Steve Slaton, Pat White and Noel Devine kicked off a fun weekend ahead.
Devine had a ton of hype coming out of high school. I didn't think his out-of-this-world high school highlights would translate to the next level in the same fashion. Southwest Florida doesn't have the greatest football and he's rather small. But some of the cuts he made on Thursday night in College Park are legit. He's the epitome of a scat back. By the way, they never showed a good replay, but I thought that was a touchdown.
I was glad to see Jordan Steffey play a decent game. The fumbled snap made me wince quite a bit, but he settled in and played a half-decent ball game. He's been through a lot the last three years, so playing in front of the country and throwing a touchdown has to feel pretty darn good.
There aren't a plethora of great games this weekend, but there are a few good ones. We're going to learn a lot this weekend. Let's have a gander.
Notre Dame at Michigan
Both 0-2. Change is a beautiful thing. It only seems like yesterday that the powerhouses met in South Bend. Mario Manningham catches the TD and crashes into the band in the corner of the end zone. Those days are long gone, though. Two new quarterbacks this year. Michigan's defense is long gone (why did I think they'd survive losing that much talent, I'll never know). All the talk behind Michigan freshman Ryan Mallet is that he's as good, if not better, than Notre Dame freshman Jimmy Claussen. I don't think you can base everything on this weekend, but it definitely has plenty of intrigue. The Wolverines are favored a touchdown and I think they'll clear it with Mike Hart. Notre Dame just can't block, or stop anyone. SPEAK UP, LOU HOLTZ.
Southern Cal at Nebraska
The last time Sam Keller faced Southern California, I was sitting in an Applebee's in Huntington, W.Va. I had just covered Virginia Tech-WVU, when Marcus Vick torched the Mountaineers and flicked off the fans (before Michael did in Atlanta, actually). Actually, the first half was spent driving on the highway in West Vriginia. We made to Applebee's for the second-half collapse, where Keller was throwing to USC as much as Arizona State, and when he found Derek Hagans, it was a drop.
Will revenge be sweet? He's got weapons in Maurice Purify and Marlon Lucky. But Nebraska has just looked really sluggish. The line is 10.5 and I think it's going to be close to that. USC could be pumped after all the talk that LSU should be ranked higher than them, but I don't know how much motivation that provides. I like Nebraska to cover, but lose a close one. 32-24 Trojans.
Florida State at Colorado
I'm going to continue to believe in Florida State's offense. It will show up. Colorado hasn't blown my hair back in a long time, so I like the Seminoles to cover the measly 3.5 they're giving.
Ohio State at Washington
Great benchmark for the Buckeyes. Can they contain Jake Locker (great quarterback name)? The Huskies knocked off Boise State last week, but this is a different animal coming to town. Ohio State run the ball as well as the Broncos and they play tougher defense. I think Ohio State covers the four it's giving.
Boston College at Georgia Tech
The Yellow Jackets can run the ball. Will that translate into tempo control and keep the ball out of Matt Ryan's hands long enough? Yes. Georgia Tech can play enough defense to keep Boston College on its toes. I think this will be a back-and-forth game with the Jackets covering the touchdown they're giving. Watch GT back Tashard Choice. The kid can play.
Louisville at Kentucky
It's time to take Kentucky seriously if it pulls off this one. I slept on UK last year in the bowl game and they torched Clemson, so I'm not letting that happen again. I'm hopping on the Andre Woodson bandwagon and riding the upset this weekend. This one is going to be another shootout, but this is no MTSU.
Tennessee at Florida
Both teams are a little dinged up. Florida has the speed. Tennessee has the strength. But what do they say? Speed kills. Tennessee's offense hasn't been dynamic enough to run with a big dog like Florida. Tim Tebow to Percy Harvin all day will wear down the Vols, allowing the Gators to cover the 8 they're giving.
Arkansas at Alabama
The No. 16 team in the country steps into Tuscaloose with the No. 1 rushing attack in the country through the first two weeks. That's not really a surprise, considering who mans that backfield. I understand Arkansas lacks on defense, but Alabama won't make you scream when they have the ball. Yet the Tide is a 3-point favorite.
Take this line and do what Darren McFadden is going to do with it, run, run, run. If Alabama somehow pulls this off, eternal props to Nick Saban. But I just don't see Arkansas having trouble with this one.
I'm cutting it off here. Colt Brennan will throw for another six touchdowns this week. Should be fun.