1. Can “Monster Saturday” live up to the hype? With Miami-Ohio State, Notre Dame-Michigan, Florida State-Oklahoma and Penn State-Alabama headlining one enormously huge day, this certainly has the potential to be one of the best college football weekends in recent memory. Here’s hoping each game is competitive and we don’t end up with a bunch of duds.
2. Will the good vibes go sour in Ann Arbor or South Bend? There was much anticipation last week over Brian Kelly’s debut at Notre Dame and Rich Rodriguez starting the season on the hot seat at Michigan. Both coaches won, and hopes shot up higher. Kelly doesn’t have as much on the line as Rodriguez because he is only in his second game at Notre Dame. But you can bet Irish fans want to see a more wide-open offensive attack, while Wolverines fans want all Denard Robinson, all the time. Whoever loses will most certainly face withering scrutiny from a fan base that wants to win now.
3. How does the Florida State defense stop DeMarco Murray? Anticipation is high for the Stoops brothers matchup, but the onus is on FSU defensive coordinator Mark to stop DeMarco Murray. Last week against Utah State, Murray ran for 208 yards and two touchdowns. Samford wasn’t much of an early test, so this game is going to be a huge measuring stick to see how far the defense has come in just a few months.
4. How much is revenge really going to be a factor in the Miami-Ohio State game? Revenge has been a big theme among former players, who have talked about nothing but that since the summer. But you can bet the bigger theme for the current team is another R-word: respect. Players see this as a statement game, a way to show the country the Hurricanes program is back.
5. Can the bad snaps be snapped? Several teams across the country struggled with their snaps in Week 1. Woes plagued North Carolina, Oregon State, Virginia Tech but most notably Florida, which had 13 bad exchanges between Mike Pouncey and John Brantley. We’ll see whether the bad snaps were a result of first-week kinks or if this continues to be an issue that plagues teams.
6. Do Alabama fans bite their tongues? We already know about Joe Pa vs. Nick Saban, the history with Bear Bryant, and a freshman quarterback going into Tuscaloosa as the starting quarterback for the Nittany Lions. Will the fans heed Saban’s warning and hold back their boos when Penn State is introduced? Incidentally, Bryant would have turned 97 on Saturday.
7. How do Ole Miss and Kansas rebound from FCS losses? The Rebels have a far better chance of following up their embarrassing overtime loss to Jacksonville State with a win than Kansas does. Ole Miss goes to Tulane, one of the worst teams in the country last season. But Kansas has to play No. 15 Georgia Tech with a new quarterback and revamped offensive line. Coach Turner Gill announced Jordan Webb would start over Kale Pick on Saturday. Both played in the loss to North Dakota State last week.
8. How does Georgia freshman quarterback Aaron Murray handle a tough South Carolina defense? As SEC fans will tell you, the Gamecocks have had one of the best defenses in the league for the last few years. So will they be able to rattle the freshman quarterback making his first start on the road – especially with top target A.J. Green out? The games in this series have been pretty tight -- in the last nine years, seven have been decided by a touchdown or less.
9. Early conference play opens. This can either be good or bad depending on your point of view. Good if you think you can catch your opponent off guard since they don’t know much about you. Bad if you think your opponent can catch you off guard. The ACC, Conference USA, Pac-10 SEC, Mountain West, MAC, Sun Belt all have conference games in Week 2.
10. Can Tennessee slow down the Oregon offense? Putting 72 points up on New Mexico was certainly unexpected for the Ducks. But they also made a statement -- they are much more than just Jeremiah Masoli, who is no longer on the team. What does Oregon do for an encore?
2. Will the good vibes go sour in Ann Arbor or South Bend? There was much anticipation last week over Brian Kelly’s debut at Notre Dame and Rich Rodriguez starting the season on the hot seat at Michigan. Both coaches won, and hopes shot up higher. Kelly doesn’t have as much on the line as Rodriguez because he is only in his second game at Notre Dame. But you can bet Irish fans want to see a more wide-open offensive attack, while Wolverines fans want all Denard Robinson, all the time. Whoever loses will most certainly face withering scrutiny from a fan base that wants to win now.
3. How does the Florida State defense stop DeMarco Murray? Anticipation is high for the Stoops brothers matchup, but the onus is on FSU defensive coordinator Mark to stop DeMarco Murray. Last week against Utah State, Murray ran for 208 yards and two touchdowns. Samford wasn’t much of an early test, so this game is going to be a huge measuring stick to see how far the defense has come in just a few months.
4. How much is revenge really going to be a factor in the Miami-Ohio State game? Revenge has been a big theme among former players, who have talked about nothing but that since the summer. But you can bet the bigger theme for the current team is another R-word: respect. Players see this as a statement game, a way to show the country the Hurricanes program is back.
5. Can the bad snaps be snapped? Several teams across the country struggled with their snaps in Week 1. Woes plagued North Carolina, Oregon State, Virginia Tech but most notably Florida, which had 13 bad exchanges between Mike Pouncey and John Brantley. We’ll see whether the bad snaps were a result of first-week kinks or if this continues to be an issue that plagues teams.
6. Do Alabama fans bite their tongues? We already know about Joe Pa vs. Nick Saban, the history with Bear Bryant, and a freshman quarterback going into Tuscaloosa as the starting quarterback for the Nittany Lions. Will the fans heed Saban’s warning and hold back their boos when Penn State is introduced? Incidentally, Bryant would have turned 97 on Saturday.
7. How do Ole Miss and Kansas rebound from FCS losses? The Rebels have a far better chance of following up their embarrassing overtime loss to Jacksonville State with a win than Kansas does. Ole Miss goes to Tulane, one of the worst teams in the country last season. But Kansas has to play No. 15 Georgia Tech with a new quarterback and revamped offensive line. Coach Turner Gill announced Jordan Webb would start over Kale Pick on Saturday. Both played in the loss to North Dakota State last week.
8. How does Georgia freshman quarterback Aaron Murray handle a tough South Carolina defense? As SEC fans will tell you, the Gamecocks have had one of the best defenses in the league for the last few years. So will they be able to rattle the freshman quarterback making his first start on the road – especially with top target A.J. Green out? The games in this series have been pretty tight -- in the last nine years, seven have been decided by a touchdown or less.
9. Early conference play opens. This can either be good or bad depending on your point of view. Good if you think you can catch your opponent off guard since they don’t know much about you. Bad if you think your opponent can catch you off guard. The ACC, Conference USA, Pac-10 SEC, Mountain West, MAC, Sun Belt all have conference games in Week 2.
10. Can Tennessee slow down the Oregon offense? Putting 72 points up on New Mexico was certainly unexpected for the Ducks. But they also made a statement -- they are much more than just Jeremiah Masoli, who is no longer on the team. What does Oregon do for an encore?
, just not the biggest games. As a Hoosier and a Colt fan it has been sad to sit and watch. Just last season, there were 6 plus games that Indy could have easily lost which they won. That will not happen again this season. and, last years run to the Super bowl was not impressive. The teams we played in the playoffs weren't that great. I just wish over all these years we would have fielded a Serious defense. Defenses alone can account for many wins, but not in INDY. Not then and certainly not now since the offense which is so precision is easy to figure out. Darn it is a shame. I can feel the Miami fans pain having Dan Marino all of those years but not getting him the help. Marino and Manning share the same traits in many ways. Especially tremendous QB's in history but really not the help aside them they need to get the titles. Why I ask, Why?