No More Quarterback Carousels

One week into conference play in most leagues except the Big XII, and the one issue which stands out the most to me is how teams have excelled or failed on a national championship-caliber stage based on leadership. Most national championship teams in this decade have had great quarterback leaders on offense and one or two clutch leaders on the defensive side as well. The offensive leader is almost always the quarterback, as they must lead the team even if they do not have the best talent out there. If you look at the top teams in the nation coming into the season, the success or failure of these teams for the most part has been keyed by their quarterback. While injury brings up quarterback controversies at any time, head coaches not deciding on a quarterback for no good reason always seems to hurt teams in the end. We have three shining examples of this phenomenon in the early stages of the 2005 season, and each team with national championship talent has already lost.

Tennessee has been jumping from Erik Ainge to Rick Clausen for the first four weeks of the season, never really deciding upon a team leader. The results on the field were clearly bad as they struggled to put points up to defeat UAB at home, then followed that up with a loss to Florida when their defense held the Gators to 16 points! Just when Phillip Fulmer had his eyes set on Erik Ainge as the starter, LSU ruins his debut to the tune of a 21-0 trampling at halftime on Monday. Then Fulmer trots out Clausen, and Clausen shows real heart, grit, and leadership in taking the Volunteers to a monster comeback victory. Now everyone thinks Clausen holds the job, but I still think Fulmer will be switching them if success does not continue. Tennessee is lucky to be 2-1 and in the top 10 with no clear leader on the offense, and they need to pick a quarterback and stick with him the rest of the season if they want to continue vying for the SEC East crown.

Oklahoma has had various problems this season, but the quarterback controversy has allowed defenses to pick on Adrian Peterson alone. Peterson has been shut down, but no leader has emerged at quarterback to give defenses something else to think about. Admittedly a freshman coming in off the heels of a Heisman winner will be in a tough situation considering all the new personnel Bob Stoops is running out there this year. Michigan succeeded last year when Coach Carr showed confidence in freshman starter Chad Henne, and I see no reason for Coach Stoops to do any different this year with Rhett Bomar. It finally appears Stoops is willing to stick it out with Bomar as the only other scholarship quarterback requested a change to wide receiver last week, but any controversy in this area can only make this season worse for Oklahoma.

Finally I bring to your attention my preseason pick for the national championship game, the Ohio State Buckeyes. Troy Smith's suspension for the Alamo Bowl last year and the Miami (Ohio) game this year allowed Justin Zwick a chance to claim the starter job again. He did so in spectacular fashion, but all reports from training camp and practice in the early part of the season said Troy Smith had easily won the job. Now when Texas comes to town, instead of leaving the ball in Troy Smith's hands after he brought the Buckeyes back from a quick 10-0 deficit, Jim Tressel continued to switch quarterbacks every two series. Now there were many opportunities to win this game and both teams played a fine game, but you have to think Smith would have won the game or made the offense better on the Texas side of the field if he knew he was staying in there all game as opposed to every other series. Zwick has talent, but Smith obviously won the job and has held it to big victories over San Diego State and Iowa, so why did Tressel not come to this conclusion before the biggest game of the season to this point? Ohio State has righted the ship before too much damage was done, so we will see if this quarterback controversy and loss to Texas costs them a Rose Bowl berth at the end of the season.

The opposite side of this argument is looking at the top three undefeated national title competitors at this point in the season. Each one has a great team leader at the quarterback position. Matt Leinart at USC, Vince Young at Texas, and Marcus Vick at Virginia Tech have rallied the troops through good and bad times already this season. USC has tough games remaining against Arizona State, Notre Dame, and UCLA, so the leadership of a Heisman Trophy winner will be critical to their repeat appearance in the title game. The same arguments can be said of Texas and Tech's remaining schedules, so look for the true leadership and character of these three great quarterbacks to continue leading these teams into a late-season national championship hunt (and perhaps a Heisman Trophy on the side).

Looking ahead to the weekend, three games really stand out in my mind as critical for conference and national title implications. Michigan has little time to right the ship after ugly losses to Notre Dame and Wisconsin as they travel to East Lansing to play perhaps the toughest current competition for Ohio State in the Big Ten. I know Michigan has history on their side, but I cannot imagine Michigan's overall poor defensive play will stand up to Drew Stanton and the Spartan offense, so I'll take MSU by 10. When is the last time you remember Michigan having a losing record? If they lose this one, this is a distinct possibility as long as running back Mike Hart remains on the sideline injured and quarterback Chad Henne struggles.

With so many teams undefeated or in the top 10, it seems like every week, the SEC has something big to offer. This week, two undefeated teams collide as Florida visits Alabama. Florida has had plenty of time to look forward to this game following a big home win against Tennessee, and I doubt the pressure of Bryant-Denney Stadium will get to the Gators. I honestly believe this is more of a true test than Tennessee was two weeks ago, and I pick the Gators by 7 to jump fully into the national title picture for the rest of the season.

Although an argument could be made for USC-Arizona State (and I will be enjoying that game for sure this weekend), I select Virginia Tech vs. West Virginia as my third game of the week. Morgantown is no easy place to play, and I smell an upset despite the Mountaineers being unproven. Vick and Beamerball might get their toughest test other than Miami or the ACC title game this week, and a win could propel them solidly into the top three teams in the nation (which they are already a part of, but Texas and USC have looked on a different level so far). After Louisville lost the Big East some credentials this week, West Virginia could regain stature for the league with a win or even a close game here. I'll take WVU by 3 in my upset special of the week.

Unfortunately this article is coming later to you in the week than usual as my law school life is going through its first really hectic week. I apologize to any readers for the extra wait and furthermore for not going through each conference individually if that's what you like. Feel free to email any comments or article suggestions to my email link above, and have a great week watching these great games!

Top 3 Game of the Week Record to date: 5-7 (2-1 last week)

Fitzy's Top 10 - Week 5
1. USC (3-0) NC
2. Texas (3-0) NC
3. Virginia Tech (4-0) NC
4. Florida (4-0) NC
5. Georgia (4-0) NC
6. Florida State (3-0) NC
7. Ohio State (3-1) +1
8. Michigan State (4-0) NR
9. Tennessee (2-1) NR
10. Miami (2-1) NR
Dropped Out: #6 LSU (1-1), #9 Louisville (2-1), #10 Purdue (2-1)

Welcome Back Conference Play

This weekend college football mainly stops the weeks full of intersectional out-of-conference games and turns to conference battles. BCS elimination games are already occurring in most leagues between some high name and highly ranked teams in major conferences like the SEC, ACC, and Big Ten. This week has a few gems just like last week, so with no further ado, let's get into it.

From the frying pan to the fire: Tennessee has 6 days to recover from a tough defensive loss at The Swamp to get ready for a surprisingly resilient LSU team. LSU has already pulled one miracle this year, so the test will be to see how they respond if Tennessee jumps out to an early lead this week. Tennessee is playing for their BCS lives, but the loss to Florida is very damaging already. While LSU is playing inspired football, Tennessee has not been impressive at all on offense. I'll take LSU by 14 to knock Tennessee out of the top 10 and the BCS chase.

Miami, Clemson, Florida State, and Boston College played a couple great games to shake out the early ACC race, and this week the other two elite teams in the conference duke it out in one of the games of the week. Georgia Tech goes into Blacksburg to take on the Hokies, who looked strong in dispatching a tough Ohio team last week. Georgia Tech has won three games in textbook fashion, but the offense has not put up big numbers against any of their first three opponents. After a close escape from NC State, Virginia Tech has put up 90 unanswered on their last two opponents. Despite Georgia Tech's good defense, I still think Virginia Tech is too talented to lose at home this early in the season, so I'll take Virginia Tech by 9.

The final big game of the week comes from Columbus Ohio, where two teams will be looking to establish themselves in a national title elimination game. Iowa rebounded from their loss in Ames two weeks ago by putting up huge numbers against lowly Northern Iowa last week. Ohio State played a typical dominating game in a 27-6 defeat of San Diego State. With the exceptions of a couple of drives against the amazing Vince Young, the Buckeyes have what appears to be a national championship caliber defense and special teams. Kirk Ferentz has trouble beating only two teams, Iowa State and Ohio State, and despite all their new talent, the Hawkeyes will probably be outclassed this year on the road. The Buckeyes have not forgotten last year when the Hawkeyes took out 15 years of losses and frustration to the Buckeyes in a 33-7 rout I had the honor of watching in person. Something tells me Tressel cannot help but keep this one close, but Troy Smith will only need 20 points to beat the Hawks I suspect. Defense wins this battle and I pick OSU by 13.

ACC

As mentioned previously, Florida State and Miami staked big claims by defeating Boston College and Clemson this week. I still suspect Miami will regret that loss to Florida State, but they were a hair away from 0-2 which would be shocking considering they were the last dynasty before USC took the crown. Of course 0-2 in your toughest two games of the year is not that disappointing, but 0-2 in a division with Virginia Tech is game over essentially. Boston College and Clemson must recover from their first losses as Miami did when they play each other this week. One team will be eliminated from the race with Florida State. Everyone else has it pretty easy, and great games can be found in rivalries such as UNC-NC State. I suspect Florida State and Virginia Tech will stand alone atop their respective divisions after this week.

Big XII

The North is 14-1, the South is 13-3. Of course the news story of the year is national runner-up Oklahoma experiencing a rebuilding year at 1-2. I know many years people have said this is Texas's year to smash their rivals, but if not this year when things are as good as ever for Texas and as bad as ever for Bob Stoops, then when? Most league teams take a break this week as conference play does not start until next week, but Colorado gets the biggest test by taking a trip to Miami. Of course after watching Pittsburgh find a way to make Nebraska 3-0 and seeing Iowa get smashed by Iowa State two weeks ago, I have no doubt Colorado can surprise the nation this week. Just don't count on it.

Big East

As the rest of the league waddles in mediocrity, West Virginia and Louisville appear headed for a big clash in a few weeks as they both looked good in dispatching quality opponents on the road this week. East Carolina and South Florida should be cakewalks for these strong teams as they move toward their showdown in a few weeks. The other game this week is Pittsburgh against D-IAA Youngstown State. Can they win one finally?

Big Ten

Well Northwestern and Illinois fell to ranked opponents and join the big three at 2-1. The other six teams stayed undefeated this week with the highlight being Michigan State knocking off Notre Dame on the road for the fifth straight time. Indiana gets to keep their pristine record for one more week while everyone else starts conference play. Iowa-OSU is certainly the highlight, but Wisconsin's high powered offense could ruin Michigan's chances if their weak defense doesn't improve (Eastern Michigan shutouts do not count, sorry Wolverine fans). Purdue at Minnesota is a battle of undefeated teams and is Purdue's only real road test in conference this year, so the rest of the conference will probably be cheering on the Golden Gophers this weekend.

MAC

Only mentioning this conference on a quiet week because of one more out-of-conference showdown this week between Bowling Green and Boise State. Boise plays very well on the blue turf, but Bowling Green will be a true test as a favorite in the MAC. Here's guessing Boise rebounds from early season struggles to win this one.

SEC

Who has the best record by themselves in the SEC right now? That's right, new media darlings Vanderbilt has a 2-0 SEC record and a 3-0 start for the first time in ages. A real winning season and a bowl berth appear likely now, even with Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida on the schedule as in every other year. Basketball powerhouse Richmond is coming to town this weekend, and the Commodores have Middle Tennessee State next. I'm guessing 5-0 when LSU comes to town, but the Commodores must take care of business now. Georgia, Florida, and Alabama have relatively easy conference tests this week, so most eyes will be on the Tennessee-LSU showdown.

I had a rebound in the top 3 games of the week department, and I hope to see .500 before the end of the year! We'll see you all next week!

Top 3 Game Picks to Date: 3-6 (2-1 last week)

Fitzy's Top 10 - Week 4
1. USC (2-0) NC
2. Texas (3-0) NC
3. Virginia Tech (3-0) NC
4. Florida (3-0) +1
5. Georgia (3-0) -1
6. LSU (1-0) NC
7. Florida State (3-0) NC
8. Ohio State (2-1) NC
9. Louisville (2-0) NR
10. Purdue (2-0) NR
Falling Out Last Week: #9 Tennessee, #10 Notre Dame

Southern Showdowns, New Heisman Leader

Certainly one of the best weeks in college football history just passed us by last weekend. All of the best games lived up to the hype, such as Georgia defending the home turf against Spurrier's Gamecocks, Notre Dame establishing itself as a national power in Charlie Weis's first year by winning in Ann Arbor, and Texas squeaking past Ohio State in possibly the best game we will see until November. If you had the privilege of attending any great game last weekend as I did in the Horseshoe, you know the magical feeling those three to four hours in the stadium can become. I had planned on doing a little different type of article this week, but my tape recorder batteries failed me at halftime of the Texas-OSU game. Instead of a play-by-play analysis of that game, I am instead going to make this type of article my regular one: eastern college football overall big stories, then a rundown of the conferences I cover. Please let me know through e-mail or in The College Corner if you have any ideas or if you like the format. Feedback is always appreciated here on the east side of the country.

Looking at the week just completed, the biggest news comes out of Columbus, Ohio as expected. Texas overcame mistakes and textbook Tresselball (defense + special teams + small leads = wins and championships, for the uninitiated) to become a solid top challenger to USC. Vince Young looked mediocre at times against one of the best defenses in the country, but at the end of the night, his stats and gutsy leadership proved he is Matt Leinart's biggest threat as far as the Heisman race is concerned. Ohio State had never lost a night home game and had not let a Heisman hopeful come out of Columbus with a good game (arguably) for 10 years, so Texas and Vince Young deserve as much attention as USC for the remainder of the season. The other big news came from Ann Arbor, as the third ranked Wolverines were smashed by Notre Dame much more than the 17-10 score indicates. Michigan's defense is suspect, but Notre Dame is all of a sudden a legitimate top 10 team again for the first time in many years. If they can knock off #3 Michigan in the Big House, USC and Tennessee better watch out for a upset when they get their shot at the Irish in the next month.

The week ahead seems somewhat disappointing in comparison to last weekend (for us Midwesterners at least), but there are some highlights to look forward to. The showdowns travel from the Big Ten and Big XII to the ACC and SEC this weekend as these conferences begin some important conference showdowns. #6 Tennessee travels to The Swamp to play #5 Florida in the game of the week. Florida has swept through easy games against Wyoming and Louisiana Tech, while Tennessee barely beat UAB at home and had an extra week to prepare for this one. I think Tennessee has a better team overall, but you cannot bet against Florida at home so I'll guess UF by 10.

The ACC has the other two interesting matchups of the week with Florida State visiting Boston College in the Eagles' first ACC game ever and Miami traveling to Clemson, who is 2-0 after wins over Texas A&M and Maryland in the first two weeks. Look for Miami's stifling defense to be a huge test for Clemson, and I'll take the Hurricanes by 14. I picked Boston College to finish second behind Florida State in the Atlantic Division, but that was obviously contingent upon Florida State going into Boston and winning this game. I really think this is a toss-up, and I'll switch my pick up a little by taking BC by 3.

The SEC and ACC conference races will become clearer after this week and these big showdowns.

ACC

While Florida State, Clemson, and Boston College are jockeying for early position in the tightly-contested Atlantic Division race, Miami is going into this week's showdown trying to avoid an 0-2 record, which would probably knock them out of the Coastal race with Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. Larry Coker is not used to starting 0-2, especially with a tough defense this year, but Clemson and FSU are not easy places to come out of with wins. Maryland has an important regional game against West Virginia this week as well. North Carolina also hosts another possible national power in Wisconsin, while Virginia Tech hosts the giant-killering Ohio Bobcats. This week has a lot of interesting in-conference as well as out-of-conference games for the ACC, and it will give us a better idea how this conference stacks up nationally.

Big XII

After both division favorites Texas and Iowa State won huge games against Big Ten foes this week, the conference looks strong with a 11-1 record overall for the North and 8-2 for the South. After two very shady looking games at home for Oklahoma, a road trip to UCLA doesn't seem so easy anymore. All the Texas teams have easy home games this week, and all should be quiet enough for the conference to brag about their big wins last week as well as the conference MVP Vince Young (sorry Adrian Peterson, but your team has to do something - like beat Texas - before I believe again).

Big East

Other than Cincinnati's loss at Penn State this week, every team with a loss looks very mediocre so far this season. Then there's Pittsburgh, which gets a tough trip to Nebraska to try and right their shipwreck of 0-2. The top 3 teams (Pittsburgh, you've been replaced) all have pretty tough tests this week. The aforementioned WVU-Maryland game will give us a better gage on what the Mountaineers really have this season. Connecticut travels to Georgia Tech in another important ACC-Big East matchup, and Louisville gets the easiest test of Oregon State at home. If the ACC wins the two big games this weekend, Louisville will be the only conference favorite left undefeated as we move into conference play.

Big Ten

Well, my home conference took a licking in the top 3 games of last week, but the good news is the rest of the conference is pristine and the overall conference record now stands at 18-3. While Ohio State, Michigan, and Iowa have nice easy home recovery games to get back on track before conference play begins, the rest of the conference will be tested toughly this weekend. Michigan State has the displeasure of being the next intended sacrifice on Notre Dame's schedule, while Illinois travels out west to take on another ranked team in California. Indiana's home game against rival Kentucky and Wisconsin's road trip to North Carolina may not be as easy as they look either. One more team has a tough road game against a ranked opponent as Northwestern goes out to Tempe to face the Sun Devils, who are looking to rebound from a tough loss to LSU. There is certainly plenty to watch as every team tries to hold on to their undefeated records going into conference play.

C-USA

Marshall and UAB almost shock Kansas State and Tennessee, while SMU beats giant-killer and rival TCU. This really is all the important news coming from this mid-major until conference play rolls around. This week's highlights include Houston visiting UTEP for a West Division showdown and SMU trying to keep the streak going at Texas A&M. Every team from the West has a big name opponent this week, so look for possibly a couple upsets at North Texas or Texas this week (OK, just kidding Longhorn fans).

MAC

Ohio grabbed the biggest headlines of the week by beating Pittsburgh, but a tougher test comes this week with a trip to Blacksburg. Bowling Green and Toledo (early division favorites) took home their first conference wins last weekend, but this week is quiet as Toledo has a game against Temple. Northern Illinois had a tough loss to Northwestern after a rough loss at Michigan, but Tennessee Tech should provide some relief and a win this week. Miami, 0-2, at 1-1 Kent State provide the best in-conference battle this week, so overall, it's a quiet week for this conference as well.

SEC

With Vanderbilt's 2-0 start, the East looks tough with the Commodores joining traditional powers Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida at the top of that division. Georgia finally takes a break from big games this week, while Vanderbilt has their second easy conference tilt (with Mississippi this week) and Florida and Tennessee determine who will be a bigger threat to the Bulldogs this year. Arkansas has the toughest game of the week by traveling to meet USC, but Alabama's trip to South Carolina will be a huge conference game alongside the game of the week discussed above. LSU gets a real off week this week, and they will be happy to sit in the national top ten after an appropriate win at "home" in Tempe last week. Just like the ACC, this conference race becomes clear early in the season starting after this weekend's tilts.

Sun Belt

Well I do not have much to report here, except North Texas looks good as usual. Tulsa probably will not break the only undefeated team in the conference, while Troy and Arkansas State try to continue their winning ways as well. Everybody else has a lot of work to do, but tough out-of-conference games and 0-2 or 0-3 records look like a sure bet for the majority of this conference after this week.

That's all the conferences I cover, and I covered them all this week! I wouldn't expect that much in the future, but I also don't want to alienate any Sun Belt or Conference USA fans and readers out there. Races in each conference get fired up this week or next week, so let's get ready for some great action to kick off conference play! We'll see you next week!

My record at picking the top 3 games of the week to date: 1-5 (0-3 last week)

Fitzy's Top 10 - Week 3
1. USC (1-0) NC
2. Texas (2-0) NC
3. Virginia Tech (2-0) +2
4. Georgia (2-0) +3
5. Florida (2-0) +4
6. LSU (1-0) NR
7. Florida State (2-0) +3
8. Ohio State (1-1) -5
9. Tennessee (1-0) -1
10. Notre Dame (2-0) NR
Dropped Out: Michigan (1-1, 4th last week), Iowa (1-1, 6th last week)

Big Week in the Big Ten

After a great opening week of college football, some true tests of college football power will come this week. With Illinois's great comeback over Rutgers and eight relatively easy wins over MAC teams, the Big Ten started the season 10-0 as a whole. I was happy to see the MAC and the Big Ten agree to play each other more in the next few years when schedules move toward twelve games instead of eleven, as the regional rivalries are very fun to watch as season openers. The tests become a lot harder this week, as the Big Ten has the best three games to watch for next weekend as well. The mettle of the Big Ten title contenders as well as three national title contenders will be tested in the following games:

Iowa at Iowa State - This game is the first of two tricky road tests for the Hawkeyes in September (the other being a trip to Columbus in 2 weeks). Iowa State has won 4 of the last 6 meetings, but Iowa looked far better in the first week of action. Kirk Ferentz has the Hawks nearly unbeatable at Kinnick Stadium, but all bets are off when they travel to Ames, Columbus, or Ann Arbor. I think Drew Tate has enough talent around him to have a big day against the suspect Cyclone defense. I'll take Iowa by 21 in this showdown.

Notre Dame at Michigan - The Wolverines probably have not forgotten Notre Dame was one of the 3 teams to beat them last season, but giving Charlie Weis his first defeat must have some motivation as well. Notre Dame looked amazing in the first half against Pittsburgh, but the talent is not there to run with Michigan. Weis is a great coach and will have the Irish prepared to have a chance at victory, but I don't expect it will be enough. Watch for Hart and Henne to put up big numbers again against the Irish. I'll take Michigan by 10.

Texas at Ohio State - The game of the season has been hyped up in Columbus for months. The winner of this game should be a clear number 2 behind USC unless they lose later in the season, and both have very tough games left. Ohio State has killed the Heisman hopes of many in the last 4 years in the Horseshoe, and Vince Young will try his hardest to not fall into this mold. Texas will not be intimidated by the Horseshoe at night, but the Buckeyes play tons better in these circumstances (6-0 in night home games). I expect Zwick to start and Troy Smith to see some playing time as well, but anybody (even third stringer Todd Boeckman) could run the OSU offensive plan as shown against Miami last week. Can Texas contain Ted Ginn Jr. with zone defense? Can Ohio State dominate Vince Young and the Texas running game? Many questions linger and the answers to everything from Heisman to national title hopes will be answered in front of the country Saturday night. Based on last week's results and my in-depth study of this game as an OSU student, I have to say I think the Bucks will win by 3. This game could easily go to the Horns though, and expect an exciting game. We don't ask for OSU-Miami or Texas-Michigan greatness from years past, but it would be nice for this game to be as close as the prognosticators predict. I'll be the one in red if you want to look for me Saturday night on TV!

Well as great as the Big Ten looks (best conference in football this year for now, but this week will determine a lot), I also have to cover many other conferences. Let's hit some of the highlights of the week past and ahead.

MAC

Don't be fooled by the poor 0-8 performance this week against the Big Ten, as this conference will be very competitive the rest of the season. Ohio's Frank Solich debut did not go well against Northwestern, but nobody is really expecting much out of Frank until he gets a couple recruiting classes to shore up the lack of talent in Athens right now. Bowling Green will be a power to be reckoned with, and Wisconsin not being able to stop their passing game does not bode well for the weaker MAC defenses. Miami and Northern Illinois will also rebound and be contenders after tough road trips to Michigan and OSU last weekend. Games to watch this week include another tough test for the Bobcats against an angry Pittsburgh team, Northern Illinois getting another Big Ten test against Northwestern, and Akron traveling to Purdue for the Boilers' season opener. Expect an upset or two from this conference this week.

Big 12

Who would've thought Baylor would have a better record than Oklahoma and Texas A&M at any point this season? Well A&M and Oklahoma looked absolutely disappointing this past week, and Overrated University (OU) will need to do some damage control to regain the prestige they held before their past two games, but I think they will pull it together in time for the Texas showdown later this season. The only game other than ISU-Iowa and Texas-OSU which bears interest this week is Kansas State getting a tough road trip to Huntington, WV to play Marshall Saturday. Look for a big week for the Big XII if they can manage to win 1 or 2 of the big games against the Big Ten this week.

Big East

Connecticut was the only impressive team last week, dispatching hapless Buffalo 38-0. If the defense holds up against real competition, UConn could be a challenge for the three favorites in the league. Speaking of the favorites, all three looked bad in their own ways last week. Louisville only managed a 7 point win over a poor Kentucky team, West Virginia turned the ball over 6 times against Syracuse but won because Syracuse is terrible this year, and Pittsburgh got smashed by Notre Dame. Had Louisville and WVU played better week one competition, all three could be looking at 0-1 records now. Each of them has easy games this week as well, so hopefully they will get back on track and look like favorites in the Big East. Cincinnati at Penn State is an opportunity for Cincinnati to make a name for themselves in a hurry, but look for home field advantage to lead JoePa to a 14 point victory.

SEC

Tennessee looked about as good as Oklahoma did this week, but they won the 17-10 decision at home against UAB unlike OU. Auburn's loss was also disappointing, but they will not lose again for over a month in all likelihood. Florida and Georgia looked good last week, and the interplay between those two with Spurrier's Gamecocks and Tennessee should make for an interesting division this year. South Carolina gets a big test between the hedges at Georgia this week, and you have to think Georgia will be looking for their second huge win at home after beating Boise State silly. LSU's trip to Arizona State is no picnic given the conditions in Louisiana and the poor Tigers losing all sense of home for the beginning of the season. Expect USC and LSU to be hurting after this weekend's action.

ACC

The final conference I will discuss this week is the newly renovated ACC. Watching Miami and Florida State Monday night was torture in every sense of the word. Florida State trying to run the ball, missed filed goals, and a botched snap on an almost sure-bet tying field goal by Miami in the last 2 minutes is enough to make anyone sick. It was nice to see Florida State finally end 6 years of Miami dominance, but the offense looks worse than it did under Chris Rix if that's believable. Miami actually looks more promising despite the loss, and I expect their defense to win most of their games outside of Virginia Tech. Speaking of VT, it appears Marcus Vick is ready to lead the conference favorite this year. For the upcoming week, two games will begin to sort out the middle of the conference in its early stages as Clemson goes to Maryland and UNC travels to Georgia Tech. If Clemson and GT continue their winning ways, they could both be dark horse contenders to run with VT, Miami, and FSU this year.

Well it appears to be a great weekend for college football, and I cannot wait to take in the Texas-OSU showdown from my seat on the 45-yard line. I hope everyone has a great week following their beloved teams, and we'll talk to you next week after the title picture begins to get clearer.

My Top 10 for Week 2
1. USC
2. Texas
3. Ohio State
4. Michigan
5. Virginia Tech
6. Iowa
7. Georgia
8. Tennessee
9. Florida
10. Florida State

A Look At The Season's Top Games

This article gets the dubious distinction of being my first for this season while also not being a preview for any conference or a review of news from the week of games. I know many people cannot wait for Thursday night or Saturday when their favorite teams take the field for the first time this season, including myself. Despite the focus of this article series being the eastern conferences, I have decided to offer some overall views of the exciting upcoming 2005 season and bring some more regional coverage next week.

Top 10 Games of the Regular Season

10. Oklahoma vs. Texas (Oct. 8)
Loser of this game will be likely eliminated from the BCS title hunt, and the winner will instantly become the Big 12 favorite. Texas needs to realize and use the superior talent they hold in this game, but never count out Bob Stoops in this game.
Prediction: Oklahoma wins by 14

9. Tennessee at LSU (Sept. 24)
Just like the previous game, this game will establish the favorite for the SEC championship assuming Tennessee wins against Florida. Any September games in Louisiana will be interesting considering all the damage inflicted by the hurricane this week, but look for LSU to make a statement in this game.
Prediction: LSU wins by 10

8. Miami at Florida State (Sept. 5)
Although Virginia Tech is the ACC favorite in my opinion, this game will probably determine their greatest challenge for the 2005 crown. This also is the primer for Monday Night Football starting up the following weekend in the NFL, so tons of national attention will be focused on this battle for Florida.
Prediction: Miami by 3

7. Boise State at Georgia (Sept. 3)
The first premier game of the year, Boise State has a chance to grab the attention of poll voters with a BCS quality win between the hedges. Boise State has commanded respect in the past few bowl seasons, and a win here could translate into a much bigger bowl in January if they run the table.
Prediction: Georgia by 8

6. USC at Oregon (Sept. 24)
Let's face it: USC is just like Miami of 2002. Pete Carroll might have lost a lot of starters and some great coaches, but fortunately USC plays in the Pac-10 where great teams become dynasties quickly. They will be tested on the road at Arizona State and Cal this year, but Oregon provides the first true test for the Trojan defense. With a dominating win in Autzen Stadium, you can prepare for a title defense in local Pasadena in January.
Prediction: USC by 17

5. Iowa at Purdue (Oct. 8)
While Iowa's games at Ohio State and vs Michigan may have more prestige, this game is essentially Purdue's Big Ten championship game. With Iowa at home and no OSU or UM on the schedule, Purdue could be a sleeper pick for the Rose Bowl. With this many important implications, this game is a must-see for football fans.
Prediction: Iowa by 4

4. Pittsburgh at Louisville (Nov. 3)
Every conference seems to have a critical game for determining their BCS representative and conference champion, and this matchup will be the Big East version of those important games. Louisville could go undefeated, but a sweep of West Virginia and Pittsburgh will be all they need to take the Big East in this transitional year. Look for Dave Wannstedt to start his college coaching legacy in this game.
Prediction: Pittsburgh by 3

3. Ohio State at Michigan (Nov. 19)
There are not many years when this game doesn't hold title implications (Big Ten, if not national), and this year should not disappoint. Both teams could be undefeated in Big Ten play going into this game, and the winner will likely be USC's opponent for the national title in January assuming Purdue is not undefeated as well. Will Michigan figure out how to stop a mobile quarterback? We shall see.
Prediction: Ohio State by 14

2. Miami at Virginia Tech (Nov. 5)
Although Virginia Tech has won this game the last two years, Miami is still a force to be reckoned with in the ACC race. If all the Big Ten teams beat up on each other and all falter in conference play, the winner of this game will probably be one of the favorites to play USC in January.
Prediction: Virginia Tech by 21

1. Texas at Ohio State (Sept. 10)
Well there's no debate which can take away from the prestige of this game. The marquee out of conference game for the whole country in 2005 will determine Heisman frontrunners (Vince Young or Teddy Ginn Jr.), a national title frontrunner alongside USC, and bragging rights in the first-ever meeting between the two largest universities in America.
Prediction: Ohio State by 1

Hopefully these games will live up to all the hype they have accumulated leading up to the beginning of the season.

The remainder of my columns this season will probably be structured as either a big article on a major college football topic or more likely a series of short articles for some of the conferences I cover each week (which I have been informed is a monstrous five of six BCS conferences, CUSA, MAC, and the Sun Belt). In lieu of getting into too many issues for this week, let me close the article by sharing my guesses at the finishing order of each of the conferences I will cover. I'm not going to offer much reasoning, as most of my predictions will be doomed to be incorrect.

Sun Belt
1. North Texas
2. Troy
3. Middle Tennessee
4. Louisiana-Lafayette
5. Florida Atlantic
6. Florida International
7. Arkansas State
8. Louisiana-Monroe

Conference USA
East
1. Southern Miss
2. Marshall
3. UAB
4. Memphis
5. East Carolina
6. UCF
West
1. UTEP
2. Houston
3. Rice
4. Tulsa
5. Tulane
6. SMU

Mid-American Conference
East
1. Bowling Green
2. Ohio
3. Miami (OH)
4. Akron
5. Kent State
6. Buffalo
West
1. Northern Illinois
2. Toledo
3. Western Michigan
4. Central Michigan
5. Ball State
6. Eastern Michigan

Big East
1. Pittsburgh
2. West Virginia
3. Louisville
4. Syracuse
5. South Florida
6. Cincinnati
7. Connecticut
8. Rutgers

Big XII
North
1. Iowa State
2. Colorado
3. Nebraska
4. Kansas
5. Missouri
6. Kansas State
South
1. Oklahoma
2. Texas
3. Texas A&M
4. Oklahoma State
5. Texas Tech
6. Baylor

ACC
Atlantic
1. Florida State
2. Boston College
3. Clemson
4. Maryland
5. NC State
6. Wake Forest
Coastal
1. Virginia Tech
2. Miami
3. Virginia
4. Georgia Tech
5. Duke
6. North Carolina

SEC
East
1. Tennessee
2. Georgia
3. Florida
4. South Carolina
5. Kentucky
6. Vanderbilt
West
1. LSU
2. Auburn
3. Alabama
4. Mississippi State
5. Arkansas
6. Mississippi

Big Ten
1. Ohio State
2. Iowa
3. Purdue
4. Michigan
5. Penn State
6. Minnesota
7. Wisconsin
8. Michigan State
9. Northwestern
10. Illinois
11. Indiana

So that's how I see the conferences playing out on a quick guess. I really follow MAC and Big Ten football in my free time, so those predictions are probably more reliable than others. My pick for the Rose Bowl is Ohio State defeating USC, but I might be a wishful thinker also. The only thing certain this year is a great year of college football with tons of parity in the toughest conferences and a title defender calling out the best of the rest of the country to take the title from them. I cannot wait for it all to begin, and I hope you find my future articles insightful and entertaining. Thanks for reading and see you next week!