First and foremost, what the crap, Oklahoma State. I think like, the entire state of Oklahoma is bummed out. First, Sam Bradford gets injured. Now this. In case you didn’t watch the game…Oklahoma State, who was ranked #5, got their asses handed to them by Houston. Most people don’t even realize that Houston has a football team. At first, it was just a good game, but Oklahoma State didn’t look like they were really in jeopardy. Whatever adjustments the Cougars made during halftime worked, though. They scored 21 points in the fourth quarter alone! Final score? 45 – 35. Ouch, Cowboys. There goes your bowl game bid.

Everyone’s still talking about the Ohio State – USC game, too. I actually watched every minute of this game on a 72 – inch HDTV. Be jealous. I was cheering Ohio State (Big Ten love), but I knew it would be a close game, and I’m not upset that USC won. Every year, people say that Big Ten teams can’t compete with Pac-10 teams, but I think this game proves that they can.

USC's #4 Joe McKnight was key in the win against Ohio State. Image: Newscom

The final score was 18 -15, and it was not an easy game for either team by any means. It came down to a final amazing drive across the field by USC’s Matt Barkley and Joe McKnight, which led to a score and two-point conversion. There just wasn’t enough time left on the clock for the Buckeyes to make anything happen to take back the lead. Ohio State dropped to #11, from being #8 last week, and I personally think it is a good place for them to be. Although some are calling for them to drop farther, if you saw the game, you know that USC just barely outplayed Ohio State, and the win had a lot to do with timing rather than talent.

Florida, Texas, and Alabama all won. *shrug* No big new there. The games sucked, for the most part. It was interesting that Texas was so sloppy against Wyoming in the first half, but other than that, there really wasn’t anything to see.

Other interesting scores:

• On Thursday, #15 Georgia Tech was almost upended by Clemson. Final score, 30 – 27. Read about it more at The Palmetto Scoop and Football Zone TV.
• Connecticut kept up with #19 North Carolina, but ultimately fell 12 – 10. Read about it more at Tar Heel Blue.
• Ouch. Michigan State lost to Central Michigan 29 – 27, who is a better team than people give them credit for. Read about it more at The Niles Star and The Scores Report.
• Wisconsin held on against Fresno State in double overtime. Final score was 34 – 31 – it was a great game. Read about it more at Bleacher Report.
• UCLA beat Tennesse 19 – 15. Another great game. Read about it more at the UCLA website and Ledger-Enquirer.

Post from: EveryJoe

College Football Week Two 2009 in Review

Before we get into the games, let’s look at the Top 10 list for this week:

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. USC
4. Alabama
5. Oklahoma State
6. Mississippi
7. Penn State
8. Ohio State
9. BYU
10. California

The top five in particular intrigue me. #1 Florida play Troy this week, and try as I might, I can’t even imagine this as a good game. It should be as easy of a game as last week’s game against Charleston Southern. #2 Texas arguably has an even easier game, playing at Wyoming. #4 Alabama also has a gimme game, hosting Florida International this week, and #5 Oklahoma State might has well just have a 4-0 record now, since they play Houston this week and Rice and Grambling State the two weeks after that. Well, ok, Houston may be a little resistance. As long as OK State doesn’t lose their head, though, it should be a win for the Cowboys.

So does that mean Week Two is a complete waste of time? No way – because this week, #3 USC travels across the country to Buckeyes territory to take on #8 Ohio State at home.

This week is USC's Matt Barkley's real test. Image: Newscom

Now, last week, Ohio State was anything but impressive. You might not know it from the final score, but they were perilously close to letting Navy run away with the game before rallying to come out on top. They’ll have to do better than that to beat the Trojans. On the other hand, though USC stomped San Jose State last week, they have a brand-new quarterback and they’ll be playing at one of the hardest places in major college football. Terrell Pryor might be young too, but he’s an old pro next to true freshman Matt Barkley. So, my friends, I believe we have game.

There are other potentially good games during Week Two as well.

On Saturday afternoon, #18 Notre Dame plays at Michigan. One team has a fairly experienced quarterback. The other team has allegedly been working to the bone to prepare for the season. Both teams have coaches that have a lot to lose. If Notre Dame doesn’t have a BCS bowl season, head coach Charlie Weis should be worried about his job. If Michigan doesn’t at least have a winning season with some exciting wins, head coach Rich Rodriguez may get run out of town. Hell, even if they do have a great season, Coach Rod may be fleeing the state when the season is over, the way things are going for him. On both teams, you’ve got players who are just sick and tired of being laughed at. With so much on the line, it should be an interesting game.

Personally, I want to watch the UCLA – Tennessee as well. Neither team is ranked, but they both want to be. Last week, UCLA won over San Diego State – no surprise. Tennessee also had a fairly easy week, winning over Western Kentucky. Against one another? I think the game will be pretty even. The Tennessee defense might tip the scales in their favor, but we’ll see.

Also significant? #18 Miami doesn’t play this week after surprisingly beating Florida State last week to knock them out of the Top 25. Will their week off slow them down enough to make the game on September 17 against Georgia Tech a lost cause for the Hurricanes?

Your thoughts on Week Two?

Post from: EveryJoe

College Football Week Two 2009 Preview

Rick Neuheisel, Image: Newscom

The exact amount their paychecks will drop is still being negotiated, but the men will forfeit up to 10% of their salaries for the year. Neuheisel makes $1.25, plus up to $500,000 in bonuses annually, while Howland’s salary plus incentives for last year was $2.17 million. UCLA’s AD salary is $465,000. The school may approach other staff members to ask for voluntary pay cuts as well.

Would you take a pay cut, even though you didn’t have to, if you knew it would help your school and your state’s overall budget? To you think other schools should consider this approach as well?

Post from: EveryJoe

Pay Cut for UCLA Coaches and AD?