First Impressions

One night in the books and the status quo is maintained. The typical bugs that get worked out through opening week were prevalent, but such is the beauty of Week 1. Those flashes of brilliance are an appetizer for the feast to come — and there were plenty of flashes.

Russell Wilson may not have necessarily put to bed the notion perpetuated much of the off-season that taking over a new offense was too arduous a task for him to lead the Badgers to New Orleans (guilty). After all, UNLV has dwelt in the dungeons of the Mountain West over a decade. But my my was Wilson’s touchdown rush a tasty morsel to make the Badger faithful salivate.

From The Mind of Musberger

For all the bettors out there, nothing could be more infuriating than Caleb Herring’s two otherwise meaningless touchdown passes late vs. Wisconsin. The Badgers cruised to a 51-3 lead through 2^1/2 quarters before putting the offense in deep freeze. Just one more possession yielding even a field goal would have counteracted Herring’s scores and covered the 34.5 point spread.

That consecutive, late Rebel touchdowns beat the spread by less than a point is sure to fuel the buzz of conspiracy theorists.

Battling to the Buzzer

Montana State and Murray State lost at Utah and Louisville by a combined 29 points. Neither was a team even the most ardent of Championship Subdivision supporters such as myself had tabbed for a Week 1 upset, but there are positives to glean for each.

Murray State dug a 21-0 hole early that looked like one of those season-killing type blowouts. Payton Award candidate Casey Brockman could not complete a pass and as a result, the Racer offense stalled.

Now, Murray wasn’t exactly burning the turf in the second half, but tailback Mike Harris’s 113 yards rushing and fourth quarter touchdown exhibit the multifaceted options in the Racer repertoire. The defense did an admirable job in the second half keeping UL off the scoreboard. That has to be seen as a huge plus given Murray’s 30 points per game allowed average last year.

Montana State similarly fell behind early, which did allow UU to hit cruise control. But the Bobcats did not let the score get out of hand and Cody Kirk showed flashes of being the rushing presence MSU will need to complement Denarius McGhee.

S!-B!-C! er, I Mean, S!-E!-C!

The 14th SEC team? We may not know who it will be for months, but if Western Kentucky replaces a current member tonight is why. Kentucky teetered dangerously close on the edge of losing its SEC membership, needing nearly 30 minutes to get on the scoreboard against an opponent that has won two games the last three seasons.

Losing Randall Cobb guaranteed offensive struggles, but UK did not surpass the century mark until the fourth quarter. It could be a VERY long season for the Wildcats.

Wake Up!

The night’s most excitement game is also the season’s first confounding loss. Tanner Price was moving along the Demon Deacons offense with surprising efficiency through three-plus quarters en route to a 29-14 Wake Forest lead, but in the final minutes it was as though the teams switched jerseys.

Ryan Nassib led the Orange with the same efficiency Price captained Wake Forest previously, scoring two touchdowns late to force overtime. Momentum can swing quickly, and it can swing hard. After having a win over a 2010 bowl game winner secured on the road only to have it slip away, were the Demon Deacons struck with a momentum so fierce it could doom their campaign.

“We’re going to bounce back,” Price told the Associated Press. It will take quite a rebound to do so.

Return of the MAC

Thursday was a perfect 4-0 for the MAC, and its members did so in impressive fashion. Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Temple and Toledo all won by double digits. Granted three of the four victories were over FCS opponents, but New Hampshire came into Toledo with a reputation for upsetting FBS foes and Temple’s 35-point win over Villanova laid to rest concerns about both Bernard Pierce and a Steve Addazzio offense.

BGSU, the sole MAC program to beat a fellow FBS opponent, did so on the road and with a healthy showing in the passing game. The Falcon aerial attack was non-existent during last year’s 2-win season, but Matt Schilz looked much improved picking apart Idaho’s secondary.