2019-20 NCAA Football (Week 2)

Games I saw some of:

(12) Texas A&M 10-24 (1) Clemson
A&M looked good in the 1st half, kept the game close, didn't let Clemson low them out, covered the spread late....but...never felt like they were gonna win the game. Clemson didn't explode or anything but they handled a top quality opponent--which is something they didn't do last season until the playoffs. Clemson is still clearly a top-2 squad; A&M is nice, might make a difference in the SEC West (and they've always given Nick Saban problems). 

(6) LSU 45-38 (9) Texas
I was actually pretty impressed with both teams. LSU always has a good defense but I was more into their offense: moved the ball well, made big plays, had a plan and followed through, which is not typical of LSU (hmmmm, feels like LSU-Bama might be a shootout this year instead the usual slugfest). Texas, too, had a good offense, stuck around even when it felt like they might give up, the fans may be disappointed but they lost to a good squad and seem plenty capable of hanging with OU (which is all that matters really). LSU looks top 10 to me, we'll see how long that lasts.

Army 21-24 (2OT) (7) Michigan
Had the game-winning FG lined up as time expired...tough time for their kicker to make his debut! Had the leg but pushed it wide and you just knew Michigan was gonna win in OT. Army is solid, man, they don't fuck around and they're gonna win more than they lose I am convinced. Michigan...I dunno...I was not impressed with their offense at all and the defense had moments but no real consistency, they sure don't look better than Ohio State right now.

Buffalo 13-45 (15) Penn State
1st half of this game was kinda fun. Buffalo's QB was making plays and they really brought a game effort. But after halftime, Penn State got it going and dominated. In this context I was more impressed with Buffalo than with the Nittany Lions. That said, I anticipate that Penn State will hang just fine in the Big 10.

(25) Nebraska 31-34 (OT) Colorado
Nebraska was better on offense and defense and managed to fritter this one away. When they just stay with their game plan, I think they'll be fine; but when it falters, they're gonna lose games. Colorado was nice, made some big plays, played off the raucous crowd well but did not seem like a particularly noteworthy football team.


Top 25
Handled their business
(1) Clemson, (2) Alabama, (3) Georgia, (4) Oklahoma, (5) Ohio State, (6) LSU, (10) Auburn, (11) Florida, (13) Utah, (15) Penn State, (16) Oregon, (17) Wisconsin, (18) Central Florida, (19) Michigan State, (20) Iowa, (22) Washington, (24) Boise State


Won but did not impress
(7) Michigan. Mmmmm....any offense at all? The D had its moments but didn't look exactly dominant. That said, they played an under appreciated opponent and did well not to fumble the W away.


Not so good
(14) Washington. Yipes! Taking an L in an early home game against a conference opponent that might not be any good....not good.
(21) Syracuse. Yeah, it was a road game against a pretty good-looking Maryland squad but giving up 63 as the favorite is a tough way to go. Ehh, the ranking was just an attempt at early hype prior to the Clemson match, no reason to think Syracuse is top 25.
(23) Stanford. Got smoked by Southern Cal, doesn't seem like a top 25 team.
(25) Nebraska. Should've won, didn't. I can see this team being up/down all year.


Bad beat
(9) Texas. Tough L at home but they played well against a good team and that's a good thing.
(12) Texas A&M. Shit, man, Clemson's good. A&M gave 'em a pretty good game.


Next week's interesting contests:
(hmmmm....nothing's jumping out at me; Florida-Kentucky, Syracuse-Clemson, Iowa-Iowa State should be fun but are they really?)