We waited for what seemed like ages for the college football season to start. Now, week one is already done and in the books (psssst…read about week one here). Over the last two days we’ve discussed transfer QBs and the biggest surprises from the first week. Now, we look ahead to week two as TSS associate editors Bart Doan and Terry Johnson join staff writer Kevin Causey in our weekly roundtable discussing all things college football.
Question: Which team needs to make a statement in week two?
Bart Doan:
On Twitter @TheCoachBart
We’re in a position still where we really don’t know jack about most teams and the full personality is still coming into focus. It’s like the job interview process. Even when hiring someone, you know a limited amount about them and most of it is a leap of faith. That said, it’s fair to say “the winner of BYU vs. Boise State” is an easy, low-hanging fruit answer. So I’ll grab some.
After winning in Nebraska and for BSU, at home against Washington, these two are as expected, in the catbird seat for any snowball’s chance in Hell of cracking that CFB Playoff discussion. It’s still an uphill climb either way, but the majority of folks’ opinions on these two teams or any Gang of Five teams come from out of conference games. If whoever goes onto win this game runs the table, they’ll be rooting for the other one to give them a bump perception-wise. A well played game by both would go a long way in November, possibly, and this could be the last major chance for BSU to drop some serious perception on the nation before going into what looks like a fairly sketchy Mountain West season.
Kevin Causey:
On Twitter @CFBZ
Week one is very tough to judge teams. Some teams are working things out and breaking in new players/coaches. Others are trying to stay as vanilla as possible while playing inferior competition. Two teams that under performed in week one (based on my expectations for them) were Oregon and Michigan State.
Oregon was favored by 35 but won by 19 while giving up 42 points. Michigan State won by 13 against a directional school from their state.
The good news? These two teams play each other this week!
Both of these teams have a chance to quickly go from my outhouse to my penthouse with a win. This is going to be a good one and I can’t wait to see who comes out on top.
Terry Johnson:
On Twitter @SectionTPJ
I’ll go with Temple.
Make no mistake about it: the Owls turned in one of the most impressive performances of week 1. After giving up 10 points and 128 yards on the first two drives, TU’s defense would dominate the rest of the contest. Over the final three and a half quarters, the Owl “D” limited Penn State to just 52 yards.
Despite this impressive showing, a lot of experts aren’t sold on Temple yet. Rather than give the Owls the credit they deserve for thrashing a solid Big Ten team, most of the media explains the outcome as, “Penn State isn’t any good.”
I’m not saying that this is right… just acknowledging what’s happening.
Temple can silence these critics on Saturday, when it travels to Cincinnati. With a victory over the Bearcats – picked to win the league in the preseason media poll – the Owls would prove to everyone in the college football world that its victory over Penn State was no fluke.
A “W” would also make them the favorite to win the East Division and perhaps enter the Gang of Five at-large bid discussion.
That’s a heck of a lot to play for, which is why Temple needs to make a statement for the second week in a row.
