Oh glorious day! The sun is shining, football has started, Nebraska plays tomorrow!!! It's enough to make one break into song. For your sakes, I won't do that, I'll just offer up some opinions on what I saw last night.
#9 South Carolina 17 Vanderbilt 13:
Between a pregnant wife making me run to the store for crazy stuff, and a misunderstanding over this new time zone I'm still not used to, I missed most of the first quarter of this game. Which sucks, because I heard it was pretty neat. I'm sure I raised a few eyebrows when I picked Vandy to win, but who's laughing now? This isn't your father's woebegone Vanderbilt team. Heck, this isn't your older brother's woebegone Vanderbilt team. James Franklin has done a fantastic job in a short time in Nashville and the Dores seem to have bought in and dedicated themselves to getting out of the SEC's cellar.
The Commodores played fast, tough, and mean for 4 quarters and had South Carolina on the ropes much of the night. Some will argue that the missed pass interference on 4th down cost Vandy the game, but the real culprit was the three-aand-out after Andre Hal's 52 yard kick return. The return came immediately following Marcus Lattimore's 1 yard touchdown put South Carolina on top for the first time since the second quarter, but it appeared that Vandy would capitalize on a crazy momentum swing. All for naught. Three and out, and Vandy just couldn't overcome South Carolina's size and talent advantages in the end.
The Gamecocks will take a hit in the polls, but in the SEC, all that matters is the W, so we'll see Steve Spurrier's face contortion show on ESPN when South Carolina welcomes Missouri to town on Sep 22. Between now and then, the Gamecocks need to figure out how to keep Connor Shaw healthy, because Spurrier clearly doesn't trust Heisman candidate RB Marcus Lattimore to carry his team.
Last thought: I think it's time we stop acting all surprised that Spurrier's teams rely more on defense and a strong running game than any fancy passing game. Spurrier has been there for 7 years now, and not once has his offense resembled the old Fun N' Gun that made him famous. If I hear "Did you ever think we'd see a Steve Spurrier team that relied on defense more than offense?" one more time, I'm driving up to Bristol and kicking every ESPN talking head I can find right in the chin. Anderson Silva style.
UCLA 49 Rice 24:
I caught a little bit of this game while South Carolina and Vanderbilt were at halftime. I tuned in just in time to see Rice cut a 19-0 deficit to 19-17 in about 10 seconds, and then stop playing defense. UCLA pulled away before halftime and both teams apparently forgot to play in the third quarter. Rice wasn't out of the game until a touchdown and 2 pt conversion in the the early 4th quarter, and then UCLA put it in cruise control.
The atrocious defense being played by both sides, and the TV announcer who lost his voice in the first quarter, but inexplicably kept talking, made the game entirely unwatchable for me. From the little bit of the game I did watch, it seems like UCLA had trouble with the spread formations and hurry up tempo of Rice's offense. Tim Beck is gonna love that game tape. It's hard to judge UCLA's offense against such a poor Rice "defense" but 646 yards, including 343 on the ground, is pretty good no matter who you're playing, especially on the road in your first game with a first time starting QB. Methinks Bo Pelini and John Papuchis go right to work on Sunday morning, getting the Blackshirts ready to roll.
Last thought: Everything I've read about Jim Mora make me think he is colossal douche, but winning your first game on the road in such a dominant fashion is commendable. Blowing a 19 point first quarter lead is not going to fly against most of the teams UCLA plays this year, however and 3 blocked PATs is inexcusable against any team. We'll see what UCLA is really made of in about 10 days.
BYU 30 Washington State 6:
Before I actually talk about this game, let me just say that I am a huge Mike Leach fan. Not only is he one of the most interesting people in the world, but he's also one heck of an offensive wizard. How many other coaches have schooled Pelini so thoroughly two years in a row? If Mike Leach can ever get a defense to complement his offense (like he almost had at Texas Tech) he'll get the rings he deserves. That being said, he has a ways to go at Washington State.
BYU is one of the better non-BCS teams of the last decade, and Wazzu is in the discussion as one of the worst BCS teams period, so this was a tough first game for Leach and the scoreboard shows it. I didn't watch much of the game, really only the first 2 drives, but it was apparent that Leach didn't completely lose his mojo with two years off. Wazzu marched straight down the field on their first drive, complete with a classic Mike Leach 4th and 5 conversion. An interception ended the drive deep in BYU territory but it was otherwise like watching a Texas Tech drive circa 2009.
30-6 seems like a blowout but Wazzu held BYU to 3 field goals in the game, so it could have been much worse. Provo isn't the easiest place to play and BYU is a tough opponent, but I'm a little surprised that a Mike Leach offense was held without a touchdown. This might be a dark year in Pullman, but if the players buy into Mike Leach's system, there will be plenty of sunshine ahead.
Last thought: On that 4th and 5 conversion, Leach's usually fast paced offense took their time getting lined up, confusing the heck out of BYU and coach Bronco Mendenhall, who was forced to take a timeout. Bronco Mendenhall: you just got Leached.
Kent State 41 Towson 21:
If you haven't seen Andre Parker trying his best Tyrann Matthieu impression, check it out. Poor guy was trying to make a memorable play, and succeeded in the worst way possible.
Utah 41 Northern Colorado 0:
By rights, Kyle Whittingham should be at a better job by now. He's 66-25, 7-1 in bowls (including the Sugar Bowl romp over Alabama in 2008) and he's taken Utah from BCS buster, into PAC-12 membership and his team looks poised to ride DT Star Lotuleilei and an experienced offense to a PAC-12 title game. Whittingham obviously loves Utah though, and his $2 million per year contract appears to be enough to keep him around for now. I've liked Utah and Whittingham ever since watching that 2008 Sugar Bowl, and I think they'll make some noise out West this fall.
In order to show that they belong in a BCS conference though, they need to dominate the teams they're supposed to dominate. Check. Look for Utah to jump into the polls with another dominant win over better-than-you-think Utah State next Friday, and keep an eye on the Utes as we get into the conference season. The Utes get USC at home, and every other PAC-12 South game is eminently winnable. With a few breaks, this team is entirely capable of a PAC-12 championship.
Minnesota 30 UNLV 27 3/OT:
Should Minnesota be grateful for the win, or discouraged over the fact that they barely escaped an embarrassing defeat to a bad team? Considering the Gophers only won 3 games in coach Jerry Kill's first season as head coach, I would be happy with the win on the road. That being said, there are many better teams for the Gophers to play, and considering Kill's history of sideline seizures, it might not be a great idea to keep playing close games like this. Minnesota's next 3 games are extremely winnable, so if the Gophers can eliminate the 11 penalties and 2 turnovers, it wouldn't be a stretch to see a 4-0 Minnesota team going into the B1G opener against Iowa. It also wouldn't be surprising to see the Gophers choke once or twice against Western Michigan or Syracuse. The jury's definitely still out on the Gophers, but anytime you can grab an exciting 3/OT win on the road, you take it.
Like those funky fried onion blossoms before a steak dinner, Thursday's games were exciting, but not nearly enough feed hungry college football fans who've spent 9 months fasting. Boise State at Michigan State should be a fantastic game tonight, and of course there's a full schedule on Saturday. There's even a few games on Sunday and Monday nights, making this a fantastic kickoff weekend. I'll be around to post my thoughts, feel free to share yours as well.
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