1. Michael Brewer, apparently, holds a ton of sway in the Virginia Tech-Ohio State “rivalry.” Who knew? ... After directing the Hokies to an upset masked as a freakin’ beatdown last season at the Shoe, the fair-to-middling QB had them pushing the Buckeyes’ buttons again Monday night in Blacksburg, Va. – until an early third-quarter hit during a passing attempt resulted in him suffering a broken collar bone. With Brewer out, Tech crumbled like a cheap suit. Before he left, the score was 21-17 OSU and the game’s outcome was still very much in doubt.
2. Braxton Miller can play for your favorite NFL team any day. While much of the hoopla surrounding the QB battle for the defending national champion Buckeyes died out once Miller made the switch to receiver, little did we know the real noise would be made once the senior debuted in his new role. One word: wow. The cat apparently can handle anything thrown his way, be it footballs, would-be tacklers or position assignments. Frankly, he may be more valuable as a do-everything wildcard than he ever was as a QB.
3. Temple braintrust better start preparing now for the wave of attention that both head coach Matt Rhule and defensive coordinator Phil Snow will draw should the Owls get rolling this fall. With the Owls’ 17-point victory Saturday against their long-standing Goliath, Penn State, the nation has been made aware of the two and what they can do. This week’s game at Cincinnati could either fan the flames of that interest, or douse them. It will be quite the feat to get the Owls up after the emotional hurdle they cleared, even with this opponent being better and the players aware of it.
4. While the Owls were awarded FWAA’s “Team of the Week” honors for their effort, fellow unranked squads Northwestern and Texas A&M posted more impressive victories against No. 21 Stanford and No. 15 Arizona State. The Wildcats, in particular, deserve some serious props for beating the Cardinal at its own game: power football. Coming off back-to-back 5-7 campaigns, they did so under the direction of a freshman QB.
5. Clayton Thorson, really? The aforementioned freshman QB for Northwestern … OK, we get it. The school is the Ivy League of the Big Ten, but that name? C’mon, that’s almost a little too Princeton to take. Ironically, he hails from Wheaton, Ill., the town that produced arguably the greatest college football player of all time … Red Grange, who starred downstate at the University of Illinois, which, by the way, was pretty impressive itself in victory Saturday considering it changed coaches just 8 days prior.
6. Most impressive team over the weekend was No. 3 Alabama, which soundly beat 20th-ranked Wisconsin, 35-17, at Jerry World. Like a prize fighter trained in old-school tactics, ’Bama worked over the Badgers’ body – in essence, its’ bread-and-butter ground game – and victory followed. Wisconsin mustered just 40 yards on 21 carries in Week 1’s featured matchup.
7. Most impressive player over the weekend was Notre Dame QB Malik Zaire. It’s not so much the numbers, which were insanely good against Texas: 19-for-22 passing, 313 yards, 3 TDs. It’s the way he threw the ball, the precision-like manner, the accuracy, the touch, the distance, everything. The guy was in complete control, dropping the ball in wherever he wanted, like it was on a string.
- Jack Kerwin | ydkjack1@gmail.com
2. Braxton Miller can play for your favorite NFL team any day. While much of the hoopla surrounding the QB battle for the defending national champion Buckeyes died out once Miller made the switch to receiver, little did we know the real noise would be made once the senior debuted in his new role. One word: wow. The cat apparently can handle anything thrown his way, be it footballs, would-be tacklers or position assignments. Frankly, he may be more valuable as a do-everything wildcard than he ever was as a QB.
3. Temple braintrust better start preparing now for the wave of attention that both head coach Matt Rhule and defensive coordinator Phil Snow will draw should the Owls get rolling this fall. With the Owls’ 17-point victory Saturday against their long-standing Goliath, Penn State, the nation has been made aware of the two and what they can do. This week’s game at Cincinnati could either fan the flames of that interest, or douse them. It will be quite the feat to get the Owls up after the emotional hurdle they cleared, even with this opponent being better and the players aware of it.
4. While the Owls were awarded FWAA’s “Team of the Week” honors for their effort, fellow unranked squads Northwestern and Texas A&M posted more impressive victories against No. 21 Stanford and No. 15 Arizona State. The Wildcats, in particular, deserve some serious props for beating the Cardinal at its own game: power football. Coming off back-to-back 5-7 campaigns, they did so under the direction of a freshman QB.
5. Clayton Thorson, really? The aforementioned freshman QB for Northwestern … OK, we get it. The school is the Ivy League of the Big Ten, but that name? C’mon, that’s almost a little too Princeton to take. Ironically, he hails from Wheaton, Ill., the town that produced arguably the greatest college football player of all time … Red Grange, who starred downstate at the University of Illinois, which, by the way, was pretty impressive itself in victory Saturday considering it changed coaches just 8 days prior.
6. Most impressive team over the weekend was No. 3 Alabama, which soundly beat 20th-ranked Wisconsin, 35-17, at Jerry World. Like a prize fighter trained in old-school tactics, ’Bama worked over the Badgers’ body – in essence, its’ bread-and-butter ground game – and victory followed. Wisconsin mustered just 40 yards on 21 carries in Week 1’s featured matchup.
7. Most impressive player over the weekend was Notre Dame QB Malik Zaire. It’s not so much the numbers, which were insanely good against Texas: 19-for-22 passing, 313 yards, 3 TDs. It’s the way he threw the ball, the precision-like manner, the accuracy, the touch, the distance, everything. The guy was in complete control, dropping the ball in wherever he wanted, like it was on a string.
- Jack Kerwin | ydkjack1@gmail.com
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