Well a lot has happened in the two weeks since I last posted. We are now officially two weeks into the college football season and one week into the NFL season, which means there is a whole lot Monday morning quarterbacking to do.
Although we are far from the first BCS standings to come out there are quite a few teams that have stuck out so far. On the other hand there are a few teams that really have gotten off to horrendous starts. I think it is fair to say that many pre-season predictions of a USC and LSU National Title game could very well become a reality. LSU this weekend dismantled Virginia Tech, and so far after two games their highly praised defense has only given up one touchdown. USC on the other hand has only played one game against lowly Idaho, but we should learn a lot more about them as they enter the Sea of Red this weekend to take on the Cornhuskers of Nebraska. One team that has surprised me and could very well be in the National Title mix come season's end is the Oklahoma Sooners. The major reason for this is their quarterback Sam Bradford is 40-48 for 568 yards with 8 touchdowns and 0 interceptions after two games. The Sooners took apart the Miami defense this weekend and barring their match up in Dallas at the State Fair against Texas, they very well could run the table.
Now to talk about the teams on the flip side. I think it is fair to say that Michigan and Notre Dame have been MAJOR disappointments this season. Michigan obviously embarrassed themselves by losing to Appalachian State in the first week, but when given the chance to redeem themselves, they embarrassed themselves even more after getting taken behind the woodshed by the well dressed Oregon Ducks 39-7. Notre Dame on the other hand has been outscored 64-13 in their first two games, and have yet to score an offensive touchdown. The most telling stat for them this season is they have 67 carries for a whopping -8 yards rushing. The funny part is these two teams will meet this weekend, which means one team will finally get a victory, and if Michigan ends up on the losing side it could also mean Lloyd Carr will officially be out of a job.
One other note about Notre Dame is Charlie Weis is now on a 4 game losing streak, and now has a very similar record to Tyrone Willingham after about the same amount of time. Tyrone Willingham thanks to the quarterback play of Jake Locker has Washington on a two game winning streak. This past weekend the Huskies ended Boise State's nation's leading 14 game winning streak and this weekend they will have the opportunity to upset No. 10 Ohio State. Just imagine the uproar in South Bend next weekend if Charlie Weis and the Irish lose for the fifth straight time, and Ty Willingham and Washington upset the Buckeyes to improve to 3-0 on the season.
As for my Boston College Eagles, they are now 2-0 on the young season and will head down to Atlanta Saturday night to take on the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech in what could a preview of the ACC title game. After watching the first two games, I have been pleased with the offense. In the first game against Wake Forest BC was not able to run, but Matt Ryan had stellar day throwing for 408 yards and 5 touchdowns. In the second game however Ryan's timing with the receivers was off but both backs Callender and Whitworth stepped up their running games, as they beat former BC coach Tom O'Brien and NC State pretty handily 37-17. The Defense has given up a lot of yards passing, but they have been able to come up with timely interceptions, including three in week one by Dejuan Tribble, and this past week Jolonn Dunbar returned one for a touchdown. If by chance the Eagles can get back Ga. Tech this coming weekend, they could very well be 6-0, since their next three games are against UMass, Bowling Green and Army, going into the Notre Dame week. Notre Dame on the other hand could very well be 0-6.
Here now are my 5 games of the week to watch:
Boston College vs Georgia Tech
USC vs Nebraska
Florida vs Tennessee
Maryland vs West Virginia
Ohio State vs Washington
Now time to turn to the Pros. Due to my caddying obligations I did not get to see many games, but I will still make a few comments nonetheless on Week 1. My first observation is the Pats and Colts still appear to be the class of the NFL. Both offenses were in sync the whole game. Manning to Wayne was on fire for the Colts, similar to how Brady and Moss was for the Patriots. This week the Patriots however will face a tougher test when they have a rematch from last year's playoffs with the San Diego Chargers. As for the NFC, I was impressed by the Giants offense who many thought would struggle tremendously this year. Unfortunately however it appears Eli Manning will be out for a month with a separated shoulder. Also unfortunately for the Giants, football is a game both of offense and defense and their defense got torn to shreds by the Cowboys offense which did appear to be very impressive in their first game in the Wade Phillips coaching era. Staying in the NFC, my two favorites to make it to the Super Bowl,the Bears and Saints, did not look so good. The Bears defense was good, holding LT to only 25 yards rushing, but Crazy Rex and the Bears offense could not get anything going and could not hold on to the ball. The Bears defense also sustained some injuries on defense, including a season ending injury to Saftey Mike Brown. Similarly the Saints offense, which was one of the most potent offenses in the NFL last year was completely shut down by the Colts. In all it was an exciting week 1, but many teams still have a lot to improve on, but as they old saying goes "The biggest improvements are made between week 1 and week 2."
Here are my 5 games in the NFL to watch this week:
Patriots vs Chargers
Colts vs Titans
Vikings vs Lions
Texans vs Panthers
Raiders vs Broncos.
I will close my post with a few thoughts on the Red Sox. Due to my intense weekend of football watching I could not pay close attention to the Sox. They did however take 3 out of 4 from the Orioles in Baltimore but had a tough 1-0 loss to their nemesis Scott Kazmir and the Devil Rays last night. This weekend will be a big weekend as they welcome the Yankees to town, which could either put the AL East away with a couple of wins, or make the final 2 weeks of the regular season a lot more interesting with a couple losses. Regardless of the outcome, it appears both teams will now be facing each other in the playoffs as the Yankees are starting to pull away with the Wild Card.
Well I hope you enjoyed reading this week's edition of "Boyce's Weekly Rant," and I will talking to you again shortly.
Sir Boyce
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