By Mark Walters
Before I get going with this college football column full of ranting and billboard garbage, I’d like to make a few things clear:
1. I called East Carolina over West Virginia.
2. I knew Temple would give Connecticut a run for its money. [UConn won 12-9 in OT]
3. The SEC could be competitive in the NFL.
OK, so number three is a little out there, but that conference is stacked. Alabama beat Clemson to kick of its season, and with five teams in the top 11, a National Championship game without a team from the SEC would be more of a shocker than the horrible excessive celebration penalty on Washington against BYU last week. It didn’t lose the game for the Huskies, but the call was flat-out wrong.
All eyes this week have to be on No. 5 Ohio State travelling to Los Angeles to take on No. 1 Southern California. I don’t think this game could be overhyped, and that’s saying something. For these two teams to meet in the third week of the season is unbelievable. Even before a down has been played, my hat is off to both programs for having the stones to schedule such a fantastic matchup.
No one knows if running back Chris “Beanie” Wells will play for the Buckeyes, but even with the Heisman hopeful in the backfield, I like USC in this one.
Trojan quarterback Matt Sanchez is being referred to as a combination of Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, and John David Booty. Two of them won Heisman Trophies. Oh, and take into consideration what USC did to Virginia at Virginia, and what Ohio University did to Ohio State in Columbus.
The Ohio Bobcats were beating the Buckeyes in the 4th quarter! Sure, the scarlet and grey was probably just overlooking a weaker opponent, but that kind of play is not going to get it done against the number one team in the land.
Looking across the board, two ranked opponents meet Friday night as No. 13 Kansas travels to No. 19 South Florida. The Bulls had a scare last week in overtime against unranked Central Florida, while the Jayhawks have rolled over two powder-puffs in Louisiana Tech and Florida International.
If Kansas wants to live up to the hype it created for itself last season, it is going to have to get by tougher opponents. Included on the slate this year: away at No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 12 Texas Tech, No. 8 Texas, and away at No. 6 Missouri. The Big 12 is next in line behind the SEC, which is why I like Kansas over South Florida.
With that said, allow me to take time to bash on the Big East as well as the ACC.
Clemson didn’t stand a chance against Alabama, and Wake Forest got a scare from Ole Miss. The Demon Deacons have no ranked opponent on its remaining schedule. And how about the thrashing South Carolina gave to North Carolina State? Miami (FL), Virginia Tech, Florida State, and Boston College simply aren’t the powers they once were.
As for the Big East, Pittsburgh lost to Bowling Green, and West Virginia lost to East Carolina. As mentioned earlier, UConn almost lost to Temple in overtime, and Rutgers dropped its opener to on-the-rise mid-major Fresno State.
While the Big East and ACC weren’t ever quite at the level of today’s SEC, they used to garner a lot more respect. What a shame.
Elsewhere this week there will be a few good ones on the menu. Michigan travels to Notre Dame, No. 16 Oregon goes to Indiana to face Purdue, and No. 10 Wisconsin will be in California to take on No. 21 Fresno State.
On the upset alert, watch out for South Carolina at home against No. 2 Georgia in an SEC matchup, and UCLA at No. 18 BYU. Additionally, everyone will likely keep an eye on No. 14 East Carolina. The Pirates travel to Tulane. It will be interesting to see if there is any let-up after toppling two higher-ranked opponents.
That’s all I have for now. Check back every week for the NCAA FBS Forecast.