After Two Weeks...

For the last three weeks, I would wake up in the morning and if I wanted to walk to the beach and watch the sunrise, it was only seconds away. If I wanted to escape anything or anyone, I just had to walk to the beach, put my feet in the sand and listen to the ocean as the waves crashed into the land. Life was as close to perfect as it comes. I am from Hawaii, so for the last three weeks, I went home to visit my family and stay with them for a while until I had to travel back to the mainland for school. Those three weeks were incredible. No school. No work. No drama. No worries. But as all good things in my life usually do, this, too, came to and end. It soon was time to return to the bitter cold of Idaho. Thats right, instead of going to school in Hawaii, I chose to attend a University in Idaho. Go ahead and call me crazy, everyone does. Sometimes I do too. When I got here this past Monday, it was 40 degrees outside and I was frozen stiff. It hurt me to walk. It hurt me to breath. But most of all, it was hurting me not to be back on the prefect beach. Then school started. If living in Idaho isn't hard enough already, now I have to deal with the added stress of school, searching for a job, and maybe finding a girl who is willing enough to let me take her out on a date. As a kid, I always thought life would some day, magically, get a lot easier. Well, that day hasn't come and is still probably a lifetime away. With all the stress, drama, and freezing cold that comes with my life in Idaho as a college student, each Saturday I find an escape from all of that. Each Saturday is dedicated to College Football. So although being back in school for the fall semester sure has its share of negatives, one of the biggest positives that outweighs it all is that the college football season is finally back. September is a bitter sweet month, but two weeks in to the season, I wanna only focus on one thing that is bitter and a few things that are oh so super sweet.
This has been an interesting first two weeks of the season. We still are waiting to see how good some of the top powerhouse teams really are because many of them are yet to play a challenging team, but other teams have already cleaned off the rust and are already sparkling.

Biggest Disappointment

The one team that has not found a way yet to shine who is still layered in rust is Virginia Tech. I think most would agree with me in saying that they have been the biggest disappointment of this early season. Truthfully, the ACC as a whole has been a huge let down already. Today Georgia Tech lost to Kansas, a team that they should have easily beaten. Miami put up a decent fight against Ohio State, but Jacory Harris threw 4 interceptions and simply gave the game away to OSU. And in one of the most anticipated games of the day, Florida State had its manhood snatched from them as they were beaten down by Oklahoma. But of all the games in the ACC today, none was more shocking than Virginia Tech losing to James Madison, a team from the FCS. An upset that is on par with the game in 2007 when Michigan lost to Appellation State. Preseason #10, Virginia Tech lost this past Monday to Bosie State in a thriller. They fell behind 17-0 in the first quarter before mounting a comeback to take the lead late in the fourth quarter. For those of us who follow college football, we knew that when BSU got the ball back with under 2 minutes to go, that game was far from over. They drove their offense right down the field and scored the go ahead and eventually game winning touchdown. Virginia Tech, although ranked lower than Bosie State, lost a game that they had in their hands, all their defense had to do was make a stop. But they couldn't. Virginia Tech only dropped three spots in the polls. But after their lose today to James Madison, I think it is safe to say that unless changes are made, it may be a while before we see Virginia Tech in the top 25.

Best Player

I love college football, but in no way do I profess to know everything about the sport. If you were to ask me two weeks ago who was the starting quarterback for Michigan, I would have had not idea the answer. But if you were to ask me today who I think is leading the early race for the Heisman Trophy, I would answer, the starting quarterback from Michigan, Denard Robinson. What an incredible two games he has put together. Last week, against Connecticut, Robinson threw for 186 yards and 1 touchdown and also ran for 197 yards and another touchdown. He alone generated 383 yards of offense and 2 touchdowns. But that was against UConn, a good team, but a team that Michigan was expected to beat. Many thought that it was simply beginners luck and that that luck would run out today against Notre Dame. Well, I think it is safe to say, this kid is not lucky, he is GOOD! Today against Notre Dame, he threw for 244 yards and 1 touchdown and also ran for 258 yards and two touchdowns, including the game winner. 244 yards passing and 258 yards rushing, thats 502 yards of offense. The quarterback is the entire team! That is absolutely incredible. I have never been one to cheer for Michigan, and I am not going to start now, but wow, Denard Robinson looks to be the real deal. He may just be the one to save Michigan football and Rich Rodriguez's job.

Most Surprising Team

There are two teams that have stood out to me so far that I think will be a lot of fun to watch this season. First is Oregon. I know lots of people already knew they were going to be good, but I do not think that anyone thought they would be this good. Last week, against a not very good New Mexico team, a team that they should have beaten by about 40 points, they not only beat them, but instead made a remake of the movie Fight Club on the field as they completely destroyed everything beautiful in New Mexico by demolishing the Lobos 72-0. This week, against a much tougher opponent, Tennessee, an SEC team, they came out not looking so hot, trailing 6-0 early and simply being tied 13-13 at half. But soon enough, the beat down was back on. The Ducks scored 14 in the third quarter and another 21 in the third to step on the throats of the Volunteers, beating them 48-13. The Ducks are the defending Pac-10 champions and have a favorable schedule to repeat once again and return to the Rose Bowl. USC has not looked very impressive and both Stanford and Arizona, potentially difficult games, will both be at home in Autzen Stadium, one of the loudest stadiums in the Pac-10. I think Oregon has the potential to make a run not only to Pasadena, but to Glendale for the National Championship game.

Another team that has impressed me in these first two weeks is Houston. Yes, that is correct, the Houston Cougars. They have one of the most exciting offenses to watch and have been dropping touchdowns like bombs in a game of battleship. They beat Texas State 68-28 last week and defeated UTEP 54-24 this afternoon. They have a very balanced offense and are able to score in the air and on the ground. They had 348 yards passing and 308 yards rushing against UTEP. Houston plays in Conference USA, a conference they should have no problem winning, but I also think they have a schedule this season that may allow them to go undefeated and put themselves amongst the elite non-BCS schools like Bosie State and TCU.

Only two weeks of the college football season are behind us. Who knows what the rest of the year has in store. But one thing is certain, just like every season, this one is gonna be fun.