Well week one has come and gone and boy did we have some exciting games. Everything from a couple blow outs to some down to the wire finishes. Here is the five biggest takeaways and story lines from the week. Relax and enjoy.
1. LOADING SAVE FILE…
It didn’t take Auburn long to pick up where they left off last season and that is with a Win. USC came in looking for a little payback from the epic National Championship game loss. What they got was a well oiled machine in the Auburn Tigers. Griffin Jelkic had another performance for the ages as he passed for 395 yards and threw for five touchdowns. Not to be the man left in the shadows halfback Robert Davis stepped up also with an amazing showing with 205 yards rushing and a touchdown of his own. All in all Auburn’s offense put up 673 yards and 54 points against a USC defense that is touted as one of the best this season. For his part Kingston Fox had good numbers for the game but, the combo of linebacker Mark Calloway and safety Ollie P Peters where too much in the end. Up next for Auburn is a Clemson team that lost a close one this past week, but showed their offense is for real. Will this be the season that the Tigers cruise through the SEC?
2.HEARTBREAK
Three games this week came down to the wire and three teams where left feeling the heartbreak of a close one. Ohio State, Nebraska, and Clemson all looked good in week one and had chances to start the season with wins. Unfortunate for all three though was not the case for them. Ohio State found themselves in a shootout in their Big Ten opener and although they out scored Texas in the second half a final push from the Longhorns and a big second quarter was just too much for the Buckeyes to overcome. For Nebraska they looked to be in the drivers seat against Florida and Quarterback Scott Fountain looked electric for most of the game. A late field goal by Florida and a stalled last drive Nebraska was the fate of the Cornhuskers and another tough loss. Clemson came out like a firecracker against LSU and if not for some forth quarter heroics the Tigers from Clemson looked like they hadn’t missed a beat. Still as good as they looked they still couldn’t get over the hill and pick up the victory. With everything all three of these teams looked good in week one and should bounce back an challenge all season.
3. reign s(ec)upreme
With Texas leaving the SEC for the Big Ten everyone though there would be a shift in conference power, but after week one it looks like things have stayed the same. This is only one week but through it the only two loses that SEC teams received was from other SEC teams and the only two wins the Big Ten has is by beating their own conference foe. I fact the average margin for victory by Texas and Oregon combined is only eight points. While the average margin of victory by SEC teams is Twelve points, with one coming by twenty-one points. Now next weeks games are all SEC vs Big Ten teams except one and we will see if this trend continues, only time will tell.
4. OFFENSIVE ENDEAVORS
We all talk about defense wins championships and for the most part that is true. But through week one the offenses are winning the battle against the defenses. The average points against this season is 34.2, which is mind blowing to think. Take out Miami who only gave up thirteen points to Notre Dame and that number would be even higher. Seven quarterbacks this season have thrown multiple touchdown games in week one and the running backs are getting in on the act too. In fact every Passer in the league has thrown for over 200 yards minus one and he has over 300 yards with passing and rushing combined. Five quarterbacks have thrown for over 300 yards and one has over 400 yards passing. Does this mean there is a shift in power this season? Too soon to tell but if it continues the arms race is in the offenses favor and we could see a 2000 yard passer by week four by the name of Clayton Denny of Texas. Now don’t over react this is just a week one takeaway and defense do adjust but through week one victory goes to the offense.
5. THEY NEVER LEFT
The Texas Longhorns moved from the SEC to the Big Ten this season and started it with a victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes. They have won two conference titles in four seasons and one national title. In week on they put on a scoring clinic as they pulled away from Ohio State in a shootout. Clayton Denny threw for 481 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for another 60 yards. Tailback Tarraj Walker had 98 yards rush and ripped off a pair of scores, while wide outs Ray Conley and Scooby Lewis both had over 100 yards receiving and combined for Denny’s three touchdowns. Pretty impressive for a week one outing against a team that does have some defensive talent on the other side of the ball. So are they really back or did they never leave. The schedule will get harder for Texas as the season goes on but at this pace a Texas vs Auburn National Championship game is looking pretty good. Only time will tell but after week one Horns looking right at home.
