The Gould Standard: Good Starts for Notre Dame & Ohio State. But Will it Be Good Enough at the End?
Things I learned from Week 1. . .
Unless the NFL votes to expand the NFC South, Alabama and Georgia will play for the national championship.
Twelve-team playoff? Until Ted Lasso convinces Nick Saban and Kirby Smart to take the challenge across the pond, there is no need for more than a two-team playoff.
Notre Dame is better than expected. Playing in a tough Horseshoe environment with a new coach and new quarterback, it proved it can hang with the best. . . in the Midwest.
Very positive debut for new Irish coach Marcus Freeman. All he has to do is win 10 of the remaining 11 games to satisfy most of the Subway Alumni.
Also a very encouraging debut for Jim Knowles, the new Ohio State defensive coordinator, in the grinding 21-10 win over Notre Dame.
If Ohio State was trying to prove it belonged in the Alabama-Georgia weight class, though, it only showed signs that it will challenge for the bronze medal. But that could change by season’s end.
The Buckeyes and the Irish will be in a crowded field for the other two College Football Playoff berths—with a bunch of SEC also-rans.
Strange: At the very time that the College Football Playoff announced plans to expand its field to 12 teams, the number of teams that can actually win the championship, is far smaller than that.
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FROST-Y RESPONSE
The Nebraska melodrama, which was supposed to have a week off, only got curiouser. . .
Locked in a 7-7 halftime tie with FCS non-power North Dakota(!), Nebraska exploded for 31 points to post a 38-17 win.
And Scott Frost found himself declining to answer who called the Cornhuskers’ plays in the first and second halves, saying, ``I’m not ever going to get into that.”
“All I’ll say,” Frost added, “is that we’ve got a lot of smart people on the staff, and the more we can cooperate, the better we’re going to be.”
Analysts were left to dissect the sideline exchanges between new offensive coordinator Mark Whipple, who was supposed to be calling the plays so Frost could concentrate on big-picture things, and Frost, who seemed to be holding a play sheet.
What happens against Georgia Southern on Saturday? We’ll find out.
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NO OFFENSE, IOWA
Iowa's offense, which has been inoffensive for the longest time, hit a new low.
In a 7-3 win over FCS South Dakota State. The Hawkeyes broke a 3-3 halftime tie with two second-half safeties.
It’s never a good sign when your defense outscores your offense. Considering that the Jackrabbits scored their three points after an interception, the problem is even more magnified.
At some schools with a history of success despite a sputtering offense, a new offensive coordinator would have been hired a while ago. In Iowa City, though, the under-achieving offensive coordinator, Brian Ferentz, is the son of the head coach. And so, the saga of an offense only a father could love continues.
If Kirk Ferentz, the longest serving major-college head coach, is trying to help his son, the opposite is proving true.
``Clearly a lot of things we have to get better at and work on,” the head coach said.
If anyone is feeling relief, it might be Purdue receiver Charlie Jones, who transferred from Iowa. Jones was the Boilermakers’ go-to receiver against Penn State, with 12 catches for 153 yards and one touchdown. The entire Iowa offense had 166 yards and no touchdowns.
Was Iowa not tipping its hand offensively? We’ll learn more on Saturday. Oddsmakers have installed the Hawkeyes as a two-safety favorite against instate rival Iowa State. The Cyclones are a 3.5-point underdog.
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COULDA, SHOULDA WOULDA. . . ILLINI
Illinois is making progress under Bret Bielema. But a little more progress would go a long way.
In my two decades of covering the University of Illinois, I often began reports by saying, ``It’s always complicated at Illinois, Chapter 23-20. . . ’’
And so it went at Indiana, where the Illinis squandered a fine and well-deserved opportunity to win their Big Ten opener, but ended up falling to hyper-animated Tom Allen and his rah-rah Hoosiers 23-20.
Indiana had gained 70 yards in the second half until its final drive, when it went 75 yards for its only second-half points: A game-winning touchdown.
And so, Illinois lost despite rushing for four yards per carry while holding IU to 1.2. A 216-to-32 rushing-yard advantage usually is good for a win in the Big Ten. Illinois also passed well enough to win.
The problem is, Illinois lost the turnover battle 4-2. It also came up empty on fourth-and-goal at the 1 yardline while trying to expand a 17-16 fourth-quarter lead. And when it got the ball back after a three-and-out, Tommy DeVito threw an interception.
My dear friend, Champaign News-Gazette legend Loren Tate, who has been covering the Illini for 56 of his 90-plus years, began his column on the Indiana disappointment by quoting Ray Charles, who sang, ``Born to lose, I’ve lived my life in vain, Every dream has only brought me pain.”
After that, Tate said, ``If you are a lifetime Illini football fan, it should be obvious now. You were born to suffer.’’
That said, expect the enigmatic Illini—who beat Penn State, Minnesota, Northwestern and Nebraska last year and had five losses by 10 points or less—to offset the messy games by pulling off some positive surprises.