2009 Week 1 Notes

5 of 8 "experts" at ESPN predicted Rutgers to win the Big East. Even though only one week has passed, that pick isn't looking too good.

Come on, Temple! You haven't been to a bowl game since 1979. You have a team capable of playing in the postseason. You CANNOT lose to Villanova. Nova scored 13 points in the last ten minutes of the game, including a field goal as time expired. Temple had five turnovers.

Syracuse and Washington both lost, but both look much improved from last season. Washington should have an easy win against Idaho this week, but Syracuse has to go to Penn State.

LSU needs to shore up its defense if it wants to be considered a contender. I thought defensive coordinator John Chavis would be a worthy replacement of Bo Pelini. Maybe he just needs more time.

I never should have believed in you Iowa and Illinois. The Big Ten may not be very good this season. Ohio State barely beat Navy, and now has USC coming to town. The conference needs that win in the worst way. Penn State doesn't have any decent non-conference opponents to hang it's hat on. Who's next in the Big Ten pecking order? The Michigan teams? Other than Notre Dame, neither one will have any notable non-conference wins either.

I never should have doubted you Buffalo, Colorado State and Missouri.

Whose seat is hotter right now, Al Groh or Dan Hawkins? I'll keep this section updated throughout the season, but as of now only those two appear to be in trouble.

Is Cal legit? Could they win the Pac-10? Let's see how they handle the road trip to Minnesota in Week 3 before jumping to conclusions.

Heisman Thoughts: Sam Bradford is out of the race. McCoy and Tebow are still the favorites. Jahvid Best and Jonathan Dwyer are the running backs for now, although I'm not sure how much recognition they have at the national level. Jimmy Clausen and Max Hall will keep getting attention as long as the wins continue.