BLOGPOLL ROUNDTABLE #2/2006

Bruce Ciskie, an actual member of the sports media, hosts this week’s Blogpoll roundtable, which is all about who made some noise in the opening weekend. I spent the whole day inside a minivan with my wife and three kids. I know I should be watching F$U/Real Miami, but frankly, I can’t stand to be by anything noisy and/or moving right now, so here I am.

1. What team best met your overall expectations of them in their opener?

I’d have to say Nebraska. Even though Louisiana Tech doesn’t exactly conjure images of an unstoppable juggernaut, Nebraska performed well against them with a nice mix of old and new-school philosophy. I don’t think Bill Callahan is still quite to every Husker fan’s taste, but Nebraska has a knowledgable fan base who can probably understand that it’s 2006 and Dr. Tom doesn’t prowl the sidelines any more. NU’s defense was stout and the running game (which has sort of been missing the last couple years) made a nice comeback. Given other events going on in the Big XII North, Nebraska looks like a mortal lock for the division title. It feels mighty strange, though, to write that they’ll have to be careful not to look past Colorado to Kansas and Iowa State.

2. What team jumped off the map and surprised you the most? (Bonus points to anyone who can make an argument for someone besides Tennessee.)

Oh, that’s easy: Colorado. Montana State isn’t exactly a pushover . . . if you’re a mid-pack I-AA team. Colorado, even with a new coach, really should have been able to take the Bobcats’ number. As much as I hate to say it, there’s just no credible excuse for losing a game like that. Colorado is two NCAA violations shy of being a Program. Tennessee is a great story, but Cal played dreadful defense, just like they usually have under Jeff Tedford. That’s at least part of the story there. That was a very losable game for the Golden Bears. But for Colorado, MSU was a gimme-or at least should have been.

3. What team best moved themselves into a position to surprisingly contend for a national title?

I’m not sure West Virginia is a surprise, but surely their dominant performance against Marshall (along with Steve Slaton’s Tecmo Bowl stats) should’ve woken everybody up. Marshall isn’t quite as fearsome as it was in the early Aughts, which must be factored in to any appraisal, but still, in a weekend when some serious contenders showed some Achilles heels (I’m talkin’ to you, Southern Cal secondary), WVU came out and told everyone the national title could easily sink into the Mohole this season.