then they added another 14 in the second quarter. 21 more in the third and another 14 in the fourth. Final: 84-0. They were favored by 58 points. Vegas totally banked on this one too because 69% of people bet on Savannah State. I guess they thought no one could beat anyone by 58 points. Guess they've never heard of the famous 1916 Georgia Tech v. Cumberland College game. Next up for the Tigers of Savannah State: No. 6 Florida State.
-Speaking of cupcakes, it appears to be cupcake week in college football. I guess Week 2 is as good a time as any. Check out this Saturday's delectable dessert menu:
Western Kentucky at No. 1 Alabama (poor, poor Western Kentucky...could Alabama crack 100?)
Washington at No. 3 LSU (yeah I know Washington is in the Pac-12 but...still...)
Florida A&M at No. 5 Oklahoma (Landry Jones and co. need this...BAD)
No. 11 Michigan State at Central Michigan (I just wanna see Le'Veon Bell steamroll the Chippewas' defense)
Ball State at No. 12 Clemson
Austin Peay at No. 15 Virginia Tech
-Just when I was getting myself ready to totally check out of the Canes season when they were looking completely lifeless in falling behind 14-0 at Boston College, Golden's boys reel off 41 of the game's next 50 points led by two electrifying Duke Johnson runs and three defensive takeaways (including a Denzel Perryman INT return for a TD). |
| Duke Johnson in high school |
-Speaking of the Canes, let me just say this one more time: What a bummer that Teddy Bridgewater de-committed from Miami after Randy Shannon was fired. This kid is gonna be a stud. He was 19/21 today. Even against Kentucky, that's impressive.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati -- ESPN -- Thursday, 8pm
Last week Pittsburgh got absolutely taken to the woodshed by...YOUNGSTOWN STATE! I think we know all we need to know about the Panthers. Gonna be a long year in Pitt.
Hobbitcore sez: Cincinnati
Utah at Utah State -- ESPN2 -- Friday, 8pm
BATTLE OF THE BROTHERS. Over 100 meetings between the in-state rivals since the first meeting in 1892. The key to this game will be the production of Utah QB Jordan Wynn who went down with an injury in the fourth game of 2011 and sat out the rest of the season. I like the Utes to win a close one but don't count the Aggies out, they're very competitive and it IS a rivalry game. But Utah has won 20 of the last 22 in this rivalry and they've won the last 12 also.
Hobbitcore sez: Utah
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| Ohio State QB Braxton Miller |
UCF at No. 14 Ohio State -- ESPN2 -- Saturday, 12pm
Braxton Miller is looking scary. UCF doesn't stand a chance in the Horseshoe.
Hobbitcore sez: Ohio State
Miami (FL) at No. 21 Kansas State -- FX -- Saturday, 12pm
With Duke Johnson emerging to fill Lamar Miller's shoes and Stephen Morris developing great timing with his receivers, the biggest question mark about the Canes is their defense. As Al Golden said earlier this week, Collin Klein may be the best running quarterback in the country. 6'5" 225 lbs of POWER. I don't think this defense can handle that. It will be a shootout but the Wildcats will squeak out a win.
Hobbitcore sez: Kansas State
Penn State at Virginia -- ABC -- Saturday, 12pm
Last week Penn State's adrenaline rush gave way to a massive crash in the second half. This week they venture out of Happy Valley and into hostile territory. I don't think the result will be too different against an underrated Virginia team. Should be interesting to see how much production the Cavs can get out of Michael Rocco against this tough Penn State defense but the Nittany Lions won't be able to generate any offense against a formidable Virginia D.
Hobbitcore sez: Virginia
Auburn at Mississippi State -- ESPN -- Saturday, 12pm
Auburn is coming off a tough loss in Death Valley. I like them to bounce back in Week 2 and get a very tough win over the Bulldogs in a defensive battle.
Hobbitcore sez: Auburn
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| Matt Barkley's damn sexy, ain't he, ladies? |
No. 2 USC vs. Syracuse -- ABC/ESPN2 -- Saturday, 3:30pm
Why is this even on TV? Wait, actually this is one of the more interesting games of Week 2. That's a commentary on Week 2 not this game. This is a USC showcase game.
Hobbitcore sez: USC
Air Force at No. 19 Michigan -- ABC/ESPN2 -- Saturday, 3:30pm
The first day of the rest of Denard Robinson's season. Show us something, Denard.
Hobbitcore sez: Michigan
No. 24 Florida at Texas A&M -- ESPN -- Saturday, 3:30pm
Texas A&M welcomes its first SEC opponent to College Station. Should be a pretty interesting matchup. Florida was looking pretty shaky last week against Bowling Green. Jeff Driskel was named starting QB by the skin of his teeth. I'm interested to see if he can throw the ball against the Aggies secondary which has been a weakness in recent years. I'll take the 12th man in this one. It's the only thing that really tips the scale in one direction or the other.
Hobbitcore sez: Texas A&M
Purdue at No. 22 Notre Dame -- NBC -- Saturday, 3:30pm
Looks like Notre Dame has finally figured out how to score points. They shouldn't have too much trouble racking up a bunch more against the Boilermakers although don't be surprised if Purdue chalks up a few points of their own.
Hobbitcore sez: Notre Dame
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| Wisconsin RB Montee Ball |
No. 13 Wisconsin at Oregon State -- FX -- Saturday, 4pm
Montee Ball padding stats.
Hobbitcore sez: Wisconsin
Washington at No. 3 LSU -- ESPN -- Saturday, 7pm
I'm fairly shocked that LSU is only favored by 24 in this game. This is another showcase game.
Hobbitcore sez: LSU
No. 7 Georgia at Missouri -- ESPN2 -- Saturday, 7:45pm
The other "Welcome to the SEC" game. I wouldn't count Missouri out of this one but I don't see them beating Georgia right now. Bulldogs have a lot of work to do to erase a shaky performance in Week 1. I think they will.
Hobbitcore sez: Georgia
NO GAME OF THE WEEK OR UPSET OF THE WEEK THIS WEEK BECAUSE THIS WEEK IS FUCKING BORING AS SHIT
Out-of-Whack Spreads
No. 18 Ohio State (-18) over Central Florida
No. 22 Notre Dame (-14) over Purdue
No. 7 Wisconsin (-7) over Oregon State
My Heisman Ballot
1. QB Geno Smith, WVU
2. QB Matt Barkley, USC
3. RB Le'Veon Bell, MSU
BCS Predictions
ACC: Clemson over Florida State
Big XII: West Virginia (Landry Jones needs to find some rhythm and timing with SOMEBODY in that WR corps fast or the Mountaineers are going to run away with the Big 12 in their first year)
Big East: Louisville (looked pretty good against Kentucky)
Big Ten: Michigan over Wisconsin (as bad as Michigan looked against Alabama, I still don't see the Spartans beating them with big questions still at QB)
Pac-12: USC over Oregon
SEC: Alabama over Georgia (yeah, I'm not picking against Alabama ever again...)
NEW FEATURE: My Top 25
1. Alabama
2. USC
3. Oregon
4. LSU
5. West Virginia
6. Georgia
7. Clemson
8. Arkansas
9. Florida State
10. Ohio State
11. Wisconsin
12. Michigan State
13. Virginia Tech
14. Nebraska
15. South Carolina
16. Michigan
17. Texas
18. Kansas State
19. Oklahoma State
20. Notre Dame
21. TCU
22. Louisville
23. Tennessee
24. Texas A&M
25. Florida
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