The Roundup

Some odds and ends from what I observed this past weekend. Or, if you want a more entertaining, albeit slightly more typo-ridden read, Collegefootballpundit has the goods right here:

–I’m still not ready to jump on board the Notre Dame bandwagon yet. I should have known better to pick Michigan in this one, since last I checked Lloyd Carr is still the coach. Only a choke job like the Wolverines mailed in Saturday could have given the Irish the win. Still, Notre Dame did well in executing its first offensive script, which resulted in a key touchdown to set the tone for the game. But after that first drive, the Irish offense produced a paltry 168 yards through three-and-a-half quarters. Meanwhile, Michigan did its level-best to sabotage itself at every turn. There’s no doubt that Notre Dame is playing hard again–especially on defense–but it’s a team still lacking in speed and athleticism. The Weis scheme is doing a good job at getting average players like Darius Walker to produce, but against more talented–or better-coached–teams, it’s going to have a hard time. In fact, I like Michigan State to knock off the Irish next week.

–The Northwestern-Northern Illinois game might have been the most entertaining game of the day. Both teams have very good offenses that are fun to watch. It looks like Northwestern true freshman running back Tyrell Sutton is living up to his billing. He had 214 yards and 4 TDs on the day. Look out for the Wildcats: They’ll beat some good Big Ten teams this season. As for NIU, they look like the class of the MAC.

–Holy shit did Oklahoma look bad again! Remember, this is Tulsa that was giving the Sooners trouble at home. Tulsa, the team that was blown out by Minnesota the week before. OU could very well be embarrassed against UCLA next week. Question: Why the hell are they ranked?

–Speaking of teams that shouldn’t be ranked, how about Florida State? This is a team that struggled for a half with The Citadel. Only a concerted effort in the second half produced the expected blowout.

Some of these rankings are just silly and speak to the bias that is inherent in the preseason polls. As HP reader Solon once pointed out, if teams do well the previous season, it gives them an advantage the next season in the polls. The teams that turn out to be good get screwed because they have to prove themselves and scratch and crawl their way up the rankings (unless, of course, you are Notre Dame). It’s all laid out nicely by Chris Dufresne of the LA Times here.

Finally, I’d like to say welcome to my counterpart College Football Pundit, who has finally gotten up from his seat at the sports bar to begin writing his long-promised blog. As our friends all know, it’s hard to tear him away from a plate of chicken wings.

So, give him a read, I’m sure you’ll enjoy.