The SEC looked human to start the season + B10 observations

[MAIZEandBLUE09]

It seems as though this may be the year that the SEC finally gets taken out by another conference. Alabama looked less than impressive against an average VT team. Their offensive line looked terrible and if it weren't for special teams VT might have won that game. It certainly would have been close.

LSU looked OK but a TCU team took them to the end.

And then you have Clemson taking out Georgia. Honestly, Georgia looked like the best team of all three and Alabama looked worse than both LSU and Georgia. After last night I do nothing think Alabama comes out as #1 in the SEC and I think that if they do make the BCS title game, the team that meets them there will have an opportunity to finally take them out.

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The Big Ten looks a little better than last year. Ohio state looked solid on offense but clearly they have some polishing to do. I think I'd say the same about Michigan. But Michigan and OSU are obviously the top two teams in the conference.

I think Wisconsin is better than Nebraska and I think PSU might be better than both of them. Once PSU got going they looked semi-impressive.

If I had to rank it right now it would go 1. OSU 2. Mich 3. NW 4. PSU 5. Wisc 6. Neb

The rest of the conference looked about as good, or bad, as they did last year. There was some improvement at the top of the big ten but not much else.

 

[TigerBait1971]

Solid.

 

[Runeman]

I have to agree with the OP to an extent. Georgia losing to an outstanding Clemson team on the road by 3 is acceptable. I agree that Georgia, even though they lost, could be the best team in the SEC. Alabama did not show their play book and didn't have to so we shall see about them. IMO, by the end of the year, Saben will have that team ready to play. TAM's defense is lacking and they will be giving up a lot of points. LSU played a good game and beat a very good team, with Mettenberger looking a lot better this year. LSU has a lot of team speed and size and that can be a problem for Alabama. Florida didn't look that great either as the Gators are a year away from being an outstanding team. I wouldn't call giving up 20 points to Butler anything to get excited about. A good team will box in Miller and make him throw. I'm not sure if the Big10 has a team capable of doing that. Penn State did a good job beating Syracuse and the Penn State defense is good enough to keep that team in any game they play. They have two very good Defensive ends who just might be the key to upsetting Ohio State in Columbus this year. Not sure if the offense is diverse enough as they like to play 3 tight ends and do a lot of running. Hackenberg is going to be a great quarterback; just not this year. I think its fair to say the SEC is not as dominant as they were 4-5 years ago. These things go in cycles and I'm thinking the ACC just might end up being very good as the teams they added will help recruiting the entire East Coast. It's early and the 1st game of the year; there is really no telling how things will sort out, especially for teams that scheduled weak opponents.

 

[BamaTee1]

Good synopsis Runeman. I tend to agree. It's not that uncommon to be sluggish against decent to good competition. SEC catches grief for OOC scheduling but this is the week the majority of all the conferences are playing teams you didn't even know fielded a team and the SEC is playing better competition.

Auburn/Wash ST- an OOC win but neither team looked good. Auburn has NO defense.
Ole Miss/Vandy- Great game. Hard to tell since they both played each other. Both showed grit!

The big six:
Florida/Toledo Slow mythodical win. Looked good at times. Toledo not an absolute pushover though.

Bama/Va Tech Oline the big question. Obvious Va Tech loaded for the run. Game played out weird where Bama had big easy lead and Saban always slows down and runs cock so not totally fair to judge here. Positive is special teams is big part of games and Bama showed they have that! Defense could be one of the best! 111 yards of Va Techs 212 came on two plays! Lots of almost sacks.

LSU/TCU LSU looked good to me. It was week one so some rust but potential looked good. Defense needs some work but will improve. Could be real tough towards end of year! Mett made some great throws.

Georgia/Clemson Classic!!! Boyd for Heisman!!! Tough someone had to lose. Clemson could be real!

South Car/UNC USC has a chance this year to rep East in CCG.

Texas A&M/Rice Anyone else tired of Manziel? He is a classless spoiled brat bitch! Defense looked weak to weaker.

Big Ten teams playing jokes... The only ones worth mentioning:
Penn St 23 Syracuse 17
Northwestern 44 Cal 30

Should I mention: Nebraska 37 Wyoming 34 or Northern Illinois 30 Iowa 27 Cinn. 42 Purdue 7

 

[LSU]

I think this is the year that someone could take it from the SEC. Right now Clemson looks like SEC kryptonite(including last season's bowl game vs LSU)

Wouldnt be surprised at all if the streak ends at 7 in a row. That being said dont let bama fool you. Sure they looked rusty and kind of out of sorts. Just remember its just the first game of the season. Nick is gonna have them in championship form in no time.

 

[Smart]

Penn State looked better than us? Are you high? We played terribly in the first half and still managed to look better than Penn State. And then we picked it up in the second. I'm not sure how a team that almost lost to Syracuse looks better than a team that won 45-0 (and ran out the clock on the 1 to end the game) and outgained their opponent 600-200. Please, tell.

I agree with you that Alabama's O looked questionable, but their defense and special teams looked dominant. As a Michigan fan, you know that can be enough to win a title. Nothing I saw convinced that Alabama isn't the best team. They'll be #1 in my poll until someone can scratch the Saban defense.

 

[963BUSC]

It seems as though this may be the year that the SEC finally gets taken out by another conference. Alabama looked less than impressive against an average VT team. Their offensive line looked terrible and if it weren't for special teams VT might have won that game. It certainly would have been close.

LSU looked OK but a TCU team took them to the end.

And then you have Clemson taking out Georgia. Honestly, Georgia looked like the best team of all three and Alabama looked worse than both LSU and Georgia. After last night I do nothing think Alabama comes out as #1 in the SEC and I think that if they do make the BCS title game, the team that meets them there will have an opportunity to finally take them out.

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The Big Ten looks a little better than last year. Ohio state looked solid on offense but clearly they have some polishing to do. I think I'd say the same about Michigan. But Michigan and OSU are obviously the top two teams in the conference.

I think Wisconsin is better than Nebraska and I think PSU might be better than both of them. Once PSU got going they looked semi-impressive.

If I had to rank it right now it would go 1. OSU 2. Mich 3. NW 4. PSU 5. Wisc 6. Neb

The rest of the conference looked about as good, or bad, as they did last year. There was some improvement at the top of the big ten but not much else.

I think Alabama traveling to VT for the opening game of the season and holding them to 212 yards was fairly impressive. Their offense needs work but with those special teams it looks like they'll have time to work out their kinks. Really the only SEC team that I thought looked awful was Kentucky.

 

[rolltide14_0]

VT returned 9 starters on the Bud Foster defense, so I'm not gonna freak out about our offense just yet. That's a pretty tough first game for a new OL.

I take it as one of those games where you get the benefit of losing without actually losing. You need these games to really see what needs to be done. Our players actually have something to look at over these next two weeks before A&M, and really see what needs to be fixed.

 

[romeo212000]

Big12 looked solid at the top. Except I don't think okie lite was that impressive.

 

[BamaTee1]

VT returned 9 starters on the Bud Foster defense, so I'm not gonna freak out about our offense just yet. That's a pretty tough first game for a new OL.

I take it as one of those games where you get the benefit of losing without actually losing. You need these games to really see what needs to be done. Our players actually have something to look at over these next two weeks before A&M, and really see what needs to be fixed.

RT

It was 28-10 at half! Losing?

 

[rolltide14_0]

RT

It was 28-10 at half! Losing?

We might've been good everywhere else, but they dominated our offense, so in that area yes...we got the benefit of losing without actually losing. Two offensive TD's is not a good day, not even close.

We're Alabama, we're held to a completely higher standard and rightfully so. For most teams, winning a game 35-10 against a decent ACC team would be a good day, not for us. We got shit to work on.

 

[4down20]

It seems as though this may be the year that the SEC finally gets taken out by another conference. Alabama looked less than impressive against an average VT team. Their offensive line looked terrible and if it weren't for special teams VT might have won that game. It certainly would have been close.

There is no reason to guess.

Without special teams, the score would have been 21-10. Without special teams and without the interception the score would have been 14-10. And the result of those special teams and defensive scores actually gave VT the ball 3 extra times, and still Alabama wins.

Not to mention Alabama shut it down early and 2nd and 3rd string played the 4th quarter.

As for VT being average, well that is yet to be seen. Defensively they are one of the best teams in the country and their defensive front 7 is a very experienced bunch. But offensively, they didn't accomplish much and that is because of the Alabama defense which was pretty stout itself.

Alabama's Oline struggled, that much is sure. But to say Alabama wouldn't have won without special teams play is straight up bullshit.

 

[4down20]

LSU looked OK but a TCU team took them to the end.

And then you have Clemson taking out Georgia. Honestly, Georgia looked like the best team of all three and Alabama looked worse than both LSU and Georgia. After last night I do nothing think Alabama comes out as #1 in the SEC and I think that if they do make the BCS title game, the team that meets them there will have an opportunity to finally take them out.

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The Big Ten looks a little better than last year. Ohio state looked solid on offense but clearly they have some polishing to do. I think I'd say the same about Michigan. But Michigan and OSU are obviously the top two teams in the conference.

I think Wisconsin is better than Nebraska and I think PSU might be better than both of them. Once PSU got going they looked semi-impressive.

If I had to rank it right now it would go 1. OSU 2. Mich 3. NW 4. PSU 5. Wisc 6. Neb

The rest of the conference looked about as good, or bad, as they did last year. There was some improvement at the top of the big ten but not much else.

A TCU team everyone predicts to be very good. Time will tell. Still, you can never really judge LSU based on scores, as they constantly win ugly, and it wasn't even that this time.

Georgia played a top10 team in Clemson and played them pretty well.

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I don't want to harp on the Big10 as being bad as it's way too early to tell. But in no manner did the Big10 even come close to playing the caliber teams the SEC teams listed played. Yet you are basically acting as if it was even in your comparisons.

If Alabama played as bad as Ohio St did, I'd be especially worried. Alabama struggled at the line against a top defensive team in VT. Buffalo is a horrible team and yet only won by 20. And yet you consider them best in conference and that the Big10 is catching up. Really?

I didn't see Michigan play. But again, Central Michigan doesn't even begin to compare to the level of competition the SEC teams faced. Atleast they won nicely.

Northwestern won, but barely against a middle of the road Cal who is trying to build up at best. That game was close all the way.

So comparing these games to the games the SEC played is dumb. Big10 basically took a glorified bye week, the SEC teams were tested. None of the Big10 teams showed they could hang with any of the SEC teams.

 

[Shanemansj13]

For the best team in SEC I considered everything.

Bama

Played Va Tech who lost both their corners and Bama has two very good WRs. Va Tech got pressure on Mccarron, Bama's o-line is supposed to be the best. Bama no RB depth. Bama got 3 TDs off of TOs and Special Teams, don't count on that very the fundamentally sound teams like LSU, UGA, etc. Still very good defensively, but Va Tech had no real weapons and Thomas looked awful at times. But they only got 1 long fluke TD, so.

UGA

Offense is one of the best in nation if not the best. Defense looks below avg at times, but they have the athletes. They could beat Bama and compete RIGHT NOW.

LSU

Offense looked decent, RZ still an issue at times, but with Hill coming back it should only get better. Defense looked kind of inconsistent, but like UGA have the athletes and are way better than UGA defensively. They could put up a fight will Bama RIGHT NOW.

Florida

Didn't watch much of this one. Offense struggles at times, but it is the first week it will get better. The D looked pretty good and will also improve. They still have speed that we know. I think they could compete w/ Bama for some time but Bama would pull away at this time in season, too good defensively for Florida.

Texas A&M

Very good offense, but not as good as last year. Defense not as good either, too inconsistent. Offense can keep em in games. Could have a shot at Bama, but will have to play a perfection game being at home will help them. I think over time they could compete to be the best in SEC, but have to win key games or don't have a chance.

USC

They have Clowney, that is all. They have an above average team, capable of beat a top team but won't be consistent---always the story. I don't think they can compete with Bama. They will probably still win 9 games though.

Vandy, Ole Miss

Good teams, defense isn't good enough to compete week to week, but can put up a fight. 8 or 9 games will be a great season but don't see more than that. Bith good teams with potential very good if not great talent, Ole Miss with more.

Bama is still the best team and the team to beat obviously. Offense needs to shape up next game and I'm sure it will. The mai thing is RB depth, that is the concern.

 

[Codaxx]

Big12 looked solid at the top. Except I don't think okie lite was that impressive.

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I will reserve judgement on Texas. They were very inconsistent and NMSU is just bad. OSU impressed me. I have little doubt that the offense will perk up. MSU is not great, but they are not a patsy. Their defense gave up 3. If OSU is going to have a solid defense, they will be a tough out. TCU will be tough. 2 starters quit just weeks before the game and their best player was suspended. I did not see the game, but I was shocked by the mount of pts put up by both offenses. One more thing, who the hell punts on 4th and 2 own 10 with 5 minutes to go?

 

[romeo212000]

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I will reserve judgement on Texas. They were very inconsistent and NMSU is just bad. OSU impressed me. I have little doubt that the offense will perk up. MSU is not great, but they are not a patsy. Their defense gave up 3. If OSU is going to have a solid defense, they will be a tough out. TCU will be tough. 2 starters quit just weeks before the game and their best player was suspended. I did not see the game, but I was shocked by the mount of pts put up by both offenses. One more thing, who the hell punts on 4th and 2 own 10 with 5 minutes to go?

Yeah, I saw that and went wtf Patterson???

 

[bamafan4evr12]

There is no reason to guess.

Without special teams, the score would have been 21-10. Without special teams and without the interception the score would have been 14-10. And the result of those special teams and defensive scores actually gave VT the ball 3 extra times, and still Alabama wins.

Not to mention Alabama shut it down early and 2nd and 3rd string played the 4th quarter.

As for VT being average, well that is yet to be seen. Defensively they are one of the best teams in the country and their defensive front 7 is a very experienced bunch. But offensively, they didn't accomplish much and that is because of the Alabama defense which was pretty stout itself.

Alabama's Oline struggled, that much is sure. But to say Alabama wouldn't have won without special teams play is straight up bullshit.

Agreed. Not to mention VT is probably the best or 2nd best defense we will see all year, have to wait and see what LSU is like in the middle of the season.

 

[Innermind]

The Big Ten looks a little better than last year. Ohio state looked solid on offense but clearly they have some polishing to do. I think I'd say the same about Michigan. But Michigan and OSU are obviously the top two teams in the conference.

I think Wisconsin is better than Nebraska and I think PSU might be better than both of them. Once PSU got going they looked semi-impressive.

If I had to rank it right now it would go 1. OSU 2. Mich 3. NW 4. PSU 5. Wisc 6. Neb

The rest of the conference looked about as good, or bad, as they did last year. There was some improvement at the top of the big ten but not much else.

Last year, the Michigan State defense finished the season ranked number four overall in the nation, and this year, they are supposedly even better. So after watching Michigan State play the other night, the Spartan defense looks REAL good...best in B1G, and probably top five nationally. They relinquished only 11 total rushing yards in 27 attempts by Western Michigan. The Michigan State offense on the other hand, looks crappy. However, Sparty has a favorable divisional cross-over schedule with Indiana, Purdue, and Illinois.

Nebraska defense gave up 602 yards to Wyoming...yikes, not good.

Northwestern is going to be a handful this season but their divisional cross-over schedule is tough as it includes both Ohio State & Wisconsin.

Right now, I would say the Wolverines are the best balanced team in the Legends Div. and should be considered the favorites in that division.

As for the Leaders Div....it should be Ohio States to lose, and I can hardly wait for September 28th when the Badgers visit Columbus, and then the following week when the Buckeyes travel to Northwestern.

If I had to pick the two teams going to Indianapolis right now, I would say there's a pretty good chance we'll see Ohio State & Michigan playing each other two consecutive weeks.

 

[Trevler]

Penn State looked better than us? Are you high? We played terribly in the first half and still managed to look better than Penn State. And then we picked it up in the second. I'm not sure how a team that almost lost to Syracuse looks better than a team that won 45-0 (and ran out the clock on the 1 to end the game) and outgained their opponent 600-200. Please, tell.

I'll take a close win over Syracuse any day over a 45-0 win over UMass. UMAss is basically an FCS team. Beating them 45-0 is no big deal.

 

[Smart]

I'll take a close win over Syracuse any day over a 45-0 win over UMass. UMAss is basically an FCS team. Beating them 45-0 is no big deal.

I'm sorry, but if Syracuse played us to within six on a neutral field that was 75% Badger fans, i'd be pretty disappointed with the team and coaching staff we have this year. I thought PSU looked really raw yesterday. We looked raw for a half, but not like that.