Week 2: Close encounters of meaning, or not

Week 2 

With one more week in the books, the picture becomes clearer in some spots, blurrier in others. 

The nonconference slate is a mishmash of comfortable victories, head-scratching close calls and everything in between: Week 2 offered a diverse selection of all three. Take Clemson, Georgia, Arizona, for example -- and those were all wins. 

Thus far, Clemson looks nothing like the team that closed the 2015 season on a high note, the highest note of any team not named Alabama. Deshaun Watson passed a whopping 53 times and completed just 27 of those attempts, which is fine if you're Texas Tech or the Detroit Lions' Matt Stafford, but not if you're the No. 2 team in the country playing Troy at home. 

Meanwhile, in Athens, Kirby Smart's squad limped its way to a win against Nicholls State (which finished 3-8 in 2015). After a solid win against UNC (made slightly more solid after UNC's thumping of Illinois), the Dawgs came back down to earth, with Nick Chubb managing just 80 yards on 20 carries. Turnovers helped keep the Colonels in the game, as if often the case when the Little Guy hangs with the Big Guy. Georgia can definitely compete in the SEC East -- which, I suppose, is a lot like saying the Big Ten West winner will have a chance at winning the conference title. But this team is another Chubb injury away from some real problems ... an injury that hopefully does not happen, because he's a fun player to watch, and isn't that what all of this is about? 

Arizona, well, they scored 28 unanswered and beat Grambling State by 10. If you need a second to reread that sentence, feel free to do so and meet me at the next paragraph. 

Done? Yes, that is something that happened, yet another drop in the torrential downpour of madness that is the college game. And, really, let's be honest: Is that result even all that surprising? Does that box score move the needle in any way whatsoever? No? I'm not sure what to say about the Rich Rodriguez era in Tucson other than his teams always seem to teeter perilously on the precipice separating resurgence from oblivion. Rodriguez's squad followed his first two seasons, both 8-win campaigns, with 10 wins in 2014, but just seven last year. 

The Wildcats cap the season with trips to Oregon State and Washington State, and the rivalry tilt against Arizona State. But it's the five games prior that will decide the season and, perhaps, move the needle back in the positive direction for Rodriguez and Co. After this week's matchup against Hawaii, Arizona hosts Washington, travels to UCLA and Utah, then hosts USC and Stanford. Win three of those and close out with four straight against WSU, Oregon State, Colorado and ASU and you're looking at eight wins. 

But, you know, who knows. Arizona, like so many others, is just one of those teams that generally does not adhere to philosophical structures of order or reason. They're either firing on all cylinders, zooming down the highway, or crapped out on the side of the road, belching smoke into the pastel Arizona sky. 

Speaking of close calls, you can even look at Nebraska, which dispatched Wyoming with ease, 52-17 -- close call? The Cornhuskers held a 24-17 lead after three quarters. But hey, that's why you play four. 

If all of the above sounds like bad news for the aforementioned teams, maybe it is and maybe it isn't -- but take it all into account, hand-wringing Michigan fan, when you bemoan Michigan's "unimpressive" 37-point victory against UCF. 

That performance was far from perfect, but why is anyone expecting that in the first place? Even Alabama, the colossus from T-Town, didn't look like the same team in Week 2, besting Western Kentucky by "just" 28 points, 38-10. Jalen Hurts threw two picks and the Tide averaged 3.2 yards per carry. None of that means anything. 

Oh, right, there was also that business in Stillwater. What to say? I still lack words for the conclusion of the 2015 Michigan-Michigan State game. Things happen in college football that are spectacular for their lack of decipherable meaning. You can say "why?" but you already know the answer. 

Incredulity, thy nom de guerre is college football. 

If you're looking for sense in anything, college football is the last place you'll find it. You might as well roam the desert looking for a Wi-Fi hotspot, pining for a chance to send that Tweet about how something that happened on Sept. 10 presages either doom or success against a future opponent. 

Elsewhere

• Iowa State is truly bad. This is a fact that only underscores the awesome accomplishment achieved by Iowa in its 42-3 win against them. The Hawkeyes have found a way to lose to some wretched Cyclones teams over the years, but not this time. Really, I was far more impressed by this victory than one ought to be. We're not talking a hex of the late 1990s/early 2000s, when ISU beat Iowa five years in a row, but ISU did take three of the last five before this year's matchup, including the 2012 9-6 game. That ISU team finished 6-7. They also finished 6-7 in 2011, another winning year for ISU over Iowa, and 2-10 in 2014. This is probably more than you needed to know -- the point? Beating a bad Iowa State team by many points is significant for an Iowa team that has struggled to beat bad Iowa State teams. 

• Remember Danny Etling? If you do, you're either a recruiting buff or a Purdue football die-hard. Regardless, he played most of a football game this past Saturday ... for LSU. Etling, who transferred from West Lafayette to Baton Rouge, went 6-of-14 for 100 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Which, somehow, was worse than Brandon Harris' performance in Week 1 against Wisconsin. It really is difficult to think of a program that has squandered so much talent based on its inability to get one thing even sort of right (i.e. quarterback). Gone are the glorious days of Matt Mauck.

• The Seminoles head to Louisville to take on QB Lamar Jackson and Co. this week in what promises to be an exciting matchup. Jackson posted another big day in a Week 2 win against Syracuse. In two games, he's passed for 697 yards and completed 59.7 percent of his attempts. He's also rushed for 318 yards. Needless to say, FSU is a step or two up from Charlotte and Syracuse. But if early returns mean anything, Jackson is a step up from the quarterbacks FSU has faced to date. 

• There's still something strange about seeing Washington sitting there at No. 8. They went 8-6 and 7-6 in Chris Petersen's first two years, yet somehow found themselves in the preseason top 10. Why? I don't know. It's not even that they necessarily don't "deserve" to be there, so much as their inclusion feels very strange, like a curly fry that finds its way into a batch of regular fries. With that said, unlike many other teams, the Huskies have taken care of business thus far, and the schedule actually looks quite manageable. UW hosts Stanford Sept. 30 and visits Oregon Oct. 8, but after that I don't see any games that are slam-dunk losses. A trip to Utah is always tough (ask Michigan), USC is the Pac-12's LSU (hey, look at all that talent) and the Apple Cup is a rivalry game still, even if the Cougars have failed spectacularly to date. If UW wants any chance at a playoff berth, it will need to sweep that Stanford-Oregon stretch. 

• The game of the week? Arkansas-TCU, which was actually sort of a snoozer until the very end. The unsnoozeification of this one began when Arkansas missed a 22-yard field goal, then up 20-7 late in the third. TCU stormed back to take a lead, until Arkansas went 58 yards in 62 seconds to tie it with a minute to go at 28-28. TCU had a chance to win with a field goal, a 28-yarder. That was blocked, because the very notion of field goals resides in the realm of Bad Possibilities, and Arkansas went on to win in overtime. It's still unclear to me what Bret Bielema and Arkansas' path to success in the SEC West is, but one thing's certain: Razorbacks games are worth the watch. A Sept. 24 date with Texas A&M will likely be another one worthy of viewing consideration. 

• After a rough first quarter that saw Tennessee trailing Virginia Tech 14-0, the Vols bounced back to notch a comfortable win at Bristol Motor Speedway (it's a brave new world). Tennessee gets a breather with Ohio this week -- well, in theory -- but then the schedule gets brutal before finishing with a pretty breezy five-game stretch. After Ohio, UT gets Florida at home, Georgia and Texas A&M on the road, and Alabama at home. The Vols were talked about as a playoff contender heading into this season, but that four-game stretch always loomed large. Assuming they get to the SEC title game and score an upset against Alabama, they can't afford to lose more than one of those four. Maybe Tennessee figures things out and manages to go 3-1 there, win the final five and have a shot at a play-in game in the SEC title game. Either way, like the Stanford-Oregon stretch for Washington, the Florida-Georgia tilts in consecutive weeks are must-wins. 

• If college football can be likened to Game of Thrones, then Nebraska's 2015 season was akin to the guy who jumps on the bandwagon of the deity in vouge at exactly the wrong time. That's really the only explanation for Nebraska's insane run of bad luck last season. However, looking at their schedule, the 'Huskers have a chance to be one of the notable bounceback teams of 2016. In one of the more quietly interesting games of the week, Nebraska welcomes Oregon to Memorial Stadium, a team that is undoubtedly a few notches below what it once was. The Ducks can still score, sure, but they've given  up yards and points like they're hosting a yard sale. Excluding UVA QB Kurt Benkert's -27 yards rushing, the Cavaliers racked up 220 yards rushing on the Oregon defense this past weekend. ESPN's Power Index gives Nebraska a 74.2 percent chance at victory. If Nebraska can score a win -- which would only be an upset in terms of the arbitrary nature of early-season polls -- then a 7-0 start is not out of the question. Nebraska follows this one up with games against Northwestern, Illinois, Indiana and Purdue; that is, the antithesis of the middle of Tennessee's schedule. 

Miscellaneous Minutiae, 9/27/13

Take the week off, Big House. You deserve it. 

It's a sunny, 75-degree, decidedly un-Fall like day here in the Windy City; I guess we'll have to wait a little while longer before football weather arrives. In the meantime, have some links to prepare you for tomorrow's slate of games around the country: 

• On the injury front for Wisconsin--mentioned in Breaking Points yesterday--Coach Gary Andersen cleared a few things up, but didn't give anything definitive on tight end Jacob Pedersen, a big piece of the Badgers' passing game. Without Pedersen, star receiver Jared Abbrederis is Wisconsin's only dangerous receiving threat. That is not a formula for success against a very good Buckeye secondary, especially with Bradley Roby set to match up against Abbrederis. On the bright side for UW, Peniel Jean will go, meaning freshman Sojourn Shelton won't have to make the start. On the not so bright side, freshman center Dan Voltz will likely make his first start. This game would have been tough enough if the Badgers were completely healthy, but now, I'm thinking my prediction of a UW 7-point loss might have been slightly optimistic in favor of Andersen's squad. 

• Eleven Warriors previews this all-important Leaders division clash. Land Grant Holy Land has a preview, too. 

• Keys and storylines for LSU-Georgia. 

• Ron Higgins of NOLA.com talks SEC defense, and why it might not be as great as it has been. 

• If you're looking for some early season rivalry action, the always underrated Minnesota-Iowa game is your ticket. As always, Floyd of Rosedale is on the line, and the Gophers look to bring that pig back to the Twin Cities. The Daily Gopher has a Q&A with RossWB of Black Heart Gold Pants. 

• Four factors from BHGP for Saturday's game at TCF Bank Stadium (3:30 ET, ABC). 

• The undefeated Ole Miss Rebels head to Tuscaloosa this Saturday; Roll Bama Roll previews the Bo Wallace-led Ole Miss offense. It's been two weeks now since the Texas A&M game, so I'm not sure this counts as a "trap" game, but the Crimson Tide cannot take this Ole Miss team lightly. 

• Andrew Gribble of al.com talks to Hugh Kellenberger of the Jackson Clarion-Ledger about Ole Miss-Bama. 

• ESPN guys talk Oklahoma-Notre Dame. The Sooners will be making their first trip to Notre Dame Stadium since 1999. 

HTR's Top 25: Week 5

I missed most of Saturday's football slate due to being out and about in Madison for the weekend, so the following is based mostly on what I've read and highlights, for what it's worth. Week 4 wasn't a particularly exciting one, unless you love uncompetitive blowouts or awful football (e.g. Michigan-UConn). As a result, the rankings didn't do much shifting around this week:

Rank	Team
1	Alabama
2	Oregon
3	Ohio State
4	Clemson
5	LSU
6	Stanford
7	Florida State
8	Louisville
9	Georgia
10	Texas A&M
11	Oklahoma State
12	South Carolina
13	UCLA
14	Miami (FL)
15	Oklahoma
16	Wisconsin
17	Northwestern
18	Washington
19	Ole Miss
20	Florida
21	Michigan
22	Baylor
23	Notre Dame
24	Texas Tech
25	Arizona State

• Very little change this week other than dinging Michigan once again for a poor showing at UConn; No. 21 might be harsh for a 4-0 Michigan team, but after watching the Wolverines the last two weeks, I cannot say that they are a top 20 team. How many of the teams ahead of them in the ranking above do you feel confident about Michigan's chances against?

• In my mind, Wisconsin is a fringe top 10 team, but that loss--or, what is going down in the record books as a loss--is keeping them out for now. The Badgers have a big opportunity to jump into the top 10 this week should they leave Columbus with a victory. 

• LSU's Jeremy Hill is quite good at football. This is where we note that Michigan is going to have a monstrous offensive line in 2015 or 2016 and nod our heads. One day Michigan will be able to run the ball like that again...one day. 

• If this was the NFL, then Kenny Guiton is totally doing his best Matt Flynn impression circa that one time he threw for 480 yards in that one game with the Packers. 

• This week, top 10 teams played: FIU, Bethune-Cookman, North Texas, New Mexico State, and Florida A&M. Why? What is the point? 

• Speaking of teams playing no one of consequence, Minnesota is 4-0 after completing its non-conference slate (UNLV, New Mexico State, Western Illinois and San Jose State). With that said, backup QB Mitch Leidner looked pretty good while filling in for injured starter Philip Nelson on Saturday. The Gophers get Iowa this Saturday for their Big Ten opener, an important matchup for both squads. The Hawkeyes looked about as good this past weekend as they have in some time (albeit against Western Michigan), but the Gophers need to win start winning games like this, especially at home. Although Iowa failed to go bowling last season, they did beat the Gophers; as always, Floyd of Rosedale is on the line. 

HTR's Top 25: Week 1

Previous dubious assertions: HTR's Official Meaningless Preseason Top 25

All I can say is, as completely not fun as Saturday was, I'm still completely pumped at the fact that it is college football season. So many games, so little time. I would rather be in this position right now than tracking things like WHIP, WAR, and OPS. As hilarious as Adam Dunn's stat line is, that can only carry me for so long before I need to watch football. Well, here we are.

Remember, it's early, so this is non-scientific, not to mention mostly useless. Only the Michigan teams and Clemson played anybody of worth, so take this with an enormous grain of salt. There are probably 15-20 teams that could qualify for the 15-25 range in the rankings, but most of that will get settled before the end of September. 

Rank	Team
1	Alabama
2	LSU
3	USC
4	Oregon
5	West Virginia
6	Florida State
7	Georgia
8	South Carolina
9	Michigan State
10	Oklahoma
11	Clemson
12	Texas
13	Virginia Tech
14	Wisconsin
15	Nebraska
16	Arkansas
17	Oklahoma State
18	TCU
19	Michigan
20	Ohio State
21	Stanford
22	Missouri
23	Florida
24	Utah
25	Louisville

Out: Boise State, Kansas State 
Idle: TCU (come on, guys...taking a break already?)

• The week of meh. Unless your team's name rhymes with "Schmalabama Flimson Hide", odds are your team looked mediocre, whether in victory or defeat. Wisconsin, Iowa, Florida, Arkansas, Texas (for a while), Oklahoma...these are teams that didn't exactly overwhelm in college football's opening weekend. Also, Michigan, but you know about that. It's still way too early to judge anybody in college football. 

• Virginia Tech-Georgia Tech: FREEEE FOOOTBALLLL. Last night's game was a bit of a snoozer for about 3.5 quarters before the fireworks near the end (no, I'm not talking about the actual fireworks that were shot off when VT kicked a field goal to tie as regulation time expired and another to win it in OT). I ranked this the top intra-divisional game for the Coastal, and it didn't disappoint. I just wish that it didn't have to basically end on a derpy Tevin Washington INT, but oh well. VT survives, and that's what counts. 

• The Big Ten is turrible. Nebraska thumped Southern Miss, Ohio State beat Miami (OH) with ease, and Michigan State gritted its way through a win against a revamped Boise State team. Other than that, the B1G had a pretty rough week. Minnesota took 3 overtimes to beat UNLV, Wisconsin and Iowa beat Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa by a combined six points, and Penn State fell against Ohio. On the bright side, Indiana, Illinois, and Purdue won, not to mention my soon-to-be-second-school Northwestern Wildcats, a tremendous victory that almost wasn't. KAIN COLTER FOR HEISMAN. Also on the bright side: Michigan is in the Big Ten. We play those teams. 

• Droll Tide. It's getting downright boring talking about how ridiculously good Alabama football is, but man...they're good. Good luck, SEC. Have fun with that. Alabama jumps up to #1 on my list, although LSU does look to be pretty formidable as well; LSU's tandem of defensive ends, Barkevious Mingo and Sam Montgomery, has to be the best in the country. 

• Tier 2. After the first tier of teams--'Bama, LSU, and USC--Oregon and West Virginia are definitely at the top of the second group. Against Arkansas State and Marshall, the Ducks and Mountaineers scored 59 and 69 points, respectively. However, each did give up quite a bit on defense as well (34 points each). More often that not, however, these teams will be able to outscore the competition; this is the antithesis of Saban-ball. 

• Clemson not Clemson-ing. "Clemson still hasn't lost" was a frequent refrain here last season, and it might be that way again. Clemson has beaten Auburn for a second time in a row (dating back to last season's victory at home). Auburn QB Kiehl Frazier put up a stat line almost identical to Denard's, which is not a good thing. Clemson was without Sammy Watkins, mind you, but DeAndre Hopkins picked up the slack (13 rec., 113 yards, 1 TD). Auburn ran the ball relatively well, but Frazier couldn't do much through the air other than one 54-yard TD strike in the first quarter. Auburn is most likely looking at another mediocre season this year. In a conference stocked with talented running backs, giving up 231 yards to Clemson's Andre Ellington does not bode well for Auburn's run D against SEC West foes like LSU (Blue and Hilliard), Alabama (Lacy, Fowler, Yeldon, and Hart), and Arkansas (Davis). Scott Loeffler, Auburn OC/former John Navarre whisperer, also has his work cut out for him in that he, like Michigan, is working with offensive personnel recruited for an offense that isn't his own. 

• Something to make you feel slightly worse than you already do. In the first game of the post-RGIII era in Waco, a Nick Florence-led Baylor team walloped SMU, 59-24. Florence threw four touchdown passes, his last one being a 37-yard strike to...Darryl Stonum. Stonum only had 6 receiving touchdowns during his time in Ann Arbor; with Florence slinging it all over the place in Art Briles's offense, I wouldn't be surprised to see Stonum double his career TD total this season. 

HTR's Official Meaningless Preseason Top 25

While it's somewhat hypocritical of me to spend time compiling a preseason top 25 given that I'm of the "no polls till mid-October" opinion, there's just a little more open space to fill here before actual football starts to happen in all its glory. So, here's my top 25. It means nothing, but it is always neat to check back at the end of the season to see how many stupid things I said in late August. After a full offseason of reading Pre-Snap Read and Bill C's work, here's what I've got:

Rank	Team
1	LSU
2	USC
3	Alabama
4	Oregon
5	Oklahoma
6	Georgia
7	West Virginia
8	South Carolina
9	Michigan State
10	Florida State
11	Michigan
12	Virginia Tech
13	Wisconsin
14	Texas
15	Clemson
16	Arkansas
17	Nebraska
18	TCU
19	Stanford
20	Utah
21	Oklahoma State
22	Missouri
23	Ohio State
24	Kansas State
25	Boise State

Some things to ponder: 

• The triumvirate. Last year it was LSU, Alabama, and Oklahoma starting out at the top; this year, just sub in a possibly legitimately "back" USC team. Each of these teams has issues (LSU-the secondary, USC-basically the defense as a whole, Alabama-lots of talent to replace on both sides of the ball) but this is college football. Every teams has issues. With that said, I'm buying approximately infinity shares in Lane Kiffin Enterprises. That offense is just unfair. Barkley throwing to Marqise Lee and Robert Woods and handing off to Silas Redd or Curtis McNeal. Good luck stopping that, college football. As for Alabama and LSU, you probably know more than enough about them after what happened last season. They won't let you score and they'll run the ball run through your face over and over again. 

• Speaking of hype trains on which I have jumped...West Virginia! It's definitely possible that I'm giving WVU too much credit for a big bowl win, but I think this team is perfect for the Big 12. The Syracuse loss last year was a bit of a head scratcher, but I honestly think WVU in 2012 leans more toward its Orange Bowl form than its form against the Orangemen. 

• Notre Dame. Okay, so last season I was suckered into not only predicted a legitimate Florida State resurgence but a ND one as well. I had the Irish down for 10 wins, which, to be fair, probably should have happened if not for a complete and utter derpacolypse descending upon ND against USF and Michigan. Unfortunately for ND, I think having a better season in 2012 is going to be pretty impossible given the schedule. Plus, the situation at QB is a question mark--who knows what Everett Golson will look like--and the secondary is just waiting to give up 400+ yards passing to Matt Barkley down the road. Otherwise, ND should have a decent front 7 and a strong ground game, but I'm not sure that that will be enough to improve upon last season's 8-5 mark. 

• Getting off the blocks. I've got Georgia winning the SEC East, but a few suspensions on defense have given me pause, especially since UGA travels to Mizzou in Week 2. It doesn't sound like Richt hasn't finalized the length of the suspensions to Alec Ogletree, Sanders Commings, and Bacarri Rambo, but they're all going to be missing the game against Mizzou. UGA needs to avoid an early loss (a la last season's 0-2 start) if the annoying HURR DURR MARK RICHT HOT SEAT discussions are going to be avoided. 

• Everybody is gone. About Boise...I just don't know. I'm slotting them in there out of respect for Chris Petersen, but they've got to replace six NFL draft picks plus Kellen Moore (who somehow went undrafted). That's a tall order...they just have to fall off, right?

• Meh. Kansas State, Arkansas...meh. I don't think there's any way KSU replicates what it was able to pull off last season, but I'm pretty sure people have said that very thing about Bill Snyder-coached teams many times before. As for Arkansas, I'm just not buying that. Nice offensive skill players in Tyler Wilson, Knile Davis, and Cobi Hamilton, but the defense just isn't there and in spite of all the Internet snark and wisecracking, you really do get the feeling that JLS is going to take this team that should probably win at least 9 and run it into the ground. 

• Michigan. I'll put up some sort of season predictions post later this week, but for now I'll just say that Michigan is probably not a top 10 team right now (not that it really matters). Beat Alabama and you can say hello to Michigan's highest ranking since the 2007 preseason. 

SEC West Preview: Guess Who's Back, Back Again

As I've mentioned approximately 842 times within the last few months: there's not a whole lot going on right now. Michigan's fall camp won't be underway for a couple weeks, so this a good time to survey the vast and completely sensical landscape of college football that exists outside of the Big Ten's non-Rutgers-including-footprint. I'll still be working on the basketball player previews as well, but I'll also attempt to take a semi-thorough look at the other major conferences so that you can orient yourself and be well-informed at tailgates and other social functions in the coming months. I mean, is there anything better in life than being able to rattle off mostly useless college football information to your friends, who, in turn, are completely unimpressed impressed as a result? I don't think so.

I'm going to take a look at the SEC, ACC, Big 12, Pac 12, and maaaybe the Big East if I'm feeling charitable and/or have time. Probably not the Big East, though. Anyway, this week I'll start with the SEC, the recent dominion of ALL THE CHAMPIONS, Golden Flake potato chips, and the banana republic that is contemporary Tennessee football.

For the sake of readability, I'll divide this into multiple posts. Today, let's take a look at the SEC West, the toughest division in college football.

An SEC West football coach.  

Offseason Doldrums, 7/20

The off-season is moving as slow as molasses and there's not a whole lot to talk about. We are still a couple of weeks away from fall camp and I think I've just about had my fill of the situation in Columbus (not to mention other places, like LSU, whose transgressions and resulting punishment elicited nothing but an apathetic nod from me). Given the way the last few off-seasons have gone, I kind of like this. An off-season where the local media and various alumni aren't taking pot shots at the program and its leader? I can get used to this.

Speaking of LSU: When I heard of the aforementioned "punishment"--which consists of a one-year probationary period and a loss of two scholarships--I thought back to The Process and remembered that, even in light of Hoke's lackluster record, I would've taken Hoke over Les in a second. It was a gut feeling that I had a hard time reconciling with conventional ideas like win-loss splits, but I held onto it nonetheless, mostly because of a feeling originating somewhere in the gut vis a vis Les's code of ethics. While Dr. Saturday points out that LSU likely won't see the NCAA's erratic and desultory regulatory hammer come crashing down on LSU as a result of their involvement with Willie Lyles, there is already too much out there on Les not to, at the very least, hold some deep-seated suspicions of him. However, he will never be the head coach at Michigan, so this is just me retroactively patting myself circa January 2011.

Previewin' time is upon us: Hammer & Rails has an early preview of this year's contest in Ann Arbor. The prediction: 31-17, Michigan. Most of the preview is essentially stuff you've already read a million times, but it's always nice to get an outside perspective on things. H&R asks:

How much of last year's success was based on the weather vs. Kerrigan's disruptive presence? Bother were factors in us having a modicum of success against an excellent offense, but since we could do nothing when we had the ball it went for nothing. We'll need a similar defensive effort this season if we're to win our third game in four tries against Michigan.

It's hard to tell, but as someone who attended the game in West-Lafayette last season...the weather was awful. It was just an all-around unpleasant environment for a spread offense (or any offense, really), and the offense struggled after dropping 67 on the Illini. Having been to Ross-Ade several times throughout my childhood, I harbor no ill-will towards Purdue football, but Purdue should not be too good this year once again. Ryan Kerrigan's terrorizing influence having left the program, the defense figures to be a lot less threatening, and that's one less person for Denard to have to evade if things break down.

Pre-season watch lists: Denard, Mike Martin, et al made some pre-season watch lists, for what it's worth (which is not much, in case you were wondering). I don't see any of our candidates winning one of these awards, but Denard and Martin figure to be our best bets (with the former probably being unlikely given the unfortunately inevitable drop in his offensive output).

More previewin': Brian profiles 2011 jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none recruit Frank Clark. I knew he was a guy that didn't have a position but I'm not sure if I've ever heard of a guy with such a wide variance of potential positions on the field. As Brian notes, Clark won't sniff the field for quite a while unless absolute disaster strikes.

Resurrection in Tallahassee?: Dr. Saturday seems to think that it's in the cards for the 2011 season. This season will be much like last year: no clear, absolute favorites. I'm not sure if this is "the year" for FSU, especially given the loss of Christian Ponder (although E.J. Manuel figures to be a good one), but the general lack of any clearly extraordinary teams will make the road much easier for Jimbo Fisher in his second year as the head honcho. For what it's worth, The Wolverine Blog is also high on the Seminoles. I am firmly in the "I'll believe it when I see it" camp when it comes to contemporary FSU football. Their schedule does set them up nicely, though; the ACC slate won't offer any challenges unless they meet Virginia Tech in the ACC title game. The only other tests are a crucial early season showdown against the Sooners and a trip to Gainesville to meet the Muschamp-led Gators, who they absolutely crushed last season.

This year's national champion will likely come from this group of teams: Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida State, and LSU. It's tempting to put a Wilson-led Badgers squad in there, but I just don't think they have enough to compete with the aforementioned (particularly in light of their Rose Bowl performance). Oregon and Stanford are also in the conversation but each have their own issues that make a championship campaign by either somewhat unlikely. Odds are, nobody goes undefeated this year and chaos reigns, as usual. I will say this: as much play as the Davids of the college football world (e.g., Boise State), I think it's good for college football when teams like FSU, Miami (Fl), etc. are good. Of course, that certainly goes for Michigan as well.

Media Day(s) are nigh: SEC Media Day kicks off today in Hoover, AL (Big Ten Media Days kick off next Thursday...don't pretend like you won't painstakingly parse every throwaway comment. You will.). Orson compiles a list of hypothetical questions:

"Coach Petrino, is Ryan Mallett the dankest qb ever? Don't worry about what that means. Just say yes."

Media Day is usually a long boring affair that produces maybe one or two interesting comments at most, but, like the release of Phil Steele's magazine, it represents yet another step towards real live football. That is, unequivocally, a good thing.