The 2011 season is finally underway and I couldn’t be happier. There were several exciting games this weekend including #23 Auburn’s come from behind 42-38 victory against Utah State and BYU’s comeback win at Ole Miss 14-13 but here some thoughts from opening weekend.
#14 TCU Horned Frogs 48, Baylor Bears 50
I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t expecting TCU’s defense to give up 50 points to Baylor. Robert Griffin III (RG3) threw for an impressive 359 yards and 5 touchdowns on 21 for 27 passing igniting his Heisman hype. The Horned Frog offense took some time to get going with Casey Pachall at quarterback but they scored 25 4th quarter points to re-take the lead before losing. Gary Patterson will have his hands full this week preparing a deflated team for a tricky visit to Air Force.
#5 Boise State Broncos 35, #19 Georgia Bulldogs 21
The Bronco defense sacking Aaron Murray
Photo via zimbio.com
The Bronco defense shutdown Aaron Murray and Georgia’s offense for much of the night and the defensive line harassed the UGA quarterback all night sacking him six times. Outside of Brandon Boykin’s 80 yard touchdown run, the Bulldogs only rushed for 57 yards on 30 carries. Boise State’s offense took awhile to get going but once Kellen Moore found a rhythm it was over – he finished 28 for 34, completing passes to 9 different receivers for 261 yards, 3 TDs, and 1 Int. The Broncos looked good throughout and freshman wide receiver Matt Miller (5 rec, 57 yds, 1 TD) looks like he’ll be a good one. The dominant win puts Boise State on track for another BCS bowl. After losing to the Broncos, Georgia has a HUGE game next week against South Carolina to determine the front-runner in the SEC East.
- Boise State does it again on big stage – Mark Schlabach [ESPN]
- Boise State didn’t need style points against Georgia – Andy Staples [SI]
- Boise State Proves it can cut it in SEC country – Steve Greenberg [Sporting News]
- How Kellen Moore and his receivers exploited Georgia’s defense – Chadd Cripe [Idaho Statesman]
#3 Oregon Ducks 27, #4 LSU Tigers 40
To be honest, I didn’t see a ton of this game because I was watching Boise State-Georgia. But based on what I did see and the highlights after, Darron Thomas and the Ducks looked overwhelmed by LSU’s defense and the Tigers capitalized on their opportunities – just like Les’ teams always seem to do. Oregon is still the favorite to win the Pac-12 and could have an outside shot at the BCS championship while LSU clearly appears to be a SEC and national championship contender.
South Florida Bulls 23, #16 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 20
I didn’t watch very much of this game either but how could you with all the weather delays? You have to feel bad for the players having to deal with multiple weather delays. Anyway, Notre Dame turned the ball five times and appears to have a quarterback controversy after starter Dayne Christ (7/15, 95 yds, 1 Int) was replaced by Tommy Rees (24/34, 296 yds, 2 TDs, 1 Int). The Fighting Irish don’t appear to be living up to the preseason hype – yet again.
I’ll try to provide links to other games than just Boise State if start doing weekly recaps like this.
What are your thoughts on the first weekend?
