trOUble in Norman...

Very interesting day in college football. It is always crazy how one play in the first game of the season, when teams are still trying to work out the kinks, can define a season.
Take, for example, Navy playing at the Horseshoe. They played a great game against Ohio State and had them on the ropes. They scored a touchdown with about 2 minutes left to pull within two points, thus having a chance to tie the game with a two-point conversion. If they make it and force the game into overtime, who knows--maybe they pull the upset. But at the least, from Ohio State's perspective, getting pushed to overtime by Navy in their home opener would be a scarlet letter on the scarlet and gray's resume. Instead, however, the Midshipmen abandoned ship with the running game, and went to a spread formation and went with a passing play. The result? A pick-two, with Ohio State wriggling off the hook and few people remembering how close this game was by November.

The day started off watching Greg Paulus at Syracuse, who had one play that for Syracuse fans is something on which to build. Paulus had a pump-fake, then delivered a well-placed 29 yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams. Everyone seemed to agree that he was "managing the game", which is essentially code for trying not to make a mistake. Skip to overtime, and the one play for the Cuse that stood out was a Paulus interception at the goal line, which essentially crushed the Orange.

But by the end of the day, clearly the biggest play of the 2009 season took place in Dallas, Texas. Sam Bradford's shoulder got pinned between the turf of Jerry Jones' palace and a massive defensive lineman, and as a result, the Sooner season gave way. He sprained the AC joint in his shoulder, and as anyone who has had that happen can attest, shoulder injuries take a very long time to heal--just ask Drew Brees (back when he was with the Chargers). Without Bradford, OU hung in against BYU, but in the end slipped up on coverage late, and Max Hall (cousin of former Dallas Cowboy QB Danny White) stormed the Mormons down the field for a game-winning drive, capped off by finding McKay Jacobson wide open in the end zone. OU may not be done for the year, but I would take the over on 3 games missed by Bradford...

Other key plays from the weekend: Oklahoma State's Dez Bryant with a full-extension grab for a 46 yard touchdown against Georgia. That play got the Cowpokes rolling, as they stifled Georgia late to win 24-10.
Mark Ingram's touchdown run in the fourth quarter of the Tide's win over Virginia Tech. Granted, that didn't seal the win. But Ingram had 150 yards on the ground for Alabama, a team expected to struggle without Glenn Coffee. Greg McElroy was nothing special at QB, but given Ingram's 5.8 yards per carry Saturday night, the Tide looks poised to defend its SEC West title.

Heisman watch: given Sam Bradford is most likely not going to repeat, a few box scores worth noting:
Jahvid Best: 10 carries, 137 yards, 2 TDs in the first 6 minutes of the game (44 seconds apart, no less). Best didn't even play most of the 3nd half.
Tim Tebow: 10/15, 188 yds, TD (plus 1 TD on 2 yards rushing). The Gators won 62-3, so obviously Tebow took it easy.
Colt McCoy: 21/29, 317 yds, 2 TD (1 INT). The Longhorns had their way with Louisiana-Monroe, although McCoy didn't run the way he did last year, when he was the team's leading rusher.