Thoughts on week 3 in college football

I'll admit this is the first week I've really had a chance to watch a full slate of college football. It was a week in which we had near upsets, shootouts, and comeback wins.

Michigan over Akron- The Wolverines clearly had a hangover from the Notre Dame game and it showed. Michigan nearly suffered an upset of Appalachian State proportions to a team that has lost 28 straight road games and has suffered through three straight one win seasons in the Akron Zips. Pump the brakes on the Wolverine bandwagon for now. Quarterback Devin Gardner needs to learn the meaning of ball security and the defense has to play better if they expect to compete with Ohio State for the Big Ten championship. Give Akron credit for coming close and playing hard.

UCLA over Nebraska- The Bruins came into Lincoln with heavy hearts after the death of Nick Pasquale and played with a lot of early emotion. Unfortunately that emotion led to an early 21-3 deficit. The Bruins rallied in the second half and put up a combined 38 unanswered points in a 41-21 win. For the Huskers it was disappointing loss after looking like they were poised to run away with this game. UCLA made the adjustments and Nebraska failed to get the momentum back.

 "The second half was a lot like last year," Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said. "We made the tackles in the first half. I don't know how many tackles we missed in that second half but it is a lot. We missed tackle after tackle after tackle." 

Sounds almost like every big game the Huskers have played in since they've joined the Big Ten. If Pelini can't get it together and start winning some of those games he might find himself listening to the wolves howling for his job.

Alabama over Texas A&M- Billed as the SEC game of the century for this season, it lived up to the hype. Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel didn't disappoint as the Aggies jumped out to a 14-0 lead. After that it was all Alabama, as the Tide rolled to 35 straight points to seize control of the game. Tide quarterback A.J. McCarron went 20-29 for 334 yards and 4 touchdowns. The 42 points and 628 total yards were the most allowed by an Alabama team, but it wasn't enough as Alabama has taken control of the SEC West division.
Maybe it's time to trumpet AJ Champion aka McCarron as a legit Heisman candidate.

Arizona State over Wisconsin- This game ended in controversy. The Badgers appeared to be robbed of a possible win by the officials. The Badgers were driving for a game winning field goal. Wisconsin quarterback Joel Stave appeared to take a knee to stop the clock and put the ball on the ground. A Sun Devil defender jumped on the ball and looked like it was a defensive delay of game. The officials spotted the ball and time ran out on the Badgers in this back and forth affair.

Oregon over Tennessee- It was a good week for the Pac-12 as the league racked up a number of 'name' wins this weekend. the Ducks once again steamrolled another opponent and they made their SEC foe look like a Sun Belt team. Fans chanted S-E-C and we want Bama. The Ducks have been impressive early but first take care of business in your own conference before calling out the champion like Clubber Lang.

Minnesota over Western Illinois- This game was significant because Golden Gophers head coach Jerry Kill was carted off on a stretcher after he suffered another seizure in their 29-12 win over  Western Illinois. Reports say he's resting comfortably in the hospital but you have to wonder if the administration at Minnesota might be thinking of moving on instead of keeping Kill around.

Ole Miss over Texas- The Rebels scored an impressive 44-23 win over the Longhorns. I guess it doesn't matter who the defensive coordinator is in Austin if the talent is going to underachieve. Coach Mack Brown might see the vultures circling if the Horns can't win the Oklahoma game. In all fairness starting quarterback David Ash didn't play but with the talent on hand in Austin this team has no excuses to be losing by three touchdowns at home.

Honorable mention- Ohio State looked impressive against California with backup quarterback Kenny Guiton at the controls....Notre Dame and South Carolina bounced back after week 2 losses, although it took the Irish awhile to get going...On a positive note Rutgers honored the paralyzed former player Eric LeGrand by retiring his number 52. It marked the first time in the 144-year history of the birthplace of college football that the university retired the number of a football player and this one was clearly loved by all in attendance.

Winners- Pac-12, Alabama, Rutgers, UCLA, Ole Miss, Marcus Mariota, AJ McCarron, Eric LeGrand    

Losers- Big Ten, Pac-12 officials, Texas