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Texas is really back: Pants on Fire
Texas may have a majority stake in the conference known as the Big 12, but that can't save them from the power of the independent BYU Cougars. The Fightin' Mendenhalls clobbered Texas -- there's no kinder way to put that -- to the tune of 40-21, in part by piling up 550 yards rushing. BYU was 11-of-22 on third- and fourth-down and ran 99 plays despite being 9-of-27 passing. Texas had a plus-two turnover advantage and still lost by 19 points. Since then, Manny Diaz has been kicked to the curb and replaced by Greg Robinson, Mack Brown is already facing calls for his head from fans and Texas gets to play Ole Miss' high-octane attack this Saturday. Bright side: It's on the Longhorn Network, so no one will see them if they get blown out again.
The B1G is Ohio State's to lose: Mostly False
During our liveblog of the Michigan-Notre Dame game, myself and Ian Boyd each made an observation that should be encouraging to Michigan fans and could inject a bit of fun back into the race for the B1G. I noted that the current Michigan offense reminds me a bit of Al Borges' 2004 unit, when Borges schemed to put a few very good players in the best position to win. Boyd brought up the similarities between Devin Gardner and Vince Young -- both of them can throw very well and run very well, at least at the college level, making them almost impossible to consistently defend. So there might not be a ton of contenders for Ohio State to deal with in the Up North Conference, but there's at least one.
Uniforms are important: Mostly True
We spend all offseason worrying about which uniforms our teams will wear, and so often it seems like sound and fury signifying nothing. Not the case. For Arkansas State, the choice of uniforms ended up costing the Red Wolves a total of 28 yards in penalties. The uniforms were bad enough on their own, with the hideous shade of gray and the logo on the sleeve and everything else wrong with them -- but to lose yardage on the equivalent of two personal fouls is adding insult to injury. Then again, apparel contracts, etc.
This could be a more offense-oriented year for the SEC: Mostly True
It's still a bit dangerous to make assumptions on the amount of data we have at this point, particularly considering that almost everyone played a cupcake game last week, but nine of the conference's 14 teams are in the top half of the nation in total offense, and South Carolina only missed the mark by one place. The lowest-ranked offense in the conference, though, sits at 121st in the nation. That program is Alabama. So while there might be more points in the SEC this year, that doesn't mean that rolling up the yardage is going to be the decisive factor in the SEC.
It's the Year of the FCS: Half True
After Week 1's amazing outing, it would have been difficult for the FCS to astound us any more. But they did have three more wins this weekend, by my count: Maine defeating UMass 24-14, Chattanooga topping transitioning Georgia State, 42-14; and Nicholls State beating Western Michigan, 27-23. There were also some really close games, from N.C. State's 23-21 win against Richmond to SMU's 31-30 victory against Montana State. Hey, guys, want to know the best way to stop losing to FCS teams? Stop scheduling them.