Many a hope and dream were dashed this past week. Players, coaches, fans, moms and dads could only watch as title and conference hopes slipped away. But a whole new cast took their place as new hopes and dreams, and some pretty good teams, were born.
Nine of the Top 25 showed up in the L column. Five of those were from the SEC; four of those were from the SEC-East. UGA, UF and SC have controlled the SEC-East for many years but they each lost to those considered mid-dwellers of the SEC: Vandy, Missouri and UT, respectively. Wow - I'd be willing to bet that is a first. Then LSU lost to UM for yet another SEC surprise. SC and LSU both lost on last-minute field goals and UGA had yet another chance to win in the final minute (their fourth in four games) but couldn't do it this time. Turnovers, poor defenses and last minute perfect execution was the root of this SEC shake-up.
Utah lost to un-ranked Arizona after stomping Stanford last week. Louisville also lost to the un-ranked. Ohio State trailed for three quarters to an un-ranked Iowa. Missouri looks for real (though they still face SC and TA&M). Florida State looked like the FSU of the 90s. Baylor showed up in the Top 10 yet they have a tough row to hoe the next six weeks. UCF, Auburn, Fresno State and Texas Tech are also making a lot of noise and turning heads. All in all it was the type of weekend we have come to expect in college football.
BYU turned in another good performance that garnered them a few votes in the polls. Not quite the balanced attack one would hope for but a fun game filled with turnovers, amazing stats, stout 2nd half defenses, and the best passing performance I've seen from BYU in years. Looking forward to much ore of that (I hope). A commanding win against BSU this week and a few Top 25 tumbles could put BYU in the rankings.
E N D - Z O N E
The final BCS ranking era has begun. No surprises in week 1. Maybe after all these years of BCS bashing they are getting it right on their last campaign. Not likely - I still predict that we will have one final BCS Championship debate with multiple un-defeated teams.
Nine of the Top 25 showed up in the L column. Five of those were from the SEC; four of those were from the SEC-East. UGA, UF and SC have controlled the SEC-East for many years but they each lost to those considered mid-dwellers of the SEC: Vandy, Missouri and UT, respectively. Wow - I'd be willing to bet that is a first. Then LSU lost to UM for yet another SEC surprise. SC and LSU both lost on last-minute field goals and UGA had yet another chance to win in the final minute (their fourth in four games) but couldn't do it this time. Turnovers, poor defenses and last minute perfect execution was the root of this SEC shake-up.
Utah lost to un-ranked Arizona after stomping Stanford last week. Louisville also lost to the un-ranked. Ohio State trailed for three quarters to an un-ranked Iowa. Missouri looks for real (though they still face SC and TA&M). Florida State looked like the FSU of the 90s. Baylor showed up in the Top 10 yet they have a tough row to hoe the next six weeks. UCF, Auburn, Fresno State and Texas Tech are also making a lot of noise and turning heads. All in all it was the type of weekend we have come to expect in college football.
BYU turned in another good performance that garnered them a few votes in the polls. Not quite the balanced attack one would hope for but a fun game filled with turnovers, amazing stats, stout 2nd half defenses, and the best passing performance I've seen from BYU in years. Looking forward to much ore of that (I hope). A commanding win against BSU this week and a few Top 25 tumbles could put BYU in the rankings.
E N D - Z O N E
The final BCS ranking era has begun. No surprises in week 1. Maybe after all these years of BCS bashing they are getting it right on their last campaign. Not likely - I still predict that we will have one final BCS Championship debate with multiple un-defeated teams.