This is a great time of year. After months of waiting, it’s finally football season, that time when months of speculation and what-ifs turn into reality. It’s the time when teams must either put up or shut up, and if the first week of the season was any indication, 2009 is going to be full of fantastic football games.
With that said, here are some observations from week one:
Okalahoma’s loss to BYU effectively ends its BCS championship hopes – A loss to BYU and an injury to Sam Bradford was not how Bob Stoops wanted to kick off the 2009 season. In all reality this loss means the Sooners’ hopes of a national championship are all but over. With a schedule including tough games against Big XII South opponents Texas, Oklahoma State and Baylor, the Sooners also have to face both Kansas and Nebraska on the road. With so many top-flight opponents on deck, the chance of them running the table to finish with only one loss seems slim. Even if OU manages to win the Big XII, a single loss in conference will almost assure that Bob Stoops’s squad ends up somewhere other than the national championship game in January.
Notre Dame is back – Every year there seems to be one trendy pick from the national football pundits. This year that team seemed to be Notre Dame. Led by Lou Henson, who picked the Fighting Irish to appear in the BCS Championship game, most sports talking heads agreed that this was the year that Charlie Weis got the historic program back on track. While it may be premature to announce Notre Dame’s resurgence to national prominence, they certainly looked convincing in their win over Nevada. While it’s far to early to proclaim the Fighting Irish a BCS favorite, if last Saturday’s game was any indication, Charlie Weis has his team headed in the right direction.
The Big 10 is weak – Every football fan outside of the Big 10 knows the conference has been in decline for several years now. But after week one, even Big 10 fans must admit this is not the premier conference it once was. Navy ran all over Ohio State and very nearly pulled off an upset win. Had Navy successfully converted the two point attempt that Ohio State intercepted and ran back late in the fourth quarter, the game would almost surely have headed into overtime. As momentum had clearly shifted to the Midshipmen, the Buckeyes could easily have started their season with a loss. Then there’s the near upset of Iowa by Northern Iowa. Had the Hawkeyes not come up impossibly huge on special teams with back-to-back blocked field goals, they too start off the season 0-1. And of course there was the embarrassing showing by a supposedly veteran Illinois team against Missouri. Top to bottom, the entire conference is weak, a fact that is going to be further exposed as the season progresses.
Greg Paulus is a good quarterback – Despite throwing a pick in overtime that sealed Minnesota’s victory over Syracuse, Greg Paulus proved that he really can play football. As strange as it seemed to see him on the gridiron in orange and blue, Paulus was 19-for-31 with 167 yards and a touchdown. With solid stats and consistency, it was Paulus’s mature decision-making and quality passing put the Orange in a position to win that game.
Oklahoma State is for real - Say what you will about Oklahoma and BYU, the real game of the week was Georgia and Oklahoma State. With more than just top 15 rankings on the line, this game was about conference pride. After OU choked in the championship game against Florida last January, many Big XII supporters saw this game as a chance at redemption. And Oklahoma State came through. Despite a slow start for the Cowboys’ high-powered offense and a quick touchdown by Georgia, Mike Gundy’s squad showed heart and tenacity. The most impressive thing for the Cowboys, and what likely won the game was their defense. Forcing two big turnovers that led to scores, it was solid defense that allowed the Zac Robinson and Dez Bryant show to find its rhythm and cruise to a two-touchdown victory. Early in the season, it seemed that the Big XII South would once again come down to OU and Texas, but if Oklahoma State can continue playing like they did against Georgia, they might just be the best team in the conference.
