As the resident (and self-proclaimed) college football expert amongst the round table, I thought I would take this opportunity to post about that other football season that's going on right now.
Nicky the Bald Buttercup (yeah, my nicknames are better than his) is in the habit of picking the NFL winners every week before the games start. I'm nowhere near that brave. I'll just be providing analysis and a place to rant about the AP Top 25, and how the BCS should stand for Bull Crap Series. Besides, even the most astute observer of college football these days isn't dumb enough to play Amazing Kreskin week in and week out. In the parlance of our times, WTFIGOH? (what the f*ck is going on here?)
If you listen to the Jock of the Rock radio program (Saturdays at 12:30 on KMXT) then you know that I'm a huge fan of Oregon Ducks football, but even I wouldn't have picked Oregon to go into the Big House and wipe out Michigan 39-7 (read about it, here). Despite Michigan's throttling at the hands of Division I-AA Appalachian State last week, I was sure they would come out and at least try to destroy Oregon, wanting to prove to the rest of the nation that week one was a fluke. Before the game I was predicting a Michigan win (a big one at that), and I think most Duck fans would have agreed with me. Oregon also beat Michigan in 2003, in a close game at Autzen Stadium, which should have provided some additional motivation for the Wolverines seniors who were on that team. But no, Michigan came out flat, and Oregon rolled (with basically the same squad that got blown out by a bunch of Mormons from BYU in the Vegas Bowl last season, go figure...)
So what's going on here? Is Michigan that bad, or is Oregon that good? I think it's a little from column A and a little from column B. Michigan isn't a bad team. They still have more blue chip players than Oregon could ever hope to recruit. Their senior running back and quarterback (who both got injured during the game) are considered among the top players at their positions in the country. Oregon is good too, but like I said, they have basically the same team as last season when they fell apart and lost four straight to end the season. So what gives? I think coaching has a lot to do with it. Mike Bellotti is probably the third or fourth best coach in the Pac-10, but he's still better than Michigan's Lloyd Carr (who, mark my words, will be fired after this season if not sooner). Also, Oregon's new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly (no relation to yours truly) looks like he'll bring back the days of offensive mastermind Jeff Tedford (now coaching Cal), who was the Ducks' OC back in 2002 when they finished number two in the nation.
Other thoughts on college football... Oregon State got rolled by basketball powerhouse Cincinnati, 34-3... Oklahoma looks like the best team in the country right now after beating Miami, 51-13... Meanwhile, Mike Pfeffer's Nebraska Cornhuskers won a close one 20-17 over Wake Forest, now they host the men of Troy as USC heads to the plains for their first real test... Notre Dame looks lousy in week one, so they start a freshman quarterback week two and still look lousy against Penn State (how long before the Sandinista starts calling me Kelly Clausen on the air?). Fortunately for the Irish they play Michigan next week... Washington snaps Boise State's 14-game winning streak, and if the Huskies redshirt freshman QB can stay healthy, U-Dub looks like they have a good team this year.
-CK1
