College Football 2010: So it begins

[Guynemer]

They also smacked Wisconsin around pretty good on the defensive side of the ball, and managed to hang over 30 points on the Badgers defense despite turning the ball over three times.


Maybe the doom-and-gloom outlook that is the birthright of every Wolverines fan that is coming out. After all, Michigan very nearly beat both the Spartans and the Hawkeyes last year on the road; this year, they appear to be much improved offensively and get both teams at home. I'll say this; if I'm wrong, and they manage to beat the Spartans and the Hawkeyes the next two weeks, I will fully expect them to be 11-0 heading into Columbus in late November, barring a DRob injury. (I don't think Penn State has enough offense to take advantage of the Michigan D, which is rather damning when you think about it, and they always seem to get the best of the Badgers in Ann Arbor.) Of course, the Buckeyes will ****ing murder them, but still. (That said, I still think the D and ST will cost them at least one game they should win--at Purdue, home vs. Illinois, at Penn State)

[Guynemer]

And Guy, MSU gave up more points to ND than Michgan did .

And ND played with their third-string QB for almost half the game against Michigan, lest we forget.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Fair enough. But it isn't like MSU has played offensive powerhouses... and Wisconsin did get their points.

[Guynemer]

See again the three turnovers MSU had; kept Wisky in the game. The Spartans held them under 300 yards, including a paltry 127 through the air on 11-25 passing. The Badgers did have some success on the ground, though, averaging 5.1 yards per rush; that bodes well for DRob & Co.

MSU also gets their coach back on the field this week, big emotional boost in a game they should already be amped to 11 for.

Spartans 41, Wolverines 28.

[Ben Kenobi]

Why shouldn't they get credit for winning the Rosebowl in the previous season?

BSU won the Fiesta Bowl. They should have played Bama for the championship.

Funny you mention the Rose. The loser of that game is now ranked higher than Boise. Pathetic. Clearly winning a Bowl isn't a requirement.

The only reason BSU is as high as it is in the rankings is due to its previous season performance, since they've not played any very strong teams so far. Ohio State at least beat Miami, which is 4-1, as opposed to VT's 3-2 record.

That, and they've beaten a top 10 team, and two ranked teams, and gone undefeated. Same as the Ducks, except that the Ducks lost their Rose Bowl.

[Imran Siddiqui]

And the Ducks have just about destroyed everyone.

[Solomwi]

Auburn fans, though, have struggled through some of the worst offense imaginable lately. I'm sure they wanted any change as long as it was exciting .

And Guy, MSU gave up more points to ND than Michgan did .

Touche. After one declining and one outright bad year (2006-7), many of us greeted the Franklin hire with excitement, and almost unanimously thought that at least we knew it couldn't get worse in 2008. How wrong we were. Oh, how horribly wrong we were. Screw excitement, we just wanted to get rid of that pervasive feeling that something terrible was right around the corner every time we had the ball and the just as pervasive frustration at watching Kodi Burns run into the back of a lineman twice before Chris Todd threw the obligatory 3rd and 10 pass 5 yards short of the nearest receiver. To say we're revelling in Cam Newton would be an understatement.

[Tupac Shakur]

Come on, you can piece things together, can't you?

No, he really can't.

[Ben Kenobi]

And the Ducks have just about destroyed everyone.

So has Boise.

[Boris Godunov]

Just to recap: BK whines about how the previous season shouldn't be considered, but then uses it to justify why Boise State should be ranked ahead of Oregon, which is otherwise "the same."

Got it.

Ok, on to real issues...

[Imran Siddiqui]

I'm just wondering how 33-30 is destroying.... (ie, the score in the Boise - VTech game)

[Solomwi]

But... but... they were a TOP TEN TEAM, Imran!

[SlowwHand]

Well? It's actually a valid argument. You either accept the rankings or you don't. I don't, but since I don't count, ...

[Solomwi]

You don't have to watch football long to see that the polls get it wrong sometimes, and that they get it wrong way more often at the beginning of the season than later on. VT has shown itself to be one they got wrong.

[Tuberski]

Why shouldn't they get credit for winning the Rosebowl in the previous season? The only reason BSU is as high as it is in the rankings is due to its previous season performance, since they've not played any very strong teams so far. Ohio State at least beat Miami, which is 4-1, as opposed to VT's 3-2 record.

At this point in the season, Ohio State and Oregon have pretty similar records. I think it's entirely reasonable that if all else is equal, this year's Rosebowl game is the tiebreaker for determining which of them is ranked above the other. Oregon will have to continue to put up big wins and Ohio State will have to exhibit weakness for that to change.

What, you think Boise State and Maryland should have been equally ranked in Week 1 because they both had 1-0 records? Hilarious...

Not that I want to defend BK, but, at this point in the season, Boise State has a higher strength of Schedule than Oregon. So Oregon should have waited another week to pass them.

ACK!