Past TQs
- 10 Greatest Quarterbacks of
All-Time
-
10 Greatest Defensive Players
of All-Time
- 10 Greatest Regular Season
Games of All-Time
-
10 Greatest
Playmakers of All-Time
- 10 Worst Heisman Winners
- 10 Greatest Bowl
Games
-
All-Time Offensive Team
| All-Time Defensive Team
Pete
Fiutak
Q:
After two weeks, which teams are better than you thought and which are
worse?
A:
Better than expected
5. Rice - Fine, so the Owls are 0-2, but I thought this team was
going to challenge Temple as the worst in America with none of the parts
in place to run an offense like new head coach Todd Graham wanted to.
This team plays hard.
4. Pitt - Where did that defensive speed come from? I originally
thought Pitt was going to pull off the late season upset against either
Louisville or West Virginia, now I'm thinking it could win the Big East
title
3. Troy - It's amazing what one good quarterback can do. Because
of Omar Haugabook, Troy goes from a possible bottom-half Sun Belt team
to a favorite.
2. Ohio - No one noticed, but the win over Northern Illinois was
one of the bigger shockers of the young season. For the first time in
years, the Bobcats showed off a passing game.
1. San Jose State - The talent isn't close to being good enough
to be considered a decent Pac 10 team, but after pushing Washington and
beating Stanford, Dick Tomey's group has to be considered the surprise
of the young season.
Worse than expected
5. Iowa - I originally thought Iowa was going to beat Ohio State.
I might jump back on that pick, but not now.
4. SMU - This was supposed to be the year Phil Bennett's program
finally turned a corner. Unfortunately, it turned the wrong way losing
to North Texas.
3. Oklahoma - Where's the defense? The offense was supposed to
take a little while to come together without Rhett Bomar, but the
defense was supposed to be among the best in the country. After two
weeks, it hasn't been up to snuff.
2. Virginia - Ugh. There's no offense and not nearly enough
overall pop over the first two weeks. It took everything in the bag to
beat Wyoming and it got blasted by Pitt.
1. Colorado - The Buffs went to two straight Big 12 title games.
Dan Hawkins is a better coach than Gary Barnett. Oops.
Richard
Cirminiello
Five Teams better than I thought…
1. Ohio State – I had them at number one
this year, but thought that there was no way they would go undefeated,
perhaps a loss at Iowa. But, that defense is for real – believe it or
not they might actually be faster and quicker than last year’s defense,
as crazy as that sounds (not as good yet, but very athletic). If that
defense continues to improve, which is scary, they’ll be fast tracking
it to Tempe. Undefeated.
2. Boise State – Boy, they’re good, really
good. Start all the talk about the Broncos in a BCS game because it’s
going to be real talk this year. Of all of the non-BCS teams, this is
the one team that really can make a statement in the Fiesta Bowl. They
didn’t do anything but run basic stuff at Oregon State and pounded them.
3. Pittsburgh – This year’s start and last
year’s start are like night and day different. They pounded UVA and
throttled Cincinnati. Maybe people expected them to be 2 - 0, but it’s
been more definitive and resounding than people predicted. All facets
of the game for Pitt are working and clicking currently.
4. Missouri – With former QB Brad Smith off
to the NFL, it seemed Missouri might be on the down swing, but QB Chase
Daniel has been superb and the defense is extremely athletic and
physical. The Tigers could be a major surprise in the Big 12 North.
5. Rice – The Owls might be 0 – 2, but this
team is a lot further along with a first year head ball coach (Todd
Graham) and first year offensive coordinator (Major Applewhite) than
imaginable. They lost a heartbreaker to Houston and battled UCLA to a
ten point loss in the Rose Bowl. The Owls may be a definite team on the
rise.
Five Teams worse than I thought…
1. Stanford – Losing to Oregon in Eugene,
sure, alright, I’ll bite. San Jose State? The Pac-10 isn’t stout this
year, but this is not a good sign at all for the Cardinal.
2. North Carolina and North Carolina State
– UNC losing to Virginia Tech is one thing, but not even really being
competitive is quite another…and that’s after a loss to Rutgers at home,
which many Heels fans didn’t expect. State lost to Akron after looking
putrid offensively against Appalachian State. I didn’t think that they
would win the ACC, but thought they would at least have one win over a
D1A team at this point.
3. Iowa State – They’re 2 – 0, but they’ve
struggled mightily with Toledo and UNLV. What’s going to happen when
the Huskers come to Ames?
4. Colorado – The Buffs have lost to both
CSU, without RB Kyle Bell, and Montana State, who couldn’t beat Division
II Chadron State? Yikes. No one thought that it’d be a walk in the
park for head ball coach Dan Hawkins, but you’ve got to think that he’s
having second thoughts about leaving Boise.
