This week can’t come soon enough. Granted, week two is a letdown from an opening weekend full of exciting games, but the marquise match-up from week two could easily be the best regular season game of 2006. I’ll be in Baton Rouge for the Tigers this week; so Penn State/Notre Dame and the end of the OSU/Texas game will be viewed in a parking lot outside Tiger Stadium.
Both Texas and Ohio State come off victories over mediocre competition. Texas lit up North Texas for the largest margin of victory so far in 2006 – 49 points. Ohio State defeated Northern Illinois 35-12. What does that tell us about this week’s Texas/Ohio State game? Surprisingly little.
North Texas only won two games last year, and gave up 54 to both Tulsa and Kansas St.; so while McCoy looked great, the loss of Vince Young will still hurt. The real test of a new QB is his ability to handle pressure, read defenses, and provide leadership through adversity. McCoy proved he has the physical skills, but he still needs to demonstrate the intangibles.
With Ohio State, the question was defense. They held Northern Illinois to 12 points but gave up 151 yards rushing. They’ll certainly have to improve the rush defense to stop Jamaal Charles and Selvin Young, but the talent is there. On offense, Smith and company looked impressive; so Texas will have its work cut out on defense as well.
The bottom line is this game is strength versus strength and inexperience versus inexperience, whoever matures more quickly McCoy or OSU’s defense should win this one. My money’s on OSU.
The other big game this week will be Penn State at Notre Dame. Notre Dame should win the game, but believe it or not, it’s their offense that is the biggest concern going into this one. Ga Tech held the Irish in check, and Penn State should field a quality defense as well. Its still too early to tell what the Penn State offense is going to look like, but if I’m an ND fan, I’m more than a little concerned heading into this one.
As for the Pack, Akron did a great job on Penn State’s running game last week. If they can stop the run, Stone will need to throw for more than 40 yards. I wouldn’t get too worked up about the Zips’ defense yet though, last year Akron only held one opponent with a winning record to less than 30 points.
