Blaine Train's College Express Week 2

By Blaine Fentress
Senior Writer for lancewilkerson.com

Tell me that Boise St./Virginia Tech wasn't exciting!?!?  That game could have been played in a BCS Bowl, sans the penalties.  Both teams had good moments and bad moments.  Touchdowns and stupid penalties.  And, as it is with every game, there has to be a winner and a loser.  Boise St. needed this win more than Tech, not that the Hokies weren't trying hard.  If the Broncos lost this game, goodbye any chance of a National Championship, or the possibility of a BCS Bowl. 
 
Of course, they didn't make it easy on themselves.  After going up 17-0 in the FIRST quarter, Hokies came back and took the lead in the 2nd half.  But, thanks to a little bit of poor clock management by Tech, Boise St. got the ball back with just over two minutes left in the game, down by four.  More than enough time for Kellen Moore to get his team down the field.  You can also thank the refs for the drive by calling a late hit, which I thought was questionable at best.
 
So, with Week 1 in the books, lets take a look at the best and the worst of what happened....
 
 
TOP 5 BAD LOSSES OF THE WEEK.
 
1.  Kansas losing to North Dakota St.:  It was so bad, the athletic director for the Jayhawks has decided to retire earlier than expected, like this week.  The score was 6-3.  First off, we live now in a generation of athletes that it boggles my mind that a game could end 6-3 these days.  But, one of the teams is a Big 12 team...and they lost...6-3....AT HOME....TO A 1-AA SCHOOL!!!!!!
2.  Ole Miss losing to Jacksonville St.:  After dealing with whether or not Masoli was going to play for the Rebels, it turns out it doesn't matter as they fall to the Gamecocks in overtime, 49-48.  Bet Houston Nutt wasn't too happy about it.  And, yet another 1-AA school best another power conference team.
3.  Navy losing to Maryland:  The rushing yards tell the tale...Navy rushed for 412 yards.  When you hear that, you would think that the Midshipmen dominated.  But, they didn't even win the game.
4.  Toledo losing to Arizona:  Granted, Toledo is not a powerhouse of any sort.  But, on national television, at home, they only scored a safety.  And this was to a team that isn't expected to do anything this season
5.  New Mexico losing to Oregon:  72-0...man, that's a way to start off the season for Oregon.  But, for New Mexico, maybe they can pack it in after the first week.
 
 TOP 5 IMPRESSIVE WINS OF THE WEEK.
 
1.  Boise St. over Virginia Tech:  National game of the week.  Coming back from behind the in the final mintues to win the game.  And now, they are the team to talk and debate about for weeks to come.
2.  Utah over Pittsburgh:  They welcomed Pitt and their star running back out west with a 27-24 OT win.  Along with Boise St. and TCU, they might be another mid-major that could bust into the BCS at the end of the season.  Speaking of Horned Frogs...
3.  TCU over Oregon St.:  That was a FUN game.  Both teams have some great offensive weapons, but Horned Frogs QB Andy Daulton kept it together and was able to lead the team to a win.  And, they are also a team that will be near the top of the polls when the BCS comes out.  Could get real interesting real quick.
4.  Boston College's Mark Herzlich:  Two years ago, he was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year.  Last year, he was battling a rare form of bone cancer.  This past weekend, he led his team out onto the field as a cancer survivor.  Played well for someone still nursing a stress fracture in his foot, helping out with a couple of tackles.  And, the Eagles won the game but, the real story here is that cancer should never slow a person down and Herzlich is another example of that.  Pure inspiration.
5.  Notre Dame over Purdue:  Brian Kelly looked good in his first game, leading the Irish to a 23-12 win over the Boilermakers.  Still a few kinks to work out in the up-tempo offense but, Dayne Crist looked good for 205 yards and 1 TD. 
 
TOP 5 INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES OF WEEK 1
 
1.  Kellen Moore, Boise St. QB:  This isn't about stats as much as management skills, as he was able to get the Broncos up the field within two minutes to score the game winning touchdown.  Outside of the penalties that killed the clock, he was able to get the line to the ball and snap it within a few seconds after each play was done.  NFL scouts should take note of that.
2.  Kendall Hunter, Ok. St. RB:  In the Cowboys blowout win over Wash. St., Hunter only carried the ball 21 times.  But, within those attempts, he got 257 yards and 4 TDs.  How can you stop that.
3.  Denard Robinson, Mich. QB:  Remember what Pat White did for Coach Rodriguez in West Virginia?  Here's Denard:  186 yards passing, 197 yards rushing, 2 TDs.  Yes, a Michigan quarterback rushed for 197 yards.  Crazy.
4.  T. J. Yates, UNC QB:  He didn't have a couple of his weapons catching for him and he was facing a top Tigers defense but, Yates was still able to pass for 412 yards and 3 TDs.  I don't know if that is a reflection of how good Yates is or how cold the Tigers secondary was Saturday night?
5.  Kenjon Barnes, Oregon RB:  In the 72-0 beatdown that I mentioned earlier, Barnes rushed for 147 yards and 4 TDs and caught a 60 yard TD pass.  5 TDs on the day.  New Mexico must have been starting 6th graders or something.
 
WHAT I TAKE AWAY FROM WEEK 1
 
1.  Boise St. might be looked at as a team that can go undefeated this season, but they can't look past Oregon St. in two weeks.
2.  Les Miles and LSU almost blew a game that they had NO REASON to lose, beating UNC by a little with the other team having to sit 13 scholarship players.
3.  Rich Rod. might have found a player that could save his job in Michigan, as long as Robinson doesn't get injured.
4.  Credit North Dakota St. and Jacksonville St. for reminding the 1-A schools not to look past the 1-AA schools.
5.  Don't worry about the Hokies, they can still win the ACC and could get back into the National Championship hunt after a few other teams lose.
 
AND NOW...THE MAIN EVENT....THE TOP 5 GAMES OF WEEK 2
 
Before that, here are the other games of consideration...
 
Auburn @ Miss. St. :  Yeah, this game will be on ESPN as the Vikings take on the Saints to kick off the NFL season.  Don't know if that was great planning.
West Virgina @ Marshall:  Battle for the state.  Marshall didn't look bad early against Ohio St....maybe an upset here??
San Jose St. @ Wisconsin:  After getting destroyed by Alabama, SJS heads up to Camp Randall to take on the Badgers.  Hope the money is worth it.
Georgia Tech @ Kansas:  Come on, Jayhawks.  Got to do better than last week.  Expect the Yellow Jackets to destroy here.
Georgia @ South Carolina:  SEC conference schedule gets started early this year for these two. Gamecocks looked good against Southern Miss, while the Bulldogs need to find out of A.J. Green will be able to take the field for them this year.
South Florida @ Florida:  Florida looked a bit lost to start the game off last week.  Best not do that against the Bulls.
Virginia @ USC:  Trojans open up the home schedule against an ACC cupcake in Virginia.
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5.  Michigan @ Notre Dame:  Denard Robinson looked great but that was last week.  Now, he has to pull off the same feat against the Irish defense.  I don't think he will rush for above 100 yards will be kept in the pocket more, making him pass.  Meanwhile, up-tempo will be the name of the game again and that might keep the Wolverine's D on their heels the entire game.  I think this will be a close one and will be determined by how much pressure the defenses put on either quarterback.
 
4.  Oregon @ Tennessee:  After beating New Mexico by a huge margin, they head east to Knoxville to take on the Vols.  The key for Tennessee to pull off the upset will be Tauren Poole getting off the blocks.  Oregon's D played great last week but, will probably face a tougher offense this week that will want to run, run, run.  Maybe a upset here.
 
3.  Florida St. @ Oklahoma:  Quarterback Christian Ponder takes the Semiimoles to Oklahoma...not an easy task at all.  Sooners didn't look good last week, having to hold off Utah State late for a 31-24 win.  Laundry Jones looked shaky for Oklahoma, completing less than half his passes and throwing 2 TDs and 2 INTs.  Meanwhile, Florida State looked good.  Ponder passed 12-14 for 167 yards and 4 TDs.  While this isn't an BCS elimination game, Oklahoma knows that it has a chance at a National title and needs to win this one more to enter the Red River Shootout undefeated.  Good matchup.
 
2.  Miami FL. @ Ohio St. :  Seems like every season, the Buckeyes schedule a national powerhouse on Week 2 of each season.  This year, please welcome the Hurricanes for a revenge matchup.  These two teams haven't faced each other since the 2003 Fiesta Bowl when they played for a National Championship.  That day, Ohio St. won the double-overtime thriller.  But, things changed since then.  While the Buckeyes have played for a national championship since then, they haven't won it.  As for Miami, talk about a downturn.  But, things are on the rebound for the Hurricanes, thanks to quarterback Jacory Harris.  Miami will be bringing a passing attack while they will have to stop the ground game of the Buckeyes.  Brandon Saine rushed for 103 yards and 2 TDs last week.  And, don't forget the Heisman candidate in Terrelle Pryor.  The duel threat quarterback showed off the arm last week, throwing for 247 yards and 3 TDs. 
 
1.  Penn St. @ Alabama:  This is the best game of the week because the number one team in the country has a HUGE test in week 2.  First off, Mark Ingram is still a question mark.  While it wasn't a big deal to have him last week against San Jose St, they need him for this game.  If they can get Ingram and Trent Richardson to play against the Nittany Lions, that might be too much for Penn St. to stop.  But, don't overlook the passing attack of quarterback Greg McElroy and recieveing core, led by Julio Jones.  While Alabama had no problems last week, Penn St. wasn't as lucky against Youngstown St.  The Penguins stayed with Penn St. more than they probably should have.  Freshman quarterback Robert Bolden started off slow but, was able to pass for 239 yards and 2 TDs.  Crimson Tide lost defensive weapons from last season and, they really weren't tested last week.  But, the secondary will be tested here because Penn St. will be pass-happy.  Should be a good game.
 
 
So, it is safe to say that Week 2 will be even better than Week 1 and should be a blast to watch.  Until next time, the Express rolls on...