Denard Robinson tap dances his way past the Fighting Irish, 28-24

Denard Robinson is special, a diamond in the ruff, the most svelte dancer, twirling and gliding and ripping through wind currents to the endzone. Rich Rodriguez has something special with this kid, a more physically-gifted and stronger player than his former quarterback Pat White. Its Rodriguez third year at Michigan and this might be his only saving grace as his record stands 10-16. There is no denying Rodriguez is the king of the spread-option attack as evidenced by his tenure in West Virginia, but he has had a bumpy ride in Ann Harbor amongst all the NCAA violations, players leaving and calling him out, and his poor conference record, 3-13. However, yesterday’s win has saved his job for now, has allowed the Michigan faithful to have hope, to be giddy over a dual-threat quarterback, hopeful for a defense that will get better, hopeful for a bowl bid this season. Don’t get me wrong, Michigan beat Notre Dame, but the game could have gone either way. The Fighting Irish certainly could have left the field with a victory in-hand but it was The Denard Robinson show and he came through all game, but especially when the game was on the line. The Wolverines have a lot to work on even though they pulled ahead of Notre Dame in South Bend. Their defensive secondary was shaky, the run defense was OK, but they need to cut down on the penalties and find a kicker that can make field goals. If Michigan converted points that were left on the field, the margin of victory would have been larger than the score indicated. Not only did Robinson do it with his feet (28 carries for 258 yards, 2TD), he did it through the air with 20-24, 244 yards, 1TD. He gained an average of 9.2 yards per carry, a staggering figure. But let’s not act like schoolgirls over him and his production yesterday. How can he survive if he is asked to carry the ball 28 times per game this season? He cannot hold up, especially playing against Wisconsin, Penn State and Ohio State. And although he ran roughshod over the Irish, I doubt he will be allowed to do the same against the Nittany Lions and the Buckeyes. And he risks injury every time he tucks the ball, and if I was Rodriguez, I would cringe anytime a defender came low or in for a tackle. What needs to happen is that they need to develop a ground game to not allow Robinson to be a one-man team. The key in football is to have your X-factor(s) healthy down the stretch for that key game or series of games. Everyone clamored over Tate Forcier last year but that soon dissolved, I’m not saying that is going to happen with Robinson but you never know. After yesterday’s performance, the amount of pressure on his shoulders is immense. Remember in West Virginia , Pat White had running back Steve Slaton to take the pressure off of him, and that is what is needed for Michigan to be successful to save one of or the most dynamic player on their team. Road wins against Penn State (Oct. 30) and Ohio State (Nov. 27) could go a long way and extend the life expectancy of RichRod and his staff, but also a home win against Iowa (Oct. 16) would certainly have the Wolverines on everyone’s radar. But this is wishful thinking on my part, but you have to believe that this won’t be the last big game that Robinson has and it sets up nicely for one more big win against another rival. Right now, Robinson is the most dynamic quarterback in the Big Ten and probably will be the most talked about over his conference-mate Terrelle Pryor this season.

Life after Tebow...not what we expected

It was uninspiring, hard to watch, unfathomable: Florida’s offense last Saturday against Miami (OH). No one would have guessed that they would fumble eight times, 14 botched snaps, a measly 26 yards of total offense going into the fourth quarter, 212 total yards for the day. Thank God for defense. The defense had four interceptions on the day that helped the offense immensely and also had key stops that allowed for good field position for an inept offense. QB John Brantley has looked good all spring and everyone was expecting another high-octane offense from this Urban Meyer team, but that was not the case. Michael Pouncey (center) accepted responsibility for the miscues that happened: “It just kept slipping out of my hands, so I moved my hands up further on the ball so I can just grab it better and throw it back there,” he commented after the game. Going forward, he said that him and Brantley have been working on the snaps and feel confident going into this week’s game against USF. I’m sure Saturday’s production was not a good thing for Meyer’s health, but I’m this plays right into what he wants. Nobody is talking about the Gators; everyone is giving press to Boise State and other high-profile Week 2 games, no one is talking about Florida but that is fine with Meyer. If you think, what you saw on Saturday will continue then you are out of touch. Meyer will have the offense (especially) and defense humming for the next game and their conference slate that includes games against Alabama, Georgia, LSU to name a few. You can bet if they have the same amount of miscues against one of those teams, they would lose no question about it. There are a lot of expectations on the Gators to continue to have success without Tebow and this team will be just fine. Every year, they have a top five recruiting class and Meyer loves recruiting speedy players. Meyer’s goal is to get to the SEC championship and play for the national title, so for now, he is not concerned about his team. If these woes continue into late October then there will be a cause for concern. However, you get this sneaky feeling that Florida will have one big game that will have the nation talking about them and this team will ride that momentum to finish the season.

Boise State is less than perfect, beating Virginia Tech, 33-30

Let’s get this straight from the beginning, I’m not a Boise State fan, nor do I think they should play for the national title if they go undefeated. The Broncos have a knack for the exciting and glamorous wins. It has to be high tension and drama; otherwise it does not count in Boise’s book. Sure they beat Virginia Tech in Maryland (a glorified home game for the Hokies), but VA Tech does not win the big games, does not play well from behind, and the quarterback position has not evolved from the dual-threat athlete behind center since Michael Vick played there. I love you Frank (Beamer) but you need to do something about your offense, how about a facelift? Tryout a pocket passer for a change, you know the ones like Andrew Luck of Stanford, Matt Barkley of USC or Christian Ponder of Florida State. Virginia Tech is known for their defense and Butch Davis, the defensive coordinator, has done a wonderful job for so many years. However, it’s hard to do wonders with so many starters on defense, being gobbled up by that pesky giant, the NFL. On this night, Boise State was the better team, heck maybe they would of beat them eight out ten times. It’s a simple game plan, run the ball down their throats. That is all Virginia Tech had to do and why were they passing the ball with a little over two minutes left on a third down play? Run the ball and eat more time off the clock. Who knows, running back Ryan Matthews could have ran for six yards and then you guys could have went for it on the fourth down and converted. Game over. Now we are subjected to the sickening love fest that the media will heap on the Broncos, this will last until the end of the season if they go undefeated. The Broncos have to lookout for Oregon State (Sept. 25th) whose skill players might match or be slightly faster than theirs. We all know the Rodgers brothers have tons of speed and are very elusive, and this could cause a problem for a Boise defense. I will give credit where credit is due and Boise played an OK game and made it count when it mattered. But they should not play in the national title, if they go undefeated. The strength of schedule does not hold up to the BCS conferences. They want legitimacy then schedule a SEC team or Big 12 team but the argument will be, nobody wants to play them, right?! I doubt it. Also if they eke out wins against Wyoming, New Mexico State, San Jose State, and Louisiana Tech then they should not be selected for the BCS title game over a one loss team from a BCS conference. The only prayer they have is to slaughter teams on their schedule by at least three touchdowns to make the voters believe they deserve to play with the big boys in the big dance. However, college football has a lot of twists and turns in each season and you never know what wacky scenario will play out.

LSU barely hangs on to beat UNC, 30-24

I don’t know what to say about LSU’s win. I think the most impressive thing is the tenacity of UNC with 13 players not playing because of NCAA violations, seven defensive starters out; and there secondary had all new faces for this game. As many football pundits will tell you, you cannot win if you turn the ball over, whether in the pros or the collegiate level. However, LSU did. They hung on to a prayer and were rewarded, just barely. Everyone glued to the television sets saw how dominant The Tigers were in the first half. Jordan Jefferson looked very efficient, Russell Shepard displayed how dangerous he is going to be this year (wherever he lines up), and Patrick Peterson was phenomenal with 257 all-purpose yards. I did not know how special Peterson is but now I know, and he can flat out fly. At halftime, the score read 30-10 LSU but the second half was a different game and different team. The Tigers only generated 78 yards of offense in the second half, yikes!! This is a major problem and it’s only going to get tougher for them when they play their conference games. If you cannot beat a depleted team in UNC, what does that say for your team going forward against the likes of Florida, Auburn, Alabama and Arkansas?! Turn the ball over against these teams and you will pay. I like what I saw from Steven Ridley in the spring game, but you have to secure the ball. Two fumbles in the same game. After the first fumble in the third quarter, he would have been benched for the rest of the game. Maybe LSU thought they had the game all wrapped up going into the second half and all they had to do was coast and not take care of the ball but they were sorely mistaken. I tip my hat to T.J. Yates who passes for 412 yards with 3 touchdowns and no picks but he does have a fumble to his name though, a super effort by the entire team. Les Miles has to figure out how to keep his team motivated and focuses when they are leading big. Jefferson is not an elite quarterback, nor will he ever be, but he has weapons and can play when he makes the right decisions. That boneheaded pass, he threw up before halftime that was picked off, was so ill-advised. Its one thing to struggle against a team at full strength, and everyone has heard about how tough UNC’s defense was going into this season. But to barely hold on against a team down thirteen players is not good. Let’s hope the Mad Hatter can turn his team around in the right direction after this performance.

South Carolina gives Southern Mississippi a beatdown, 41-13

South Carolina fans should not be happy with the win against Southern Mississippi. I know Gamecocks' fans have been waiting to see Stephen Garcia live up to his expectations since 2007. With Steve Spurrier calling him out and knowing that there is competition at his position, with the acquisition of freshman quarterback Collin Shaw, we saw a level of maturity not seen before by Garcia. He looked confident, well-prepared and tough with few runs where he looked like Tim Tebow, bowling over defenders. Garcia has arrived but please temper your expectations for the Gamecocks. Spurrier hasn’t had a prolific offense since taking over at the helm; the glory days of his Florida teams are a distant memory now. It baffles me how an offensive-mastermind cannot get his offense clicking and cannot find a quarterback to lead him to the big dance. One must look at their competition in this Thursday night beatdown. By all accounts it’s Southern Mississippi, a Conference USA team that because of its tradition and location cannot get the elite players that Auburn,Mississippi State,and Ole Miss gets instate; it's not there fault, its the luck of the draw. You don’t hear kids saying they rather go to Southern Miss. over any SEC team. Why would they pass up the opportunity to play in the SEC conference? The SEC is the heavyweight champion of college football: a gazillion dollar television deal, superior talent, guaranteed a first look for the NFL draft over other conferences, and excellent coaching. Everyone knows that Conference USA is no ACC, Big East, Pac 10, etc. However who would of known that Southern Miss. are two-time Division II national champions (1958 and 1962), 7-time conference champions, and they sport 65 consecutive winning seasons. But on the flip side of that, Southern Miss. was 80th in total defense (giving up an average of 392.46 per game, last season) and their pass defense was 109th in the nation (giving up an average of 261.62 yards through the air) of out of 120 teams. So even though, South Carolina hung 41 points on them, I'm sure Alabama, Florida, Arkansas would have done the same and many other teams from BCS conferences as well. I’m not buying the resurgence of the Gamecocks offense and you should not too. I want to see them against Auburn, Alabama, Florida, Arkansas and Tennessee. All that matters to me is how they do in their conference games and this will be the true test for Garcia and this offense. Let’s not worry about the defense because they are usually a stingy bunch. If you want to jump on the bandwagon then so be it, history says it all: Spurrier only has one eight-win season in his five years at South Carolina. If the Gamecocks get nine or ten wins, I will give them their due but now I’m not impressed, move on people.

Relief in The Grove, Masoli is eligible to play

After denying his initial request to play this season, the NCAA ruled in Masoli's favor, allowing him to suit up and play for Houston Nutt. Now all Masoli has to do is redeem himself on and off the field in Mississippi and prove to the NCAA that he can be a good citizen.

Pitt stumbles out of the gate, loses to Utah, 27-24

What I saw: Pitt looked like a team that was not prepared for the season opener and they also looked like a team that should not have been ranked #15 in the nation. Another reason why I hate preseason polls and they really serve no purpose but to put rank teams higher than their worth because of last season’s success. Kyle Willingham had his team prepared and sophomore quarterback Jordan Wynn (283 yards, 3TD and 1int) looked the part of a senior quarterback, with his command of the offense and efficient passing. Running back Dion Lewis is a stud but on Thursday night, the Utah defense only allowed him 75 yards on the ground with a dismal 3.0 yards per carry average. This was not vintage Lewis, who as a freshman last season ran for 1,799 yards and 17 touchdowns. And Jonathan Baldwin pulled in four catches for 71 yards, not nearly enough for a star wide receiver. However, credit goes the Utes’ defense that gave up a couple of big pass plays, but the run defense held their own and allowed their offense to do enough to win the game. Going Forward: Dave Wannstedt and his staff need to open up the playbook for sophomore quarterback Tino Sunseri. They limited him far too much in this game. I understand that they want him to get comfortable as a starter, but they need to strike fear in their opponents. Non-conference and conference opponents know that Lewis and Baldwin are the most dynamic players on the team, and they will adjust their game plan to shut down these players. If Sunseri is allowed to pass more, he can find uncovered wideouts and get those sneaky yards while opposing teams are covering Baldwin. Pitt’s performance was flat and they looked uninterested. It’s fine to look flat if you played six games of the season and injuries are mounting and players are wearing done but it’s only the first game of the season! Their highly touted defense looked like they were going through the motions and did not have that ferocious bite we saw last year. But give credit to Utah’s offensive line that gave Wynn time to check down his receivers. If Pitt wants to compete with UCONN, West Virginia, South Florida, and Cincinnati they are going to have to change up their game plan. Give Sunseri screen passes, dump offs to his running backs, and also utilize the tight end; one does not need to throw long passes to make the offense work, find other outlets and mix it up. Lewis and Baldwin were the best kept secrets last season but that is over, teams are game planning for these impact players so Pitt will have to find other players to involve in the offense. I'm aware that sophomore receiver Mike Shanahan caught four catches for 51 yards and three other wide receivers were involved but they need more and they need to limit the turnovers. I really feel Pitt is a team that needs three or four games to get in a groove, and get it right. But their third game is against the Miami Hurricanes, a perennial athletic team. Pitt might suffer their second loss of the season. They can stretch their legs and figure things out in their next game against New Hampshire but their schedule does not allow them too much wiggle room in hitting their stride: @Notre Dame on Oct. 9th, @UCONN on Nov. 11th, @South Florida on Nov. 20th, home against West Virginia on Nov. 26th and finish the season @Cincinnati on December 4th. The Big East is shaping up to be a competitive division and the last remaining weeks will probably determine who will pull ahead in this heated race.