Musings on Week One

Wake up, Junior!

So week one of the college football season is all but in the books, with only another "terrible offenses masked by the notion that people think we still have elite defenses" Miami vs. Florida State game. Here are my thoughts from around the college football world...

First the Michigan game:

• The first thing that jumped out at me was how much more speed this team has than last year's team. Denard Robinson adds something as a change of pace quarterback, which should be his role on this team for the rest of the season. Troy Woolfolk and Michael Williams brought speed to the safety positions. However, the biggest impact came with guys that were not even on the team last year. Kelvin Grady impressed the hell out of me at the slot receiver position, showing he has some play making potential. Craig Roh also brought great energy and speed from the Spinner position. Loved what I saw from the "speedsters" in week one.
• Junior Hemingway had a helluva first game, showing that he has real potential to be a #1 receiver. Something UM lacked last year was a guy that could stretch the field, which really allowed teams to focus on bubble screens and bring pressure. With Hemingway providing a deep threat, safeties will not be able to crowd the line of scrimmage, opening up running lanes and bubble screens.
• The third cornerback is still a bit of a mystery. This needs to be worked out ASAP with Notre Dame's outstanding receiving trio of Michael Floyd, Golden Tate, and Kyle Rudolph coming to town. Floyd was an absolute mismatch for the Irish last year, so here's to hoping that a healthy Donovan Warren can help limit him. JT Floyd may have just opened up the door for freshman Justin Turner to grab the #3 corner spot and never look back.
• Great to hear the enthusiasm at the Big House! That was the loudest I had heard the Big House in a long time, and I hope that continues. The "Rich Rod-rig-uez" chant was awesome, and just shows that all the fans that "count" are ALL-IN for UM Football!

The Ohio State game:

• There shouldn't be too much panic about the Buckeye's struggling against Navy's option attack. It is such a unique system, and it is run with near perfect execution, so I think that even the best defenses would struggle with it. What I would be concerned about is the big plays given up in the secondary. Navy does not have big play receivers, yet they were able to get behind the Ohio State secondary for huge plays that almost cost the Buckeyes the game. They need to shore that up, or Matt Barkley will carve up the secondary.
• I didn't see much progress in Terrelle Pryor's throwing game. This is a huge concern if I am a Buckeye fan. While his stats were still impressive, I did not see much of a "pocket passing" game. Where Pryor excelled was when he improvised and guys were wide open. Against better teams, they will have to be able to complete the timing routes to keep the pressure off the running game.
• Brian Rolle is going to be a helluva player. The guy flies from sideline to sideline and makes plays. James Laurinaitis will not be missed very much with Rolle patrolling the middle.

From other games:

• How poor did Oklahoma look without Sam Bradford? Give credit to BYU, but Oklahoma was supposed to have so many offensive weapons that it shouldn't have mattered if Bradford was out. I saw an offensive line that was rattled after BYU refused to give in. Once Bradford went down, there was no leadership out there on the field. Sorry, Big Game Bob, you will have to wait another year for your next national title appearance.
• I really do not like Nick Saban coached teams. Alabama played with a swagger that was way more of a cockiness than a confidence. Rolando McClain made some huge mental errors that led to a Virginia Tech touchdown, and that will not fly against the big boys in the SEC.
• Tyrod Taylor did not impress me one bit. Taylor tried to prove that he had improved his passing game, but in doing that he got away from what made him such a threat in the first place. He is still a poor passer, and if he is not using his legs than he is really of no use to anyone. A lot of unfulfilled hype in the season debut for Tyrod. How much of that is chalked up to an elite Alabama defense we will find out.
• The rule allowing for Northern Iowa to get off two last second field goals in their game against Iowa needs to be changed. There should be no circumstance that should allow a team to get two chances, unless it is a Leon Lett-style bonehead play.

Overall, it was a pretty good first week for college football. By definition, any weekend with college football is amazing; this just proved to be a bit above the "good" amazing. Next week is going to be huge, with the Big Ten having the chance to prove it's detractors wrong. Except Ohio State, they can die.

Go Blue and NRTTS

Coach Deuce