Pete
Fiutak
Q:
And the biggest disappointment of the weekend
was …
A: The
obvious answer is Oklahoma, but I think the loss to Colorado was a bit
of an aberration that might ultimately serve as a wake-up call. I'm not
ready to jump ship just yet.
Texas was way due to get nailed, Florida losing to Auburn can't be seen
as that huge an upset, considering how good the Tiger D is, and West
Virginia losing to South Florida wasn't a huge shocker. To me, Rutgers
was one of the biggest disappointments, because that seems like a team
that should be a lot better than it played. It had time to prepare, it
got a good passing day from QB Mike Teel, but the overall execution
wasn't there. Now I'm really interested in seeing what will happen this
week against Cincinnati.
The other big disappointment, and you'll have to work with me on this
one, was USC. After all the upsets in the wild Saturday, and all the
warning signs that it was turning into that kind of a day, USC
came out and was merely above-average, coming within a recovered onside
kick of possible disaster. I'm waiting to see the step-on-the-throat
juggernaut it's supposed to be. With more talent than anyone in the
country, there's no reason the Huskies should've been within three
touchdowns of a fully focused Trojan team.
Richard
Cirminiello
Q:
And the biggest disappointment of the weekend was …
A:
Oklahoma. There were plenty of disappointments and humbling results
this past weekend, but none bigger than the Sooners’ last-second loss in
Boulder. Texas was way overrated and ripe for the plucking by a very
well-coached Kansas State team. We were all guilty of overlooking
Florida’s youth simply because it waxed Tennessee for 59 points a few
weeks ago. Rutgers was not the tenth best team in the country, and
playing three lightweights was no way to prepare for a decent and
battle-tested Maryland squad. West Virginia? I had a hunch it wasn’t
getting out of Tampa with its national title aspirations intact.
However, Oklahoma? Averaging more than 60 points a game, it looked way
too dominant in four routs, including one test with Miami, to ever fall
victim to a Colorado team that’s a year away from being better than
average. At least it seemed that way. What was even harder to
comprehend was that the Sooners appeared to be in control in the third
quarter with a comfortable 24-7 lead over an opponent that hadn’t done
anything against a decent defense all year. And poof, all conventional
wisdom went down the chute in an otherwise nonsensical day. The biggest
disappointment of all, however, was that we lost what should have been
that third power program to join LSU and USC in the discussion regarding
the two best teams in the country. Now, unless the Tigers or Trojans
lose, you can forget about any controversy or healthy debate over which
two schools belong in the BCS Championship game. It’ll be a foregone
conclusion months in advance. While there are some really good stories
developing in places like Lexington and Boston, no one has the potential
to be a delicious fly in the ointment the way Oklahoma did when it
destroyed everything in its path, en route to what turned out to be a
tease of a 4-0 start.
John
Harris
Q:
And the biggest disappointment of the weekend was …
A:
And the biggest disappointment of the weekend was…the
mighty Texas Longhorns. And, Saturday was just the cherry on the
sundae, if you will. The first game of the season – a narrow 21-16 win
over Arkansas State – foretold the story that many didn’t want to hear.
This is a highly talented team playing below average football and it
finally caught up to them against Kansas State. For the past two years,
I’ve seen this team play with no emotion, no sense of purpose – in other
words, throwing the helmet on the field and expecting to win. K State
played with a mean on all day long and it was evident that head coach
Ron Prince wasn’t going to allow his team to take a step back. He’s
stomping around on the sideline and bringing some passion and enthusiasm
back to the program (he must have wiped his face with his Power Towel).
In 2005, VY brought this team
back on numerous occasions when the team was sagging, but HE’S NOT THERE
ANYMORE. Someone else needs to step up and do it NOW! I mean, how in
the world does the seventh ranked team in the nation give up an
interception return for a touchdown, a punt return for a touchdown and a
kickoff return for a touchdown in the same season, much less the same
game? Somehow this team has to find nastiness, be ornery and quit
thinking that because they’re wearing Texas orange jerseys that they’re
going to win. Go out and take someone’s heart. Quit talking about
doing it and just freakin’ do it. Honestly, this team needs a swift
boot up the backside.
Matthew
Zemek
Q:
And the biggest disappointment of the weekend was …
A:
Oklahoma was the weekend's biggest
disappointment.
When things go bad early in a game, it's easy to see why an upset
happens.
But when you lead 24-7 midway through the third quarter, there's very
little excuse for not being able to slam the door shut.
Four games played inside the state of Oklahoma evidently did nothing to
truly toughen up the Sooners for the road ahead.
Michael Bradley
Q:
And the biggest disappointment of the weekend was …
A:
Wow, talk about a
tough one. It’s possible to include the entire top 10 in this one,
but if you’re looking for a real winner amongst the carnage, try
Texas. The Longhorns told us last year they lost to KSU because Colt
McCoy was injured, and the Wildcats used their home-field advantage
to gain an emotional edge. Well, that theory was shot to death
Saturday when the Steers gave up too many big-play TDs and were
routed. It looks like Texas is back to its old, pre-Vince Young ways
of having great talent but not the toughness to beat teams they
should. Kansas State played a confident game against UT in Austin
and came away with a big win that proves – coupled with Oklahoma’s
loss to Colorado – the Big 12 could be the nation’s most
unpredictable conference this year. As for Texas, the Longhorns had
better hope they find some players to lead them with the same mental
toughness as Young. Otherwise, they will be susceptible to teams
which don’t fear their pedigrees.