2008 Week 1 Wrapup

Picks that make me look good:
* Utah over Michigan
* East Carolina over Virginia Tech
* Stanford over Oregon St
* Fresno St over Rutgers


Picks that make me look bad:
* Clemson over Alabama
* Louisville over Kentucky
* UTEP over Buffalo


Week 1 Review
* Bowling Green is a good football team. Dave Wannstedt is a good recruiter.
* North Carolina had me worried when they struggled against McNeese State. They get a bye week before traveling to Rutgers on a Thursday night. Rutgers, who looked very flat against Fresno State, also has a bye week prior to that game. That matchup will be a good measuring stick for both teams.
* Arkansas State pulled off the biggest upset in the first week of action. With conference favorite FAU getting blown out by Texas, the Red Wolves might be a player in the Sun Belt. As for Texas A&M, hopefully this is just a growing pain that comes with a new coach and his new systems. In a tough division, A&M can't afford many slip-ups like this one.
* Is Illinois' offense better than I expected, or is Missouri's defense worse? Missouri should be very worried after giving up 451 passing yards to Juice Williams with several more good QBs on the schedule. Illinois may be better than I thought, and they'll have the chance to prove it on September 27 against Penn State.
* I thought Arkansas was going to have a down year, but I never imagined they would come close to losing to Western Illinois. They play Louisiana Monroe next week, but after that there isn't an easy win on the schedule.
* Remember last season when Louisville didn't play defense? Looks like they aren't going to play offense this season. Don't let the final score confuse you, the defense played very well holding Kentucky to 210 yards and forcing a safety. They couldn't overcome five turnovers and general ineptness of the offense.
* Based on my projection, Louisiana Tech needed just one upset to get to bowl eligibility, and they got it against Mississippi State.


Week 2 Preview
* In a week lacking many good matchups, there are two potentially good games in West Virginia @ East Carolina and Cincinnati @ Oklahoma. East Carolina and Cincinnati have only gotten some of the national recognition they deserve, but that would all change if either gets a win this week.
* Utah received all the praise after beating Michigan in the Big House, but BYU wants in the spotlight too. They play a talented but underachieving Washington team this week.
* Southern Miss rolled up 51 points and over 600 yards of total offense in a blowout of Louisiana Lafayette. Auburn shut out Louisiana Monroe and held them to 220 yards of offense. It will be interesting to see how the two match up next week.
* Some teams are looking to build on their week one success. Mississippi looked good against Memphis, but can they do it against a complete Wake Forest team? Louisiana Tech had a nice upset, but a win over Kansas would be huge. Temple hosts Connecticut in a potential upset. If Stanford wants to prove that it's for real, winning at Arizona State is a good place to start.
* Other teams are looking to rebound from a rough first week. Texas A&M goes to New Mexico, who is probably in a down year but could still be trouble for the Aggies. Pittsburgh hosts Buffalo and Michigan hosts Miami (OH), two talented MAC teams who could prove to be difficult.