Week 1: No Dull Moments

Baylor over TCU? Utah State a play away from knocking out the reigning champs? LSU shutting down the Ducks? Favored Boise State not just winning but totally dominating the Dawgs? Were these surprises to anyone else?

These two should not sit together.

Opening weekend did not disappoint. It had all the fervor of what we like about college football...upsets, drama, come-from-behind wins, 4th quarter rallies and even a 4th quarter re-rally. I think only true fans understand how cool it all really was. Not like my wife who said, after I commented Saturday night that it was an exciting start to the season, "It's just like any other. Some win, some lose; half the people go home happy and the other half go home sad." She just doesn't understand.


Some say Week 1 answers a lot of questions. Maybe - but I say it often raises more questions. Such as: Are the likes of TCU, Auburn and UGA not very good this year or have other teams simply caught up in terms of talent and depth? Is LSU that good or were the Ducks having an off night? Were the Gamecocks looking ahead or just not prepared for East Carolina? What about all the pre-season hype for Notre Dame? Does the media just want that storied program back in the polls so bad that they put them there each year...only to get shocked  back to reality after a few games? I say no team really settles in completely until after three games. Only then have the big questions have been answered.


ENDZONE: Kudos to Boise State
My wife asked me how Boise got to be so good. I told her I thought it was two things: (1) smart recruiting and (2) game preparation. Boise has figured out how to find the great players who have the right mix of talent and obsession for winning that other schools have ignored or placed farther down their list. Boise has picked up these kids and very intentionally and systematically placed and coached them such that their talents compliment each other. They have been building this for some time and the depth chart showed it (they weren't the ones getting tuckered out Saturday night). And, Boise obviously prepares well for each opponent. As I watched the UGA defense struggle against the Boise passing attack I could only think that the UGA defensive coordinator must not have watched much film or he was dumb enough to believe that without their top two receivers form last year, and a hold on this years top receiver, that they should only prepare to stop the run (which they did a fair job of doing). Boise, on the other hand, was well prepared for UGAs run, pass, defense and anything else Richt threw at 'em...and it showed.