The first weekend of College Football is nearly complete and Al Dannity has his take on the winners and losers.
Miles is a mad genius (again) I should have known. Oregon looked in much better shape entering their clash with LSU, particularly given the suspensions on the Tigers’ team. LSU were weighed down with suspensions, including starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson, but honestly what was I thinking? This was a Les Miles team, the personnel are secondary to the mad genius running the show. Sure enough the Tigers put on a defensive and special teams clinic. The replacement quarterback, Jarrett Lee, wasn’t shabby either. The Hatter did it again. In addition to the Ducks’ 40-27 loss, the misery for the state of Oregon was compounded by Oregon State losing to Sacramento State 29-28.
Same old Broncos Boise State did what they always do. Once again the Broncos started the season against a ranked opponent and once again they came away with a win. That’s just what they do. This was another great day for Kellen Moore as he led a dominant display by the Broncos in a 35-21 demolition of Georgia. The Dawgs will now be under immense pressure heading into their home date with South Carolina next week. Anything less than a victory and it may be time for Mark Richt to start looking for work.
Bad weekend for Pac-12 Well at least on the field. While Larry Scott’s conference may be adding some new blood in 2012, the 2011 edition got off to a rough start. In addition to the Oregon schools, UCLA lost on the road at Houston and Colorado lost in Hawaii. There were narrow escapes for Washington and USC, while Washington State won big but lost star quarterback Jeff Tuel for six to eight weeks. Stanford was the shining light of the weekend, demolishing San Jose State in style. There was also good news for Cal fans as the Bears looked impressive in a 36-21 win over Fresno State.
Underdogs come good There were big results for some small schools. Richmond downed Duke 23-21 to join fellow FCS school Sacremento State in beating a major conference opponent. Ball State scored a rare victory over a Big Ten opponent by defeating Indiana 27-20. Utah State almost pulled off the upset of the weekend but defending national champions Auburn rallied to win 42-38. Eastern Washington and Northern Iowa were also narrowly denied Cinderella finishes as Washington and Iowa State held on for victory.
