What to watch for this week in college football

Two weeks into the college football season and the drama is already building. A pair of true freshmen quarterbacks played the hero last week for their respective teams as USC survived an ugly showing against Ohio State with a last-minute drive led by Matt Barkley, while Michigan knocked Notre Dame out of the Top-25 and jumped in with a touchdown pass from Tate Forcier with 11 seconds remaining. Houston out-gunned Oklahoma State, 45-35. North Carolina got help from Connecticut, winning a 12-10 decision, thanks to a holding call on the Huskies in their own end zone.

So what are the things to look for as we head into Week 3 action tomorrow night?


Miami defense vs. Georgia Tech
Miami's offense will put up points if it gets the football, so the question is how often will they get it. Miami has two ailing starters in their defensive backfield that aren't expected to play, but if there's ever a time for that, this is it. Georgia Tech likely won't pass nearly enough to make that a big factor. The Yellow Jackets have averaged just under 50 rushes per game this season, ranking them ninth in that category. Miami was a middle of the road team in terms of stopping the run last year, but were also playing a boatload of young players. The defense, which has returned eight of those players from last year, held Florida state to 3.7 yards per carry. If Georgia Tech finds holes, works the clock and keeps the ball out of Jacory Harris' hands, they should be fine. However, if the offense fails to do so, the Hurricanes' explosive offense could exploit a defense that is vulnerable to the big play. Three of the five touchdowns GT has allowed this season have been for 20 yards or more.

Matt Barkley's status
After his late-game heroics against Ohio State, Barkley could likely be headed for the sidelines. Barkley suffered a bone bruise in his shoulder and as a result, Aaron Corp has been working with the first-team offense. Corp lost his starting job to Barkley, thanks to an injury of his own during the preseason, but has been dubbed "95 percent healthy." While Corp is a more than capable quarterback, who should handle Washington easily, don't expect a quarterback controversy to start brewing unless Barkley missed another week (unlikely) and even then, he's probably still the better option going into a game that could decide the Pac-10 vs. Cal in Week 5.

Michigan State secondary vs. Notre Dame receivers
Michigan State is certainly not looking incredibly strong in the secondary this season. After a solid game, which you would expect against Montana State, the Spartans gave up 352 yards and three touchdowns through the air as Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour posted a 104.3 passer rating. Notre Dame has a much more talented group. Jimmy Clausen has made it a habit of vicitmizing weak secondaries and so far has passed for 654 yards and seven touchdowns, while not getting picked off once for a passer rating of 196.31. Michael Floyd, who suffered a gash on his knee after landing on the track beyond the end zone at Michigan last week, will be back and at full speed. Notre Dame needs to win this week if it wants any shot at returning to the Top-25.

Fresno State offense vs. Boise State defense
Fresno State has had pretty much as balanced an attack as you could possibly have this season, averaging 255.5 yards through the air and 244.5 yards on the ground. Granted, those numbers have been put up against UC-Davis and Wisconsin, but they're still pretty impressive numbers. On the other side, the Broncos have looked pretty incredible, stopping one of the Pac-10's best runners for negative yardage in their season opener, then holding Miami of Ohio to just 1.5 yards on the ground. Oh, they're not giving up much through the air, either. This is by far the toughest test of the season for the Bulldogs and if they can't do anything against the Boise State defense, you can pretty much guarantee the Broncos the WAC championship and a spot at a BCS bowl.

Urban Meyer vs. Lane Kiffin
There really is no contest here as Meyer has proven himself to be one of - if not THE - the most talented coaches in college football and he's got far more firepower than Kiffin. Tennessee has a whole host of problems, not the least of which is the offense averaged just a mere three yards per play against UCLA. More interesting than anything will be the way the media plays this up after an offseason that included Kiffin accusing Meyer of shady recruiting practices.

Sam Bradford's recovery
Not much has been said this week about his status - in fact, nothing has been said at all - but Oklahoma is almost definitely going to sit Bradford again this week. The Sooners probably feel more comfortable about that decision after Landry Jones tossed three touchdowns against Idaho State last week. Week 4 is a bye, so it only makes sence to give Bradford more time to recover before taking on Miami, which could be a crucial game when it comes down to Oklahoma's hopes for a BCS game. As of Saturday, Bradford said he could not throw without pain in his shoulder, though he could throw if he wanted to.

Brady, Pats look shaky in comeback win

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

The first word that comes to my mind when I think about last nights game is Wow!. The New England Patriots should not have won that game. Heck, they don't even deserve to win that game, but Tom Brady and Co. somehow pulled it off. Now, on to my observations for the game.

1. Tom Brady was very shaky in the first half. Thankfully, he pulled himself together and went off in the 2nd to become the Tom Brady we all know and love. That was vintage Tom Brady. That game was over. Down 11 points with 5 minutes left.

2. Matt Light is not a good left tackle in the NFL. I am of the opinion that Matt Light has been the most overrated offensive lineman of this decade. Him making the Pro Bowl is like Derek Jeter winning a Gold Glove. It just shouldn't happen. The problem with Matt Light is that he's never been able to handle a speed rusher. He couldn't do it in the prime of his career, and he certainly can't do it now. There's a reason Aaron Schobel has more sacks than anyone else in the NFL against Tom Brady. I loved the one play Sebastian Volmer filled in for Light, right after his tripping penalty, and just mauled Aaron Maybin. I look to see more of Volmer at left tackle in the future.

3. Wes Welker needs to play in the pre-season. Can you have an 11 catch game and play poorly? Yes, you can and that's exactly what Welker did last night. He and Tom Brady were not on the same page. It was never more evident than the quick screen pass that Welker didn't look ready on in the first half that ended with Tom Brady having words with the diminutive receiver. This will obviously change with more work, but wasn't what Pats fans wanted to see.

4. I was pleasantly surprised with the play of the Pats secondary. They pretty much shut down Terrell Owens and Lee Evans. Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden played well, and so did Brandon Merriweather. Merriweather led the team in tackles and was instrumental in Leodis McElvin's 4th quarter fumble that led to the Pats win.

5. I couldn't believe how terrible the defensive line played last night. The Buffalo Bills started three players on the offensive line who never played a down in the NFL, but the Pats defensive line made them look like seasoned veterans up until the final drive of the game. If the Patriots can't get pressure on the quarterback against the most inexperienced line in the NFL, what are they going to do against the likes of the Jets, Steelers & Colts. They already took a hit at depth when Seymour was traded to the Raiders. Ty Warren, Jarvis Green and Vince Wilfork need to step it up.

6. Jerod Mayo is the Patriots best defensive player. If he is out for an extended period of time, the Pats defense is in even more trouble. Enough said on that.

Now let's bring on the Jets!

It's a miracle, Patriots pull off incredible win

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Boy, did the Patriots luck out with a win in the opener against the Buffalo Bills.

Can you believe the Bills were so close to stunning the Pats in the opener like I was?

Who saw this coming? On paper -- I know the games aren't played on paper -- it was a mismatch, but it looked like two pretty even teams duking it out in an AFC East game.

Tom Brady looked rusty, I'll give you that, at certain times ...more like in the first half. But he delivered in the second half with 2 TDs passes in 1:16 span to win late, that's what the elite NFL QBs do (those elite guys are Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Brady), but should it have been that close?

If the Pats defense plays like that against the Bills, what's the rest of the season going to look like? Can they stop a screen pass? No. Granted, they did take away the outside with wide receivers Lee Evans and Terrell Owens, but everything else was wide open -- the running game, and in particular, the screen game. 

They better tighten it up or we're in for a lot of shootouts. But I'm willing to bet Bill Belichick will get these guys flying to the ball and making plays behind the line of scrimmage.

I saw a lot of early-season troubles --missed field goal, dropped balls (how many did Welker drop?) failed conversions on third and fourth down, and some predictability on offense -- pass on first down, run on second down, pass on third. I guess it's better than running draws on third down all the time when Charlie Weis was the offensive coordinator?

What I liked: 

Brady -- he delivered in the clutch, that's why he's the best QB in the NFL, coming off injury or not.

Benjamin Watson -- He showed great hands and great route running for two TDs catches over the middle when the Bills were pinching on the outside receivers, which opened up the middle for someone to take advantage of.

Safety Brandon Meriweather -- He had a team-high 8 tackles. Meriweather was all over the place on offense and special teams, and lit up kickoff returner Leodis McKelvin when Pierre Woods came in and got the strip, setting up the winning score.

Defensive end Tully Banta-Cain -- He provided a much-needed pass rush on the outside. A big welcome back to you! He had two sacks, including a big one on the final drive to preserve the win. Way to step up.

Running back Laurence Maroney -- He's been knocked by so many people, but Maroney ran hard, hit the hole and looked for defenders so he could deliver the blow. Nobody better say he was dancing around because he didn't. He only had 32 yards on 10 carries, but why did they go away from the run after finding success early? Plus, Maroney had a great kickoff return for 52 yards. He no doubt earned his paycheck.

Wide receiver Randy Moss - Moss hauled in 12 balls for 141 yards. I know Bills cornerback Terrence McGee was being praised all night about his coverage skills and not backing down on playing Moss, but Moss simply punked him. I don't know what the announcers were watching.

Be sure to check back to Fan Fanatic Sports for more opinion on the Patriots-Bills game.

Easy call: Patriots will win

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

This should be a real easy win. Tom Brady to Randy Moss, Tom Brady to Randy Moss. Get used to that connection tonight and the rest of the season. Oh, and don't forget about Wes Welker. Plus, the Bills are garbage, especially on offense. Easy win tonight, write it down: Chad Garner of Fan Fanatic Sports is calling a Patriots 34-13 victory.

UPDATE: The Bills lead, 17-13, and I'm sitting here wondering where is the real Patriots team. They frustrate on defense and they're even more frustrating on offense. They better start finishing drives with touchdowns, not field goals, or they're going down to the Bills. Yes, the Bills. Are you serious?

Big Ten gets back at Notre Dame?

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

You probably have figured it out by now, but for those who haven't, I'm a Notre Dame football fan.

So you can imagine my dismay at the 38-34 loss at the hands of Michigan on Saturday.

I am going to share a theory with you, but let me preface it with this: Michigan played one hell of a football game. Tate Forcier was ten times the player I thought - and probably Notre Dame thought - he would be in his second career game as a true freshman and the Michigan defense, despite giving up 34 points, was impressive in its ability to keep pressure on Jimmy Clausen in the second half.

With that said, it's conspiracy theory time.

Since the Big Ten media day - and even before that, really - there was a great deal of talk about expansion and a great deal of talk about that 12th team being Notre Dame. Now, Notre Dame has not been in discussions with the Big Ten about joining at all this decade, but with all the recent expansion talk, the team that snubbed the Big Ten way back when was the main topic of that conversation.

Now enter Notre Dame at Michigan for the first game of their Big Ten schedule. Last year, Notre Dame went 2-1 against Big Ten opponents - the same three teams they face this season. One of those wins was a 35-17 drubbing of the rebuilding Michigan squad.

This year, Michigan is better. Notre Dame is ranked 18th in the country. What better way to show the country that the Big Ten doesn't need the Irish than to have an unranked, unproven team beat them?

Here's where conspiracy comes in. The game is being played in the Big House, so Big Ten officials are calling the game. Mind you, Michigan is the only team on Notre Dame's schedule that insists on using Big Ten officials. For all other away games, Notre Dame brings Big East officials and visitors to Notre Dame stadium bring their conference's officials. It's pretty much how it works when teams from any conference visit an out-of-conference opponent. But not Michigan when they play the Irish.

ABC commentators Sean McDonough and Matt Millen spent most of the game talking about how the Big Ten referees had a big meeting about how they were going to put an "emphasis on holding calls" this year. And it showed. Many a flag were thrown in the game and big plays called back because of it. It killed the flow of the game and was highly irritating, but was pretty consistent throughout. However, with the game in the balance, the officials miss a blatant holding call. If you watch the replay (there are some hanging around out there that ABC and ESPN haven't squashed), you'll see the running back - I believe it was Minor - grab the blitzing linebacker and turn him. According to Millen, who explained the rule on a questionable holding call on the Irish earlier in the game, if a blocker gets his hands outside on a defensive player and twists him, it will be called a penalty. However, Michigan got a pass. And as a reult, they got a touchdown and a national ranking.

I'm not going to talk about some of the other questionable calls, like calling a celebration penalty on Armando Allen, but not on Michigan for leaving the bench, but specifically the phantom step out of bounds on Armando Allen's touchdown on a screen pass. The officials can't see the future. they can't know that four points was going to be the difference in the ball game. Yet it was a blown call on the replay. The sideline angle - which was the best one, not the one shot from the top of the stadium in the wrong side of the field - was inconclusive at worst and at best showed he never touched. In fact, the Big East officials that reviewed that tape have come to the defense of Notre Dame (and you know how rocky the relationship between the Big East and Notre Dame football is), saying there is no evidence he ever stepped out.

That's not to say all the blame in this game goes to the officials. On the field, Notre Dame made critical errors. And on the sidelines, Weis made the biggest of all, throwing with three minutes remaining on three-straight plays in a short yardage situation, allowing Michigan to conserve its timeouts. While Armando Allen was out of the game at that point with an ankle injury, wasn't one of the strengths of this team heading into the season the fact that they had three guys who could step in and run the football?

In any event, Weis passed and while he wanted a pass interference call on the defender draped all over Golden Tate, he got no help, and probably shouldn't have on that one. The rest is history. Michigan probably shouldn't have even been in a position to win the game, but thanks in large part to Weis' mismanagement, they were. But in the end, the officials just might have turned a blind eye to the holding they were so adament about calling all game long.

FFS NFL Staff Picks

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

In my mind there is nothing better than the first full Sunday of the NFL season. I don't care how nice it is outside. I will be sitting my butt down on the couch from 1 in the afternoon all they way until the Sunday night game ends a little before midnight. With that being said, it's time for the staff of Fan Fanatic Sports to put their money with their mouth is and provide the adoring public with their picks for the NFL season.

Mangini up to his old tricks

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Is Eric Mangini a professional clown?

He's up to his yearly side-show routine once again in Cleveland (who else thinks he should be jobless right now instead of landing on his feet after a fun-filled season with the Jets?).

This time, Mangini is playing mind games with the Minnesota Vikings -- the Browns' Week 1 opponent -- and everyone else who's an NFL fan.

Mangini -- remember the same guy (what a real friend he is) that tattled to the NFL that the New England Patriots and coach Bill Belichick were illegally filming coaches' hand signals on the sideline during games. Remember Spygate? That was all Mangini, he should still be proud.

Anyway, while every other team in the league has announced their Week 1 starting quarterback, Mangini and the Browns are still playing mind games. Is it Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson?

Word out of Cleveland is Quinn won the job, but Mangini won't come out and say who it is, and obviously gave both QBs specific instructions not to say exactly who's going to start.

It's all about trying to make the Vikings hit the film room and use more preparation time on studying both QBs, but I'm guessing it's not really going to fluster them since neither QB is exactly scary throwing the football down the field.

But anyone that's seen Mangini's antics before, does this little QB game really surprise you?

It shouldn't, and it shouldn't surprise anyone if the Vikings absolutely pound the Browns on Sunday. I'm guessing Mangini's games won't be as devastating as Adrian Peterson running wild and Brett Favre controlling the passing game, while the Vikings' defense overwhelms that suspect offense -- with either Quinn or Anderson leading the charge.

Game on Mangini.