College football kicked off last night with 18(!) games. Although most of them were cakewalks, there were a few surprising moments. Without further adieu, here is what we learned last night as we wade into the 2010 season.
Contender - South Carolina (41-13 over Southern Miss). Every year since Steve Spurrier took the helm at South Carolina, Gamecock fans have been predicting success on the way to another eight-win season. This year, they might be right. Southern Miss was no great competition last night, but neither are they a team that surrenders a lot of 30-point blowouts. Carolina looked poised, confident and hungry last night. If they can get by Georgia next Saturday, they will prove themselves at least the second best team in the SEC East. After that, who knows?
Pretender - Pittsburgh (24-27 OT to Utah). The best thing that you can say about Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt is that he has put Pitt back into the conversation since taking over the Panthers. Unfortunately, they seem to take two steps back for every step forward. Pitt blew a golden opportunity at Utah last night to capitalize on a top 15 ranking, a moderately high-profile opponent, and a winnable game. Pitt will still probably win a game or two this year that they shouldn't, but this was an chance to prove that they could play with the big boys, and they blew it.
Tossup - USC (49-36 over Hawaii). For all the blows that USC has taken over the off-season, many prognosticators still predicted that the talent level at USC would put them in contention for a conference title this year, if not the national championship. Last night's game at Hawaii showed that the Trojans have lots of offensive talent for certain. On the defense, which Monte Kiffin is supposed to own, there is a lot of work to be done. Granted, USC did not do any contact work at all in fall camp due to low numbers and the Warriors did surprise the USC coaching staff by running the pistol formation rather than their customary spread. But giving up nearly 600 yards to Hawaii, and getting good and gassed doing it, does not bode well for the rest of the season.
Punching Bag of the Week - UAB (31-32 to FAU). When will the Birmingham media stop treating UAB like they are a top-tier college football program (we're looking at YOU Birmingham News and WJOX)? The Blazers don't deserve to be treated like they are one step behind Alabama and Auburn. They aren't even one step behind Troy. This was supposed to be the year Neil Callaway had the Blazers in Conference USA contention. They even, somehow, pulled 25,000 fans to Legion Field on a Thursday night. And then they lay an egg against a team that they destroyed 56-29 last year. UAB ranks 101 out of 119 FBS teams in winning percentage (that's 18 spots below Vanderbilt, if you're keeping score). Compare that to Alabama (6th), Auburn (16th) and Troy (43rd). Put a fork in the Blazers. They are done.
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