| DesertSAPPER's Top 10 |
| Week 1 |
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| This week's big games |
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| All the cool helmet designs are due to the creative talents and abilities of Charles Arey, who manages the helmet project site. His artwork is awesome, and he makes it free to use. Thanks Charles! |
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| POOL RANKINGS |
| 1. 2. 3. |
| Brooks |
| Crain |
| Kozak |
| Weekly W-L-T |
| Total Points |
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| Next week's big games |
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| *Changes in Bold |
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| CHAMPIONS |
| 2000 Kozak 31-24-0 2001 Kozak 36-30.5-24.5 2002 Crain 33.5-29.5-17-4.5 2003 No Champion - 2 Deployed 2004 Crain 51-35-31 2005 Kozak 37.5-30-9.5 |
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| September 16, 2006
September 16, 2006 September 16, 2006 September 16, 2006 September 16, 2006 September 16, 2006 |
| Florida @ Tennessee
OU @ Oregon Michigan @ ND LSU @ Auburn TAMU v. Army Miami @ Louisville |
| #2 USC (1-0) 50 Arkansas (0-1) 14 Who doubted that USC would simply reload this year? I certainly did. I expected them to be good, not great. I was wrong. They looked excellent against Arkansas. Granted, Arkansas is a team with many question marks, but a win big on the road against an SEC team is an accomplishment no matter how you look at it. The Trojans, simply put, were the only team that looked 100% ready to destroy anybody in the country right now. Next: Bye |
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| September 9, 2006 September 9, 2006 September 9, 2006 September 9, 2006 September 9, 2006 |
| Ohio State @ Texas
Clemson @ BC Penn State @ ND Arizona @ LSU UGA @ South Carolina |
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| #3 Texas (1-0) 56 North Texas (0-1) 7 It sounds really good to say how great Colt McCoy looked, and he did pass for 178 YDS and 3 TDs and run for 38 YDS and a TD, but it was North Texas, for crying out loud. McCoy is a good QB with a great supporting cast, but it remains to be seen how good this team looks against a real football team (and a very good Big 10 D) this week. If McCoy makes some of the same decisions (passes into coverage, etc.) he made against UNT, a good defense would have made him pay. Texas' D looked great (95 TOTAL YARDS, are you kidding me?), but again...this was North Texas. Next: v. #8 Ohio State (1-0) |
| #4 Louisville (1-0) 59 Kentucky (0-1) 28 The Cardinals came out and dismantled Kentucky from the opening gun. What does that mean? I can't very well say the USC win over Arkansas was big because of the SEC factor and not say that Louisville beating Kentucky (a rival, mind you), was huge. Brian Brohm looked excellent on Sunday. He hit on 19 of 31 for 254 YDS and a TD. Of course, the real news (and the worst news for the Louisville faithful) was losing superstar RB Michael Bush for the season to a broken right leg in the third quarter. That is a season killer, potentially. Before his injury, he rushed for 128 YDS on 17 carries with 3 TDs. Wow. Now he's out for the season. How the team responds, and who steps up will dictate the future of the Louisville Cardinals. Next: @ Temple (0-1) |
| #5 Florida (1-0) 34 Southern Miss (0-1) 7 Southern Miss has never been known as a slouch, especially on D. They came out and played a very strong 1st Quarter in the Swamp that ended in a tie. They intercepted Chris Leak's 3rd pass and turned it into a 7 point lead. Unfortunately for USM, the game didn't end at that point. Leak shook off the turnover, hit on 19 of 31 for 248 YDS and 3 TDs, and Florida scored 27 unanswered points to run away with the win. Next: v. UCF (1-0) |
| #6 Florida State (1-0) 13 Miami (0-1) 10 This was a defensive showdown of epic proportions. These are excellent, fast, and very talented Ds that can stay with anybody in the country. Unfortunately for Miami, FSU is just a little bit better on D, and won in the Orange Bowl off (of all things) a successful FG. The FSU D and brilliant LB Buster Davis looked phenomenal against a very talented Miami O. They shut the Hurricanes out in the second half. Next: v. Troy (1-0) |
| #7 LSU (1-0) 45 Louisiana-Lafayette (0-1) 3 Jamarcus Russell quelled all the QB controversy talk on Saturday, hitting 13 of his 17 passes for 253 YDS and 3 TDs. Before this game, the camps were forming around him and Matt Flynn (and maybe a few around highschool superstar Ryan Perilloux). Now LSU knows who belongs behind center. Granted, the Ragin' Cajuns don't exactly inspire any images of greatness, and the RBs are still questionable on their individual merits, but this was a big win because of Russell's performance. Next: v. Arizona (1-0) |
| #1 Notre Dame (1-0) 14 Georgia Tech (0-1) 10 This was the second most hyped game of the weekend, and it was a great defensive struggle. Everyone expected great things from Brady Quinn and the Notre Dame Offense. Everybody expected great things from superstar GT receiver Calvin Johnson. They didn't exactly disappoint. Quinn had 246 YDS on 23 of 38 passing. Johnson was brilliant, with 7 catches for 111 yards and a TD. The story of this game, though, is the great D play of both teams. I kept ND at #1 because I felt like they responded well to adversity, which is the number 1 quality of a championship football team. You can't blow everybody out, especially when they have great D and it's on the road. I don't expect much difference this week. Next: v. Penn State (1-0) |
| #8 Ohio State (1-0) 35 Northern Illinois (0-1) 12 Ohio State is being billed by some as the best team in the country. They certainly have the talent. Their D is less stellar than last season's version, but still very very good. The Buckeyes played a phenomenal 1st Quarter against the Huskies when Ted Ginn had three straight TD passes. They were obviously more talented than the Huskies. Yet the rest of the game looks pretty even on paper, but the Buckeyes missed two scoring opportunities with fumbles from newcomer Chris Wells and former starting QB Justin Zwick close to the goal line late. The Buckeyes only outscored the Huskies 14-12 after the first quarter, mostly due to the turnovers, but will need to play with less mistakes this week in Austin. Next: @ #3 Texas (1-0) |
| #10 Michigan (1-0) 27 Vanderbilt (0-1) 7 Nothing can describe this game for Michigan any better than to call it sloppy. Mike Hart (31 for 146 YDS) had a good game, mostly due to having Kevin Grady (5 for 30, 1 TD) take some of the weight off his shoulders in the backfield. Chad Henne didn't have a brilliant game, but he still performed, hitting 10 of his 22 passes for 135 YDS and 2 TDs. A fumble by Grady at the Vandy 19 kept this game from getting ripped wide open in the second quarter. The Commodores played a good game, and deserve at least half the credit for the game staying close, tricking and scheming the Wolverines off balance. The Wolverines are fortunate they have another week to tighten their shot group before they face Notre Dame. Of course, Central Michigan DID play a really good game at home against BC last week... Next: v. Central Michigan (0-1) |
| #9 Tennessee(1-0) 35 California (0-1) 18 After a disappointing last season, many (including me) were reluctant to put the Vols very high on their list. Whether the result of this game was due to an inept Cal team, a very capable Tennessee, or a huge home crowd (106,000), the scoreboard says most of it: Tennessee looked very very good in their opener. Eric Ainge was on fire, hitting 11 of 18 for 291 YDS and 4 TDs. Robert Meachum had 5 catches for 182 YDS and 2 TDs, including 1 80 YD scamper at the start of the 3rd Quarter that made the Cal secondary look silly. Heisman hopeful Marshawn Lynch had only 74 YDS on 12 carries. Are the Vols back? I don't think we'll find out this week when they host Air Force. Next: v. Air Force (0-0) |