Sep 9, 2010
I got so wrapped up in that Boise State win Monday night that I completely neglected my recap of the entire Labor Day weekend telethon of football. Shame on me, because aside from that Fed Ex Field thriller, there were a slew of great games, outstanding individual performances and unbelievable outcomes to dissect and discuss.
Without turning this into another 1,000+ word epic, let me hit on the games and exploits that caught my eye as we put a thrilling opening week behind us and prepare for what should be an equally-entertaining Week 2.
Games of the week: fans hungry for exciting early season matches were finally rewarded, and the drama came in a variety of packages. If you wanted a tight, see-saw affair involving ranked teams, Boise St./VA Tech, LSU/ North Carolina or TCU/Oregon St. fit the bill. If you like last-second drama between unranked clubs, Navy/Maryland, East Carolina/Tulsa and Washington/BYU all delivered fantastic finishes. And if epic upsets are you’re thing, I believe Jacksonville State knocking off Ole Miss in double OT and North Dakota State defeating Kansas 6-3 in Lawrence would more than satisfy your appetite for implosion.
Cupcakes, anyone? This was opening weekend, after all, so of course there were plenty of stinkers, too. Ohio State and Miami both dropped 45 points on patsy opponents in preparation for this week’s showdown at the ‘Shoe; #1 ‘Bama cruised to a 45-pt win over San Jose St. despite not having Heisman winner Mark Ingram; Florida State ushered in the Jimbo Fisher era with a 59-6 pasting of Bobby Bowden’s alma mater, Samford; and Oregon shrugged off the losses of Jeremiah Masoli (transferred to Ole Miss) and LaMichael James (suspended) by annihilating New Mexico, 72-0.
Start the Heisman hype machine: Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson rewarded Coach Rich Rod for naming him the starter as he rushed for 197 yards and threw for another 186 in the Wolverine’s 30-10 win over UCONN; Georgia frosh QB Aaron Murray dazzled with 202 total yards and 4 TDs (3 pass) in his Bulldog debut; USC KR/WR Ronald Johnson was a one man highlight reel, amassing 157 total yards and 3 touchdowns in the Trojan’s 49-36 victory over Hawaii; and Wisconsin running back John Clay proved his off-season ankle surgeries could render him more dangerous than ever – the Badger beast stormed to 123 yards on the ground and a pair of touchdowns in Wisky’s 41-21 stomping of UNLV.
Worst Performances: this list begins and ends with the #4 Florida Gators. Faced with the daunting prospect of replacing the college football messiah, QB John Brantley was handcuffed by his own center; the Gators committed 8 fumbles in its unimpressive 34-12 win over Miami (OH), many of them coming on the quarterback/center exchange. Florida center Mike Bouncey Pouncey took the blame for most of the miscues, but that doesn’t explain how Urban’s gang had compiled just 26 yards of offense heading into the 4th quarter against a MAC team that went 1-11 in 2009. “OVER-RATED!”
Quick Hits:
-the gorgeous 65-yard TD pass Terrelle Pryor threw to Dane Sanzenbacher in the first quarter of Ohio State’s shellacking of Marshall proved the former phenom has graduated from a Mike Vick-type freak into a full-fledged NFL-caliber quarterback.
-it took all of one game for USC to adopt the ugly personality of its insufferable head coach. As if going for two points on its first three touchdowns wasn’t annoying enough, Lane Kiffin gave a pompous interview as he exited the field at halftime. Adding injury to insults, a cheap shot by Trojan LB Michael Morgan put Hawaii QB Bryant Moniz out of the game late in the third quarter with a concussion. Yeah, it sure will be fun rooting against the head jag-off in charge and his merry band of banned brothers this season
-although the game was sloppy (5 turnovers, 23 penalties for 174 yards), Utah’s 24-21 OT win over Pittsburgh was still very entertaining, especially when coach Kyle Whittingham’s second “ice the kicker” timeout backfired and nearly cost the Utes the game.
- if South Carolina QB Stephen Garcia (16-23, 238 tot yds, 2 rush TDs) really has matured following years of insolence and ineffectiveness, perhaps the Gamecocks will finally make some noise in the SEC under Steve Spurrier
- while Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly helped Irish fans forget Charlie Weiss with a 23-12 victory over Purdue in his South Bend debut, Kelly’s successor at Cincy, Butch Jones, made Bearcat supporters long for the good old days, as underrated Fresno manhandled the overmatched Cats, 28-14.
-I’m not sure if it was the heart of the shorthanded Tarheels that enabled North Carolina to climb out of a 30-10 hole and nearly pull off an improbable victory over LSU, or the utter lack of heart on the part Les Miles’ latest schizophrenic squad
- by far the best story of the weekend was Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich returning to the field after missing a year due to bone marrow cancer. The 2008 ACC Defensive Player of the Year recorded just 5 tackles in limited action in his first game back, but his mere presence on the turf at Alumni Stadium was an inspiration to fans, fellow players, and cancer survivors everywhere.
Well I said I wasn’t going to write 1,000+ words, so I’ll close by saying as good as this week was, next week could be even better with some mega-matchups on the schedule. Miami/Ohio State, Florida St./Oklahoma, and Penn St./Alabama highlight what should be an epic week, and if the performances this week by the “small schools” are any indication, we can’t sleep on the non-AQs, either.
Meaning, watch out for that North Dakota State/Northern Iowa clash!
Post Tags:bobby bowden, double ot, Field, Football, heisman hype, Jimbo Fisher, mark ingram, quarterback, victory, Week
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- CFB 2010 Week 10 Rewind: Blowouts and Broken Dreams Edition
- CFB 2010 Week 5 Rewind: Shakeup Saturday
by: J Rose
more by: J Rose
