With USC on a bye week before the Nebraska game on Saturday I thought I'd offer some brief thoughts on some of the games I watched.
Ohio State at Texas: If there were any questions about the tOSU defense they were answered on Saturday. Laurinitis really stepped up and almost made you forget about the big three LB's that they lost last season. Troy Smith has firmly inserted himself into the Heisman race and Ted Ginn continues to amaze. Except for Iowa and Michigan St. on the road the Buckeyes have the schedule in their favor and should go undefeated through the rest of the season.
Teddy Ginn
Photo: ESPN
Penn State at Notre Dame: They rebounded strong after their scare at Ga. Tech. Brady Quinn seemed more relaxed while Penn St. just looked over matched. If they get past Michigan this Saturday it sets up for the showdown with USC in LA. Penn St. on the other hand has a number of questions. Morrelli needs more time to get comfortable the offense but more importantly are the questions about Penn St. in general, was last year a fluke?
Arizona at LSU: I only saw some of this game but little I did see was a massacre. I had some real concerns about Arizona and their much-improved defense and though I am not one to leave bulletin board material for my competitors but this did not look good. Couple that with the Wildcats stomping on the LSU logo at mid-field and you literally wake a sleeping tiger. The Pac 10 is not making a case for itself with some of these tougher conferences.
Alley Brousssard
Photo: ESPN
Minnesota at Cal: Coming off their embarrassing loss to Tennessee Cal got back on track with a win against Minnesota. Cal still has questions at the QB spot but Marshawn Lynch had a good showing with 2 TD's. It will be interesting to see how they fare the rest of the way. Will they put the UT loss behind them or has it exposed their weaknesses to the point of playing it safe against a tough opponent.
Marshawn Lynch
Photo: ESPN
Georgia at South Carolina: Another game that I saw only briefly. Seeing Steve Spurrier get shut out is a little like seeing Bigfoot in the local diner. Tereshinski going down with an ankle injury opened the door for freshman Matthew Stafford. Stafford had 3 int's but he did have 8 passes for 170 yards and with what little I saw looked comfortable running the offense. The defense had 2 goal line stands that yielded ) points and also had a safety. Coach Richt is turning things around.
Illinois at Rutgers: This game was over in the first qtr. A blocked punt for a TD, an int for a TD and the defense had three turnovers. They just steam rolled the Fighting Illini, it was a game that was just fun to watch.