USC can't give away win to Huskies

Well, I've been pretty disgusted with the Trojans' performance on Saturday. I still can't bring myself to write about what went wrong, that will probably happen either Monday or Tuesday night. For now, with all the top 25 upsets/losses this weekend, there was a lot of shuffling in my top 25, but the top 2 is the same, for now. Cal and tOSU are really making a case to play in New Orleans, though it looks like the November 10th matchup in Berkeley looks like for a spot in the national championship game. I'll also talk about the games from the weekend, but for now, and since I need to go to sleep, here's my top 25:

1. Louisiana State (5-0)
2. Southern California (4-0)
3. California (5-0)
4. Ohio State (5-0)
5. Wisconsin (5-0)
6. South Florida (4-0)
7. Kentucky (5-0)
8. Boston College (5-0)
9. Oklahoma (4-1)
10. Florida (4-1)
11. Oregon (4-1)
12. Virginia Tech (4-1)
13. West Virginia (4-1)
    
14. South Carolina (4-1)
15. Georgia (4-1)
    
16. Hawaii (5-0)
17. Arizona State (5-0)
18. Missouri (4-0)
19. Cincinnati (5-0)
20. Purdue (5-0)
21. Rutgers (3-1)
22. Nebraska (4-1)
    
23. Texas (4-1)
24. Clemson (4-1)
25. Miami (Florida) (4-1)
    

Jake Locker - USC's worst nightmare?

Ever since Vince Young ran all over the Trojan defense in the 2006 Rose Bowl, I have been terrified of running quarterbacks, especially ones with talent. Just last year, USC faced two in conference foes, Washington and Oregon, who featured dual threat QBs in Isaiah Stanback and Dennis Dixon. Stanback gave us fits in a game where we benefited from the clock changes, as the Huskies were marching down field as time expired in a 26-20 USC win. Dixon was able to lead the Ducks offense between the 20s, but Oregon's offense, like other spread sets, struggled to produce in the red zone as the Trojans romped Oregon, 35-10. This year, our first dual-threat QB will be Washington's redshirt freshman Jake Locker, who is touted as the West Coast Tim Tebow. Locker lacks the surrounding talent that Tebow has, but he still has the qualities that make him a great leader as just a freshman. Even though they lost their last two games, Locker was able to lead the Huskies to a halftime lead against Ohio State, and led 3 impressive drives in the fourth quarter against UCLA. Hopefully, Coach Pete Carroll has learned how to play against a running quarterback, with QB Mitch Mustain emulating Locker in practice this week. I like Carroll's move of LB Keith Rivers to the strong side to help stop Locker from running, as he has a very impressive 6.6 yards per carry. If the Huskies other offensive weapons can step up, the Trojans will have trouble stopping Washington. I think if Locker is forced to pass the ball, we're in pretty good shape since the Huskies do not have receivers that pose a threat to us.

Can't forget about when we have the ball. I really like how our passing game developed in the last game against Wazzu. QB John David Booty threw for 4 touchdowns, but he still needs to eliminate the interceptions and other mistakes he's making, like the tipped passes. OC Steve Sarksian called a really good game to help the passing game along, as he knew that if we could run the ball on Nebraska, running against Wazzu would be no problem, at it wasn't; we surprisingly ran for over 200 yards in the game. Washington had trouble stopping the run against UCLA in the fourth quarter, and they even knew that the Huskies were running because the Bruins had a walkon at QB who's job was the turn around and hand off to a running back. Now imagine our offense with Booty finally on track and our 5 headed moster of Chauncey Washington, Stafon Johnson, C.J. Gable, Joe McKnight, and Allen Bradford at running back and probably the best dual threat fullback in the nation with Stanley Havili. Our offensive line only gets stronger with the return of Matt Spanos, but Kris O'Dowd, Jeff Byers, and Sam Baker have been opening up some gaping holes for the backs to run through while keeping Booty off his booty (sorry, couldn't resist). As for the prediction, I'm fairly confident USC will win, and from the rundown I just gave, you would think that I expect USC to cover, but I think 21 points is a lot to give up to Washington in Seattle. But it seems that Carroll finally has the guys jacked up for every game of the season after last year's debacles against Wazzu, UW, ASU, Oregon State, and UCLA. If the Trojans come out focused like they were against the Cougars, then expect a rout. But if we come out sluggish like in our past Pac-10 road openers, the Huskies have a chance for the upset. My prediction, USC (-21) 42, Washington 17

Here are the rest of my picks for this week:

Friday, September 28th
#5 West Virginia (-7.5) 42, #18 South Florida 31

Saturday, September 29th
#1 Southern California (-21) 42, Washington 17
#2 Louisiana State (-41.5) 45, Tulane 0
#3 Oklahoma (-24) 56, Colorado 21
#4 Florida (-18) 35, Auburn 14
#11 Oregon (-6.5) 42, #6 California 35
#7 Texas (-15) 38, Kansas State 14
#8 Ohio State (-24) 38, Minnesota 7
#9 Wisconsin (-7.5) 21, Michigan State 17
#10 Rutgers (-18) 42, Maryland 10
#12 Boston College (OFF) 42, Massachusetts 3
#13 Clemson (-3) 34, Georgia Tech 24
#14 Kentucky (-24) 49, Florida Atlantic 31
#15 Georgia (-15) 31, Mississippi 10
#16 South Carolina (-17) 31, Mississippi State 17
#17 Virginia Tech (-17) 42, North Carolina 14
#19 Hawaii (-25) 66, Idaho 28
Illinois (+3.5) 28, #21 Penn State 24
#22 Alabama (+3) 24, Florida State 16
#23 Arizona State (-14.5) 42, Stanford 21
#24 Cincinnati (-15) 42, San Diego State 13
#25 Nebraska (-21) 49, Iowa State 35
Washington State (+3) 28, Arizona 17
UCLA (-2) 15, Oregon State 10

USC tames Cougars

#1 Southern California 47, Washington State 14

Finally, for the first time in a while, the Trojans played a complete game, dominating on both sides of the ball, with the offense clicking in both the passing and running aspects of the game and the defense shutting down the run and more or less preventing the big play. Offensive coordinator called 25 pass plays in the first half to get QB John David Booty going, which worked, as he threw for 279 yards and 4 touchdowns, though it still seems the threat of the deep ball is still missing, which may develop as WRs Vidal Hazelton and David Ausberry grow into their roles. But TE Fred Davis had a monster game, catching 9 balls for 124 yards and 2 scores. The run game seemed to be absent in the first half, but we still managed to gain over 200 yards on the ground. The offensive line again was dominant, and there were also a couple of surprises in the backfield. RB Hershel Dennis had a nice cameo at running back, but it was really nice to see Joe McKnight get some touches and be productive with them, and it was exciting to see the potential we have in the punt return game with his long return in the second half. No real complaints from me on the offense here.

The defense gave up two long drives to start each half, surrendering a touchdown on both. But between that, the Trojans locked down the Cougars, especially in the second half, when they forced 6 straight three-and-outs or turnovers, including a gift from Wazzu P Darryl Blunt, who mishandled a snap which resulted in a field goal for USC. LB Keith Rivers was all over the field, getting 13 tackles. The D-line again dominated, and they held the Cougs to 64 yards on 27 rushes. The pass defense again was a little suspect, especially on the 50 yard bomb they gave up on the first drive, but more or less, they held strong all game long. DE Kyle Moore picked off another pass as teams look for the slant, they have to think twice and look to see if Moore has dropped back into zone coverage. And it was nice to see that Wazzu did not score garbage time touchdowns like Nebraska did last week. Special teams was solid, if not spectacular, but Joe McKnight looked great on his punt return.

And now for the game balls:

Offense - It was nice to see Booty open up (kinda) in the pass game, but the benefactor, TE Fred Davis, really broke out today with 9 receptions for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Defense - The front seven all played solid tonight, but WLB Keith Rivers was all over the field, collecting 14 tackles, including 9 solo and 2.5 for loss. He really is earning that #55 jersey he got as a freshman.

Special Teams - No real star here, but RB Allen Bradford had a couple of crushing hits on kickoff coverage. If his return would have stood, McKnight would get the ball here.

Some quick thoughts:

• Man, Louisville got stunned by Syracuse this week. Even though most knew the Cardinals' defense was suspect, Syracuse? Really? It seems like no team the Big East plays defense.
• Michigan has officially bounced back and could be a favorite to play in the Rose Bowl. I didn't see a lot of the game, but I felt that Penn State had a shot to win the Big Ten this year. But now, if Chad Henne is healthy in time for the Ohio State game, and Mike Hart hasn't broken down after carrying the ball 500 times in the next 7 games, they have a shot. The Big Ten looks really bad right now, as Wisconsin again struggled to put away a weaker opponent, though Ohio State finally got the fast start they needed against a hapless Northwestern team.
• Man, the ACC is screwed up. I think there are two teams at 3-0 in conference play, while there are other teams that haven't even played a conference game yet. Boston College and Clemson have to be the favorites right now, but nice comeback win by Wake Forest to shock Maryland.
• Pac-10 roundup, California outruns Arizona 45-27, Arizona State rallies from 19 down in the first quarter to defeat Oregon State 44-32, Oregon struggles in the first half against Stanford before pulling away 55-31, and UCLA won 44-31, but I am critical of the Bruins after they beat us last year, and well they've got quarterback issues. And allowing 21 fourth quarter points doesn't help their defense either.

And how my picks fared (I should give up;;;):

Straight up: 20-4 (91-14/86.7% overall)
Against the spread: 9-12 (33-45-4 overall)

And my top 25 after week 4

1. Louisiana State (4-0)
2. Southern California (3-0)
3. Oklahoma (4-0)
4. Florida (4-0)
5. West Virginia (4-0)
6. Ohio State (4-0)
7. California (4-0)
8. Texas (4-0)
9. Oregon (4-0)
   
10. Rutgers (3-0)
11. Boston College (4-0)
12. Wisconsin (4-0)
13. Clemson (4-0)
14. Virginia Tech (3-1)
15. Kentucky (4-0)
16. Penn State (3-1)
17. Hawaii (4-0)
    
18. South Carolina (3-1)
19. Missouri (4-0)
20. South Florida (3-0)
21. Georgia (3-1)
22. Arizona State (4-0)
23. Nebraska (3-1)
24. Alabama (3-1)
25. Cincinnati (4-0)
    

Time to win the Pac-10

Well, week 4 in the college football season is here, and boy how time flies. In the young season, we have seen the mighty fall (Michigan, Notre Dame) while the contenders are starting to build their resumes for the push for New Orleans. This week, the Trojans host the Washington State Cougars in the Pac-10 opener for both schools. The Cougars are 2-1 on the season, but only played impressively against Wisconsin, though with the Badgers recent struggles against UNLV and the Citadel, that game is looking less impressive. They beat San Diego State, but the Aztecs aren't going anywhere, and they beat Idaho by 17 points. QB Alex Brink leads a scrappy Wazzu squad that played the Trojans tough last year, falling when S Taylor Mays picked off Brink on the game's final game This year, USC looks to improve their performance in Pac-10 play, where they played in 5 games that were decided by 7 points or less (WSU, UW, ASU, OSU, UCLA) and none, other than Stanford, were decided until the fourth quarter. Hopefully we'll face the Cougars of old, with Bill Doba going for an onside kick to start the game and trying to survive the first half without falling behind by 28. With our offense being dominant on the ground and sluggish in the air, SC really needs to get the offense moving in their home games, with tough road matchups coming up. In this one, I say that DT Sedrick Ellis and DE Lawrence Jackson dominate the line on defense, while C Kris O'Dowd and G Jeff Byers hold on offense, and that the Trojans (-25.5) win 38-17.

Here are the rest of my picks, including for last night's game between Texas A&M and Miami.

Thursday, September 20th
Miami (Florida) (-3) 34, #20 Texas A&M 17

Friday, September 21st
#4 Oklahoma (-24.5) 42, Tulsa 25

Saturday, September 22nd
#1 Southern California (-25.5) 38, Washington State 17
#2 Louisiana State (-18.5) 42, #12 South Carolina 10
#3 Florida (-24) 63, Mississippi 7
#5 West Virginia (-24.5) 31, East Carolina 10
#6 California (-14) 35, Arizona 14
#7 Texas (-38) 38, Rice 14
#8 Ohio State (-23.5) 35, Northwestern 7
#9 Wisconsin (-7.5) 14, Iowa 3
Michigan (+3) 21, #10 Penn State 17
#13 Oregon (-17.5) 42, Stanford 18
#14 Boston College (-27) 49, Army 10
#15 Clemson (-7.5) 31, North Carolina State 13
#16 Alabama (-3.5) 23, #22 Georgia 17
#17 Virginia Tech (OFF) 31, William & Mary 0
#18 Louisville (-37) 70, Syracuse 31
#19 Hawaii (OFF) 63, Charleston Southern 21
Arkansas (-7) 24, #21 Kentucky 21
#23 South Florida (-13.5) 34, North Carolina 19
#24 Nebraska (-23.5) 42, Ball State 10
#25 Missouri (OFF) 45, Southern Illinois 0
Arizona State (-11.5) 24, Oregon State 7
Washington (+6) 27, UCLA 20

Trojans pop Corn (Huskers)...

#1 Southern California 49, #14 Nebraska 31

Well, the Trojans made a statement in Lincoln against the Cornhuskers, winning 49-31 in a game that was not as close as the final score. The Trojans led 49-17 in the fourth before Sam Keller padded his stats with two late touchdown drives against USC's prevent defense. The offense, especially the running game and the offensive line looked very impressive. USC rushed for over 300 yards against a very respectable Nebraska defense, with the o-line, led by C Kris O'Dowd, opening up gaping holes for Stafon Johnson and co. to run for long gains. Many times, the backs would get five yards past the line of scrimmage before they would even be touched. Johnson looks like a legit #1 back, with C.J. Gable there to provide the spark and Chauncey Washington to punch it in around the goal line. The passing game was disappointing though, but I'd take running the ball effectively over a big passing day for John David Booty. Booty finished 19-30 for 144 yards and a couple of scores, but many of the passing plays were set up by our effective run game. And I don't think it's great having our FB, Stanley Havili, lead the team in receiving, though Patrick Turner did really struggle in his return from injury.

The defense was so-so at best, but if there were some bright spots, it was our ability to really stuff the run and force Nebraska to be one dimensional... which meant Keller throwing 55 times to try and make the score more respectable. It was also nice to see us win the turnover battle, with Terrell Thomas and Kyle Moore picking off Keller once. But it was disappointing to see Nebraska throw for over 380 yards against us, with the defense not being able to stop the short routes. Then again, we did defend against the big play, so we were better off.Sedrick Ellis looks really impressive, but I still think that he can't hold Glenn Dorsey's jock yet, no offense to Ellis.

Anyway, here are my game balls:

Offense - No obvious choice here, with Stafon really moving the ball to help us get the big lead, but I think that FB Stanley Havili deserves some props, leading the team with 3 catches and a score, as well as his 50 yard run on the first play of the game for USC which really set the tone for the game.

Defense - NT Sedrick Ellis really caused problems for the Nebraska front and was one of the few bright spots on the field, though I may have to look at the defensive stats before I make a true decision.

Special Teams - Ugh, fire Desmond Reed! Time to put C.J. Gable back there, especially since we don't have to worry about him being our #1 back with Stafon and Chauncey. But a big Fight On to Vincent Joseph for a speedy recovery. But my game ball goes to LB Malcolm Smith, who had the awareness to pick up Joseph's fumble and return it 50 yards which led to a TD drive which gave us the lead for good.

Here are some thoughts from other games:

• Florida looked really impressive today, defeating Tennessee 59-20. They look ready to enter the grunt of the SEC schedule, and that LSU game should determine who's playing in the BCS championship.
• Texas again looked sluggish in their 35-32 win over Central Florida. Colt McCoy is definitely experiencing a sophomore slump, and if they had not played TCU last week, they would be much lower in my eyes.
• The Big Ten continues to struggle in out of conference play. Wisconsin edged the Citadel 45-31 in a game that was tied 21-21 at the half. This is the second straight week where Wisconsin had problems against a weaker team, as last week they outlasted UNLV 20-13. Ohio State had a early scare, but eventually pulled away from an upstart Washington team 33-14. Michigan did show some promise, shutting out Notre Dame 38-0, but the Irish are such a mess, I would not be surprised if they were 0-7 heading into our matchup. Michigan State had problems putting away Pitt 17-13, but the Spartans are 3-0 heading into their game against Notre Dame, so they'll be 4-0 heading into next week. Penn State gave up some points to Buffalo in their win, 45-24. Florida International defeated Minnesota, which is really struggling. Iowa lost to Iowa State, who lost to a FCS team last week. And Northwestern lost to Duke(!) ending the Blue Devils 22 game losing streak. Unbelievable.
  
• And UCLA. Hahahahaha. Sorry, it wouldn't have been bad if they lost. But the way they lost, 44-6 to a Utah team without their starting QB and RB. Man, Olson needs to get hurt soon so Joe Cowan can be their QB again, cause he just isn't getting it done. And what happened to the Bruin defense? If Utah can do that to UCLA, what will Oregon, Cal, and Arizona State do to them
  

And here's how I did this week...

Straight up: 21-5
Against the spread:5-12-2

And so far...

Straight up: 71-10
Against the spread: 24-33-4

And finally, here's my top 25 after week 3:

1. Louisiana State (3-0)
2. Southern California (2-0)
3. Oklahoma (3-0)
   
4. Florida (3-0)
5. West Virginia (3-0)
6. Ohio State (3-0)
7. Penn State (3-0)
8. California (3-0)
9. Rutgers (3-0)
10. Wisconsin (3-0)
11. Texas (3-0)
12. Oregon (3-0)
13. Boston College (3-0)
14. South Carolina (3-0)
15. Louisville (2-1)
16. Texas A&M (3-0)
    
17. Clemson (3-0)
18. Missouri (3-0)
    
19. Hawaii (3-0)
20. Virginia Tech (2-1)
21. Alabama (3-0)
22. Nebraska (2-1)
23. Georgia Tech (2-1)
24. South Florida (2-0)
25. Arizona State (3-0)
    

Time to chew some Big Red...

Well, huge test for the Trojans this week as USC travels to Lincoln, Nebraska to face the #14 Cornhuskers. Nebraska is 2-0 on the young season, blowing out Nevada at home and inching by Wake Forest on the road. A lot of people are picking upset here, and even more experts are putting USC as the #3 team in the country after our lackluster performance against Idaho two weeks ago with LSU and Oklahoma looking very good so far. I can't disagree with that statement, as if the three teams were to play round robin right now, I'd say the Tigers go 2-0 and the Sooners 1-1. I'm not sure what the hell was wrong with our team against Idaho, but if we play like that against the Huskers, we'll be lucky to keep the game close. I hope Pete Carroll and the coaching staff really got into the boys this week, as the offense needs to be sharp and the defense needs to force turnovers.

On offense, QB John David Booty played a reserved game against the Vandals two weeks ago, throwing for a little over 200 yards and 3 touchdowns with an interception. Most of his passes were short, safe routes, with the big plays being created by the receiver and not by Booty's throw. He really looked a lot to Stanley Havili, many times as the first option, but maybe with the return of Patrick Turner and maybe more reps with Vidal Hazelton, he can look to stretch the field against Nebraska. Of course for the passing game to work, the running game needs to get going. The first half against Idaho was solid, but when the backups (Joe McKnight and Desmond Reed) got into the game, the offense stalled. Where's the fire to blow our opponents out of the water? It seems we race out to a 21 point lead and coast of the way. We need the petal to the metal, its not like we're going to wear out our better running backs. And Chauncey Washington returns this week as well, splitting carries with C.J. Gable and Stafon Johnson, so I look for better things from our offense. The lone bright spot was the offensive line, giving Booty all the time to throw and opening up some nice holes for the backs, especially with Kris O'Dowd holding his own as a true freshman center.

On defense, oh boy. We did force Idaho to punt the ball several times, but the Vandals still were able to move the ball against the supposed best defense in Division I. But after giving up 10 points and recovering one fumble (which wasn't forced), teams like Washington, Oregon, and Arizona State are going to carve us up on the road. It's fine to give up some yards, but when we can't turn the tide with a turnover, the defense starts to get frustrated and the offense cools down on the sideline, giving the momentum to the other team. The D-line hardly got any pressure on the Idaho QB. There is no excuse for that with All-American candidates Sedrick Ellis and Lawrence Jackson holding down the line. The linebackers did their best, but with no turnovers, their effort was average at best. The only downside was Brian Cushing going down with an injury, but with our depth, Clay Matthews was able to stand in and be the defensive MVP for the game (no game ball though, heh). The secondary did the best they could have out of a cover 2, but the Vandals were able to exploit the zone and move the ball. Right now, I wouldn't even give this unit a top 10 ranking.

As for my prediction, geez. USC wasn't very good in covering the spread last year, but they did cover against the better teams. Here's the breakdown from last year:

Covered @ Arkansas, vs. Nebraska, @ Stanford, vs. Oregon, vs. California, vs. Notre Dame, vs. Michigan
Lost @ Arizona, @ Washington State, vs. Washington, vs. Arizona State, @ Oregon State, @ UCLA

With that out of the way, I'll go USC (-10) 24, Nebraska 13, with the game down to the wire til a David Buehler 42 yard field goal puts the game out of reach late in the fourth quarter (I hope I'm wrong...)

And here's my picks for this week's other games:

Thursday, September 13th
#4 West Virginia (-17) 42, Maryland 31

Saturday, September 15th
#1 Southern California (-10) 24, #14 Nebraska 13
#2 Louisiana State (OFF) 41, Middle Tennessee State 0
#3 Oklahoma (-46) 59, Utah State 7
#5 Florida (-8) 42, #22 Tennessee 24
#6 Texas (-17.5) 35, Central Florida 13
#7 Wisconsin (OFF) 49, The Citadel 3
#8 California (-33) 56, Louisiana Tech 21
#9 Louisville (-6) 62, Kentucky 54 (Pitino edges out Tubby in a defensive battle, lol)
Washington (+3.5) 24, Ohio State 21
#11 UCLA (-15.5) 35, Utah 10
#12 Penn State (-35) 38, Buffalo 0
#13 Rutgers (OFF) 45, Norfolk State 7
#15 Georgia Tech (-7) 31, #21 Boston College 21
Alabama (+3) 12, #16 Arkansas 10
#17 South Carolina (OFF) 72, South Carolina State 14
#18 Virginia Tech (-21) 23, Ohio 6
#19 Oregon (-16.5) 35, Fresno State 31
#20 Clemson (OFF) 31, Furman 6
#22 Georgia (OFF) 35, Western Carolina 3
#24 Hawaii (-17.5) 49, Nevada-Las Vegas 38
#25 Texas A&M (OFF) 42, Louisiana-Monroe 17
Arizona (-10) 32, New Mexico 17
Arizona State (-28) 56, San Diego State 21
Stanford (-7.5) 28, San Jose State 20
Washington State (-25.5) 35, Idaho 7

Week 2 in Review

A week of big match-ups turned into a series of games where ranked teams fought to survive. Michigan and Notre Dame both lost again, while LSU is my new #1 with an impressive performance against Virginia Tech. First, here's how my picks panned out for the week:

Straight up: 23-3 (missed Oregon State, Texas Christian, and Boise State)
Against the spread: 8-14-2

It's always easy to pick winners in college football early in the season, but as shown, its hard to pick against the spread (also I really suck...). Anyway, I tried to watch some games on and off, but it was hard to keep track of them without a USC game. Here are some of the highlights of a pretty good slate of games:

• LSU obliterated the Hokies 48-7, showing both the Tigers dominance on defense and VT's ineptness on offense. I stopped watching after halftime, when LSU led 24-0, but from what I saw, I have the Tigers as #1 in my top 25 (it also doesn't help that USC didn't play this weekend). What I do know, the Trojans have to start playing defense like LSUor we will be beat down the road, whether by Oregon (more later) or UCLA. Another scary thought is that the Tigers have the same two-headed quarterback that Florida had last year in Matt Flynn and Ryan Perriloux, with the former being the pocket passer and the latter being the designated runner (though I don't see any jump shot touchdown passes in Perriloux's future). Glenn Dorsey is as advertised, and they have a very opportunistic secondary, yanking down any picks that float back there. The only thing that may stop LSU is their difficult schedule, playing in the SEC.
  
• Oklahoma destroyed Miami 51-13 with another strong performance by QB Sam Bradford. The Sooners look very good so far this season and look to be the early favorite in the Red River Shootout. If they can get past Texas, they may finish undefeated.
  
• Texas looked flat again until TCU faltered late as the Longhorns pulled away 34-13. TCU looked primed for the upset, leading 10-0 at the half, but Texas finally kicked it into gear 6 quarters into the season for the win. The Horned Frogs didn't help matters with turnovers. After their first two performances of the season, it looks like Texas could face at least a couple of losses on the season.
• My two upset specials were South Florida over Auburn and South Carolina over Georgia. Neither Auburn or Georgia looked impressive in their season openers, and after both lost at home, they are both out of my top 25. South Florida just wanted it more, while South Carolina just took it to the Bulldogs.
• UCLA hung on for dear life against BYU, seeing a 20 point lead shrink to 3 before the Bruins finally sustained a drive that led to the final score of 27-17. Had the Cougars not fumbled at the UCLA 13, it would have been a different story. The Bruin defense looked decent, but their offense needs to get it together as they enter Pac-10 play. They have a game against a Utah team without their starting QB and TB, so they should use this game to get their offense going.
• Hawaii avoided the upset, as the 28 point favorites sweated out a failed two point conversion in overtime to escape with a 45-44 win over Louisiana Tech. Colt Brennan hurt his Heisman chances with 3 turnovers (pick, 2 lost fumbles), as he needs to play flawlessly, as well as avoid games like these to even have a chance.
• Boise State finally lost, this time to a very promising Washington team led by freshman QB Jake Locker, 24-10. I couldn't watch the game, but its hard to imagine the Husky defense stopping RB Ian Johnson. While its tempting to put Washington in my top 25, if they defeat Ohio State in Seattle, oh boy, the Trojans might be in trouble. In an era of college football where mobile QBs are popping up in smaller schools, Locker will look to give tOSU and USC trouble, like how App State and Oregon did to Michigan with mobile QBs.
• A third WAC team, Fresno State, made some noise as well, taking Texas A&M to the limit in a near upset, 47-45 in three overtimes, failing on the mandatory 2 point conversion after trailing 19-0 at halftime. Had they made that play, who knows, the Bulldogs could have done more damage against the Aggies, as both teams looked gassed at the end.
• Michigan and Notre Dame will face off in the pillow fight of the week next week. Michigan got creamed 39-7 while the Irish mustered only 3 offensive points again in falling to Penn State, 31-10. The Wolverines look done for the season. They may win a few games (only five guaranteed wins that I can count), but Oregon did their job, repeatedly kicking the Wolverines while they were done. I think Michigan can rebound to beat Notre Dame, only because their offense is so bad, but then again, the Michigan defense hasn't stopped anyone since, er, um, yeah... The Fighting Irish on the other hand, has looked equally bad on both offense and defense. Their star defender, Tom Zbikowski, looks nothing like he did against USC in 2005 when he returned that punt for touchdown, and their offense has mustered 6 points in two games (their touchdown was a pick-6). The Irish are realistically looking at a 0-8 start, though Michigan State is always good for one inexplicable loss, and at least Notre Dame can finish strong against Air Force, Duke, and Stanford.

And here's my top 25 after week 2:

1. Louisiana State (2-0)
2. Southern California (1-0)
3. Oklahoma (2-0)
4. Florida (2-0)
5. West Virginia (2-0)
6. Wisconsin (2-0)
7. Louisville (2-0)
8. Ohio State (2-0)
9. Penn State (2-0)
   
10. Texas (2-0)
11. California (2-0)
12. Rutgers (2-0)
13. UCLA (2-0)
14. Nebraska (2-0)
15. Georgia Tech (2-0)
16. Missouri (2-0)
17. Arkansas (1-0)
    
18. Oregon (2-0)
    
19. Hawaii (2-0)
    
20. Boston College (2-0)
21. Virginia Tech (1-1)
22. Texas A&M (2-0)
    
23. Clemson (2-0)
24. South Carolina (2-0)
25. Appalachian State (2-0) (because I can...)
    

Week 2 of College Football...

Hmm, no USC game this week, but there are other huge games that will take place. Here are my picks, though I missed Thursday and today's games, I'll give who I thought was going to win...

Thursday, September 6th
#8 Louisville (-38) 69, Middle Tennessee State 21
Oregon State (-3) 32, Cincinnati 17

Friday, September 7th
#15 Rutgers (-17) 38, Navy 14

Saturday, September 8th
#2 Louisiana State (-11.5) 14, #9 Virginia Tech 10
#3 West Virginia (-25) 51, Marshall 21
#4 Florida (-27) 35, Troy 14
#5 Oklahoma (-11.5) 42, Miami (Florida) 28
#5 Wisconsin (-25.5) 49, Nevada-Las Vegas 14
#19 Texas Christian (+9) 34, #7 Texas 28
#10 California (-14.5) 38, Colorado State 10
South Carolina (+4) 24, #11 Georgia 22
#12 Ohio State (-29) 45, Akron 9
#13 UCLA (-8) 28, Brigham Young 21
#14 Penn State (-18) 35, Notre Dame 7
#16 Nebraska (-9) 42, Wake Forest 21
South Florida (+7) 31, #17 Auburn 28
#20 Hawaii (-28) 59, Louisiana Tech 21
#21 Georgia Tech (OFF) 49, Samford 0
#22 Boise State (-3) 35, Washington 27
#23 Texas A&M (-17) 45, Fresno State 17
#24 Tennessee (-11) 35, Southern Mississippi 21
#25 Clemson (-27.5) 42, Louisiana-Monroe 8
Arizona (OFF) 31, Northern Arizona 14
Arizona State (-15) 45, Colorado 21
Oregon (+7.5) 49, Michigan 45
Washington State (-14) 31, San Diego State 15

Straight up: 2-1
Against the Spread: 0-2-1

Results from the weekend

#1 Southern California 38, Idaho 10

It was a ho-hum performance for a pretty mellow sell-out crowd of over 90,000 fans in the Coliseum as the Trojans jumped out to a 21-0 first half lead and coasted the rest of the way. I'm not sure what it was, but it seemed like the offense used methodical drives and the defense was in their base cover 2 defense the entire night, maybe to not tip their hand to Nebraska or to avoid big plays and the unthinkable, pulling a Michigan (more on that later). John David Booty threw for three touchdowns and a pick, but was off several times, including two tips on five wide sets on third downs and two drops when we were at the 2 yard line by David Ausberry. But the highlight of the night was this touchdown pass to Vidal Hazelton:

Stafon Johnson was by far the most impressive on the night, constantly moving the offense and scoring two touchdowns, while C.J. Gable had one impressive run and a touchdown catch. It was encouraging to see Stanley Havili be that fullback option in the passing game after missing it so much last year. The defense was pretty disappointing in the fact that we only had one takeaway, which looked even worse as the offense gave up three (!) turnovers. Hopefully Brian Cushing can use the bye week to recover from this ankle sprain. The kicking game looked solid, and it was a nice tribute by the Trojans to Mario Danelo, with the missing man formation on the first point after attempt of the game. Of course most of the LA fans and the students did not notice what was going on. Here's the clip:

Here's my game balls:

Offense: RB Stafon Johnson. Solid effort in his first start, going for 64 yards on 12 rushes with 2 touchdowns. Booty tossed 3 TDs, but did not look impressive at all.

Defense: LB Clay Matthews really stepped up and played solid defense after Cushing went down with an injury.

Special Teams: K David Buehler was solid in his debut, making 5-5 PATs and a 36 yard field goal. He also booted some kicks into the end zone, which was solid especially with the kickoff being pushed back to the 30 this year.

And ho boy, don't forget about the Michigan game. Too bad it wasn't on TV (probably because Appalachian State is a FCS school). But Lloyd Carr had a brain fart when he went for 2 in the third quarter. But Michigan had a chance twice in the last two minutes to clinch a win, but two blocked kicks led to their demise. Also, WTF Texas? That would have been a bad loss to Arkansas State at home. At least our game was never in doubt. Here's how I did this weekend"

Straight up: 27-2 (missed Michigan and Tennessee)
Against the Spread: 11-7

I'll post my top 25 after the Clemson/FSU game.

Update: Here's my Top 25...

1. Southern California (1-0)
2. Louisiana State (1-0)
3. West Virginia (1-0)
4. Wisconsin (1-0)
   
5. Florida (1-0)
6. Oklahoma (1-0)
7. Louisville (1-0)
8. Virginia Tech (1-0)
9. California (1-0)
10. Ohio State (1-0)
11. Georgia (1-0)
    
12. UCLA (1-0)
    
13. Rutgers (1-0)
    
14. Texas (1-0)
15. Nebraska (1-0)
16. Penn State (1-0)
17. Auburn (1-0)
18. Arkansas (1-0)
19. Texas Christian (1-0)
20. Hawaii (1-0)
21. Boise State (1-0)
    
22. Georgia Tech (1-0)
23. Missouri (1-0)
24. Boston College (1-0)
25. Texas A&M (1-0)