Whoa!!! Remember that slow weekend of college football we all thought we were getting? Nope. Didn’t happen. In fact it was quite thrilling. You had a service academy going toe to toe with a national power, the MWC making their mark again, and hundreds of fans now believing their teams are a lot better than they are. I heart college football.

Before we start a little programming note. My usual compadre Mizerle06 is off exploring Yosemite National Park for the week so I’m joined by Senor Spartacus. (Say Hi!) Um, HI!

Man it would really blow to be an Oklahoma fan right now…Sam Bradford’s slow walk to the training room was painful and as a college football fan you have to hate seeing things like that. Luckily the Oklahoma schedule is very light the next 3 weeks, allowing the Heisman winner to likely come back for their showdown with the Canes in Miami. That being said…you can pretty much guarantee that he won’t be the first two time Heisman winner…unless he shocks the world and comes back next fall.

Sparty: Um, Archie Griffin would like a word with you.

Trey: That should be since Griffin…my apologies Archie, I’m a big fan of your comics.

And the game?…Ya, Oklahoma probably wins with a healthy Bradford, but that’s besides the point. You win with what you got, not with what you could have had. So don’t blame BYU for doing everything they should have done to win that game, including controlling the time of possession, which kept the dual all-world running backs of Oklahoma on the bench.

Sparty: Have to say, I was not impressed even when Bradford was in there.  Sure, they are more likely win the game, but the loss of his two best receivers and new offensive line showed and  things weren’t in sync.  However, their defense played exceptional.  But in the end, BYU did have things go just right.

And what now of the Sooners?…They’re not out of it, the old saying in college football. “If you’re going to lose, lose early.”

Sparty: They lost twice early. They are done.

BYU: “What about us?”…What if BYU goes undefeated? Lets not go all ECU on the Cougs just yet. They have a tough Florida State team in Provo in a few weeks…But they’d definitely have serious considerations for a BCS Championship spot.

Sparty: Still a tough road ahead.  I am not ready to anoint the MWC any better than the Big East or ACC, but Utah and TCU are going to be more difficult than Free Shoes.

Meanwhile back in Southern California…I could just see Pete Carroll doing the dance of joy as Navy just ran at will on the Ohio State defense. The flex-option is a pain in the ass for anyone, but Ohio State is the type of team that SHOULD wear those guys out…not vice versa.

Sparty:I wouldn’t overreact to what happened in Columbus.  Navy gives fits to teams who never play against that offense.  This was OSU’s first game with a new defense as well, and they probably have watched more game film on USC than Navy.  Tressel teams are known for playing down to their OOC competition.  That being said, USC still rolls because they are just better.

Trey: Please…OSU looked gassed.

Thanks for inviting us…What Colorado State fans did in Boulder is exactly what you’d expect a team treated as lil’ brother to do when winning at your venue for the first time in 23 years. I’ll bet the Buff fans wish that one was still at Mile High instead of forcing the series to their place every other year.

Sparty: the Lil’ bro talk needs to stop.  Mike Hart isn’t even playing anymore, is he?

And here’s to the ACC…With all the flack the Big East has gotten (don’t worry they’ve got there’s coming), the ACC absolutely crapped the bag this weekend. They fell victim to TWO FCS teams (Virginia and Duke); lost to two lower end BCS schools (Wake Forest and NC State); had two schools lose to quality BCS caliber opponents (Maryland and VT)  and beat three FCS schools (North Carolina, Boston College, and Georgia Tech)…The league has a few shots to redeem themselves but this isn’t what ESPN signed up for.

Sparty: The big boys have their own networks, so what did ESPN expect?

Hold ‘er there Big East…You’re right, you went 5-1 in out of conference play this past weekend, but let’s look at this…4 wins against the FCS opponents…the FBS win? Ohio…while Rutgers was blown off the Earth by defending champ Cincinnati. We’re still holding judgment on you until we see some games against teams with a pulse…in week 3.

Sparty:  Michigan fans still hoping that Greg Schiano can be their coach?

Thankfully we’ve seen 100% rebirth in kickoff classics…Atlanta was the prime example. That’s exactly what an inter-conference game should have. Hard hits. Multiple lead changes. Sold out ramped up crowds. No shame in Virginia Tech losing that one, Alabama is easily a top five team and at this point Virginia Tech has to be the class of the ACC.

Sparty:Class of the ACC is like saying “tallest midget.”  But, Va Tech is great program.  It is too bad they don’t get these games tacked on at the end of their schedule, when Beamerball is in complete command.   But that was a great game.  Hopefully, more teams will show some balls and set up similar games to start the year.

The Zook’o'meter at Illinois just got turned up a bit…you can’t lose to a completely rebuilt team by that much.

The team that impressed me (Trey) the most the opening weekend? California. It looked like Maryland dropped the soap in the shower…

Sparty: I think I would have to agree with you on that.  Best is the best.

He is who we thought he was…There is a reason why Joe Cox was on the bench for the better part of a decade at Georgia.

Sparty:Domenic Natale.  Now you know what Dantonio didn’t care that he bolted.

Things that annoyed me (Trey) this weekend…Kenny Chesney, Bob Davie’s gushing about the Smurf Turf, and analyzing performances against FCS schools…

Sparty:Notre Dame and Michigan match-up getting talked up immediately after their wins.

Which brings me to the point…Games against these FCS schools are good for three things…an easy dub’ya (in most cases), getting a comfortable rhythm going, and figuring out what your team needs to improve on. Just because your new quarterback threw for 250+ yards on a small Christian institution started by an UBER Conservative doesn’t mean he’ll be doing that every Saturday this fall…Put it in perspective. Those schools have 22 LESS scholarships…Millions less in revenue…and were probably eating PB&J pregame.

Sparty:You could tell Michigan State didn’t show too much offensively in the game against FCS opponent, Montana State.  It was meant to get live action for their QBs.  Their coaches weren’t too happy with the performance of the defense, even though they allowed only 3 pts.   Ignore the analysts…especially Jesse Palmer.

Trey: Jesse Palmer is a rising star amongst analysts. I really like his work.

Speaking of analysts…Mark May’s slow transformation into Bunsen Honeydew is almost complete!

No overrated/underrated yet. Too early…Way Too Quick Verdict instead.

Michigan:

Trey: Out. I really think you’ll be seeing a dominant Michigan team in 2010, but not this year. The win over WMU was nice, but they will have their struggles this fall.

Sparty: In.  They will win games against teams they should beat, but struggle against teams with more experience and deeper talent.  They are much better than last year.  Denard Robinson is faaaaaaaaaassst.

Notre Dame:

Trey: Out…but In next week. They’ll beat Michigan by a couple scores.

Sparty: In.  They have a good offense, no doubt.  If I were an Irish fan, my only concern is that Charlie opened up the passing game too much, too early.  Not enough running the ball, which in the past has hurt them.  I can’t rate their defense on that game.  Michigan’s offense is much faster, and it should be a close game.  I think it is pretty much a toss up, but maybe Michigan Stadium will swing the pendulum in the home teams favor.

California:

Trey:In. They might not go undefeated, but this Cal team might be the best thing to ever go through Berkley since Facon was invented.

Sparty: In.  but they gotta beat USC.

Oklahoma State:

Trey: In…No not because they beat a SEC opponent, but their defense stepped up and stopped one of the best offensive minds in football (or maybe it’s because UGA stopped running the ball).

Sparty:Out, for now.  They should have lit up Georgia, but failed to do so.  Robinson did not play well, but Dez Bryant made things a lot more interesting.  Forget OSU’s defense.  Georgia’s wide receivers may not get the props this year because they won’t have anyone to get them the ball.

In closing…I’m not completely full of myself but back in July…

10. Richmond v. Duke – 9/5 – I’m about 99% sure this won’t be televised nationally. I’m also 99% sure none of you will even care about this game. That being said, this is your 2009 FCS over a FBS BCS team upset. Fresh off the FCS championship the Spiders have the talent to take down the Blue Devils…

Join us every week during the college football season for more great analysis from TWTWCFB…And follow me on Twitter @jflynn05!

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