All feels right with the world after (or during) the first weekend of college football.
Could have been a little cooler Saturday at Death Valley. But hey, hard to complain when you get to watch the game in the air-conditioned confines of the press box.
Got to spend some time tailgating before the game, and it was great to see some of you folks out there.
Y'all will get plenty of my takes on Clemson throughout the week, but here are 10 thoughts on happenings elsewhere:
1. Life is not good right now if you're a Georgia fan. Nothing at all against Boise State, a program that deserves more respect than it gets. But Dog fans deserve better than this.
Does Mark Richt have the fire in his belly? Maybe it's not a fair question, because his mild-mannered nature was heralded as a strength when he was winning big. But I really wonder if he has the intensity and passion he used to.
We often see athletics directors hire coaches who are the exact opposite of their predecessors. There's a coach in Fort Worth who's on the other end of the spectrum from Richt. If things don't work out this year, the Bulldogs need to do everything they can to get Gary Patterson.
To me, Georgia's two biggest problems are 1) an unreasonable offensive philosophy, and 2) precious few options at receiver. Regarding 1: You'd better have a dominant offensive line if you're going to rely heavily on the I-formation, play-action passing game. Richt doesn't have that, yet he seems to think it's still 1997 and he's at Florida State. Regarding 2: Aaron Murray's top targets are tight ends. That should never happen at Georgia.
2. Boston College gave up 227 rushing yards to Northwestern on Saturday. Whoa.
The Eagles lost a lot from last year's defensive line, but you just sort of figured they'd plug other guys in and stop the run like they always have. This is a good sign for Clemson, which hasn't been able to run well on the Eagles over the past six seasons.
3. Every time Paul Johnson's offense struggles, we hear it's been figured out. Are we going to start hearing the same thing about Chip Kelly's offense? Seems the Ducks' pyrotechnics get severely limited when they play a good defense that has time to prepare.
As Bruce Feldman notes here:
Chip Kelly has a dynamic offense, but it is seeming more and more like the frenetic Ducks attack that looks so, well, awesome in league play wilts when it goes up against power teams from other leagues, or at least teams with added prep time. (See: the 2009 opener at Boise; the 2010 Rose Bowl vs. Ohio State; the 2011 BCS title game against Auburn; and now Saturday night's game against an LSU team that still had to replace an All-American DT [Drake Nevis] and the best defensive back in college football [Patrick Peterson]).
Kelly, by the way, had an impressive moment of candor here:
Kelly pointed out before the game that those teams that handled Oregon are great ones, well-coached and stocked with outstanding athlete. He echoed that point, again, after losing to LSU: "They've got a little bit different athlete running around out there right now," he told Ted Miller. "Looking at their D-line, standing next to them, walking off the field, they don't look like the kind of guys we see. That's the common trait, the trait you saw in the Auburn game."
4. Man, did Auburn's offense look slow Saturday. You knew they'd suffer a huge drop-off with the loss of Cam Newton and that great offensive line, but they just looked stuck in mud on the occasions I glanced at their miraculous win over Utah State.
Was also a little surprised to see more conventional stuff from Gus Malzahn's offense. Just seemed less tricked-up. You have to think he was keeping some stuff under wraps for this week's game against Mississippi State ... and maybe next week's game at Clemson.
5. Speaking of Mississippi State, Dan Mullen has the Bulldogs going fast. Mullen visited Kelly during the offseason and dialed up the Bulldogs' tempo accordingly.
I know Memphis is putrid, but when was the last time you saw an offense hold the ball for less than 23 minutes and roll up 650 yards?
6. Speaking of a fast pace, Oklahoma ran 100 plays in its 47-14 win over Tulsa.
When we're talking about the up-tempo offenses in college football, sometimes we overlook Oklahoma for whatever reason. They averaged 86.5 plays per game last year.
I'm a fan of the HUNH stuff run by Malzahn and Chad Morris. But Oklahoma's style, and the pace at which it is run, is as good as it gets in my opinion.
7. Speaking of offense, it is going to be fascinating to watch Wisconsin this year. When you add Russell Wilson to a pulverizing running game that features a mammoth offensive line and great running backs, it is a nightmare for defenses because you have to use eight-man boxes just to have a prayer of stopping the run. That creates single coverage in the deep passing game, so when you add Wilson to the equation (excellent deep-ball thrower, great runner) it's scary.
8. Interested to see Maryland's offense tonight. Supposedly their new coordinator, Gary Crowton, has implemented the up-tempo stuff in College Park. Curious to see just how fast they run it.
9. Over the summer, I watched some of Troy's 2010 highlights and was impressed with Corey Robinson then. Even more impressed with him after watching him Saturday. He can play anywhere.
10. If Clemson's coaches saw Bruce Ellington in high school and didn't do everything they could to get the kid to join his cousin Andre, you wonder what was going on. Bruce is an elite talent who will make an impact right away at Sakerlina. Ekerlina started pooching their kickoffs in the first half because they were afraid of Ellington. He will add a spark to the Gamecocks' special teams, and he will give defensive coordinators something else to think about.
LW
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