1) WTF #1 - First off, I am big believer in the fact that every college football Saturday comes with its own surprises and you never know what might happen. This past Saturday disproved that theory. I saw a statistic that the favorites went a whopping 57-2 this past weekend. Think about that for a second. Sure not everyone covered the spread but how often do we see a weekend where there isn't an upset of somebody. This weekend was it and it was something college football rarely is...boring.
2) WTF #2 - Part of the problem was the scheduling. The poor college from my home town, Savannah State was paid almost a million bucks to get a 77-7 spanking at the hands of Miami. The good news for the Tigers was they scored a TD. In their past three games against FBS opponents, they've been outscored 216-7. Thats an average score of 72-2. I hope the facilities are getting nicer down there. Of course they weren't the only ones. Ohio State laid out FAMU 76-0 and Louisville took out FIU 72-0. Bleck. I know UGA and Alabama played lesser opponents but at least they were Division-1 schools. Oh, don't worry, they play FCS schools later but it's really time to stop that. Stay in your division and at least play a team with the same scholarship and money opportunities.
3) WTF #3 - In games that actually mattered, I witnessed the single worst half of college football ever in the Florida/Tennessee game. Butch Jones showed his coaching prowess by switching QBs in this game to a redshirt freshman that he felt gave him a better chance against Florida in the Swamp. Do you know what kid's QB rating was by the time that he pulled in favor of the original starter? 3.8. You ask how that is possible. 4-11 for 5 yards passing, two picks, and a fumble. Wow. Just put me in there to hand it off coach and you would have had better results. Besides, based on Arian Foster's comments about the Tennessee program, I could use the money.
4) Bama West - Is anyone else worried about Stanford. They smoked a decent Arizona State team before calling off the dogs in the 3rd quarter. This enabled the Sun Devils to keep the score somewhat close, but they were severely outclassed. Stanford looks really good but it's hard to tell because they have yet to play a full game against anyone. My one question is depth. Oregon used to bench the starters in the 3rd quarter and still have ridiculous scores. The Cardinal let teams back in the game but their first unit is pretty ridiculous and well coached.
5) Van Gogh? - Full disclosure. My wife is a die-hard West Virginia fan so I spent some time watching the 'Eers get spanked by an improving Maryland team. I thought Dana Holgerson (aka Ernie McCracken) was an offensive mastermind that could put points on the board at will. I also heard that WVU has had some solid recruiting classes to replace a wealth of offensive talent that graduated to the NFL after last year. It's hard to say that this is the case after watching that performance on Saturday.
6) Time for the weekly SEC rankings. Not a lot of movement at the top but things have shuffled around at the bottom with a brand new worst team in the SEC,
14. Tennessee - Think about the last two weeks. Now think about the future schedule UT has to face (Georgia, South Carolina, Bama). That doesn't include a trip to improving Missouri, games against improving Auburn and a good Vandy team at home, and a trip to Kentucky which could be a loss simply because of morale.
13. Kentucky - Still not good.
12. Arkansas - #karma is blowing a lead to a Rutgers team that should have been easy to finish off with a strong running game. The meat of the schedule is still coming.
11. Mississippi State - A blowout of Troy moves them up a spot.
10. Auburn - The defense looks pretty pedestrian. The offense has some potential but a long way to go.
9. Vandy - Struggled with a bad UMASS team this week. Is James Franklin (aka Humpty Hump) losing his touch?
8. Missouri - They still have a lot to prove but they look much better than their first foray into SEC football. The schedule toughens but maybe they can challenge for 3rd in the East.
7. Florida - Injuries. They had a lot of them on Saturday. But the good news is that the back-up QB looked solid once he calmed down.
6. Ole Miss - Hugh Freeze is going to be a hot commodity if he can keep this up. But a trip to Bama this weekend could derail the momentum they've gained thus far.
5. South Carolina - The bye week is over and they're looking to get back on track.
4. Texas A&M - Solid performance against SMU keeps the Aggies here.
3. LSU - The defense still needs to improve. Mettenberger comes home this week to visit Athens in the game of the week.
2. UGA - Offense - check. Defense - check (at least this past weekend). Special team - uh oh.
1. Alabama - They didn't look good against Colorado State but a let down had to be expected for a game sandwiched between A&m and a big game against Ole Miss.
The games on this weeks slate look a lot better. Hopefully college football can return to greatness after a week of blah.
