Thoughts From the Valley

The Hangover

How I am feeling: As though college football season has now truly arrived. What a Saturday we just witnessed, folks. There's no longer any doubt: College football 2009 is here, and it's here in a big way. Washington beating USC? Tennessee actually hanging tough with Florida? Sparty still being Sparty? Penn State sitting at 3-0 and preparing to host College GameDay? Life is good, folks.

What I am drinking: Victory Hop Devil. Hey, college football season is officially here. Which means it's time to drink college football's official beer (and yes, I've made that decision for the world; Hop Devil is the official beer of America's greatest sport).

What I am listening to: American Routes. So, yeah, I've been on somewhat of a public radio kick of late. But honestly, folks, this might be the best two hours of music radio you'll hear all week. Blues, jazz, country, rock, zydeco—you'll hear it all. Plus you'll learn a lot. I love this show despite the fact that it originates from SEC country (New Orleans, to be exact).

My thoughts on the weekend: We don't know how good anyone is yet, folks.

That's the big lesson from college football's Week 3.

If you're like me (and if you're reading this, I'm guessing you are at least a little bit like me), then you spent an awful lot of time watching college football on Saturday.

You probably watched Florida play Tennessee. You probably watched USC play Washington. And you probably watched Texas play Texas Tech. So I feel you're all qualified to answer the following question.

Did you see any great team out there on Saturday? I mean, a great team. I'm talking USC in 2004. Miami in 2001. Michigan in 1997. Nebraska in 1995. Penn State in 1994 (thanks, voters). That kind of great.

I'll be honest wtih you: I didn't.

USC certainly didn't look great. I mean, they just lost to a team that went 0-12 last year. Sorry, Trojans. You ain't great.

Texas didn't look great. They scuffled their way to a win over an average Texas Tech squad.

And you know what (brace yourselves, ESPN/Tony Barnhart/Gator Nation)? Florida didn't look great, either. In fact, I would venture so far as to say that the Gators—a team that many so-called experts had pegged as the de facto national champions back in July—didn't even look "very good" in their 23-13 win over a terrible Tennessee team. The Gators just looked ... OK.

But here's the thing, though, folks: The Gators aren't alone. Because after three weeks of college football, I'm seeing a whole lot of "OK" out there.

And not a whole lot of "great."

Actually, I'm not seeing any great.

Alabama? Eh, they're OK. But not great.

Cal? OK. Not great.

LSU? OK. Not great.

Penn State? Believe me, they're not great. They're just OK (more on this in a bit).

Ole Miss? Don't even get me started.

To be honest, the best team I've seen this season is—and you know it pains me greatly to say this)—Miami (go away [and, wow, I haven't used that one in about five years]).

What's my point?

Simple: This is the most wide-open college football season I can ever recall. So I would advise you strongly to ignore the rankings for the next few weeks. Because they're based on nothing beyond preseason rep, stadium size, ESPN hype and history. That's it.

Here's the reality: The three teams that everyone thought would be near-invincible (Florida, Oklahoma, Texas) have looked vulnerable and, at times, downright average. The five teams that everyone had on that next tier (USC, Penn State, Ohio State, Alabama) don't look nearly as good in 2009 as they did in 2008. And to be completely honest, I'm not sure Cincinatti isn't the best team in the country. Or Pitt. Or Boise State.

What I am sure of is this: Florida is not great.

Florida is not even close to great.

So don't assume the Gators win another national title in 2009, folks.

Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust

Three ...: Sparty is still Sparty. I cannot believe that Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins actually threw that pick. All he had to do was protect the ball. All he had to do was be non-Sparty. And if he did that—if he could have simply achieved non-Spartydom—his team would have at the very least taken the Irish to overtime. Instead, Cousins threw The Worst Pass Ever—directly into the hands of Notre Dame safety Kyle McCarthy (graduate of Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown, Ohio, which is the Greatest High School Program Ever). And once more, Sparty (cliche on the way) snatched defeat from the warm embrace of victory. I thought Mark Dantonio was going to fix things in East Lansing, folks. I guess I was wrong. It simply amazes me that this program has maintained the same personality—a personality of fatalism, failure and general ineptiptude—for so many decades now. It's unfathomable, is what it is. Just unfathomable.

Two ...: Jimmy Clausen throws one impressive pass, folks. The kid has taken his share of heat over the years, but as Two-Time TCFA Champion Mike Unger recently pointed out: "That guy is an NFL quarterback." I wouldn't know if he's an NFL quarterback, of course, because I do not watch the NFL. But I'll trust Mike on this one.

One ...: OK, time once again for my weekly thoughts on My Beloved Penn State Nittany Lions. It was another workmanlike win for the Nits, who overcame the swine flu (or, at the very least, some kind of flu) to beat an improved Temple squad (seriously, folks, they actually have athletes now; real athletes) by the less-than-stellar score of 31-6. Let's do the good news/bad news thing now. Good news first: Evan Royster finally had his breakout game; the defensive front seven might our best group since 2005; the defensive backs actually look pretty good, which is a real surprise to me. Now for the bad: Daryll Clark got hit a lot, which is a not good sign with Iowa coming to town; the special teams are, well, worrisome (kickoff coverage, anyone?); and, very simply, I don't think this team is anywhere near as good as last year's team. So I'm not ruling out two or three losses. Iowa worries me. Michigan worries me. Heck, even Illinois worries me. Then again, I'm a worrier. I worried about Akron, too.

Touchdown ...: Penn State-Iowa will be the featured game next week on ESPN and, yes, I will admit that despite the Nits' current lofty ranking (No. 4 in the USA Coaches Poll?), they are anything but a "sure thing" to beat the Hawkeyes. So let's go ahead and say it: The Nits are officially on (cliche on the way) upset alert. But Week 4 is chalk full of other potential upsets, too, which means us Nits fans won't necessarily be alone in our misery should our boys falter against the Hawkeyes. I'll tell you this much right now, folks: No. 7 LSU could lose to Mississippi State. No. 14 Cincy could lose to Fresno State. No. 3 Alabama could lose to Arkansas. No. 18 Florida State could lose to South Florida. And No. 12 USC could lose to Washington State. OK, wait, just kidding on that last one.