11 September
Michigan v. Notre Dame
Colorado v. Wash St.
Texas v. Arkansas
Marshall v. Ohio St.
Iowa St. v. Iowa
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ND v. Mich State
LSU v. Auburn
Ohio St v. NC State
Oregon v. OU
Should Oklahoma still be #1 in my rankings? You may debate if I should have ranked them #1 to start with. They looked strong in this game, despite the final score. Bowling Green played well in this game, particularly their SOPHOMORE quarterback. At times, young Omar Jacobs looked like Donovan McNabb. His passes were dead on for the most part in the Falcon's spread offense. Oklahoma's defense didn't look as strong as they did last year, but that will improve as the season goes on, with a few youngsters that need the experience. The biggest piece was the emergence of the OU ground game with two 100+ yard rushers in Junior Kejuan Jones and True Freshman Adrian Peterson (the nation's top recruit). Jason White looked good, completing 21 of 31 for 238 yards and 3 touchdowns. His interception came on an amazing read and defensive play by Keon Newson, who returned it for a touchdown. The offensive line did a tremendous job that allowed OU to eat away at the clock in a huge way (38:59). FEARLESS PREDICTION: Bowling Green wins the MAC this year.
#2 USC 24 Va Tech 13
USC played well, but looked a little off in this matchup, drawing some bad penalties and giving Va Tech a fighting chance. Reggie Bush, a tremendous natural athlete looked fantastic in this game, catching two huge touchdowns late that put the game out of reach. Brian Randall looked every bit the run threat he has been touted as, setting the rushing pace for the Hokies. Ironically enough, this game was won by the Trojans on a bad call/no-call with the Hokies driving for the lead in the 3rd Quarter. The ref called a push-off that wasn't there at the Trojan 20 yard-line and missed a late hit by the men of Troy, effectively destroying any momentum for the Hokes and charging up USC for the victory. FEARLESS PREDICTION: Va Tech will give the ACC a run for its money this year and finish in the top 3.
#3 Georgia 48 Georgia Southern 28
Georgia's defense looked suspect in giving up 28 points to Div I-AA Georgia Southern, but their offense was dead on, giving freshman Danny Ware the bulk of the carries in his 134 yard performance. The two quarterback situation is working so far, but I wouldn't expect them to be able to keep up the Greene/Shockley duo in SEC play.
#4 Michigan 43 Miami (OH) 10
True Freshman QB Chad Henne played well in his first collegiate start, going 14/24 for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns in handing the RedHawks their first loss in 14 games. He was not supposed to start, but an injury to Matt Gutierrez' throwing arm put him in as a starter.
#5 Florida State plays #7 Miami (FL) in the Orange Bowl on Friday 10 September due to Hurricane Frances
#6 Texas 65 North Texas 0
Texas demolished North Texas (winner of the last three Sun Belt Conference titles) with two 100 yard rushers, including powerful Cedric Benson cruising to 181 yards and 2 touchdowns on 15 carries. It was a fitting tribute to the newly retired Bevo XIII and a fine welcome to the new Bevo XIV (the big longhorn on the sideline).
#7 Miami (FL) plays #5 Florida State in the Orange Bowl on Friday 10 September due to Hurricane Frances.
#8 Missouri 52 Arkansas State 20
Brad Smith passed for 233 yards and rushed for 63 yards and Damien Nash racked up 126 yards on the ground as the Mizzou offense cruised to a victory at home. The concern was obviously on defense, which needs to close up its gaps before playing a tough Troy team on Saturday. FEARLESS PREDICTION: Mizzou takes the Big XII North this year, meeting OU for the championship.
#9 Ohio State 27 Cincinnati 6
Young Justin Zwick, touted as the future of Ohio State threw 2 interceptions in his debut, leading many to question who the QB will be for the Bucks, Zwick or Smith? Ohio State will be lucky to come out in the positive this season, but then luck has been their forte in recent years. A solid defense led by their linebackers will keep the Buckeyes in the Big 10 title race.
#10 LSU 22 Oregon State 21
Apparently it is better to be lucky than good. LSU proved that in Baton Rouge against a surprisingly good Oregon State team. Neither Marcus Randall nor JaMarcus Russell looked particularly inspired as the new QB for the Tigers, and both were outshone by senior QB Derek Anderson of the Beavers who went 26/47 for 231 yards and 3 TDs. The only weakness for the Beavers? Their kicking game, and it was enough to allow LSU to overtake them in overtime. Alexis Serna missed THREE extra point attempts, including the overtime kick that lost the game. FEARLESS PREDICTION: Oregon State makes a run in the PAC 10 and cracks my top 10 at some point this year.
