College Football Week 2 Recap

    Week 2 is now done, and what a weekend it was. We had many upsets go down, small and large, including a number of FCS schools take down FBS ones.

     It started on Friday night, as #22 Utah and Utah State renewed their rivalry. Utah had won the last 12 meetings, but the streak ended and the Aggies won 27-20. The upsets had begun.

     #9 Wisconsin traveled to Corvallis, Oregon where they were stunned by the Oregon State Beavers. A loss that highlighted a terrible weekend for the Big 10, but a great weekend for the Pac 12. #17 Nebraska (Big 10) fell victim to UCLA (Pac 12). Arizona State also beat up on Big 10 member Illinois 45-14.

     The Pac 12 played well all around except for #22 Utah, Colorado, and Washington. All teams but those three came away with a win. Arizona also pulled off a stunner and took down #19 Oklahoma State. 

     One interesting thing to take away from this weekend, is the sad-state of Colorado's two universities. Colorado lost to FCS-opponent Sacramento State, and Colorado State lost too FCS school North Dakota State. It doesn't get much lower then that for a state's football programs.

     But the most shocking upset of Saturday was the Sun Belt's Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks upset of the SEC's #8 Arkansas Razorbacks. The score was 21-7 Razorbacks at halftime. But Arkansas QB Tyler Wilson had taken many blows and was knocked out of the game with a head injury. UL Monroe jumped at the chance and held Arkansas to seven points in the second half. Overtime began with Arkansas scoring a field goal. ULM got the ball, and on 4th and 1, ULM QB Kolton Browning ran for a TD. 

    Final score: UL Monroe 34 #8 Arkansas 31.

     Arkansas looked shaky last week vs Jacksonville State, but after this performance, they look pitiful. If Wilson had stayed in the game, then the Razorbacks would have most likely won. But this is college football and we can only wonder.

Kolton Browning, UL Monroe

Top 25:

1. USC (2-0)
2. Alabama (2-0)
3. Florida State (2-0)
4. LSU (2-0)
5. Oklahoma (2-0)
6. Oregon (2-0)
7. South Carolina (2-0)
8. Georgia (2-0)
9. Michigan State (2-0)
10. Virginia Tech (2-0)
11. Texas (2-0)
12. Clemson (2-0)
13. West Virginia (1-0)
14. Ohio State (2-0)
15. Michigan (2-0)
16. TCU (1-0)
17. Louisville (2-0)
18. Kansas State (2-0) 
19. NC State (1-1)
20. Notre Dame (2-0)
21. Stanford (2-0)
22. Northwestern (2-0)
23. Mississippi State (2-0)
24. Arkansas (1-1)
25. Wisconsin (1-1)

Next 5 in: Boise State (0-1), Florida (2-0), Nebraska (1-1), Tennessee (2-0), UCLA (2-0)



What To Watch:

UL Monroe (1-0) @ Auburn (0-2) 
12:20pm ET, SEC Network

Auburn has dropped two to open the season, and you never know...

Prediction: Aub 45 ULM 14

#2 Alabama (2-0) @ #24 Arkansas (1-1) 
3:30pm ET, CBS

Arkansas looks to bounce back after embarrassment, but Alabama is just too strong regardless.

Prediction: Bama 37 Ark 24

Northern Iowa (1-1) @ Iowa (1-1) 
3:30pm ET, Big Ten Network

With how bad Iowa has been so far, and with how many FCS upsets we have already seen, I think something could happen here. NIU already gave problems to Wisconsin. 

Prediction: NIU 29 Iowa 24

Florida (2-0) @ Tennessee (2-0) 
6:00pm ET, ESPN

An SEC rivalry, both of these teams are good and it will be interesting to see if Jeff Driskel and Florida can compete with the stronger SEC teams this season.

Prediction: UF 28 Tenn 13

#1 USC (2-0) @ #21 Stanford (2-0) 
7:30pm ET, FOX

Stanford struggled vs SJSU, but beat up Duke. So far we can't tell what they really are without Andrew Luck. Versus USC, we should be able to tell. USC should get revenge on some losses in previous years.

Prediction: USC 52 Stanford 14

Utah State (2-0) @ #25 Wisconsin (1-1) 
8:00pm ET, Big Ten Network

Wisconsin needs to get it together because Utah State is dangerous and will cause some problems here. Would not be suprised at all if the Aggies won.

Prediction: USU 30 Wis 27

Houston (0-2) @ UCLA (2-0) 
10:30pm ET, Pac 12 Network

Can UCLA sustain the momentum and slow down Houston's offense? Can Houston bounce back after two poor showings? It really comes down to if UCLA's offense. Can it match the firepower of Houston's? Houston could run away with this one.

Prediction: UCLA 45 HOU 38


Week 1 Recap

    

PAC 12 Preview

    
ACC   Big East   Big 10   Big 12   SEC   Other Conferences   Bowls and Top 50
     
    
    The Pac-12 will be one of the most explosive conferences this year, as many of the teams are built around  a high powered offense.

    USC, Oregon, Washington, UCLA, Washington State, Utah, and Arizona could easily put up 35+ points per game, which makes the Pac-12 the most fun conference to watch.

Nickell Robey, USC

    USC is back, after a two-year bowl ban. And they are stronger then they may have ever been. Matt Barkley could be the best QB in Trojan history and they are stacked across the board. They will go 12-0, and will be in the BCS Championship.

    Oregon plays a very easy schedule in the first half of the season, and should be 8-0 heading into a huge showdown in LA on November 3rd vs USC. But, USC is still considerably a better team then Oregon, and the Ducks won't get past USC. They will meet again in the Pac-12 championship, but they won't be able to knock off USC a 2nd time.

    Utah is the third best team in the conference, and certainly one of the most underrated teams in the nation. Stanford is much worse then last year, but still will make a bowl game. Washington is another very underrated team and has upset teams before. Watch for them to give LSU a battle September 8th.

    UCLA, California, and Arizona are my picks to finish off the bowl-bound teams, but Washington State may surprise people. Under new coach Mike Leach, they will run the second best passing attack in the conference behind USC, and one of the top ones in the nation. Marquess Wilson is the best receiver you have never heard of in the nation. But, the Cougars have holes at almost every other position, which ultimately will keep them from a bowl game.

    Arizona State is a year or two away before returning to competitiveness. Oregon State is close too, but still has bit to go. Colorado will struggle this year, and could very well loose all conference games this season.

Projected Standings:

North:

1. Oregon 11-1 (8-1)

T2. Stanford 8-4 (6-3)

T3. Washington 8-4 (6-3)

4. California 6-6 (4-5)

5. Washington State 4-8 (2-7)

6. Oregon State 2-10 (1-8)

South:

1. USC 12-0 (9-0)

2. Utah 9-3 (6-3)

3. UCLA 6-6 (5-4)

4. Arizona 6-6 (4-5)

5. Arizona State 4-8 (2-7)

6. Colorado 2-10 (0-9)


PAC-12 Championship: USC over Oregon

College Football Week 13 Recap

   We now are entering the last week of college football and it is conference championship week. A time for teams to show why they are worthy of a BCS bid. Each conference championship has a lot riding on it.

LSU QB Jarrett Lee

    In the SEC, #1 LSU will take on #14 Georgia. LSU has been the best team all season. There is no question about it. The SEC East is weak this year, especially if Georgia will be representing them in the title game. Don't let Georgia's record (10-2) fool you, the three teams from the SEC West they did not end up playing are the three best in #1 LSU, #2 Alabama, and #5 Arkansas. The only other teams they played that even are even ranked are #6 Boise State and #13 South Carolina, both losses. LSU wins by a huge margin on their way to the title game.

    In the Big 10, it is a rematch between #10 Michigan State and #16 Wisconsin. Last time, MSU won on a 54-yard Hail Mary as time expired to win 37-31. The winner this time will go to the Rose bowl, and the loser possibly could get into the Fiesta Bowl to play the loser of Oklahoma-Oklahoma State, or the winner of that game, if Alabama gets into the title game. Either way, it will be a great game and hopefully be down to the wire once again.

    In the Pac 12, the North featured arguably the best four teams in the Pac-12 (minus bowl-banned USC), and will send Oregon to take on 6-6 UCLA in the title game. UCLA, the team people said may be the worst team in the Pac 12 in the pre-season, managed to go 6-6, but by no means can compete with Oregon. The Ducks will tromp the Bruins.

    The ACC has #9 Virginia Tech which has been on a tear lately, playing #23 Clemson who started undefeated but has dropped two straight games and has fallen mightily - winner will go to Orange Bowl.

    The Conference USA will feature undefeated #6 Houston and #22 Southern Miss. Houston is a team all about offense, and has one of the best in the history of the NCAA. But they have played a very easy schedule, and out of all non-BCS teams to go undefeated in the past few years, they may be the least talented one to date. Two teams come to mind if you think of "all offense" teams in BCS conferences this year. Both in the Pac 12, and they are Arizona and Washington State. Both went 4-8 playing average schedules. This would most likely be Houston's fate if they played in a BCS conference, and they will most likely not put up a fight for any team in a BCS bowl. But for this game, Houston will win and cap off a 13-0 season heading into a bowl game.


Top 25

1. LSU 12-0
2. Alabama 11-1
3. Oklahoma State 10-1
4. Stanford 11-1
5. Arkansas 10-2
6. Boise State 10-1
7. Oregon 10-2
8. Houston 12-0
9. Virginia Tech 11-1
10. Michigan State 10-2
11. Oklahoma 9-2
12. USC 10-2
13. South Carolina 10-2
14. Georgia 10-2
15. Kansas State 9-2
16. Wisconsin 10-2
17. Michigan 10-2
18. Baylor 8-3
19. TCU 9-2
20. West Virginia 8-3
21. Nebraska 9-3
22. Southern Miss 10-2
23. Clemson 9-3
24. Ohio 9-3
25. Texas 7-4

Next 5 In: Penn State 9-3, Florida State 8-4, Cincinnati 8-3, Arkansas 9-2, Virginia 8-4

What To Watch:


Conference Championships (* Neutral Site)

*#24 Ohio @ Northern Illinois, Fri, 7:00pm ET, ESPN2, Prediction: OHIO 66 NIU 59

UCLA @ #7 Oregon, Fri, 8:00pm ET, FOX, Prediction: ORE 45 UCLA 7

#22 Southern Miss @ #6 Houston, Sat, 12:00pm ET, ABC, Prediction: HOU 55 USM 40

*#14 Georgia @ #1 LSU, Sat, 4:00pm ET, CBS, Prediction: LSU 37 UGA 14

*#9 Virginia Tech @ #23 Clemson, 8:00pm ET, ESPN, Prediction: VT 38 CLEM 30

*#16 Wisconsin @ #10 Michigan State, 8:00pm ET, FOX, Prediction: WIS 35 MSU 34

OSU QB Brandon Weeden

Regular Games:

UConn @ Cincinnati, 12:00pm ET, ESPN,
Prediction: CIN 27 UCONN 21

Iowa State @ #15 Kansas State, 12:30pm ET,
Prediction: KSU 20 ISU 10

#25 Texas @ #18 Baylor, 3:30pm ET, ABC,
Prediction: BAY 31 TEX 20



Game Of Week:

#11 Oklahoma @ #3 Oklahoma State, 8:00pm ET, ABC, Prediction: OKL 45 OSU 42

Let J.P. Losman start

    As an add on to my post last night, I was thinking of what Seattle should do if Matt Hasselbeck can in fact not start against St. Louis. This game again being for a trip to the playoffs.

    Like I said before, Charlie Whitehurst has been so bad this season and Seattle has no chance to win with him under center. There are three quarterbacks on Seattle's roster. Hasselbeck, Whitehurst, and a player who has not seen any time this year, J.P. Losman.

    Losman was a former first round pick in 2004 by the Buffalo Bills. He was originally a student at UCLA and on the Bruins football team, but transferred to Tulane. As a Green Wave, he was a star and earned a 1st round pick.

Losman as a Bill

    He had some starting experience, but is still considered a huge bust. Never playing up to expectations. He did sometimes show flashes of potential, but never nearly enough. He then went to the UFL and led them to the first UFL championship ever. A short stint with Oakland then landed him in Seattle. He was released for a few weeks, but came back to the team and is still there.

    But what I am getting at, is that if Hasselbeck cannot play, Losman should start over Whitehurst. Losman has far more experience then Whitehurst. Much more. Whitehurst had not taken one snap in an NFL game until this year. And when he has played he has done awful.

    I know Losman has not played this year, but he has to be better then Whitehurst. I attended a training camp session in Renton, Washington where the Seahawks practice. While it was just one practice and was during the preseason, Losman was not bad.

    If Hasselbeck cannot play, Losman needs to start. Why not try him? He cant be worse then Whitehurst.

Charlie Whitehurst