College Football Roundup: The Irish and The Big Ten are horrible; USC is backing up my words

Is it just or is this season in College Football a crazy one? Nothing really is going according to plan except for the fact that USC is dominating everyone. But aside from that here are my thoughts and observations from Week 3 on the College Gridiron.


The Big Ten is terrible

Wisconsin was struggling with The Citadel on Saturday; The Citadel are from the same conference (The Southern Conference) so maybe they were riding off the Mountaineers Hot! Hot! Hot! momentum. But unlike the boys from Boone, North Carolina, The Citadel wore down in the Second Half and lost their key Cornerback to injury and P.J. Hill ran wild. Just wanna make note that The Big Ten, is the most overrated conference in America. I already covered this, that The Big Ten is a terrible league. Minnesota lost on the road to Sun Belt power (sarcasm) Florida Atlantic. The Owls just started playing football back in 2001. Bad bad loss. Northwestern lost to Duke at home, ending the Blue Devils 22-game losing streak.

Then out in Seattle, Washington had numerous opportunities to take control of their game against the Buckeyes. It's a lot closer than the score indicates. OSU QB Todd Boeckman threw two passes that should of been intercepted by Husky defenders. It was a case of playing with too much emotion in that game, from my observations. It was Ohio State's first trip out to the west coast since 2001 when they played UCLA in a 6-13 loss. Washington is back as a force in the College Football world; and I bet Tyrone Willingham is laughing seeing Notre Dame like they are. Jake Locker is the real deal this guy is going to be an outstanding player, he is better than Tim Tebow and I'm sayin that with a straight face it's the truth.

The best teams right now in Big Ten are Penn State, Ohio State, and Purdue; in that order.

Hey Charlie Weis aren't you an offensive juggernaut?

79 total yards, and it's against Michigan. That's sad. You look at Notre Dame's schedule and where do you honestly see them getting a win?

09/22 Mich St
09/29 at Purdue
10/06 at UCLA
10/13 #21 BC
10/20 #1 USC
11/03 Navy
11/10 Air Force
11/17 Duke
11/24 at Stanford

From looking at that I don't see a game on that schedule where Notre Dame is the favorite until they play Duke and then Stanford. Other than that the leprechauns should be underdogs. This team is terrible. Jimmy Clausen is going to be a good player but he has no Offensive Line to give him time and things are going to get ugly for him this season. I really find it hard to believe how far Notre Dame has fallen, where is Weis' recruiting? Irish have Weis signed till 2015 if I remember correctly. I highly doubt he lasts that long. I don't foresee this program being turned around Weis anytime soon.

Wacky games

- #11 UCLA goes to 0-2 Utah and gets waxed by 38. This coming after Corso and Herbstreit (who I hate) say that UCLA is the real deal and they definitely buy into UCLA's stock. If they had watched their game against BYU last week the Bruins were clearly out-played had it not been for mistakes by BYU the Cougars come away with that win in the Rose Bowl. This Bruins team is at best a 7-5 team. They lost to a Utah team who has lost their starting Quarterback (Brian Johnson), best Running Back (Matt Asiata), #1 Wide Receiver (Brent Casteel) all in the first two games. Yet the "high-powered" UCLA defense gives up 44 to them. UCLA is a fluke, and they are going to be destroyed at the Coliseum in December. 2005 (66-19, Trojans) Part II for the Bruins this year against the Trojans.

- Mississippi State defeats Auburn in Jordan-Hare. This marks two straight games that Auburn has lost at home. Quarterback Brandon Cox is struggling mightily and was benched for his two interceptions he threw in the game forcing Tuberville to bring in Freshman Kodi Burns. But it was case where Auburn is clearly the better team yet they had too many turnovers that they didn't deserve to win. Head Coach Sylvester Croom might of made a case for him to keep his job for yet another year and build some momentum in their program. Just as early as seven years ago, Mississippi State was a program in the Top 25 and a player in the SEC title game. This is a good start for their program to get back to that.

- Tulsa and BYU was a good 'ol fashion shootout. The two schools put up a total of 1,289 total yards. BYU had 694 of those yards in a losing effort falling to the Golden Hurricane, 55-47 at Tulsa who was unveiling their new Athletic Facilities. It was funny listening to Trev Alberts in this game as the color-commentator just thinking how the mighty have fallen. But I do miss Alberts at ESPN, he is definitely better and more unbiased than his replacement Lou Holtz. This is a school record for BYU for most yards in a game in a losing performance. BYU QB Max Hall is showing as a Sophomore that he is going to be yet another good Quarterback in BYU's outstanding Quarterback Factory. Tulsa had too much trickery and deep passes that BYU's defense couldn't stop, and the Golden Hurricane kept the Cougars guessing all night.

USC = DOMINANT

I really can't picture a program that is more dominant than the USC Trojans. I said a few days ago that USC is still the clear-cut #1 and they backed up my words tonight. Pete Carroll has established a program that never loses a beat. They lose talent and plug it in with young talented players who pick up where they predecessors left off. The Trojans were up in the 3rd Quarter by 32 in Lincoln! And to add that it was at night at Lincoln is even more impressive. USC is just unbeatable, I can't picture anyone beating them this season. I love what watching their team, they are a dynasty and Carroll has built it right. He just plays the best 11 out on the field. Doesn't matter what class they are in, he just puts the best talent out on the field and gives them a offense that is very crisp and precise. The Trojans are a sure bet to go to the BCS National Championship. And that's saying something considering the Pac-10 is the best conference in America this year. Sorry SEC, the Pac-10 is the best. The SEC needs to learn how to play offense before they can claim they are kings. With the exception of Florida who racked up 59 on Tennessee in The Swamp which was very impressive, but the rest of the SEC is a grind it out style of football that is just not that impressive. The Pac-10 is a league that is filled with very good teams. USC, Cal, Oregon, and Arizona State are the best teams in the Pac-10 this season.

C.J. Gable Photo Source: Kansas City Star

--Mitch Harper
Contact me at: mitchburgundy@hotmail.com