College football never ceases to disappoint when it comes to drama. The anticipation for this season certainly lived up to expectations in a wild first weekend and already, we've learned quite a bit from what has unfolded.
Let's take a look at a dozen things that were brought to light this past weekend.
1) Alabama is for real, again. Their defense is still young and raw, but their offense is a well-oiled machine, with or without Mark Ingram in the lineup. Their relatively easy romp over San Jose State sent a message to the SEC and the rest of the country that the Tide have no thoughts about giving up the top spot anytime soon.
2) Florida is in trouble. Big trouble. Granted, the bad snaps are going to vanish as the season goes on, but the complete and total lack of offense from the Gators against Miami (OH) sends a huge red flag up and flying in Gainesville. No one can question Urban Meyer's coaching credentials, and rest assured, he'll work tirelessly at fixing the offensive woes. But with all of that talent, to be in that much trouble doesn't spell good things about Florida.
3) One of the biggest games this year is shaping up to be Georgia vs. South Carolina. Both teams looked impressive in blowout wins over La-Lafayette and Southern Miss, respectively. I really think South Carolina turned in one of the top weekend performances. Steve Spurrier seems to have the pieces coming together, and don't be surprised if the Gamecocks finally make a serious challenge for the SEC East title.
4) Oregon doesn't miss Jeremiah Masoli. 72-0 says all you need to know about that. Meanwhile, the hottest seat in America left Boulder (Dan Hawkins and Colorado earned a solid win over rival Colorado State), and landed in Albuquerque, where Mike Locksley has a lot of explaining to do. There's no shame in losing to a team like Oregon, unless you lay the complete egg that the Lobos did.
5) USC does miss their defensive units of old. The Trojan offense had little trouble in carving up the Hawaii defense, but the Warriors didn't have too many problems scoring on Southern Cal either. Chops are being licked across the West Coast.
6) Rich Rodriguez can take a deep breath. Michigan looked good in the first weekend. Denard Robinson fits Rich Rod's offensive schemes perfectly. Now, the key for the Wolverines is to keep the momentum rolling. Last year, they fizzled in the end. They can't afford to have recent history repeat itself.
7) The Big East could be in serious trouble. When the best win the conference has is Syracuse over Akron, that doesn't say too much. It also leans more towards giving the Mountain West a seat at the BCS automatic table, given their success over the Pac-10 yet again this weekend.
8) Nebraska becomes a nice pick for the Big 12. While you can't count out Texas, their running game still didn't leave anyone impressed, and Oklahoma's scare against Utah State definitely raises an eye. Keep an eye on Nebraska in the Big 12 race.
9) Speaking of the Big 12, keep Texas Tech penciled in as the darkhorse. SMU isn't Texas or Oklahoma, but Tommy Tuberville's squad showed enough immediate defensive improvement to set them up for upsets along the way this season.
10) If you take the Kansas offense and the Ole Miss defense, you'd have a team that maybe Eastern Michigan could take. The fan bases of both schools have provided enough fire for their coaches for me to comment any further than that.
11) Raise a glass and toast the North Carolina players that fought LSU tooth and nail in the Georgia Dome. As the academic scandal swirls around Chapel Hill, those who stayed out of trouble played valiantly in defeat, while raising a lot of questions about the Tigers.
12) Alabama and Ohio State still remain the top two teams in my book. Should Boise beat Virginia Tech (it's at the half as I type this), Boise will still need one of those two teams to slip up for the Broncos to have a shot at Glendale.
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