Week 2: Conference game already?

Yes, welcome to college football in 2018, everybody is playing conference games right away.  The B1G, however, is smart enough to keep the big boys away from each other too early.  I'd be shocked if the Bucks ever play Michigan State, Penn State, or Wisconsin before at least week five.

Not much of a slate this week, but we will make the most of it.  And on behalf of your favorite prognosticators, I would like to apologize for the fact that we ALL bought into the Michigan hype again.  Harbaugh is literally a .500 coach over the last season and a half, and quite frankly we should have known better.

Standings:
1.) Draper 2-3 (0-1 upset)
1.) Hoying 2-3 (0-1 upset)
3.) Schweinfurth 1-4 (1-0 upset)
3.) Seeberg 1-4 (0-1 upset)



#3 Georgia Bulldogs vs. #24 South Carolina Gamecocks
Draper: An early season clash for the Bulldogs.  And a ranked matchup at that! (but should it count?) Does anyone really believe that Will Muschamp's team is any good.  Yeah, they made Michigan look incredibly stupid last year in the bowl game, but who doesn't do that?  Georgia is still a juggernaut and I don't see them sweating at all, even in Williams-Brice Stadium.  UGA: 38--SoCar: 10

Hoying: Just how good has Georgia's recruiting been of late? Can a team really lose a two-headed monster at RB, a Butkus-winning LB, and a first-round OL talent and keep chugging toward a national title? The Dawgs' ceiling remains to be seen, and we're probably not going to get much insight into it from the likes of South Carolina. Or anyone else from the SEC East. Wake me up for the LSU game in October. UGA: 24 -- USC: 13

Schweinfurth: Well last week didn't go so well. Back at it this week. When it comes to this game, which of these two teams as a competent offense, has elite recruiting, and isn't coached by Will Muschamp? That would be Georgia. Muschamp's defense will keep it close for maybe a quarter or two, but the Dawgs are just better. UGA: 35--SCar: 13


Seeberg:  Are the Gamecocks for real?  We get a pretty good indicator early in the season.  Many were surprised that Muschamp got a second SEC gig so quickly after scoring approximately 45 points total in his four seasons in the swamp at UF.  That said, he has a lot of returners and has the east-coast USC headed in the right direction.  His teams always play solid D which should, combined with the home field, keep this one close, but UGA has too much talent and should pull away late.  SC: 16-- UGA: 31

#17 USC Trojans at #10 Stanford Cardinal
Draper: Another game of teams I simply don't care about.  Call it East-coast bias, but no one west of the Rockies (or even west of Oklahoma for that matter) is interesting to me at all.  The Cardinal are everyone's favorite boring as watching paint dry team until Bryce Love started 80 yard running on everyone's face, but he's been very quiet thus far.  SC keeps looking for a 'return to prominence' but I don't know how long that may take (if ever).  Still, Stanford is boring and SC can spice things up now and then.  Fight On! USC: 28 -- Stan: 24

Hoying: Speaking of losing weapons, USC has had to replace their starting QB (Darnold) and RB (Jones II), whom you probably don't remember from the Cotton Bowl, and LB Uchenna Nwosu, whom you probably do. These teams played to a virtual standstill last December in the Pac-12 Championship, and I expect much the same this time, only with USC feeling the loss of so many key contributors, while the Tree rides the Love train to the head of the Pac-12 title chase (and how empty it looks this year). USC: 24--Stan: 27

Schweinfurth: So, Bryce Love was the Heisman front runner entering the season. It is going to take a lot for Love to get back into contention after those 29 yards last week. The good news for Stanford is that USC lost a TON and their QB should be in high school. While I could see USC pulling the upset here, I just don't see a how they can win on the road with a 17 year old QB. USC is close, but this is not their year. USC: 17--Stan: 24

Seeberg:  Has anyone seen Bryce Love?  The all-everything Stanford back all but disappeared in a lackluster win over SDSU for the Cardinal last week, piling up a whopping 29 yards on 18 carries (that's a less-than-impressive 1.6 ypc if you were curious).  Meanwhile, the Trojans trotted out a true freshman starter who seemed mostly up to the task in their mediocre opener against UNLV.  I HAVE to assume the Cardinal were saving their good run stuff for a better game...right?  Either way, USC clipped Stanford's wings twice last year, and they should be primed for some payback.  Fight on...to an L.  USC: 20--Stan: 27

Rutgers Scarlet Knights at #4 THE Ohio State Buckeyes
Draper: Oh, Buttgers, how I've missed you.  Anyone remember that Mike Weber guy? He's pretty good, huh? And Haskins looked very nice as well. Does this game mean anything? I'd say yes.  The D needs to show that last week's mistakes aren't the normal.  Bosa and Young should continue to dominate but the back 7 need to improve.  Offensively, it's more of the same.  Expect a similar game to last week with (hopefully) fewer points for the bad guys.  Buttgers: 17 -- OSU: 62

Hoying: So, the Buckeye offense still works. That's good. And the Buckeye defense...well, perhaps we could optimistically compare them to the 2014 unit that looked a little shaky against Navy, totally lost against Virginia Tech, and then slowly started to suffocate their opponents. Except that the 2014 Buckeye D was still getting used to a new scheme under Chris Ash, and this one is tromping steadily along under the continuous management of Greg Schiano. Hey, speaking of Chris Ash and Greg Schiano, Rutgers is coming to town! The cure for what ails ya (don't tell 2014 Michigan). The Scarlet Knights have probably improved, maybe even posing a Michigan-level threat to the Buckeyes, but come on, it's not going to happen. Nah. No way. Rutgers: 14 -- OSU: 56

Schweinfurth: This is a bit of an odd week. Meyer returned to practice, but that has been the biggest news around this football team. That says a lot about an opponent who hasn't scored a single point against the Buckeyes since 2015 and has been outscored 219- 24 since joining the B1G. Yea, bad. I really enjoyed what I saw out of the Buckeye offense last week. My only gripe would be that Paris Campbell STILL can't read a deep ball. I do think Rutgers will hit a few big plays when the young guys are in. Get the mistakes out now and get them on tap for next week. I'm not sure the Bucks break 50 this week just due to the weather (lots and lots of rain Saturday). Kick back and enjoy the blowout. Rut: 14--OSU: 45


Seeberg:  Ok, please read my post last week about how Weber might be better than Dobbins.  You're welcome, Buckeye Nation.  Now, I also said the back 7 of the D might be in trouble, and without Jordan Fuller at all, and a less-than-100% Tuf Borland there were several gash plays that absolutely cannot continue to happen, particularly with how dominant the front four can be (also, can someone explain to me how Bosa had two sacks, two fumble recoveries, a touchdown, and his Heisman odds went DOWN?  Insanity).  The last two games between these two conference opponents have been a hilariously combined score of 114-0.  It can't get much worse for Rutgers, and it won't, but it will still be a beatdown.  Sorry Coach Ash, should've stayed in town.  Rut: 13- OSU: 52

Upset Special
Draper: Western Michigan over M!ch!g@n
Hoying: Pitt over Penn State
Schweinfurth: Arizona St. over Michigan State
Seeberg: Nevada over Vanderbilt

Grading the Bucks: Week 1 -- Oregon State

Not bad.  Not perfect, but I near perfect game from a coaching standpoint.  Game was never really in doubt, but there were some flaws to work on.

Offense: A
Offensive co-MVPs: Dwayne Haskins, Mike Weber
Can't ask much more from the offense.  Haskins was nearly flawless in his first start and Weber reminded people that there's more to the backfield than JK.  Everything was churning at a high clip.  It was weird seeing the receivers run routes and catch passes (I wonder what changed for the receivers...hmmmmm....I wonder....not the QB....something else....).  My favorite part of the offense was the emergence of a quick slant game that has been missing for years.  Perhaps that was due to JT's skill set and lack of the quick strike (although I thought he was under-utilized in that capacity), but it was nice to see the Bucks carve up a secondary.  No real deep game to speak of, but it was totally unnecessary.  Honestly, nothing to harp on here.  Mack, Hill, and McLaurin stepped up and the backfield got the job done.

Defense: C+
Defensive co-MVPs: Nick Bose, Chase Young
Honestly, this is a dichotomous grading.  The line was spectacular (primarily in pass rush).  Bosa and Young are going to terrorize QBs all year and Dremont Jones plugs up the middle with style.  This unit will contend with Clemson's juggernaut line for title of best D-line throughout the year.  Then we get to the back 7....eh.... It wasn't a total loss, but there were some serious problems that need to be fixed ASAP.  Yes, Tuf Boreland and Jordan Fuller were out, and there return will help bolster the unit, but the linebackers and DBs simply looked slow (something we've been spoiled with avoiding in the past).  The lineabackers haven't been great for year (weird for OSU) but the secondary is essentially all in the NFL now.  The biggest concern for me was the lack of initial and closing speed (simply getting beat by an RB on multiple huge runs).  Oregon State is a power 5 program...but in name only.  They stink.  I'm hoping it was the weather delay (very well could be), but it was concerning to me.  In addition, the let down before the half (giving up a 3rd and 19 on an obvious draw is inexcusable).  The team likely checked out as the game was in hand, but that's a great mistake for coaches to harp on in practice next week. 

Special Teams: C
Special Teams MVP: Drue Chrisman
Nice punt (on the only attempt) and no miss kicks...that's good.  but........ Another fumble on a punt return.  Can. Not. Happen.  With this team, I'm essentially to the point at which I don't want to field any kick.  It seems like they always want the homerun, rarely get it, and turn the ball over far too often.

Coaching: B+
Coaching co-MVPs: Ryan Day, Brian Hartline
Coach Day stepped into the big time and didn't disappoint.  Granted, I think a hippo from the zoo could have coached the team to a win (Brady Hoke available?), but Ryan Day made it look like nothing had changed and kept the train rolling.  The playcalling on offense was great (finally throwing vertically?!?!) but the defense looked a little shell-shocked (when Young and Bosa weren't meeting at the QB).  Seeing receiver technique, poise, and focus was also a major plus (welcome back Hartline!).

Overall: A-
C'mon, first game jitters happen, and the offense was spectacular.  I'm a little hyper-critical of the defense, but the flashes of brilliance up front are going to lead to a lot of exciting plays this season.  This is likely one of the most talented teams in the Urban era, but it's going to be a wild ride! Go Bucks!