Uncertainty creeps in.
Week 1 brought the loss of pre-season #3 Oklahoma at the hands of Mountain West Conference kings BYU (now ranked #7 by the Associated Press), and Week 2 saw the #5 Oklahoma State Cowboys – lose to Houston, who play ball in Conference USA.
Two weeks. Two teams named the Cougars. Two Big 12 South non-conference losses to two non-BCS schools.
Normally this would bring on abundant media criticism of a supposedly-great conference, but there is something different this time: Houston and Brigham Young might be real teams. With Boise State’s win over Oregon and almost certain undefeated 2009 regular season, BCS busters seem to be coming from all points west.
Yet there’s more football to be played.
Unlike last week, there really is no marquee match-up. ESPN’s College GameDay is in Austin, Texas for an early rematch of last year’s amazing Texas Tech-Texas game, which affirmed Tech as a legitimate football school, Mike Leach as a top-tier coach, and Michael Crabtree as a first-round draft pick. The loss single-handedly barred the Longhorns from the BCS Championship Game. But I feel like the only reason there is any hype around this is because of that game. Texas Tech isn’t even ranked, and Texas is sitting pretty at #2. The storyline is a bit more intriguing than the matchup.
Which brings me to…
The Real Game of the Week: (19) Nebraska at (13) Virginia Tech
There are only two games pitting ranked teams against each other this week: Thursday’s game between (14) Georgia Tech and (20) Miami (FL) and this one, yet no one seems to be talking about either.
Sure, Nebraska is trying to work their way back from mediocrity, but so are Michigan and Notre Dame, who get much more attention on the national landscape, despite the Huskers having the most wins since 1970. And sure, the ACC looks weak … in comparison to the Big 12 and SEC. But they still have four ranked teams. This one has a much better chance to go down to the wire than the Florida-Tennessee game.
Last year, VT went to Lincoln and took home a 35-30 victory that was a bit more lopsided than the scoreboard dictated. The Huskers were held to 55 yards on the ground and converted only 2 of 11 third downs, giving testament to the defensive prowess that Beamerball brings to Blacksburg teams. Meanwhile, the Hokie offense put up 200 yards rushing and controlled the clock. And that’s when Tyrod Taylor was just getting settled in as the starter.
Yes, Tech looked a little weak against Alabama’s impressive D in Week 1, but that was Alabama. Bo Pelini’s defense has done alright, but not up to his expectations – against two Sun Belt schools, there have been only three turnovers (only two of seven fumbles were recovered), only four sacks (approximately zero coming against Florida Atlantic), and 37 first downs (four by penalty). Though the Huskers defense has allowed only 12 points so far, Virginia Tech is a better team and will take advantage of anything Nebraska gives them.
Winner: Virginia Tech. I hate to bad-mouth my Huskers, but a road victory in Blackburg isn’t something I see an inexperienced Zac Lee pulling off. VT will probably extend their non-conference home winning streak to an impressive 32 behind home field advantage and the experience of Taylor.
Quick Picks
(3) USC at Washington: Some are making a big deal of the fact that Steve Sarkisian was at USC for most of the last decade, and therefore can give the Huskies an advantage. Kinda true, but not really. USC has better athletes, and Washington isn’t going to beat last year’s Pac-10 champ just because their coach knows the other team. I’m pretty sure Pete Carroll has an idea as to what Sarkisian’s plan of attack is. Winner: USC.
Tulsa at (12) Oklahoma: Oklahoma is still without Heisman winner Sam Bradford, but they probably won’t have too much trouble with the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa may put up a good challenge – they’re a well-coached Conference USA team that has won 18 of its last 22 – but they’re not a BCS-crasher by any means. It may be interesting going into the second half, so check it out if you get a chance. Winner: Oklahoma.
Wyoming at Colorado: Normally, as much as I dislike the Colorado Buffaloes, I would scoff at the idea that they could lose at home to a team that is mediocre by WAC non-”big six” standards. But Father Hawkins has shown that the Buffaloes might be this year’s Washington Huskies. Wyoming surprised Texas with a strong first half last week. Look for CU to struggle to get a win this year. Winner: Wyoming.
Arizona at Iowa: This might be one of the better games of the week. After a scare from a strong FCS team in Northern Iowa, the Hawkeyes blew out their other in-state rival, Iowa State. U of A, on the other hand, hasn’t completely owned a game this year, despite being 2-0 with victories over Central Michigan and FCS Northern Arizona. If Iowa can either contain Wildcat running back Nic Grisby or continue to throw the ball effectively, the Iowa City crowd will go home happy. Winner: Iowa.
Florida State at (7) BYU: A road win in Provo for Bowden’s squad? Not likely. Max Hall will earn a bit more Heisman cred in this game, and a second strong non-conference win could leap-frog the Cougars ahead of Ole Miss and Penn State in the rankings. I’m just hoping the skiing in Utah is as good as the football this year. Winner: BYU.
Team I Would Like to See Lose: (10) Boise State Broncos
Some schedules are built for victory parades. Example: Boise State. If the Broncos were in a decent non-BCS conference, i.e. the Mountain West, instead of the WAC – whose non-BSU members are a collective 4-8 in non-conference through two weeks (with wins vs. Prairie View A&M, UC-Davis, Central Arkansas and Washington State) – I might have a little respect. But at this point, I’m rooting for Houston to be the crappy-conference beast to crash the BCS this year. Tulsa, Nevada, Hawaii and Fresno State are the only teams that even have an outside chance at a victory over the Broncos, so let’s hope the Bulldogs of Fresno can do it this Friday night.
Team I Would Like to See Win: (18) Utah Utes
This reasons behind this selection are three-fold: Utah still has the nation’s longest winning streak. I want it to keep going. Winning streaks are exciting, and the longer they keep going, the harder teams fight to protect them.
In addition, the Mountain West looks great this year. TCU, Colorado State and BYU are still undefeated, and I want to see as many match-ups between no-loss teams as I can. A November 28 contest between BYU and Utah (who would no doubt both be top-10 teams at that point) would be ideal. It would serve as both a MWC championship game and possibly even a BCS Championship play-in game.
Of course, there’s also that whole opponent issue. Utah plays the Oregon team that struggled (and eventually fell to) Boise State two weeks ago. If Utah has a more impressive win over Oregon, it can make any BSU argument nearly moot. Go Utes!
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You know Wyoming’s not in the WAC, right?
I do. Apparently I didn’t proofread close enough. Thanks for the heads up, SanDiegoPoke.
Thanks. I’ll admit to being mediocre
I was under the impression that mediocre was a compliment for Wyoming football.