From the pressbox: AP Top 25 Review - Week 1

By Hugo Guzman  |   Wednesday, September 05, 2007  |  Comments( 3 )

College Football
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NO. 1 USC TROJANS (1-0). USC opened up the 2007 season with a stodgy 38-10 thumping of WAC bottom dweller Idaho Vandals ... yes, the same Vandals whom Dennis Erickson misled and left hanging when he bolted for Arizona State last winter. To be sure, Erickson's presence on the Vandals sideline wouldn't have helped a bit. It was the Trojans' 34th straight victory at home--the longest such streak in the nation. "There's a lot of areas we can do better on," Pete Carroll said, acknowledging a much stiffer test in two weeks on Sept. 15 when they visit No. 16 Nebraska and a rematch with Sam Keller, the former ASU QB who had them on the ropes in Tempe two years ago.

NO. 2 LSU TIGERS. (1-0). The Tigers' opening 45-0 rout of Mississippi State didn't necessarily prove a lot, considering it was played in a steady rain. Matt Flynn replaced JaMarcus Russell at quarterback and completed 12 of 19 passes for 128 yards. He also ran for 42 yards, which was a little surprising. With the poor footing, breakaway back Keiland Williams became a short-yardage plugger, scoring twice. The Tigers intercepted MSU QB Michael Henig six times (three picks from Craig Steltz), prompting Henig to remark: "I know people will say bad things this week." This might also be remembered as the game in which backup QB Ryan Perrilloux emerged from the shadows - the former high-profile recruit ran for one score and threw for another in garbage time. We'll see how good Les Miles' team really is this week, when No. 9 Virginia Tech comes to town.

NO. 3 WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS (1-0). Last year, Western Michigan's defense was sixth nationally against the run - but it never had to face Steve Slaton and Patrick White. Slaton rushed for 109 yards, White for 97, and the Mountaineers frolicked, 62-24. Even better, from the point of view of WVU coach Rich Rodriguez, White showed a stronger arm and finer marksmanship, chucking for 192 yards and two touchdowns. The game marked the debut of superfrosh Noel Devine, who rushed for 44 yards and a TD and caught a 19-yard pass. The Mountaineers play in-state rival ("We Are!") Marshall on Saturday.

NO. 4 FLORIDA GATORS. (1-0). We all knew Tim Tebow could run, but can he throw? Well, against Western Kentucky, he could. The sophomore southpaw dissected the WKU secondary for 300 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-3 Gator victory, including 103 yards in receptions by Andre Caldwell. "I think (coach) Urban (Meyer) wanted to showcase his (Tebow's) arm," Caldwell said. Mission accomplished. As for the defense, the Gators knocked the Hilltoppers' top two quarterbacks out of the game. It was a night fit for Gators, as well - an hour rain delay in a contest that was finally called by lightning midway through the fourth quarter. Next up: Troy State, which was feasted upon by Arkansas last week.

NO. 5 OKLAHOMA SOONERS. (1-0). The Sooners' 79-10 blowout of North Texas was the most lopsided season opener since 1989 when they beat New Mexico State 73-3. Freshman DeMarco Murray became the first Oklahoma player to score five touchdowns in his debut, and new redshirt freshman QB Sam Bradford broke Josh Heupel's record for passing yardage in a half, going 20 of 22 for 350 yards in the first half. He also tied Jason White's school record of 18 straight completions before his backup came on to mop up the carnage. The Sooners will host the Miami Hurricanes (1-0) this week in one of the best matchups of the early season.

NO. 6 WISCONSIN BADGERS (1-0). The Badgers logged one of the most impressive season openers among ranked teams with a thorough 42-21 spanking of dangerous Washington State. Tyler Donovan looked impressive against the Cougars with a performance that won over the crowd (19 of 29, 284 yards, three passing TDs, one rushing TD). His favorite receiver was Luke Swan, who grabbed eight passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns. The Badgers took a commanding 28-14 lead in the first half after ripping off three unanswered TDs and never looked back. They'll travel to Las Vegas to take on MWC cellar dweller UNLV this Saturday.

NO. 7 TEXAS LONGHORNS (1-0). It's a bit hard to believe the pollsters were so kind to leave Texas ranked this high (dropping only three spots) after the Longhorns struggled mightily at home against Arkansas State, finally prevailing 21-13. Coach Mack Brown said, "I told them not to let it scare them. Everybody's pretty good if you let them stay in the game." QB Colt McCoy went 22 of 33 for 223 yards, two scores and two picks. No. 19 TCU heads into Austin this Saturday for one of the weekend's best clashes. TCU is looking to be a BCS buster this year and the Longhorns are one of the biggest obstacles in its way. If Texas plays like it did against Arkansas State, the Longhorns won't beat the Frogs.

NO. 8 LOUISVILLE CARDINALS (1-0). Brian Brohm started out 8 for 8 - eight possessions, eight scoring drives - as the Cardinals ate Murray State, 73-10. Except for the presence of new coach Steve Kragthorpe on the sidelines, this was déjà vu - Brohm throwing for 375 yards and four touchdowns to veteran receivers Harry Douglas, Mario Urrutia and Gary Barnidge, with holdover RBs George Stripling, Sergio Spencer and Anthony Allen chewing up yardage. "Brian was a surgeon out there," Kragthorpe said. More like Dr. Kervorkian. The Cardinals go slumming again this week, facing Middle Tennessee in a Thursday night game.

NO. 9 VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (1-0). Are the Hokies ready to be America's Team? Their erratic performance in a 17-7 season-opening victory over East Carolina makes one wonder. Of course, with all the emotion revolving around a pre-game dedication of the season to last April's 32 Tech shooting victims, it's understandable that Frank Beamer's squad was a little distracted. Problem is, QB Sean Glennon's poor showing was a reminder that this week he has to operate against a fierce LSU defense. It's the 2005 Poster Team (Katrina) against this year's version; Glennon -- and Tech -- had better put all distractions aside.

NO. 10 CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (1-0). Get revenge for last year's humiliation to the Vols on national TV. Check. Christen DeSean Jackson's Heisman Trophy campaign. Check. Check out new freshman running back Jhavid Best. Check. The Bears look to be every bit the BCS contender with an impressive 45-31 smack-down of Tennessee in Berkeley on Saturday. Jackson ripped off one of his signature TD punt returns (a jaw-dropping 77-yarder) that instantly catapulted him to top-three status on the Heisman watch list. Cal freshman Best carried the brick four times for 46 yards in his college debut. The Bears have so many speedy offensive weapons, Colorado State head coach Sonny Lubick's head must be spinning in preparation for this weekend's game in Fort Collins.

NO. 11 GEORGIA BULLDOGS (1-0). The Bulldogs' opener with Oklahoma State was supposed to be one of the top games on the opening-day menu - a potent offense (OSU was No. 7 nationally in scoring last season) playing on the road versus a traditional power with 12 first-time starters. The problem, from the Cowboys' point of view, is that QB Bobby Reid and RB Dantrell Savage were let down by their offensive line, which allowed game-long penetration by the Dawgs. Meanwhile, sophomore QB Matthew Stafford hit 18 of 24 passes for 234 yards in a 35-14 rout. And now, we all know Knowshon - Georgia's heralded freshman back, Knowshon Moreno, gained 70 yards. This week gets tougher when South Carolina visits.

NO. 12 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (1-0). The Bucks rolled over early season tune-up Youngstown State 38-6 behind new QB Todd Boeckman's 225-yard, two-TD performance. Ohio State coach Jim Tressel coached at Youngstown St. for 15 years and racked up four I-AA championships before arriving in Columbus in 2001. "It's tough when you play against your old folks," he said. Buckeye fans erupted in cheers and jeers when they learned that archrival Michigan had been upset by I-AA (now FCS) Appalachian State. Tressel, however, said he was rooting for the Wolverines. He knows the importance of playing Michigan as a ranked team at the end of the year. Next up: Akron in Columbus.

NO. 13 UCLA BRUINS (1-0). The Bruins showed Stanford's new head coach, Jim Harbaugh, just how much work his team needs to compete in the Pac-10 again. Lots. UCLA toyed with the Cardinal in the first half, heading into halftime with a 14-7 lead. The second half was a one-way slugfest with the Bruins dominating 45-17. One sore spot that coach Karl Dorrell knows he needs to shore up is the pass defense. UCLA gave up 331 yards passing to Stanford, and that's a huge concern with BYU's precision aerial attack coming to Pasadena this weekend. Intrigue in the game abounds, as Bruin QB Ben Olson was once BYU's most prized recruit, but he opted to transfer after his church mission to Canada two years ago.

NO. 14 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (1-0). Joe Paterno's troops registered a workmanlike 59-0 dismantling of Florida International in front of a home crowd in Happy Valley that exceeded 107,000. The Nittany Lions outgained the Golden Panthers 549 yards to 114. Penn State receiver Derrick Williams said not having Paterno on the sidelines last year was like their dad was gone. "It showed today how important it is he's on the sidelines." The Lions host Notre Dame this week in what might very well be the last time the two teams meet at Beaver Stadium with JoePa at the helm of the PSU program.

NO. 15. RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (1-0). Cinderella? Not anymore. This was Cinderella on steroids (just a figure of speech, honest), and the Knights planted their size-18 glass slipper squarely on the back of hapless Buffalo, 38-3. This was one of your classic "not as close as the score would indicate" games, with Rutgers up 35-3 at halftime. Heisman candidate Ray Rice rushed for 184 yards and three touchdowns while QB Mike Teel threw for over 300 yards, but the real star turned out to be wide receiver Tiquan Underwood, who caught 10 passes for 248 yards and a pair of scores. The visitors were, well, Buffaloed. This week, it's Navy's Midshipmen for Greg Schiano's scarlet legions.

NO. 16. NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (1-0). The Cornhuskers smashed the Nevada Wolfpack 52-10 in the debut of heralded transfer QB Sam Keller, who only managed a 193-yard effort with one TD and one interception. Nebraska's offense looked more like the smash-mouth Big Red ground machine of old with Marlon Lucky rushing 30 times for 233 yards and three scores. The Huskers cannot afford to look past their road game this week at Wake Forest as a showdown with No. 1 USC looms on the horizon. The Demon Deacons fought mightily in a 38-28 loss on the road to Boston College last weekend, and they won't need any motivation to get up for only their third meeting ever with Nebraska.

NO. 17 AUBURN TIGERS (1-0). The Tigers played like old nags most of the way against a fired-up Kansas State team, then finished like Secretariat. Trailing 13-9 going into the fourth quarter, with a reworked offensive line looking outmatched, Tommy Tuberville's team finally moved ahead on a TD pass from Brandon Cox to Gabe McKenzie with 2:01 left, then iced the game less than a minute later when DE Quinton Groves showed why he's on everyone's All-America team list by separating K-State QB Josh Freeman from the football, which Antonio Coleman carried into the end zone. This Saturday could be one of those "trap" games for the Tigers, though, as South Florida of the Big East visits. The Bulls were underwhelming in a 28-13 victory over Elon, but Alabama transfer Mike Ford looked good at running back and QB Matt Grothe was sharp. Memo to Auburn O-line: SFU's George Selvie had four sacks last week.

NO. 18 ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS (1-0). Any hopes that Casey Dick would morph into Peyton Manning during the offseason were dashed during the Razorbacks' 46-26 demolition of the Troy Trojans. Casey didn't exactly strike out, but he was his old self, a barely adequate 11 of 20 for 108 yards. Still, do the Razorbacks really need a quarterback? Heisman hopeful twins Darren McFadden and Felix Jones rushed for a combined 280 yards (Jones also scored on a kickoff return) and McFadden threw a 42-yard touchdown pass. The Hogs now get a week off before traveling to Alabama.

NO. 19 TCU HORNED FROGS (1-0). Playing without preseason All-America defensive end Tommy Blake, the Horned Frogs stifled instate Big 12 rival Baylor 27-0. The Purple Menace thwarted the Bears' offensive attack at every turn in preparation for the biggest game on their schedule against Texas in Austin. The Frogs and Horns last tangled in 1995 when they were both members of the old Southwest Conference; Texas leads the longtime series with a record of 60-20-1. If TCU can prevail in Austin, it might very well go on a roll until it plays at BYU in early November.

NO. 20 HAWAII WARRIORS (1-0). Hawaii defeated Division I-AA Northern Colorado 63-6 at home in its season opener. QB Colt Brennan tossed six touchdowns in the first half alone. Extrapolating that over the entire season, Brennan would end up with 150 TD passes on the season--22 more than the category career leader Ty Detmer (128 career TD passes). "We took care of business. That's what we wanted to do," said Brennan. Next up for the Warriors is a road game at WAC foe Louisiana Tech. Hawaii faces one of the weakest schedules in Division I-A this year and shouldn't be severely tested until Nov. 23 in its highly anticipated conference clash with Boise State.

NO. 21 GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS (1-0). So ... is Georgia Tech that good? Or is Notre Dame that bad? The consensus after Tech pounded the Irish 33-3 in South Bend - the worst opening-game loss ever for a Notre Dame team - seemed to be: A little of both. Irish coach Charlie Weis said later that his team came out "determined to run the ball." That's not good, because ND finished with minus-8 ground yards. The Yellow Jackets were dominant on defense, blitzing relentlessly, and rode RB Tashard Choice (196 yards, two TDs) on offense. This game may be remembered as the debut for freshman Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen, who hit 4 of 6 passes in mop-up duty. Or, it could be remembered as the opening statement in a landmark Georgia Tech season. A letdown shouldn't be a problem for Chan Gailey's squad with Samford next on the schedule.

NO. 22 BOISE STATE BRONCOS (1-0). BSU took care of business with a 56-7 thrashing of Division I-AA Weber State on the Smurf Turf field. It was BSU's 14th victory in a row dating back to last year's season opener, and the longest winning streak in the nation in major college football. The Broncos led 49-0 at halftime. Ian Johnson had 129 yards rushing and three TDs on the day. BSU coach Chris Petersen said he was surprised how well his team executed on both sides of the ball. This week the Broncos head west to Seattle to take on the Washington Huskies for the first time ever in their brief history as a Division I-A program.

NO. 23 TEXAS A&M AGGIES (1-0). The Aggies took care of Division I-AA Montana State 36-7 in their season opener at home. Coach Dennis Franchione said he was happy with the win and glad that "we're not Michigan tonight." QB Stephen McGee accounted for well over 200 offensive yards with 112 yards passing and 121 yards rushing on the night. He also scored two touchdowns. They will face a much stronger opponent when Fresno State (1-0) visits College Station this weekend.

NO. 24 TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS (0-1). Did you really think Tennessee was going to go on the road and beat Cal? After last year's Golden Bear humiliation in Knoxville? The final score was 45-21, DeSean Jackson used the Volunteers as visual aids for his Heisman campaign, and the young Vol defense obviously leaked. Still, Erik Ainge threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns despite an injured pinky on his throwing hand; WR Lucas Taylor looked like a reasonable replacement for Robert Meacham at wideout; and LB Xavier Mitchell turned out to have "only a concussion" instead of a possibly career-ending spinal injury. As Jimmy Buffett advises in one of his latest tunes: "Breathe in, breathe out, move on."

NO. 25 CLEMSON TIGERS (1-0). Tiger fans ripped down the collapsible goalposts at the end of their team's 24-18 victory over Florida State at Death Valley on Monday night - problem was, the game wasn't quite over, as the officials wanted to review Drew Weatherford's final incomplete pass. It really didn't matter, of course, and that's what Tiger LB Nick Watkins pointed out, as well. "We beat Florida State last year." Nevertheless, Clemson's Arkansas-style backfield of James Davis and C.J. Spiller ripped through the Seminoles' collapsible defense, new QB Cullen Harper tossed a couple of touchdown passes, and the Tiger 'D' was solid in the first half. After that, though, Clemson seemed to lack the killer instinct to put the game away - the killer instinct exhibited by the Tiger fans. This week, Clemson hosts Louisiana-Monroe, a 35-17 loser to Tulsa in its opener. The goal posts are probably safe.

ON THE BUBBLE: Boston College, Missouri, Miami, Oregon, Alabama, Oregon State, Michigan, South Carolina, BYU, South Florida.

Todd Erickson and Darrell Laurent are Senior Editors at RealFootball365.com
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About Hugo Guzman

Trying to bring an objective approach to NFL analysis.
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