Week Two

Mike Leech, the former Texas Tech coach has a radio show with Jack Arute on rivals radio now. I was listening to it the other day and he was talking about how you never really know who your team is or how good they are until after 3 games. I think a lot of what he has to say, it makes sense to me, so I took that information and put it in my vault. And after this weekend's college games I thought of his comments as I was watching things unfold.

It was a wacky weekend in terms of teams struggling with lesser teams they should handle easily. Arkansas didn't look very good in the first half, LSU fumbled a ton and looked poor again, Florida looked terrible again in the first 2 1/2 quarters. On the other hand Tennessee looked great in the first half against Oregon, but then got blown out in the 2nd half. But I always think about the real reason BCS schools beat up on non-BCS schools is depth. The first string of a Sun-Belt team can hang in there for a half, but then with all the substitutions an SEC team is able to do the depth wears on them and it ends up a blowout. Still, a lot of these teams I'm unsure about, and it will be interesting to see what happens in the next couple weeks.

The shiny point I'll take away from this weekend is that Marcus Lattimore is a beast and I feel much better about my South Carolina pick to win the East. Also, the ACC looks awful...they went 4-5 on the weekend, and that's 2-4 vs. Division I-A and 2-1 against I-AA, that is pathetic. Virginia Tech losing to James Madison makes Boise State's big win look bad, we'll see how it plays out down the road. JaCorey Harris also is not who I thought he was, looking mediocre at best against Ohio State. Mississippi State had a great chance to get a big victory against Auburn on Thursday night but they couldn't capitalize on plenty of opportunities. The offense looks like a mirage since Memphis got shredded by East Carolina, but we'll see what happens against LSU coming up next. That was the only SEC game I missed, I went 8-1 and I was 4-2 on the national games. So my overall SEC record is 19-2 and nationally it's 8-4. Here's my Week 2 Power Rankings:

1. Alabama - They looked like a defending national champion and #1 team should against Penn State. They were the better team and they showed it, even without Mark Ingram they are impressive...they should do the same thing this coming week at Duke.

2. Arkansas - The Hogs struggled a little bit with ULM in the first half, their defense gave Mallett some problems, but he pulled it together in the second half to end up throwing for 400 yards. Their first real test is coming up next at Georgia.

3. Florida - They didn't look any better on offense in the first half. They also benefited from a USF fumble in the red zone and a pick 6. They are going to have to pull it together going to Tennessee this week.

4. Auburn - Cam Newton is officially a beast. He's a more hard-nosed version of Terrelle Pryor, not as fast but he can run the ball better inside the tackles. They pulled out a tough game at Mississippi State, they've got an interesting matchup this week at home against Clemson.

5. South Carolina - The Gamecocks are up there with Alabama as the two teams that have looks the best for the first two weeks of the season. Marcus Lattimore is the real deal, Garcia is playing well, and their defense might be the best in the SEC.

6. LSU - LSU did not look impressive again this week. They struggled to move the ball for 3 1/2 quarters until Vandy's D just gave out and they were able to break off some big runs. I moved them up 2 spots this week but only because UGA and MSU lost.

7. Georgia - They didn't look bad against South Carolina, but they were soundly defeated. Aaron Murrey looks about like he should, it will be interesting to see what he can do at home this week against another good team...although not as good of a defense.

8. Mississippi State - The offense didn't look as good as it did in week one but it could just be a bump in the road. The defense looks great right now and I think they are the 3rd best D in the SEC.

9. Kentucky - I could move them up a little since they are 2-0 but they still haven't really been tested. Louisville is a Big East school but that is a team they are better than and Western Kentucky is no good. They are playing yet another weakling this week in Akron, and if they win that I promise to move them up at least one spot.

10. Tennessee - The Vols looked really good in the first half against Oregon, I couldn't believe what I was seeing, but it was a mirage because they got smoked in the 2nd half. I think they are better than I anticipated but they still aren't too great. They are overachieving and Florida is underachieving so it will be interesting to see what happens this week when they host the Gators.

11. Vanderbilt - Even though Vandy is 0-2 they have played pretty well in their first two games at home. They hung with two bowl teams, but they just don't have the depth to pull these games out. And they've got a chance to stay out of the cellar again next week going to Ole Miss.

12. Ole Miss - I was tempted to put the Rebs up at #11 since they got a victory but they still didn't look too impressive against Tulane, and after that horrible loss in week one they are going to have to play their way out this week hosting Vandy.

My National Top 5:

1. Alabama
2. Boise State
3. Nebraska
4. TCU
5. Ohio State

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer had a great semifinal match in the U.S. Open, it's too bad it was in the middle of a ton of great college football games. They need to move the U.S. Open to mid-August so it can have the stage it deserves. After the rainout yesterday it sets up for which should be a great final today since Djokavic got much needed rest to face Nadal.

There's 18 games left in the baseball season, it's coming down to the wire for the Braves and Phillies. Unfortunately, the Braves have lost the lead they held all summer but they've still got 6 games left with the Phillies. I figure if they can go 7-2 at home and 5-4 on the road to finish the season out they will be in the playoffs whether it be the division winner or the wild card.


JB