Week One in Review

Team of the Week:

Spencer Ware gets through arm tackles and into the

end zone during his 99 yard performance Saturday

LSU: Oregon struggled with injuries throughout the game but LSU just out played them despite not having an effective passing game. Many thought that the Tigers would struggle with all the off field distractions and having their second string quarterback in the game, but it was Oregon who struggled. LSU's defense was one of the best I've seen in a while and forced 5 turnovers. The Tigers run game, lead by Spencer Ware and Michael Ford, outperformed the potent Ducks backfield. Look for this to continue all season and mark on your calendar an SEC West showdown in Tuscaloosa on November 5th.

Others that impressed:

South Florida: Going into South Bend on opening weekend and coming out with a win is very hard to do. Two long rain delays in a cramped locker room doesn't really help either but South Florida managed. The Bulls got rid of the momentum and fan noise early and held on late to get a huge win for Skip Holtz.

Northwestern: I really liked how the Wildcats played Saturday on the road against Boston College without Dan Persa. The defense was in lockdown mode for the first three quarters while the offense, lead by a backup quarterback, scored 24 points on a very good BC defense. If the defense plays all season like they did Saturday and Persa come back healthy then Big Ten teams better watch out for the Wildcats come conference play.

Houston: Case Keenum was back for the Cougars as they entered their opener at home as underdogs vs UCLA. Keenum shredded the Bruins "athletic and skilled" defense and carried them to a big nonconference win. The Cougars will enter conference play as C-USA favorites and don't be surprised to see them undefeated in December with a fairy easy schedule.

Kellen Moore celebrates after one of his three TD passes

Baylor: The Bears showed that they are also contenders in the Big 12 after a big win over 14th ranked TCU on Friday night. Lead by an almost perfect performance by Robert Griffin III they racked up 50 points vs the nations best defense last season.

Boise St: Another very impressive win for the Broncos against a BCS opponent. They were playing basically in Georgia's backyard and after giving up an early touchdown Kellen Moore rallied the troops and it was all Boise the rest of the night.

Sacramento St and Richmond: These two FCS teams knocked off BCS opponents in Oregon St and Duke. I always love it when these big upsets happen, even if the BCS teams aren't Michigan or Virginia Tech.

Major Storylines

Quarterback situations: After a very impressive performance vs Akron Joe Bauserman looks to be the Buckeyes starter. AJ McCarron played much better then back up Phillip Sims in Alabama's win over Kent St. Stephen Garcia is the man in Columbia after coming off the bench and helping the Gamecocks come back to beat East Carolina. Tommy Rees vastly out played Dayne Crist and lit up the stat book after throwing for 296 yards in a half.

Brian Kelly sounds off at TJ Jones after a ball hit

 off his helmet and was picked off in the redzone

Brian Kelly's third season? Well after very high expectations and the hopes of making a BCS Bowl for the first time since the Brady Quinn era the Irish came up short in their opener. With other tough match ups against Michigan, Michigan St, USC, and Stanford on the schedule I don't see the Irish playing in a BCS game this year. Hope is still alive for Brian Kelly's third season.

Russell Wilson looks sharp: In his first start as a Badger Wilson looked right at home while throwing for 255 yards, two touchdowns and having a very impressive 46 yard touchdown run in the 2nd quarter.

Champions almost upset: The former National Champs got a big scare from Utah St. The Tigers had to score 14 points in the last two minutes and recover an onside kick to win the game. Barrett Trotter looks to have the offense in good shape but the defense needs some major improvements after giving up 38 points to Utah St.

Denard Robinson in Big House while the rain falls. The game

was eventually called after the 3rd quarter

Weather in the Midwest: Two games got called in the 4th quarter and multiple others suffered long rain delays during the weekend.

Longhorn Network: The network showed its first Longhorns game as Garrett Gilbert and Texas started out slow but went on to roll through Rice 34-9. Freshman Malcolm Brown ended the game with 86 yards on the ground.

Pac-16 talk: Off the field talks between the Pac-12, Oklahoma and Texas have started up again. If these two leave then the Big 12 will no longer exist. Bob Stoops also talked about how super conferences are the direction that College Football is headed.