Code Orange

Stories of the day

LSU pounds Appalachian State 41-13.

Utah upsets Michigan 25-23.

East Carolina upsets Virginia Tech 27-22.

Bowling Green upsets Pittsburgh 27-17.

Live Blog

8:29: Alabama takes a 3-0 lead on Clemson.

In other notes:

Marshall defeats Illinois State 35-10.

Oklahoma leads Chattanooga 50-0…in the 2nd quarter.

Western Illinois leads Arkansas 10-7 at halftime.

8:36 PM: Alabama kicks another FG to make it 6-0.

8:50 PM: Is Clemson going to blow it again? Alabama takes a 13-0 lead.

9:05 PM: Missouri takes 7-0 lead on Illinois.

9:11 PM: Texas Christian defeats New Mexico 26-3 while Central Florida takes out South Carolina State 17-0.

11:19 PM:

Some games in progress:

California 31, Michigan State 24 - 4th Quarter

Alabama 34, Clemson 10 - 4th Quarter

Missouri 45, Illinois 28 - 4th Quarter

Oregon 14, Washington 10 - 2nd Quarter

Finals:

North Carolina 35, McNeese State 27

Louisiana Tech 22, Mississippi State 14

Texas Tech 49, Eastern Washington 24

Southern Miss 51, Louisiana Lafayette 21

Oklahoma 57, Chattanooga 2

Nebraska 47, Western Michigan 24

Minnesota 31, Nothern Illinois 27

Mississippi 41, Memphis 24

Houston 55, Southern 3

Texas 52, Florida Atlantic 10

Kansas 40, Florida International 10

Duke 31, James Madison 7

Auburn 34, Louisiana Monroe 0

Arkansas 28, Western Illinois 24

Arkansas State 18, Texas A&M 14 (yes, that’s right)

South Florida 56, Tennessee-Martin 7

Kansas State 45, North Texas 6

Boston College 21, Kent State 0

San Jose State 13, UC Davis 10

Boise State 49, Idaho State 7

Stories of the day

• LSU makes sure they take care of Appalachian State, winning 41-13
• East Carolina upsets Virginia Tech 27-22.
• Bowling Green upsets Pittsburgh 27-17.

Live Blog

3:46 PM: Florida finishes off Hawaii 56-10.

3:48 PM: Georgia takes care of Georgia Southern 45-21.

3:49 PM: Southern Cal doesn’t take long to go up 7-0 on Virginia.

3:50 PM: Michigan tries to make sure they’re not upset at home again this year, going up on Utah 7-0.

3:55 PM: Utah just got a huge gain on a play almost identical to Appalchian State’s first touchdown pass against Michigan last year.  Utah didn’t score on that play, but they do score two plays later, but miss the extra point, so Michigan retains the lead 7-6.

3:58 PM: Towson (yes, Towson) takes a 7-0 lead on Navy.

4:01 PM: Yahoo lied and they now say Navy is up 7-0.

4:05 PM: Michigan extends their lead to 10-6 with a 50 yard field goal.

4:08 PM: West Virginia finally gets on the board against Villanova 7-0.  Also, USC has taken a 14-0 lead on Virginia.

4:16 PM: It’s getting ugly in Charlottesville as USC takes a 21-0 lead on Virginia.

4:20 PM: Maryland is tied with Delaware after the first quarter.

4:23 PM: Utah trades Michigan’s field goal for their own and it’s now 10-9 Michigan.

4:24 PM: Virginia finally responds and makes it 21-7 USC.

4:27 PM: Oklahoma State goes up 10-0 on Washington State.

4:37 PM: Utah takes their first lead over Michigan 12-10.

4:52 PM: Utah extends their lead to 15-10.

5:09 PM: Michigan looking at a repeat that they’d rather not have: Utah now up on them 22-10.

5:10 PM: Some finals: Wyoming 21, Ohio 20.  Air Force 41, Southern Utah 7.

6:24 PM: Sorry for being MIA, but Utah is now up on Michigan 25-10.  Also, Maryland is only leading Delaware 14-0 in the 4th Quarter.

6:35 PM: Comeback time? Michigan finally responds to Utah with a touchdown, but is still down 25-17 with 8:42 to go.

6:40 PM: Oklahoma State finishes off Washington State 39-13.  P.S. - Michigan just recovered a Utah fumble.

6:45 PM: Michigan returns with a touchdown, but miss with the 2-point conversion, so Utah still leads, but only with a 25-23 lead with 6:29 to go.

6:46 PM: Maryland finally downs Delaware 14-7.

6:56 PM: West Virginia defeats Villanova, perhaps allowing more points than they would like, 48-21.

6:57 PM: Southern Cal finishes off a bad day for the state of Virginia as they beat the Caviliers 52-7.

6:58 PM: Navy defeats Towson 41-13.

7:01 PM: Tulsa beats UAB 46-22.

7:04 PM: Looks like it’ll happen to Michigan two years in a row.  They miss a 4th down inside their own 20 with only 1:48 to go.

7:08 PM: Michigan tries a Sarah Palin, but misses, and it’s over.  Utah wins 25-23.

Stories of the day so far

No Michigan miracle repeat this year as LSU leads Appalachain State 31-0 at halftime.

East Carolina fumbles themselves to a 14-0 deficit against Virginia Tech.

No apparent upsets so far in the first Saturday of the season.

Live Blog

1:08 PM: Northwestern is finally able to crack Syracuse’s defense to take the lead 9-3.

1:09 PM: Florida vs. Hawaii is definitely not the game I was expecting as they’re scoreless after the first quarter.

1:12 PM: East Carolina finally gets on the board, and they cut Virginia Tech’s lead in half, 14-7.

1:13 PM: Appalachian State finally gets on the board with a 44 yard pass from Edwards to Welton, and it’s 31-7 LSU, and we’re back to the 2005 margin.

1:19 PM: Florida finally strikes, as they go up on Hawaii 7-0.

1:20 PM: Halftime Update - Virginia Tech leads East Carolina 14-7 at halftime in a game which is expectadly close.

1:22 PM: Halftime Update - Ohio State is rolling, rolling, rolling as they leads Youngstown State 26-0.

1:23 PM: Halftime Update - We have a potential upset watch brewing here as Wisconsin only leads Akron 17-10.

1:25 PM: And we have our first upset alert as Bowling Green ties Pittsburgh at 14.

1:35 PM: LSU and Appalachian State swap field goals, and it’s 34-10.

1:42 PM: Florida rolling over Hawaii now, up 21-0.

1:49 PM: East Carolina opens up the 2nd half with a touchdown, but Virginia Tech blocks the extra point and runs it back for two, so Tech retains the lead, 16-13.

1:50 PM: Syracuse recovers a fumble on the first play of the 2nd half and soon sticks it into the endzone to retake the lead over Northwestern 10-9.

1:54 PM: LSU picks up their first touchdown of the 2nd half, as they push the lead over Appalachian State to 41-10.

2:04 PM: Northwestern retakes the lead over Syracuse, 16-10.

2:05 PM: It might have been close at halftime, but it’s not anymore. Wisconsin now has a 31-10 lead over Akron.

2:14 PM: It’s over in Baton Rouge as LSU defeats Appalachian State 41-13.

2:15 PM: Virginia Tech once again takes a 2-score lead as they go up on East Carolina 22-13.  How big was that blocked extra point that the Hokies returned for 2?

2:19 PM: And Syracuse starts looking like Syracuse again as Northwestern picks the ball off for a touchdown to take a 23-10 lead.

2:27 PM: We now have a major upset alert now: Bowling Green takes their first lead on Pittsburgh 20-17.

2:42 PM: East Carolina closes the gap on Virginia Tech, narrowing Tech’s lead down to 22-20.

2:44 PM: And Greg Robinson’s fate may determined after just the first week as Northwestern now has a 30-10 lead on Syracuse.  Northwestern has over 200 yards both rushing and passing.

2:52 PM: Special Teams? Whose special teams? East Carolina blocks a punt to take the lead over Virginia Tech 27-22 with under 2 minutes to go.

2:55 PM: Wisconsin takes care of Akron 38-17.

2:58 PM: Ohio State once again downs Youngstown State 43-0.

2:59 PM: Bowling Green adds to their lead and now leads Pittsburgh 27-17.

3:02 PM: East Carolina upsets Virginia Tech 27-22.

3:03 PM: Penn State obliterates Costal Carolina 66-10.

3:34 PM: Other finals:

Northwestern 30, Syracuse 10

Indiana 31, Western Kentucky 13

Iowa 46, Maine 3

11:10 AM: Appalachian State has a good first drive so far, driving past the LSU 50, but it stalls on the LSU 36 yard line.  Too far for a field goal and too close to punt, ASU goes for it on 4th down and misses, so LSU takes over on downs.

11:16 AM: LSU doesn’t waste time putting points on the board, going up 7-0.

11:20 AM: ASU’s second drive isn’t as good, going 3-and-out.

11:26 AM: App State holds LSU to 4th down, and prompty commits a 15 yard penalty, and LSU is in good position to score once again.

11:31 AM: LSU not making the same mistake as Michigan, going up 14-0 now.  Michigan never led Appalachian State by more than a touchdown last year.

11:50 AM: Appalachian State is at least able to hold LSU with a 1st and 10 on the 12 to a field goal.  It’s now 17-0 LSU.

11:58 AM: Appalachain State finally stops LSU.  Now they have to figure out how to move the ball themselves.

12:00 PM: Virginia Tech and Syracuse both starting up now.

12:09 PM: Syracuse starts off with a pretty good looking drive, but it stalls in Northwestern territory.  The Orange still get a field goal out of it, so Syracuse goes up 3-0.

12:12 PM: Wisconsin, Pittsburgh, Penn State, and Ohio State all go out to touchdown leads in their games.

12:14 PM: LSU gets back on track with yet another touchdown, as they go up 24-0, already matching the score from 2005.

12:17 PM: Syracuse picks the ball off, but can’t do anything with it and punts it away.

12:24 PM: Passing up the field goal, Virginia Tech goes for it on 4th down inside the East Carolina 10, and East Carolina holds them.

12:27 PM: LSU definitely making sure to put away Appalachian State as they go up 31-0.

12:30 PM: Florida and Georgia starts up their games.

12:32 PM: East Carolina and Virginia Tech end the 1st quarter with no score.

12:41 PM: Northwestern drives down the field, but Syracuse ultimately forces them to a punt.  Also, Georgia jumps out 7-0 on Georgia Southern.

12:44 PM: Virginia Tech picks up a missed lateral by East Carolina for a touchdown, and is held up under review.  Meanwhile, Northwestern picks up a safety and it’s 3-2 Syracuse in the top of the 3rd inning.

12:54 PM: East Carolina fumbles on the kickoff return and Virginia Tech recovers and eventually scores again, suddenly making it 14-0 Virginia Tech.

12:55 PM: Syracuse has another good offensive series, but has to settle for kicking another field goal, except this one clangs off the bar and it’s still 3-2.

12:57 PM: Appalachian State holds LSU to a punt on the first drive of the 3rd quarter, though they’re still pretty hopelessly behind, 31-0.

Due to Hurrican Gustav, the LSU vs. Appalchian State game has been moved from 5pm on ESPN to 11:00am  eastern, on ESPN Classic, which officially pisses me off, since I don’t get ESPN Classic on my average Joe digital cable package.  And since Comcast still doesn’t have ESPN360 available, I am doubly-screwed.

I didn’t really get a chance to watch any of the Thursday and Friday games, but here are some thoughts based on looking at the scoreboard:

Teams that impressed me

Wake Forest - Yes, they beat Baylor, but Baylor has been an up-and-coming team the past couple of years and the Demon Deacons dismantled them easily.  It looks like Wake may be for real for a 3rd straight year.

Buffalo - Yes, that Buffalo. Yes, they played a down UTEP team, but Buffalo just doesn’t beat other FBS teams by a score of 42-17.  I’m rather glad Syracuse doesn’t play them this year, now.

Stanford - Beating Oregon State in the opening game of the season is a good sign for the Cardinal going into this year.

Temple - Yes, they played Army, but the very fact that they won a FBS game - and by a score of 35-7 no less - is a welcome change in Philadelphia.

Teams that didn’t impress me

Baylor - As I mentioned earlier, they had been an up and coming team.  Apparently that has ended.

Miami (OH) - They lose the game between possible up and coming teams (vs. Vanderbilt).

North Carolina State - How do you get shut out 34-0 against South Carolina?

Army - Any team who loses to Temple goes on this list.

Here we are…Week 1.  What are some games to watch in the opening weekend?

Thursday, August 28

Vanderbilt at Miami (OH) - 7:30 PM

Not exactly a game of high powered teams, but both of these teams have shown glimpses of glory every now and then, and this first game will be a good look to see whether either of these teams are going to try to have a good season this year, or remain in the sludge of mediocricy.

North Carolina State at South Carolina - 8:00 PM

This is sort of like the game above, except with better teams.  Will either of these teams be for real in 2008?  This is the first chance they get for showing whether they will…or wont.

Saturday, August 30th

Virginia Tech at East Carolina - 12:00 PM

Virginia Tech had problems with East Carolina last year, though there were obviously reasons why their mind might have been on other things last year.   East Carolina is hoping to build on last year, while Virginia Tech is hoping to establish early that they are the team to beat in the ACC.

Syracuse at Northwestern - 12:00 PM

Will Greg Robinson’s fate be determined in the first week of the season?

Utah at Michigan - 3:30 PM

Michigan learned from last year and won’t start off the season with a loss to a FCS team.  Instead, they may start the season with a loss to a non-BCS FBS team.  Michigan better lot look past Utah.

USC at Virginia - 3:30 PM

How good is Virginia?  They’ll have a very good measuring stick in USC.  If they can even just hang with USC, they may send a signal to the ACC that they’ll challenge for the conference title.

Delaware at Maryland - 3:45 PM

Delaware is going to have a Michigan Miracle of their own this year.  Remember, Delaware played Appalachian State in the FCS National Championship game last year.

Appalachian State at LSU - 5:00 PM

Speakign of Appalachian State, you better bet LSU won’t look past them, especially since ASU played them to a 24-0 in 2005, which is much better than many FBS or even fellow SEC teams.  Appalachian State actually outrushed LSU in that game.  Oh yeah, and that was before Armanti Edwards.

Now, I highly doubt that Appalachian State will be able to pull the shocker two years in a row, but it may certainly be an interesting game to watch.

Alabama at Clemson - 8:00 PM

This matchup is perhaps the highlight of the weekend, with both teams having high hopes for this year and definitly wanting to start the season off with a win.

Illinois at Missouri - 8:30 PM

However, a close competitor for best weekend matchup is this game.  This should give us a look to see whether either or both of these teams will be for real again this year.

Monday, September 1st

Fresno State at Rutgers - 4:00 PM

Both of these teams have some hopes this year.  Fresno State hopes to finally win the WAC again, after playing bridesmaid for several years, while Rutgers wants to show that last year was a fluke.

Tennessee at UCLA - 8:00 PM

Both of these teams hope try to show that they have more potential to win their conferences than President Bush (who will be giving his speech at the Republican Convention at the same time) has of having his getting McCain elected President.

As the new college football season starts this Thursday, it’s time to bring the blog out of hibernation and start anew.

So what should we look at this season? Let’s hit it by conference:

ACC

After losing their star Quarterback to graduation, can Boston College continue their strong showing from last year, in which they won the ACC’s Atlantic Division?  Their main rival this year, as it was last year, will almost certainly be the Clemson Tigers, who start out the season as the highest ranked ACC team in Preseason polls, ranked 9th in both the AP and USA Today polls.  Wake Forest also gave Boston College a challenge last year, and you can never count out Florida State.

Meanwhile, in the Coastal Division, once again Virginia Tech looks like the team to beat.  They seem to have much less competition in their side of the conference, though, like Florida State in the Atlantic Division, you can’t ever really dismiss Miami in the Coastal Division.  Virginia also had a strong showing last year and may try to improve their standings.  Some people also have some hope for UNC this year as well.

Big East

The Big East is most definitely West Virginia’s to lose this year.  They start the season in the Top 10, but it’s uncertain how the rest of the conference will shake out.  Cincinnati, South Florida, and Cincinnati all had better than expected seasons last year.  Can they build on those?  Meanwhile, Rutgers and Louisville disappointed last year.  Can they rebound?  West Virginia’s chances in the Big East - and indeed their chances at getting into the national championship game this year - may rest on who shows up this year.

Big Ten

After getting obliterated in two national championship games in a row, you would think that pollsters would have learned something about Ohio State, yet once again, the pollsters start them off #2 and #3 in the polls to start the season.  I think the biggest challenge to the Buckeyes this year will come Wisconsin, who plays Ohio State at home the first weekend of October.  People are also expecting things from Illinois and Penn State, though I’ve come to learn that I’ll believe it when I see it from them.  Also, can Indiana build on last year’s success?

Big XII

Perhaps the biggest question going into the 2008 season is whether Kansas and/or Missouri can do it again.  If so, the North Division of the Big XII Conference is once again going to be brutal.  Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas State all often have the potential to mix things up as well.  If both Kansas and Missouri crash, however, the division may truly turn into a free-for-all.

In the South Division, it’s no surprise that Texas and Oklahoma are the two leading contenders, but I’m surprised about how high of expectations Texas Tech has.  Remember, the Red Raiders pulled a shocker on Oklahoma last year, likely knocking them out of the national championship game.

Pac 10

Once again, everyone will be looking at USC in the Pac 10, and once again, the question is: can anyone come up and challenge them?  There has been hope at UCLA that they can meet that challenge.  Oregon and Arizona State are also popular picks based on their performance last year, but we have to see whether they can repeat last year’s performances.  And of course, there is always California.

SEC

The Eastern Division seems insane this year, as Georgia is ranked #1 in both pre-season polls, yet many people have a lot of expectations of Florida and Tebow, especially since people are seriously talking about him repeating as Heisman winner.  Tennessee has some hope, but they have a high road to climb if they want to contend.

The Western Division of course has defending National Champion LSU who, unless they pull a Michigan in opening weekend, should be highly favored to win the division, though Auburn could give them a serious run for their money.

Others

The favorite non-BCS team this year appears to be Brigham Young, who is ranked 16th and 17th in the preseason polls.  The only other team ranked in either polls is Fresno State.  However, once again I don’t think one can count out Boise State from making another run.  I don’t think they’ll be good enough to battle for another BCS bid, but they always seem to find their way into the rankings by the end of the season.

There always seems to be a minor conference that tends to get 2 or 3 teams into the Top 25 by the end of the season.  A few years back it was the MAC which consistently got teams ranked before returning to their previous mediocracy, while recently it’s been the WAC.  The WAC could be another contender, with both Fresno State and Boise State, though the Mountain West is another, with BYU already ranked, and Utah, Air Force, and New Mexico all coming off of good seasons last year.

Syracuse

And I, of course, can’t end without mentioning my alma mater, Syracuse.  Despite their relatively cupcake early season (Northwestern, Akron, Northeastern), I think Syracuse is once again looknig at a 2-10 season.

Northwestern did go 6-6 last year, and I expect them to seal Coach Robinson’s fate in the first week of the season.  Even Akron, the only real good shot at a FBS win for Syracuse this year, probably won’t be a gimmie.  Northeastern better be a win, or else Robinson may not even keep his job going into October.  Otherwise, I just don’t see a Big East win that Syracuse can pull off which wouldn’t be an upset, and Penn State and Notre Dame should easily handle them.

I’m pretty sure that after this season, Robinson will be singing “Bye Bye Bye,” and whomever takes over for him is going to have an even bigger rebuildnig job than Robinson had when he was hired.