Week 2 Rewind
By Judd Hall
If there is one thing that we’ve learned about college football it’s that it isn’t enough for a team to do well, but the league must play strong as well. The second week of action on the college gridiron showed us some conferences are up to the task. The ACC, however, showed that they are nowhere near ready for primetime.
Miami, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech were the cream of the league’s crop that was playing this weekend. And all four of them suffered embarrassing defeats.
The Hurricanes were initially opened up as 9 ½-point road pups to Ohio State for this rematch of the 2003 Fiesta Bowl. Bettors were all too eager to take back Miami to cover, pushing the number down to 8 ½ before it surged back to 9 at some sportsbooks. It turns out that the only number gamblers needed to know for this game was four. Miami’s Jacory Harris threw four interceptions that turned into 17 points as the Buckeyes won 36-24 in Columbus. While the score sounds close, the reality is that the ‘Canes needed a kickoff return for a touchdown from Lamar Miller and a punt return for a score by Travis Benjamin in the first half to have a chance.
Florida State was loved by the public this week as an 8 ½-point road ‘dog against the Sooners…especially after they hammered Samford last week and OU struggled against Utah State. Well it turns out that Oklahoma was just shaking off rust as they annihilated the Seminoles 47-17 in Norman. Christian Ponder completed 11-of-28 of his passes for 113 yards and was picked off twice. This game was pretty much decided in the first half when the ‘Noles had just two of their seven drives wind up in OU territory, with one of those winding up as a touchdown. Couple those defeats in with Virginia Tech losing to FCS school James Madison and the Yellow Jackets falling to Kansas puts the conference in a rather unsavory light.
The only people that really enjoyed those losses were the oddsmakers. According to Sportsbook.com, each of those aforementioned ACC clubs were catching the majority of money coming in before kickoff. And good on you for those who took the Dukes to beat the Hokies for a plus-5,500.
While the Buckeyes had a solid victory for the Big Ten, the same can be said of rival Michigan. The Wolverines picked up quality last-minute victory against Notre Dame as 3 ½-point road pups, 28-24. Denard Robinson continues to be a one man wrecking crew after he took the Fighting Irish for 255 rushing yards, 244 yards through the air three touchdowns. What impressed me about Robinson is his poise in Michigan’s game-winning drive. The sophomore signal caller competed five of his six passes for 55 yards and rushed for another 18 to take the lead with 27 seconds left on the clock. While Michigan does have two strong wins, we have to temper our expectations for the team. This is a program that went 1-7 in Big Ten play.
Once you get past the Bucks and Wolverines, the league was pretty lousy. Penn State was held without a touchdown for the first time since 2006 as they failed to cover as a 14-point road underdog in a 24-3 setback to the Crimson Tide. Plus, the Golden Gophers found itself on the wrong side of a 41-38 decision at home as they lost South Dakota.
While things are in a state of flux in the Big Ten, the SEC looked like the power conference that everyone has drank the Kool-aid of over the years. Florida found itself dominated after trailing the first quarter 7-0 by the Bulls. After that, the Gators had their way en route to a 38-14 win as 15-point home favorites. We’ve already mentioned that Alabama owned the Nittany Lions, but we didn’t say anything about Trent Richardson. Mark Ingram’s replacement pushed through for 144 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Between Richardson and freshman Eddie Lacy, you have to wonder if Ingram is all he was cracked up to be last year.
As far as the Big XII is concerned it was status quo. The Longhorns had no issues in dumping Wyoming 34-7, but failed to cover as a 28-point home faves. Nebraska pulled it in early against the Vandals, but still came away with a 38-17 win in Lincoln. While the Oklahoma win is impressive, the most surprising win was in Lawrence. Turner Gill’s team was humiliated in a 6-3 loss to North Dakota State to open the year, so a respectable outing at home against 15th ranked Georgia Tech was imperative. Jordan Webb revived the Jayhawks’ attack with 178 passing yards and three touchdowns as they shocked the Yellow Jackets with a 28-25 win as 14-point home pups.
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