Week 1 Recap, Pt. IV (Oregon-Virginia Tech)

Stanford @ #25 Oregon
My Prediction: Oregon
Final Score: Oregon 48, Stanford 10
Thoughts: Wow. Yeah, looks like the Oregon offense will be fine. QB Dennis Dixon went 21/30 for 236 and a TD, and the running game totaled 299 yards, led by RB Jonathan Stewart's 168 and 2 scores. The Stanford offense actually wasn't horrible either. QB Trent Edwards went 20/34 for 225 and a score, though no running back managed over 56 yards. The worst news for Stanford is the kicking game, as Aaron Zagory missed one and had another blocked and returned for a TD. The Cardinal mostly solidified their status as a lower-tier Pac 10 team, but Oregon repeating last year's performance now seems possible.

Eastern Washington @ Oregon State
My Prediction: Oregon State
Final Score: Oregon State 56, Eastern Washington 17
Thoughts: Despite giving up 17, EWU was held to only 84 yards, with -15 rushing. Everyone looked good for Oregon State; QBs Sean Canfield (11/15, 176 yards, 2/1 TD/INT) and Matt Moore (7/14, 88 yards, 2 TD) both had good nights, and RB Yvenson Bernard pitched in 124 yards and 2 scores of his own.

Virginia @ Pittsburgh
My Prediction: Pittsburgh
Final Score: Pittsburgh 38, Virginia 13
Thoughts: Pittsburgh's offense looked good, led by QB Tyler Palko's 17/22 passing for 286 yards and 3/1 TD/INT. I'll give most of the credit for Virginia's poor offensive performance to the Pitt defense, at least for the time being. The Cavaliers rushing game only had 35 yards, and QB Chris Olsen had 16/33 passing, and only 128 yards with a pick that was returned for a TD. Hopefully things will improve in the Wyoming game for Virginia. A somewhat impressive win for Pitt, if only for avoiding the kind of meltdowns they had last year.

Indiana State @ Purdue
My Prediction: Purdue
Final Score: Purdue 60, Indiana State 35
Thoughts: This was much too close through the first three quarters until Purdue pulled away late. The offense had some big lines, led by QB Curtis Painter (16/30 for 263 yards, 2 pass TDs and 2 rush TDs) and RB Kory Sheets (129 yards and 3 TD). The Purdue offense wasn't too great either, allowing ISU RB Tony West to run for 123 yards and 2 TD. QB Reilly Murphy also passed for 224 yards and a TD, but also had 2 picks, which, along with a blocked punt for a TD, probably stopped this from looking a lot worse for Purdue.

UTEP @ San Diego State
My Prediction: UTEP
Final Score: UTEP 34, San Diego State 27
Thoughts: Good game for both teams, I'd say. UTEP RB Marcus Thomas only ran for 24, but QB Jordan Palmer had 19/28 passing for 205 yards and 3 TDs. Though SDSU lost, they actually outgained UTEP both passing (275-205) and rushing (109-38). QB Kevin O'Connell got injured early, but backup Darren Mougey passed for 178 and ran for 41 with 2 scores. UTEP, as with seemingly any C-USA team, has a chance to win the conference, and SDSU could make some noise when one looks at the rest of the MWC's performances this week.

San Jose State @ Washington
My Prediction: Washington
Final Score: Washington 35, San Jose State 29
Thoughts: Remained close throughout, mostly due to SJSU QB Adam Tafralis and his 28/35 passing for 326 yards and 3 TD. The lack of any rushing game (59 yards) obviously hurt SJSU, however. Quite the opposite for Washington -- the running game had 296 yards, led by RB Louis Rankin (145 yards, 2 TD). Washington QB Isaiah Stanback looked mediocre through the air, going 16/25 for 169 and 1/1 TD/INT, but had 99 yards rushing along with a TD on the ground. This game may mean more optimism for SJSU than bad news for Washington, but being unable to put away a low-tier WAC team has to worry the latter.

SMU @ #24 Texas Tech
My Prediction: Texas Tech
Final Score: Texas Tech 35, SMU 3
Thoughts: Only 35? TTU QB Graham Harrell still had 333 yards passing, with 5 TDs and a pick. They even had a running game, as RB Shannon Woods ran for 103. But the usual Tech fireworks are nothing new, the most interesting line is probably that of star SMU RB DeMyron Martin, who only had 32 yards on 12 carries. QB Justin Willis didn't look that great either, with 9/16 passing for only 67 yards, with 54 rushing. Not being able to do much against the Texas Tech defense doesn't bode well for SMU, but luckily the C-USA remains wide open. Or maybe Tech actually has a defense. Ha.

McNeese State @ South Florida
My Prediction: South Florida
Final Score: South Florida 41, McNeese State 10
Thoughts: Good momentum-builder for USF. Backup QB Matt Grothe, replacing the injured Pat Julmiste, passed for 168 and 2 TDs, and ran for 62 and another. And new RB Walt Smith had 75 yards and 2 TD on only 7 rushes.

Syracuse @ Wake Forest
My Prediction: Wake Forest
Final Score: Wake Forest 20, Syracuse 10
Thoughts: Syracuse still has no offense, only gaining 26 yards. Perry Patterson remains an awful QB (6/19, 50 yards, TD), and the top 3 running backs combined for only 92 yards. Wake remains a rushing team, led by Micah Andrews's 150 yards and De'Angelo Bryant's 67 with a score. Wake QB Ben Mauk had a decent 14/21 day for 106 and a 1/1 TD/INT, but broke his arm late in the game and is out indefinitely. Again, Wake's a rushing team, but having to replace a solid senior QB with a redshirt freshman hurts their chances at making noise in the lower tiers of the ACC. There'd be hope for Syracuse if this was a decent defensive showing, and I suppose they did decently against Mauk, but they gave up 247 on the ground.

The Citadel @ Texas A&M
My Prediction: Texas A&M
Final Score: Texas A&M 35, The Citadel 3
Thoughts: The TAMU defense gave up 243 yards, but that's partially due to the Aggies' 4 lost fumbles. New A&M QB Stephen McGee had a decent line of 16/25 for 201 yards and a TD, with another rushing. The running game had some decent performances en route to 179 yards, led by Courtney Lewis's 60 with 2 TDs. However, the running game was also responsible for 3 of those 4 fumbles (all 4 if McGee lost his on a run.) There are positives (We still won despite turning the ball over 4 times...) and negatives (...against The Citadel!) to be taken from this.

Alabama State @ Troy
My Prediction: Troy
Final Score: Troy 38, Alabama State 0
Thoughts: Actually a very impressive win for Troy. The defense is usually good, but the recently maligned offense produced 429 yards. New QB Omar Haugabook failed to disappoint, going 20/32 for 171 yards and 4 TD passes. The rushing game had 191 yards, led by Anthony Jones's 88. And in the rare I-AA player note, Alabama State WR James Earl Cray, who actually spent last year with Troy, was held to 20 yards on 3 catches.

Stephen F. Austin @ Tulsa
My Prediction: Tulsa
Final Score: Tulsa 45, Stephen F. Austin 7
Thoughts: Tulsa outgained SFA 521-185, so it was a good win. Tulsa QB Paul Smith went 16/20 for 229 and 3 scores. A host of running backs had decent performances, including Brandon Diles (61 yards), Oklahoma transfer Courtney Tennial (42 yards, 2 TD), and Tarrion Adams (41 yards and a TD rushing, with a 36 yard TD reception.)

Villanova @ UCF
My Prediction: UCF
Final Score: UCF 35, Villanova 16
Thoughts: An odd win, as UCF was outgained 322-304, lost time of possession, and only won the turnover battle 2-1. QB Steven Moffett was the offensive star here, going 15/20 for 199 yards and 3 TDs.

Utah @ UCLA
My Prediction: Utah
Final Score: UCLA 31, Utah 10
Thoughts: UCLA QB Ben Olson lived up to the hype, going 26/34 for 315 yards and 3 TD. The heralded Utah QB corps, however, did not, with starter Brent Ratliff going 12/31 for 147 and a 1/2 TD/INT and Oklahoma transfer Tommy Grady managing a 13 yard completion and an INT returned for a TD. This win helped UCLA more than the loss hurt Utah -- UCLA may not lose that much ground from last year, especially in light of Cal and Arizona State's struggles, while the generally mediocre performances of the Mountain West still offer Utah hope.

Idaho State @ UNLV
My Prediction: UNLV
Final Score: UNLV 54, Idaho State 10
Thoughts: Matt Gutierrez loses his first game as a QB! He still threw for 260 on the UNLV secondary, however. On the UNLV side, new QB and USC transfer Rocky Hinds looked good, going 24/42 for 322 and a TD, as well as gaining 42 and a score rushing. A number of players contributed to UNLV's 174 rushing yards, led by Erick Jackson (79 yards) and Hinds. Gutierrez's numbers may be cause for concern about UNLV's pass defense, but most I-AA QBs aren't highly-touted high school QBs that transfer from Michigan.

Utah State @ Wyoming
My Prediction: Wyoming
Final Score: Wyoming 38, Utah State 7
Thoughts: Horrible showing for the USU offense, as they only gained 129 yards, and the lone Aggie TD came on an interception return. New Wyoming QB Jason Bramlet, wait, Jason Doss, had a good showing of 17/26 passing for 209 and a 3/1 TD/INT. Star Wyoming RB Wyndel Seldon ran for 99 and caught a TD pass. Wyoming could make some noise soon, any optimism I had for Utah State has been mostly dashed.

Northeastern @ #18 Virginia Tech
My Prediction: Virginia Tech
Final Score: Virginia Tech 38, Northeastern 0
Thoughts: VT shut out another I-AA, holding the Huskies to only 187 yards, 86 passing. New QB Sean Glennon looks good, going 15/18 for 222 and a 3/1 TD/INT. The very good but not dominant win that should've happened.