HAVE YOU NOTICED?

September 30, 2010

It is easy to miss these things. The conference season is just getting started. Many September games are one-sided tune-ups. However, one month into the season, a few things have caught my attention. None of them are earth shattering, stop what you are doing kind of stories, but I suggest you keep an eye on them moving forward.

Have you noticed the Pac 10? As usual, the conference the east coast ignores did just enough damage to its reputation early to make you forget about them. You probably haven’t noted their excellent rebound. Once USC was put on probation and Jeremiah Masoli was suspended at Oregon, the league was buried. Having Oregon State lose to TCU and Washington fall to BYU on opening weekend didn’t help. Since then, the Ducks rolled in Knoxville, UCLA embarrassed Texas in Austin, Arizona knocked off Iowa and Stanford rolled Notre Dame. If the Pac 10 could ever get their games shown on ABC or ESPN on the east coast at 3:30, I think we’d all be saying, “Wow! These teams can play.”

Speaking of impressive starts, have you noticed who is undefeated? Arizona, Kansas State and NC State are all perfect. KSU beat UCLA in week one. Zona upset Iowa and followed that up with a win over Cal, and NC State beat Cincinnati and Georgia Tech. I think two of those programs will come back to earth soon, but give them all credit for generating some excitement with a few impressive wins to this point.

Has anyone noticed that after this Saturday Notre Dame only has ONE road game left this year? You read that right. Seven games left on the schedule, but only one road game. They will play two “neutral site” games with Army and Navy, but let’s be honest. The crowd at the new Yankee Stadium and the new Meadowlands will be pro-Irish. So the only hostile crowd Brian Kelly’s team still has to endure is their finale at USC. That makes the 1-3 start in South Bend all the more disappointing. Even though ND is a work in progress, they had a shot at a very nice record thanks to (by ND standards) a weaker schedule. Now, bowl eligibility is the goal.

Has anyone else noticed that TCU is climbing the polls? While Boise State appears to be the BCS buster just waiting for Alabama and Ohio State to trip up, TCU is right behind them. The most asked question about the Broncos has been, “Will they reach the BCS Title Game if Bama or Ohio State lose?” Maybe we should start asking what happens if they BOTH lose! What if Bama falters in the SEC Championship Game? What if Ohio State loses at home to Michigan? Could we get a third installment of TCU-Boise State, this time for the crystal football?

Did you notice that South Carolina is off this week? Why is that important? They play Alabama next week. Even with the game in Columbia, I’m not sure the extra week will be the difference between a win and a loss… at least not yet. You see the Tide have six more SEC regular season games to play after this week. All six opponents have the previous Saturday off, giving them each two weeks to prepare for Nick Saban’s team. I’m guessing the person that created the 2010 SEC league slate graduated from LSU… maybe Auburn.

Games of the Week:

Oklahoma vs. Texas –Okay, so the Red River Rivalry took a significant prestige hit this year thanks to UCLA. At least Horns QB Garrett Gilbert has bowl game experience from the Alabama game in January. That’s what this is. It is an October bowl game. Texas has won four of the last five meetings. Last year, Sam Bradford got knocked out of the game early. OU was held to minus-16 yards rushing, and they only lost by three. The Sooners were my pick to win this game in August, and I’ve seen nothing so far this season to change my mind.

Florida @ Alabama –These two programs have not met in the regular season in five years. All they have done since then is combine to win three national titles and square off in the last two SEC Championship Games. Arkansas had Bama on the ropes last week, but the Tide escaped. That’s what great teams do on the road. This game is in Tuscaloosa. Florida has talent. There is no question about that, but I do not believe they are a great team yet. Look for Bama’s experience to be the difference. I’m not even sure this one is close.

Stanford @ Oregon – Both teams are undefeated and ranked in the top ten. Last year, Stanford swooped in the week after Oregon rolled USC and beat the Ducks 51-42. Oregon is averaging 57.8 points and 560 yards per game. Arizona State gave them a good fight last week before the Ducks prevailed 42-31. With all of the attention on Matt Barkley at USC and Jake Locker at Washington, Andrew Luck of Stanford may be having the best start of any Pac 10 QB. Two of the most high powered offenses in the nation meet here. I think the Ducks get the edge on their home turf.