Saturday Postgame: Week 1

I decided to add a new wrinkle to the Freshman Fifteen this year. At the end of the day Saturday I'll do a quick bullet-point recap of the day's events. Sort of a "what did we learn" assessment. At least that's what I feel like doing right now. We'll see how long it lasts or how often it happens. You'll just have to check each week and be surprised.

• Defense is making a comeback. Several games this weekend were expected to be out-and-out shootouts, but never materialized. Check these scores out: BYU 14, Oklahoma 13. Oklahoma State 24, Georgia 10. Boise State 19, Oregon 8. I'd have expected the total points of one of those games to eclipse the combined total of them all.

• Is Boise State a legit national title contender? Maybe. But if they're not this year, they very well could be soon. A look at their roster shows 2 senior starters, 10 juniors, 9 sophomores, and 1 freshman. Especially on defense, the Broncos are very young - but did you see the way they took control of a potent Oregon offense? I'd rate Boise a longshot right now, even with an undefeated season, but next year they could be a top-10 preseason team with a big neutral site non-conference game (Virginia Tech). It's certainly a possibility.

• The Big Ten didn't do itself any favors today. Only Penn State and Michigan really looked somewhat impressive (Northwestern won big, but games with 1-AA foes don't count. Unless you happen to play for Iowa). Ohio State and Iowa nearly suffered embarrasing losses, and they'll probably each take big falls in the polls for it.

• This week gave us proof why predictions are so impossible, and why football is so much better when it's played rather than talked about ad nauseum. Sam Bradford goes down and suddenly Oklahoma is ordinary and loses a shocker to BYU. The door is now open for lots of potential contenders.

• We haven't heard the last of Oklahoma. Bradford will likely be back in a few weeks, and they could end up playing spoiler to both Texas and Oklahoma State. And considering the fact that they lost so early, and only by a point with the Heisman defender injured, slipping into the national championship game as a one-loss team is very realistic.

• Can I change my Pac-10 pick? Oregon looked pathetic, not to mention undisciplined, on Thursday in Boise.

• Speaking of which, I think the punishment for LaGarrette Blount was too harsh. Sure, what he did was despicable and deserved a heavy punishment. But suspending him for the whole season seems too severe. In a moment of deep frustration he was incited by an opposing player and snapped. It was a knee-jerk reaction that they spilled over into a potential altercation with fans, but it was a reaction that many have had and learned from. He absolutely has to take responsibility in that moment and control himself, but is it a just punishment to potentially end or severely hinder his football career when his actions were borne out of a split-second reaction?

• Syracuse lost, but looked pretty good in doing so. A bowl might just be in their future.

Next week's picks to come Wednesday night!