The Gould Standard: SEC Stumbles, Big Ten West Bumbles.
Episode 2 of the Deion Sanders Show was almost as heartwarming as The Pilot: Colorado 36, Nebraska 14. But more on that in a moment.
My favorite moments of Week 2 went like this: Texas 34, Alabama 24. And Miami 48, Texas A&M 33. . . Not so much because the Crimson Tide and Aggies joined the SEC’s Week 1 fallen heroes LSU and Florida. Win or lose, kudos to SEC power teams for accepting the challenge of lining up against worthy opponents in nonconference play.
Missing in action was two-time national champion Georgia, which has no discretionary Power 5 opponents. (And no, traditional rival Georgia Tech doesn’t count.) The Dawgs have—yawn—roughed up Tennessee-Martin and Ball State, with UAB up next. What? Cumberland wasn’t available?
While we’re at it, three thumbs down to Michigan (East Carolina, UNLV, Bowling Green) for taking a similar path of least resistance.
At least Penn State played West Virginia. It’s not the Nittany Lions’ fault that the Mountaineers, who are not at the top of their game, weren’t good enough to make the game interesting or tell a whole lot about Penn State.
And we’ll find out a lot about Ohio State—and Notre Dame—when the Buckeyes travel to South Bend on Sept. 23.
The Big Ten East is essentially a round robin: Penn State at Ohio State on Oct. 21, Michigan at Penn State on Nov. 11 and Ohio State at Michigan on Nov. 25. If that’s a dead heat, consult your local tie-breakers.
BAROMETER FALLING: It was no surprise that Sanders' Buffaloes stampeded Nebraska 36-14. I still think Matt Ruhle leads the Cornhuskers back to respectability sooner than later. He needs to upgrade his talent base next year, but they still have a path to a minor bowl game this fall.
The Colorado thing, though, is what makes college football so fascinating. After Colorado State this week, the Buffs travel to Oregon on Sept. 23 and then face USC in Boulder on Sept. 30. If Deion's magical mystery tour keeps going—and who's to say it won't?—the whole football world will be watching.
Nebraska wasn’t the only Big Ten West team to under-achieve during Barometer Week. Illinois also came up short at Kansas. So did Wisconsin, which looked more flawed than anticipated at Washington State, even though it regrouped for a second-half comeback that was too little/too late.
Only Iowa managed a winning road trip among the four Big Ten West contender in the spotlight. A surprise entry was Purdue, which pulled off a nifty weather-delayed win at Virginia Tech. The Boilermakers seemed to be out after their tepid opening loss to Fresno State. With so many rivals going backward, though, Purdue figures to be a factor, if not a contender.
What it adds up to is a wide-open race to see who will be a huge underdog in the Big Ten championship game against the winner of the Ohio State/Michigan/Penn State heavyweight fight.
If I had to pick right now, I might pencil in Minnesota, and not just because the Gophers are 2-0. They have more playmakers making plays. And P.J. Fleck does a nice job of firing up his team to play with energy.
That said, I’m glad I don’t have to pick right now.
After all the buildup for new coach Luke Fickell, pre-season favorite Wisconsin looks like it has a lot of work to do. The offensive line couldn’t spring two excellent running backs. New QB Tanner Mordecai didn’t throw it or run as well as his hype. And the defense has not been getting the kind of stops Fickell will need to have a satisfying first year.
That said, the Badgers will benefit from the slower pace they’ll see in the Big Ten West. Washington State is very caffeinated. And after being orphaned by 10 of its Pac-12 brothers, it was on a mission.
Oh and by the way, the people in Pullman had better start preparing a large trust fund if they plan to keep Jake Dickert. The Wisconsin native will will be a hot commodity when coaching vacancies start popping up.
The Big Ten appears headed for three vacancies. Indiana’s Tom Allen seat is sizzling. Northwestern will need a splashy hire to move beyond the hazing mess that took down Pat Fitzgerald. And it’s pretty much a lock that there will be a new man hired in East Lansing, where Mel Tucker’s shocking misbehavior boggles the mind. Just when you think you’ve seen it all. . .
BUCK ‘EM BRONCOS: That contract clause that says Brian Ferentz gets fired if Iowa’s offense fails to average 25 points is looking weirder and weirder. The Hawkeyes have beaten Utah State 24-14 and Iowa State 20-13. Hard to believe he gets fired if Iowa wins 10 games. Even eight or nine games.
Another oddity: If the defense makes a Pick Six, does he get credit? Apparently.
Keep an eye on Iowa’s game against Western Michigan on Saturday. The Broncos were torched 48-7 at Syracuse last week. Kinda thinking Brian Ferentz is poring over that game tape.
The over/under is 43. I’m not a betting man—especially not over/unders. But that Over ought to be enticing for gamblers.
Then again, if you're betting on Brian Ferentz' offense to score a lot of points, you have your own problems.