Thoughts From The Valley

The Hangover

How I am feeling: Exhausted. Your Editor had the pleasure of serving as best man to my longtime friend, Scott Burke, and seeing him married off to the beautiful Courtney Shields this weekend here in Philadelphia. It was a fantastic wedding but I am paying for it today. I am very, very, very, very tired. Very. Tired.

What I am drinking: General Lafayette Inn Abbey Brune. Good news, folks. My favorite brewery on the planet is now bottling its beer. If you're in the Philly area, keep an eye out for this stuff. Just fantastic.

What I am listening to: Death Cab for Cutie's 2005 release, Plans. I am three years late on this. But I'm enjoying it immensely. Highly recommended.

My thoughts on the weekend: Nothing surprised me about this first weekend of college football, folks.

Nothing.

Not Michigan's loss to Utah.

Not Virginia Tech's loss to East Carolina.

Not Pitt's loss to Bowling Green.

And certainly not Clemson's loss to Alabama.

Why weren't these upsets surprising? Simple: They weren't necessarily upsets.

We knew Michigan didn't have any skill players on offense. We knew Virginia Tech didn't have any wide receivers. We knew--well, more accurately, I knew--Pitt was ridiculously overrated. And we knew Clemson was more than capable of a typical Clemson meltdown.

The quesiton now becomes what we're supposed to make of those teams--each of which, it must be noted, were ranked in at least one poll to start the season.

Well, here's my thoughts: Clemson still has the makings of a 10-win team and could very well run the table from here on out. I really believe that.

As for those other three teams?

Well, honestly, all three of them could be in for a long season.

Michigan just does not have enough offense to compete right now, and that's not going to change until Rich Rodriguez gets a couple years to bring in his own guys; these guys will be lucky to make it to the Alamo Bowl. Virginia Tech is probably in a little bit better shape, but the depth chart at wideout is ridiculously thin right now; the Hokies may be looking at a 7- or 8-win season. Which would be a big letdown in Blacksburg.

And Pitt? Well, the problem with the Panthers isn't so much talent as it is coaching. Dave Wannstedt has recruited well there. The one thing he hasn't done is show any ability to put that talent to use. Remember, Wannstedt has yet to post a winning season in his three-year tenure with the Panthers.

Why anyoned expected that to change in 2008 is beyond me.

Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust

Three ...: Speaking of Pitt, the magnitude of that loss on Saturday cannot be overestimated. This is just a disaster for Dave Wannstedt. More troublingly for Pitt, it's also a potential disaster for the program as a whole. The Panthers have struggled to fill their stadium since making the moronic decision to tear down Pitt Stadium and move to the Steelers' (snore) Heinz Field. But there was enough optimism about the 2008 Panthers than nearly 50,000 people showed up to see the opener on Saturday. I think it's safe to say the Panthers won't draw nearly that many in their next home game. And you have to wonder, if things go really bad, how empty that stadium is going to get later this year.

 

Two ...: One more note about Pitt. On Sunday morning, Pittsburgh Post Gazette columnist Gene Collier's column was headlined as follows: "Pitt proves it stinks." Tuesday morning will be a bad one for the Pitt sports marketing people.

One ...: Here's a shocker. We have a quarterback controversy at Michigan. Last week's starter for the Wolverines, Nick Sheridan, did not look good. His backup, Stephen Threet, certainly was not dominating but at least he looks the part. Sheridan, quite frankly, looks like a kicker. Asked on Sunday who would start on Saturday against Miami of Ohio, coach Rich Rodriguez would not offer up an answer. But you know what he was thinking: "Why, Terrelle. Why?"

Touchdown ...: Your Editor was fortunate enough to find a bar in which to catch portions of the Penn State game on Saturday. My thoughts? Simple: For the first time since 2002, the Penn State offense is going to be better than the Penn State defense. This is not to say that the Penn State defense will be bad. But will this unit be ranked in the Top 15, like the last four Penn State defenses? No way. The good news is that the offense is going to be outstanding--the best Penn State offense since 1994 (though not quite that good). So what, exactly, is the point of this entry? Well, I'll tell you. The point is this: The Penn State-Oregon State game this weekend--maybe the best game on an otherwise boring Saturday slate--will be a shootout the likes of which Happy Valley has not seen in a long time. These two teams might put up 80 or even 90 points. Enjoy the fireworks, folks.