College Football Week 1 Review

WEEK 1 REVIEW
With week 1 in the books for the college football season, let’s go back and see what we learned from teams in the Big 6 conferences.

ACC:
WEEK 1 RECORD: 5-7
1-1 in conference
4-6 out of conference
2-5 vs 1A opponents
3-2 vs 1-AA opponents
0-4 vs BCS conference teams
WINNERS:
Boston College, 54-0 vs Northeastern
Clemson, 37-14 vs Middle Tennessee State
Georgia Tech, 37-17 vs Jacksonville State
Miami, 38-34 @ Florida State
North Carolina, 40-6 vs The Citadel
LOSERS:
Duke, 24-16 vs Richmond
Florida State, 38-34 vs Miami
Maryland, 52-13 @ California
North Carolina State, 7-3 vs South Carolina
Virginia, 26-14 vs William & Mary
Virginia Tech, 34-24 vs Alabama
Wake Forest, 24-21 vs Baylor
BEST WIN: Miami Hurricanes
There are not many to choose from here. I think that the Miami-Florida State game was a fantastic game, and I could see either of those teams coming out of the ACC to a BCS Bowl after watching the entire conference this week. The only other win against a division 1A team was Clemson beating Middle Tennessee State, and they gave up 14 points to the Blue Raiders.
WORST LOSS: Virginia Cavaliers
As bad as Maryland losing to Cal by 39 is, or Duke losing to Richmond is, nothing is close to the effort put in by Virginia this week. Cal is a top 15 teams and Richmond is the defending 1AA champion, William & Mary, on the other hand, went 7-4 last season and haven’t beaten a D1 school since they beat Temple (hardly a D1 school) in 1998. The Cavaliers had 7 turnovers and only two series that lasted over five plays after taking a 14-7 lead with 7:29 to go in the 2nd quarter. Losing to a 1AA opponent is bad, but getting dominated by one is much worse.
THIS WEEK:
Clemson @ Georgia Tech – Thursday 7:30, ESPN
Duke @ Army – Saturday Noon, CBS-CS
North Carolina @ Connecticut – Saturday Noon, ESPNU
Stanford @ Wake Forest – Saturday Noon, Regional TV
Marshall @ Virginia Tech – Saturday 1:30, ESPN360.com
Kent State @ Boston College – Saturday 2:00, ESPN360.com
TCU @ Virginia – Saturday 3:30, ESPNU
Jacksonville State @ Florida State – Saturday 6:00, ESPN360.com
James Madison @ Maryland – Saturday 6:00, ESPN360.com
Murray State @ North Carolina State – Saturday 6:00

BIG EAST:
WEEK 1 RECORD: 6-2
1-1 in conference
5-1 out of conference
2-2 vs 1A opponents
4-0 vs 1-AA opponents
0-1 vs BCS conferences
WINNERS:
Cincinnati, 47-15 @ Rutgers
Connecticut, 23-16 @ Ohio
Louisville, 30-10 vs Indiana State
Pitt, 38-3 vs Youngstown State
South Florida, 40-7 vs Wofford
West Virginia, 33-20 vs Liberty
LOSERS:
Rutgers, 47-15 vs Cincinnati
Syracuse, 23-20 OT vs Minnesota
BEST WIN: Cincinnati Bearcats
Cincinnati and UCONN were the only two Big East teams to win against D1 schools in week 1, and UCONN winning by just 7 against Ohio U is not all that impressive. What was impressive is the way that Cincinnati dominated Rutgers to open the season. Cincinnati moved the ball at will on what was supposed to be one of the better defenses in the Big East this season. The question mark this year for Cincinnati was their defense, with 10 new starters this season. They limited Rutgers, who returned all five starters on the offensive line and was widely considered to have one of the best lines in the country, to just 50 yards rushing on 33 carries.
WORST LOSS: Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Rutgers had everything set up just how they wanted it. They had the defending Big East Champions on their home turf as they unveiled their newly renovated stadium which added about 10K and cost over $102M. They had a perfectly laid out schedule to navigate their way to a Big East Title with the toughest games all at home. Then, it came time to actually play the game. Rutgers was selected by many to win the conference this season, and now, just one week into the season, they are sent back to the drawing board.
THIS WEEK:
Syracuse @ Penn State – Saturday NOON, Big Ten Network
North Carolina @ UCONN – Saturday NOON, ESPNU
Pitt @ Buffalo – Saturday NOON, Big East Regional
Howard @ Rutgers – Saturday 3:30
East Carolina @ West Virginia – Saturday 3:30, ESPN360.com
SE Missouri State @ Cincinnati – Saturday 7:30, FSN Ohio
South Florida @ Western Kentucky – Saturday 7:30, Big East Regional

BIG TEN:
WEEK 1 RECORD: 10-1
10-1 out of conference
6-1 vs 1A opponents
4-0 vs 1-AA opponents
1-1 vs BCS conferences
WINNERS:
Indiana, 19-13 vs Eastern Kentucky
Iowa, 17-16 vs Northern Iowa
Michigan, 31-7 vs Western Michigan
Michigan State, 44-3 vs Montana State
Minnesota, 23-20 OT @ Syracuse
Northwestern, 47-14 vs Towson
Ohio State, 31-27 vs Navy
Penn State, 31-7 vs Akron
Purdue, 52-31 vs Toledo
Wisconsin, 28-20 vs Northern Illinois
LOSER:
Illinois, 37-9 vs Missouri
BEST WIN: Penn State Nittany Lions
This was difficult because if you really look at it, there was not one impressive win in week 1 by any team in the Big Ten. However, Penn State was by far the most dominant and complete team in the first week of the season. I do think that Michigan had a good week in handling the off-field issues regarding their program and beating a decent MAC opponent in Western Michigan.
WORST LOSS: Illinois Illini
This could have been a few teams had they not escaped defeat this weekend. Indiana struggling with Eastern Kentucky, or Iowa needing to block TWO field goal attempts in the final seconds to hold off Northern Iowa, or how about the preseason favorite Buckeyes, needing to stop a 2-point conversion late in the game to hold off Navy. None of those happened, so Illinois, being the only loss by the Big Ten takes this honor this week. I don’t think that many people expected Illinois to beat Missouri, but I’m sure most thought they would keep it within four touchdowns!
THIS WEEK:
Central Michigan @ Michigan State – Saturday NOON
Eastern Michigan @ Northwestern – Saturday NOON
Fresno State @ Wisconsin – Saturday NOON
Syracuse @ Penn State – Saturday NOON
Western Michigan @ Indiana – Saturday NOON
Iowa @ Iowa State – Saturday 12:05
Notre Dame @ Michigan – Saturday 3:30
Air Force @ Minnesota – Saturday 7:00
Illinois State @ Illinois – Saturday 7:00
Southern Cal @ Ohio State – Saturday 8:00
Purdue @ Oregon – Saturday 10:15

BIG XII:
WEEK 1 RECORD: 10-2
10-2 out of conference
6-2 vs 1A opponents
4-0 vs 1-AA opponents
3-0 vs BCS Conferences
WINNERS:
Baylor, 24-21 @ Wake Forest
Iowa State, 34-17 vs North Dakota State
Kansas, 49-3 vs Northern Colorado
Kansas State, 21-17 vs UMASS
Missouri, 37-9 vs Illinois
Nebraska, 49-3 vs Florida Atlantic
Oklahoma State 24-10, vs Georgia
Texas, 59-20 vs Louisiana Monroe
Texas A&M, 41-6 vs New Mexico
Texas Tech, 37-13 vs North Dakota
LOSERS:
Colorado, 23-17 vs Colorado State
Oklahoma, 14-13 vs BYU
BEST WIN: Oklahoma State Cowboys
For the first time we actually have so qualities wins to choose from here. The league went 3-0 against the other BCS conferences and the rivalry win by Missouri is nice and the road win by Baylor is good too, beating an SEC school to open the season is going to pull rank. The Cowboys dominated this game after the first quarter. The biggest surprise to me was not that OK State only scored 24 points however, it was that their defense stepped up and out played the Georgia defense.
WORST LOSS: Sam Bradford, Oklahoma QB
I never mentioned that this had to be the game that was the worst to lose. OU losing Bradford is much worse then Colorado losing at home to its rival, or the Sooners losing to a very good BYU team. Bradford is listed as being out 2-4 weeks, although this injury is one that normally is a 4-6 week type lay off. Let’s look at the Sooners schedule over the next six weeks and see how big this injury could be to the Sooners season. Up this week is 1-AA Idaho State, which the Sooners should have no problems with. Then comes Tulsa, which is a team that can put some points on the board. After a bye week the Sooners get Miami (FL) on the road followed by the opening of the BIG XII schedule with a very much improved Baylor teams. If Bradford is out six weeks he would miss the Red River Shoot-out against arch-rival Texas.
THIS WEEK:
Colorado @ Toledo – Friday 9:00, ESPN
Iowa @ Iowa State – Saturday 12:05, FSN
Arkansas State @ Nebraska – Saturday 2:00, FSN PPV
Houston @ Oklahoma State – Saturday 3:30, FSN
Texas @ Wyoming – Saturday 3:30, Versus
Idaho State @ Oklahoma – Saturday 7:00, FSN PPV
Bowling Green @ Missouri – Saturday 7:00, FSN PPV
Kansas State @ Louisiana Lafayette – Saturday 7:00
Rice @ Texas Tech – Saturday 7:00
Kansas @ UTEP – Saturday 7:30, CBS-CS

PAC-10:
WEEK 1 RECORD: 7-3
1-1 in conference
6-2 out of conference
5-3 vs 1A opponents
2-0 vs 1-AA opponents
1-1 vs BCS conferences
WINNERS:
Arizona, 19-6 vs Central Michigan
Arizona State, 50-3 vs Idaho State
California, 52-13 vs Maryland
Oregon State, 34-7 vs Portland State
Southern Cal, 56-3 vs San Jose State
Stanford, 39-13 @ Washington State
UCLA, 33-14 vs San Diego State
LOSERS:
Oregon, 19-8 @ Boise State
Washington, 31-23 vs LSU
Washington State, 39-13 vs Stanford
BEST WIN: California Golden Bears
Cal went out and played a BCS conference opponent on the first week of the season and flat out dominated them. Maryland beat Cal last year in Maryland, but this one was no contest. At one point in this game Cal scored on 9 or 11 drives and ended up with well over 500 yards of offense. While other Pac-10 teams were running the score up on crème puff teams, Cal was doing it against a BCS team that won eight games including a bowl game last year.
WORST LOSS: Oregon Ducks
Losing on the Smurf Turf in Boise isn’t something to be ashamed of, since 2000 on two of 67 visiting teams have left with a win, but the way they did it was what was shameful. The only pop the offense showed all day was when LaGarrett Blount popped the defensive end from Boise when he was running his mouth after the game. Oregon managed to get as many first downs as I did in the first half and I was sitting on my couch thousands of miles away. It doesn’t get any easier for the Ducks either who get Purdue, Utah and Cal the next three weeks.
THIS WEEK:
Stanford @ Wake Forest – Saturday NOON, ESPN Regional
Idaho @ Washington – Saturday 3:30, FSNNW
UCLA @ Tennessee – Saturday 4:00, ESPN
Eastern Washington @ Cal – Saturday 5:35, CSNCA
Hawaii @ Washington State – Saturday 7:00
Southern Cal @ Ohio State – Saturday 8:00, ESPN
Northern Arizona @ Arizona – Saturday 10:00
Purdue @ Oregon – Saturday 10:15, FSN
Oregon State @ UNLV – Saturday 11:00, CBS-CS

SEC:
WEEK 1 RECORD: 11-1
11-1 out of conference
7-1 vs 1A opponents
4-0 vs 1-AA opponents
3-1 vs BCS Conferences
WINNERS:
Alabama, 34-24 vs Virginia Tech
Arkansas, 48-10 vs Missouri State
Auburn, 37-13 vs Louisiana Tech
Florida, 62-3 vs Charleston Southern
Kentucky, 42-0 @ Miami (OH)
LSU, 31-23 @ Washington
Mississippi, 45-14 @ Memphis
Mississippi State, 45-7 vs Jackson State
South Carolina, 7-3 @ North Carolina State
Tennessee, 63-7 vs Western Kentucky
Vanderbilt, 45-0 vs Western Carolina
LOSER:Georgia, 24-10 @ Oklahoma State
BEST WIN: Alabama Crimson Tide
For the second straight season Alabama starts off by beating up on a highly regarded ACC opponent in the Georgia Dome. Although the score was only a 10 point difference if you look inside the numbers you can she that Alabama clearly dominated this game. Virginia Tech was held to just 155 yards of offense, while Bama totaled 498 and held the ball for over 37 minutes.
WORST LOSS: Georgia Bulldogs
Not that this loss was all that bad, but when the conference only has one loss it make the selection process simple. Georgia is replacing both the first overall pick in the NFL Draft at QB and the leading rusher from last year. The Georgia defense was tough holding the high-powered Cowboys to just 24 points (early prediction: No other team will accomplish that feat this season.), but the offense could never get rolling.
THIS WEEK:
Troy @ Florida – Saturday 12:21
UCLA @ Tennessee – Saturday 4:00
Florida International @ Alabama – Saturday 7:00
Mississippi State @ Auburn – Saturday 7:00
South Carolina @ Georgia – Saturday 7:00
Vanderbilt @ LSU – Saturday 7:00

More to come later in the week with a more in depth look ahead at week 2 as well as predictions!