College Football Week 2 Recap

I mentioned that these are BOLD predictions, right?

1. Michigan State holds Oregon to 24 points or fewer in a B1G statement win

The Spartans held their own in the first half, carrying a 24 - 18 lead into the locker room.  But a huge second half for the Ducks trashed this prediction.  Either Michigan State's defense is not as good this year, or Oregon is just that explosive.  Ducks ran away with this one, 46 - 27.

2. Notre Dame vs Michigan goes to two or more overtimes, ending the long-standing series in thrilling fashion

Couldn't have been more wrong here.  Not only was this not a close game, but it was a blowout of historic proportions.  Notre Dame beat Michigan 31 - 0 in their final scheduled match-up, the Wolverines' first time being shut out in 30 years.  This one could sting in Ann Arbor for quite a while.

3. Ohio State's defense records four or more sacks against Virginia Tech

Looks like I should have gone with Virginia Tech's defense on this one instead.  The Buckeye's offensive line was exposed in a shocking upset at the hands of the Hokies, in which they gave up 7 sacks.  Ohio State has a ton of work to do before conference play starts, not just on the O-line.  Between dropped passes, botched coverage in the secondary, and missed field goals, a lot was left to be desired in Ohio State's first regular season loss under Meyer.  The defensive line may have put together the strongest performance of any unit in the loss, but they still came up short of my prediction, registering only 2 sacks.

4. Another key Wisconsin player sits out because he might be injured, or maybe not, but he probably just feels kind of funny

Obviously this didn't happen, but QB Stave is still not ready to play apparently.  McEvoy did perform a lot better this week, though it remains to be seen if that is actual improvement or just the result of facing an FCS defense that over-committed to stopping the run.  On the flip side, running back Melvin Gordon was healthy enough to play but couldn't get anything going.  In fact, none of the Badger's running backs were able to do much.  What is going on in Madison and the rest of Big Ten country?

5. Florida Coach Will Muschamp's decision to un-suspend players sparks new trend among coaches

I got one right!  As predicted, loads of players at Georgia, Indiana, Cincinnati, and many more teams on bye sat out this week.  It's not clear what any of these players did to justify missing playing time in non-existent games, but it's good to see coaches taking action.  Seriously though, if a coach thinks a player should be suspended, then he should suspend him and stick to the decision.  Muschamp suspending these players and then letting them play before the suspension is served makes him look weak and turns the original punishment into a joke.  He needed the players back for playing Eastern Michigan?  Really?


Week 2 record: 1 - 4
Overall record: 3 - 7

Other headlines from week 2:

A B1G disaster

Teams from the Big Ten have taken plenty of heat recently for under-performing on the big stage, but the once-great conference may have hit an all-time low this week.  Three of the top teams in the league (Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State) were in the spotlight Saturday night and lost their games by a combined score of 112 - 48.  Nebraska needed a last minute touchdown to beat McNeese State (no, that's not a typo.)  Purdue and Northwestern both lost to MAC teams.  Maryland, Iowa, and Illinois all needed 4th quarter rallies to overcome mediocre competition.  Top-to-bottom, the Big Ten looks weak.  There's still a lot of football to be played, but at this point it seems unlikely that a Big Ten team will end up with one of the four playoff spots.

Ball State falls

Two weeks into the season and one of my 2014 predictions is already a bust.  I knew Iowa would be one of the tougher games on the Cardinals' schedule, so I'm not overly surprised.  The craziest part is that Ball State looked primed to pull of the upset, up 13 - 3 late in the 4th.  But Iowa came storming back to score two touchdowns in the last 2:52 to come up with a miraculous win.  A victory for the Cardinals may have given them a major momentum boost going into conference play. It's anybody's guess where Ball State goes from here.

Penn State can go bowling again

The NCAA has ended Penn State's postseason ban two years early, making them immediately  eligible for a bowl game,  Big Ten Conference title, or even a playoff berth (assuming they play well enough to be considered for any or all of those things.) I think this is the right move.  The University is moving forward and making positive changes in the wake of the Sandusky scandal.  The vacated losses should stay vacated - part of this is on Joe Paterno regardless of what his family claims.  But continuing to punish the kids and new coaches at Penn State is unnecessary. Let them play.  Let them move on.