Week one is officially in the books. For the most part, it went without incident, with the obvious exception being the biggest upset in the history of college football. You know some producer in LA is working right now to secure the rights to an A-State football picture with Burt Young from Rocky (left) as Mountaineer coach Jerry Moore and Mekhi Phifer donning his dreads once again to play A-State QB Armanti Edwards. Imagine the possibilities.

Game of the week: Tennessee at Cal

This week’s marquee matchup had me glued to my coach for the duration. Aside from ESPN inexplicably reporting on the debate between environmentalists and university officials about cutting down trees outside of the stadium in Berkeley, the broadcast was well done and Brent Musberger proves that he is the best play-by-play man in college sports. But I mean come on, do you care about the campus politics at Cal? Are they going to tell us about the cafeteria workers at LSU next week? If it doesn’t relate to college football or the traditions of college football that are unique to the campus the game is being played on. I simply don’t care.

Below the trees where hippies had set up tents, a game was being played. A game where the Vols got completely outcoached, outplayed and at moments outclassed. I knew Tennessee was in trouble in the first half. There were two plays that were indicative of the mindset the Vols went into this game with. The first was on the DeSean Jackson kick-off return where, instead of pursuing Jackson (whom he had no chance of catching, even if another player picked him up and threw him at the streaking returner) UT punter Britton Colquitt decided to grab the head of a blocker and slam him to the turf in frustration. Where I’m from, when you stop chasing an opposing player streaking towards your endzone, it’s called quitting regardless of who you hit. Secondly was on the bubble screen to Robert Jordan inside the UT 10-yard line when linebacker Rico McCoy decided to take himself out of a play that resulted in a touchdown to take a cheap shot at DeSean Jackson. Was it worth it, Rico? This play was indicative of the kind of stupidity the Tennessee defense played with all night. I’m not sure John Chavis’ defensive scheme changed from last year to this year. Unfortunately for the Vol defense, you can’t hit what you can’t catch and they had no match for Cal’s speed.

But what about SEC, hit-you-in-the-mouth football? Where was that Saturday night? Tennessee gave up more than 6 yards a carry and they were giving it straight up the gut, off-guard and off-tackle for big gains, particularly on first down. You’re not going to win too many games giving up 6 yards a carry.

On the other side of the ball, Cal looked really good but not great. There was nothing that I saw that demonstrated to me that this team can beat USC. Watching Nate Longshore play quarterback is mind-numbing. If they had someone else playing quarterback, someone better, they would have hung 60 points on Tennesse — that’s how many opportunities Nate Longshore missed Saturday. In the second quarter, Longshore threw the worst imitation of a fade that I’ve ever seen in my life and then missed overthrew and skipped the ball in front of a wide-open receiver in the end zone — Cal settled for a field goal. He fumbled a snap on the goal line, mishandled a shotgun snap that hit him in the square in the hands, one-hopped a screen and made the lamest attempt at a block on a reverse that I’ve seen in a long time. Longshore is probably the 4th best quarterback on the 2nd best team in the Pac-10. If the Golden Bears can’t beat USC, you can bet Nate Longshore will have something to do with it. And for the record ESPN, football is interesting, the length of Nate Longshore’s hair from one year to the next is not. On defense, Cal is unimpressive and lack physicality, especially at the corners. If Tennessee had anything closely resembling starting SEC wide receivers, the game might have been much closer.

Just how concerned was the Tennessee coaching staff about Erik Ainge’s injured pinky? It was hard to tell but they either had no confidence in his pinky, to the arm it was attached to or to the ragtag receiving corps because what I saw Saturday night was a completely vanilla offense that lacked creativity and the ability to get vertical. The numbers for Ainge look decent enough but they don’t tell the whole story. When you’re down 14 points or more, you can’t be nickel and diming your way down the field because it chews up a ton of clock. Why not take a shot or two downfield? Well Tennessee didn’t and they lost. Arian Foster though proved to be the most developed and potent offensive threat that Tennessee has and the David Cutcliffe would do well to get the ball in his hands early and often for the rest of the year.

One thing is for sure after Saturday night: DeSean Jackson is for real. Simply put, the kid has the speed and athleticism of Percy Harvin and the hands of Calvin Johnson.

WATCH OUT FOR: Georgia/Matthew Stafford

If there was a more convincing performance by a quarterback in a big game this weekend than Matthew Stafford’s game between the hedges against Oklahoma State, I didn’t see it. The true sophomore was 18-24 for 234 yards, two touchdowns and most importantly NO INTERCEPTIONS. It appears as though Stafford has matured from a quarterback who hemorrhaged interceptions last season and is ready to assume his rightful place as one of the SEC’s most accurate passers. But what Georgia did to Oklahoma State goes beyond Stafford. The ground game looked great, Knowshon Moreno looked as good as advertised, splitting time with Thomas Brown and Kregg Lumpkin and what can you say about the Bulldog defense? They held one of college football’s most explosive offenses (some of that praise was self-proclaimed) to 266 total yards and 70 rushing yards. I didn’t buy into Georgia as the 13th best team in America but after handling Oklahoma State they’ve earned that seed and maybe even a higher one.

MOST DISAPPOINTING: Virginia Tech

Gameday’s in town, it’s the first game back in Lane Stadium after the largest mass shooting in U.S. History, emotions are running high and you only manage to score 17 points? Against the East Carolina Pirates? If I’m a Hokie fan, I’m starting to feel real nervous about my trip down to Death Valley next weekend because unless Sean Glennon learns how to step into his throws and be an effective quarterback, it’s going to be a long night in Baton Rouge. I just don’t understand how, with all the emotion and everything that happened Saturday in Blacksburg that Virginia Tech didn’t play better than they did. Is a part of that because East Carolina is better than everyone thought? Maybe. But come on, you’re the 9th best team in America. Frank Beamer and his staff have some real soul-searching to do this week because I think they know that if Brett Clay doesn’t throw that interception at the end of the first half, things might have gotten pretty uncomfortable in Lane Stadium.

It’s going to be a long year for: Notre Dame

121, -9, 130, 3. Those are the numbers of total yards, rushing yards, passing yards and turnovers tallied by the Notre Dame offense Saturday afternoon against Georgia Tech. As a unashamed enemy of all things Notre Dame, I love nothing more than to see Notre Dame get waxed, particularly at home but this wasn’t even fun to watch. Demetrius Jones, Evan Sharpley, Jimmy Clausen, heck they could have thrown some hair gel in Brady Quinn’s hair, styled it to look like he had taken a shower with his favorite kitchen appliance and given him Clausen’s jersey and it wouldn’t have changed the fact that Notre Dame just has nothing on offense and more of the same on defense. They made Georgia Tech, who is a decent if not unspectacular ACC team, look like USC and Tashard Choice look like Ray Rice. But here’s the part that makes my heart all warm and fuzzy: Notre Dame might not get their first win until — wait for it — November 3 when they host the Middies of Navy. The Irish are at Penn State, at Michigan, they have Michigan State at home, they travel to Purdue, to UCLA, play Boston College at home before hosting the Trojans in South Bend at the end of October. Oh how sweet it is. And if you think Notre Dame can and should beat Michigan State, I wouldn’t be so sure. The Spartans looked pretty good on their way to a 55-18 thumping of UAB this weekend. Ditto for Purdue who will likely throw the ball all over the field against the pass defense-deficient Irish.

Watched the first three episodes (again) of Heroes last night. The show is really incredible and entertaining. Is it a tad overacted? Yes. But it does have the feeling of reading a comic book in a way that isn’t the least bit heavy-handed or on-the-nose (see: the visually-stupifying but soul-sucking Sin City). The performances turned in by the cast are decent if not occasionally overreaching but the ensemble cast does something extraordinarily well — they don’t get in the way. The stories being told in the show are so enveloping and engaging that Olivier-like performances are unnecessary and thankfully missing.

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No, seriously…

Emus love Wal-Mart.

That’s news to me: VA tells woman she’s dead.

That’s assault, brotha: Schoolchildren in Colorado no longer allowed to play tag.

Woman makes it known that she’s paranoid and racist at San Fransisco airport.

British crooks try tunneling to ATM.

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Colorado QB Cody Hawkins on being “the coach’s kid.”

Hokies to honor shooting victims before Saturday’s game against ECU.

No favorites in Heisman race, says SI writer.

Gamecocks oft-arrested freshman quarterback Stephen Garcia gets redshirt.

ESPN takes over “Two-A-Days.”

Browns fans vote on Quinn’s coif, prefer it long.

Nice piece in the New York Times on Jets rookie linebacker David Harris.

A story in the Washington Post about the beasts USC has at linebacker.

Is the Big Ten overrated or did it have a bad week last year?

Hoosiers trying not to think about emotions as gameday without Hep approaches.

‘07 Gators have challenge ahead, say ‘97 Gators.

Georgia will be tested, says former Oklahoma State coach Les Miles.

Pac-10 has worst refs, coaches say.

Andy Reid should have stayed home to deal with family issues, Inquirer columnist says.

VT players prepare for rush of emotions Saturday afternoon.

Will Demetrius Jones start for Notre Dame Saturday?

Slate combs college message boards.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette picks the top college football games this year.

Ainge breaks pinkie, will start Saturday.

The AJC’s Tony Barnhart predicts the conference champions.

The Big 12 eyes a return to the top.

The Pac-10 needs to make a BCS stand.

UCLA, Cal poses biggest threat to USC’s Pac-10 supremacy.

Cal’s strategy is simple: get the ball in the hands of DeSean Jackson.

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Well-rounded news…

Trailer up for Steve Carell’s new movie “Dan in Real Life”

MTV bored enough to make reality television show about high school newspaper.

So why are Americans eating so much shrimp?

The producers of Lost sound off on Island’s new residents.

Is there a Magneto movie in the works?

Cinematical misses the pre-Earl Jason Lee.

Thankfully, week one is college football is devoid of the time conflicts that make the middle of the college football season so wonderfully excrutiating for the avid college football fan. No having to choose between a battle of the Big Ten’s best and a showdown between the SEC elite inexplicably both scheduled at 3:30 in the afternoon. But that is not the first week in college football. For all the hype and the 25-hours of pre-game madness ESPN will be spewing all day, week one consists mainly of powerhouse schools paying for their Division 1-AA brethren to come on down to Columbus, Ann Arbor, Gainesville and Tuscaloosa for a proper, if not agonizing to watch, butt-kicking.

That being said, there are some games worth watching and TiVo’ing, some early season conference showdowns and even a couple non-conference games worth keeping an eye on.

Game of the week: #15 Tennessee at #12 Cal -8:00 p.m. ET - ABC

In what was one of the most unconvincing performances by a fashionable preseason national championship pick, Cal and head coach Jeff Tedford went to Knoxville and got it handed to them last year. The defense made then-junior quarterback Erik Ainge look like the greatest Tennesee quarterback since… Tee Martin? Tedford put the game in the hands of sophomore Nate Longshore, hands which were apparently lubed with mayonnaise before kick-off. Longshore stunk on ice.  This year, the Vols travel west to play the Golden Bears in Berkeley in what is, without a doubt, one of the best non-conference match-ups of the season. If you can’t watch it, I’d suggest taping it or erasing some episodes of Boy Meets World to find some space on your TiVo for this one.

GAMES FOR MEN WHO AREN’T AFRAID TO CRY 

Week One also begins on a somber note for two schools. First Virginia Tech opens its season at home against East Carolina in the first football game for the Hokies since a gunman killed 33 people this April. While I think people, myself included,  intend to overestimate the importance of sports in our culture, I do understand its undeniable power to help those struggling with grief and tragedy to find some sense of normalcy. What happened at Virginia Tech can never be undone, let alone by a silly football game, but maybe the game will grant that campus and that community a much-welcomed respite from the unspeakable horror of lives shattered and changed forever by a random act of violence on a blustery April morning in Blacksburg. East Carolina at Virginia Tech - 12:00 p.m. ET - ESPN

Saturday night will also be the first game back for my alma mater Indiana following the offseason death of head coach Terry Hoeppener. The Hoosiers open the season with Indiana State and my guess is that there won’t be a dry eye in the house. The game will begin with a gut-wrenching video tribute to Coach Hep that will have the toughest of tough guys biting their lower lip with clenched, quivering jaws with a ceremony with Hoeppner’s family to follow. As I wrote this, the Indiana media guide landed on my desk. The first five pages of the guide are dedicated to the memory of Coach Hep. In just three years, Hep came to symbolize hope for the Hoosier faithful who put off thinking about basketball season in late October to see if this would be the year that their beloved Hoosiers would play in Nashville, San Antonio, Orlando, Detroit or Tampa over Christmas break. Unfortunately, we will never have that year under Coach Hep but his memory and his legacy lives on in the hearts of the Indiana University family. Indiana State at Indiana - 8:00 p.m. ET - The Big Ten Network. 

O.G.I. - OTHER GAMES OF INTEREST

Georgia Tech at Notre Dame - 3:30 p.m.  ET - NBC 

Charlie Weis is keeping his starting quarterback a secret and I must say that it’s nice of sportswriters to humor him and act like they give a crap or don’t believe it’s going to be freshman Jimmy Clausen. None the less, this will be a watchable, if not, unspectacular game but you can’t deny the power of South Bend on a Saturday. I hate Notre Dame and I’ve been on that campus on gameday and it’s unlike any other place on Earth. In two words, goosebump-inducing.

Wake Forest at Boston College - 3:30 p.m. - ABC 

An early season showdown between two potential ACC powers in ‘07. Last year’s Cinderella, Wake Forest, heads to Chestnut Hill to face quarterback Matt Ryan and Boston College. Ryan is one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the league and the game could be the perfect opportunity for him and the Eagles to make a statement and start the season off on a good note.

Oklahoma State at #13 Georgia - 6:45 p.m. ET - ESPN2 

I’ve got to hand it to Georgia, Tennesee and Auburn and applaud all of them for going out and not scheduling tomato cans (*ahem* Florida) in the first week. Most people, myself included, think that there’s no conceivable way that Georgia is the 13th best team in the country and the Cowboys and wide out Adarious Bowman, who some believe to be the best receiver in the country, pose a very interesting matchup to the Bulldogs in week one. The game will also serve as a pretty good indicator of how true sophomore Matthew Stafford will play this year. Will he be the gun-slinging, interception-prone quarterback of his youth or will he emerge matured and ready to be crowned the SEC’s best quarterback? We’ll see at 6:45 p.m. Between the Hedges.

#19 Florida State at Clemson - 8:00 p.m. ET - ESPN

Who’s ready for the Labor Day installment of the Bowden Bowl?!!? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? For Florida State fans, the week one clash at Death Valley will be an early test of how frustrating it will be to watch Drew Weatherford all-season. For Clemson, the strategy should be simple. HAND THE STUPID BALL OFF TO JAMES DAVIS AND C.J. SPILLER! None the less, it’s the best game on Labor Day so it’s worth watching, unless you got Heroes Season 1 on DVD.

UNDER THE RADAR GAME OF THE WEEK 

Arizona at BYU - 5:30 p.m. - VERSUS 

Of all the games that I picked this week, it was this game that  was the most difficult to pick. If I were able to pick “push,” I would have. This game poses some very interesting questions. Will this be the year that Bob Stoops turns Arizona around and makes them relevant in the Pac-10? Can BYU’s offense be effective without quarterback John Beck? Unfortunately, this is probably the fourth best game on in its time slot but it could be a heck of a game when it’s all said and done.

RESTAURANT WARS, PART 2

Can’t say I didn’t see it coming.

Dale’s assessment the Restaurant April team of Casey, Brian, C.J. and Tre was pretty spot on. Last week, having missed the first 15 minutes of the show and turning it on and see the Restaurant April squad, I turned to my girlfriend and said, “That team is loaded.” For all intents and purposes, the food coming out of that kitchen should have been spectacular and it wasn’t. Not once, but twice.

Trying to figure out who to blame for that failure was the major task handed to our judges this week. Should it be C.J., who picked the team and then did a spectacular job of dodging any responsibilty? Or should it be Tre, whose salmon dish made Ted Allen jerk back in his chair as if he were being electrocuted?

Well it was Tre. And having figured that this week, we would see one of the heavy hitters go home, I gotta say, I’m not terribly disappointed. Do I think Tre was one of the best chefs in the competition? I absolutely do but maybe he tried to shoulder too much of the workload given C.J.’s complete and utter failure to lead a team that he selected. There are lots of things that team could have done differently. Instead of having Tre handling three courses in a five course dinner, have Brian make SOMETHING. ANYTHING. I’ll leave Casey alone on her dull knife and dull-er still knife skills. Did she not understand that ‘quickfire’ means things need to happen in an expedited fashion? Evidently not, by the way she was methodically cutting that onion as if she were performing an autopsy.

On the other side, I was really impressed with Sara M. who really stepped up this week and took over the kitchen for the Garage team. Howie continues to prove that he is an absolute moron and Sara probably, and unfortunately, saved him from elimination by telling him to redo his lamb chops, which I believe were still “Baaaaa-ing.” I lambasted Sara for being the competition’s weakest chef remaining but she proved her value this week and stepped up.

I will have to say that my hands-down favorite moment this week was when Sara informed Hung that they were cooking for the eliminated Sara and Joey, Hung’s response was “Who’s Sara and Joey?” And then when being told who they were, he responded, “nice.” Priceless stuff.

Given the previews, I have no idea who is going home next week and given what happened this week, it really could be anyone. I hope it’s Howie, who’s nonstop posturing and know-it-all attitude combined with his subpar performance in the kitchen, is wearing thin on yours truly. This could be the week where the sweaty Floridian is finally sent packing. Fingers crossed.

As always, Bravo’s bloggers have something to say about the second half of Restaurant Wars, including a very strong opinion from season 1 winner Harold Dieterle.

• Tom Colicchio
  
• Anthony Bourdain
• Ted Allen

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No, seriously… 

Chalk this up to things you wish you hadn’t read.

Croatia to build potato theme park.

__________

Some high school kids in Colorado just got a very good quarterback coach.

Pete Kendall looks to ruin another locker room on the eastern seaboard.

IU to remember Coach Hep at home opener.

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach says the Big Ten is at a very important crossroads.  Easiest schedules of ‘07.

Was lashing out at Tiki the best thing Eli could have done for himself in the Giants locker room?

New York Daily News’ Mitch Lawrence calls Stephon Marbury’s defense of Michael Vick, “sick.”

Donovan McNabb seeking answers about Jeremiah Trotter’s release.

Ben Allen to transfer from IU.  This is a little inside baseball but I never thought Allen was tough enough to play in the Big Ten. He was slow, frankly non-athletic at times and didn’t show he could be an effective low-post defender or scorer for that matter. When you’re 6′11,” you really ought to have some sort of an inside game and Ben Allen didn’t. I think the fact that he was from Australia and was recruited to IU shortly after Andrew Bogut became the #1 overall pick made him appealing to the IU fanbase but his game never matched the hype. 

Peyton Manning takes up for this little bro.

Interesting piece in The State (Columbia, S.C.) about how Steve Spurrier and Tommy Bowden set goals for their respective teams.

Golden Bears eying revenge after last year’s blowout at Rocky Top.

The AJC’s Tony Barnhart on five moments that will shape the SEC this year.

There is still no word on who will start at QB for Florida State.

The Oklahoman’s Berry Tramel thinks recently-named Sooners starter Sam Bradford is on a very short leash.

__________

Well-rounded news… 

American Gladiators set to make primetime return.

Justice League flick to be motion capture? Barf.

Yes, I know it’s more than two weeks from the official start of the 2007 college football season but I’ve already printed out the schedule for week 1 and will soon set my TiVo. When we get closer to the start of week one, I’ll pick a game of the week and a list of winners of every game over the weekend to track how I’m doing throughout the season.

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UCLA at STANFORD - 3:30 p.m. 

It’s the official beginning of the Jim Harbaugh/Captain Comeback era at Stanford and this game will prove a very interesting test for the Cardinal, and the Bruins in week one. This is sort of a baptism by fire for Harbaugh, who will be forced to show if he can actually coach or if he’s just good at spreading rumors about Pete Carroll leaving USC and lobbing grenades at this alma mater.

WHO YA GOT? The Ben Olson/Chris Markey combination on offense will be too much for Stanford’s porous defense.. even at home. I’m taking the Bruins.

GEORGIA TECH at NOTRE DAME - 3:30 P.M. 

Charlie Weis is still posturing that he’s not going to start Jimmy Clausen in week 1 against Georgia Tech but my guess is that this game will be the beginning of the Clausen era in South Bend. The Irish defense will need to stop Tashard Choice and the GT running game. On the other side of the ball, with senior quarterback Reggie Ball gone, this will be the first real road test for first year starter Taylor Bennett,

WHO YA GOT? Gotta go with the Irish at home. Even though Notre Dame lost Brady Quinn, Darius Walker, Rhema McKnight and Jeff Samardjiza, none of those losses offset the impact Calvin Johnson leaving GT early will have on that Georgia Tech offense. With CJ, this is probably a Georgia Tech win but without him, I got the Irish by at least 7.

WAKE FOREST at BOSTON COLLEGE - 3:30 p.m. 

Jim Grobe and last year’s Wake Forest team was college football’s best Cinderella story last year and this early season Atlantic division matchup at Chesnut Hill will show if the stage coach turned back into a pumpkin. Both squads return competent signal callers in Riley Skinner and Matt Ryan. This is a huge game for Jim Grobe’s team as far as confidence building is concerned and a win on the road at BC, who is favored to win the Atlantic, would be huge for the Demon Deacons. but I don’t think that’s going to happen.

WHO YA GOT? The BC defense is very tough and very seasoned and I don’t anticipate them having a tough time throwing blitz packages at Riley Skinner and confusing him into throwing a bad interception or two. I’ll take the Eagles by at least 7.

MISSOURI AT ILLINOIS - 3:30 P.M. 

Ron Zook surprised the college football universe last year when he snagged some of the nation’s top recruits, specifically wide receiver Arrelious Benn. I don’t see this game even being close. Missouri is a far better team than is Illinois and I expect Mizzou QB Chase Daniel to have a big game against a weak Illinois secondary. I will be very interested to see if Zook opens up the offense and lets QB Juice Williams air it out to Benn a couple times and give the Illini faithful something to look forward to.

WHO YA GOT? A no-brainer. Mizzou by at least 10.

TENNESSEE at CAL - 8:00 P.M. 

I don’t think I saw a worse performance by a quarterback in a big game last year than Nate Longshore’s tank job at Rocky Top. Defensive coordinator John Chavis called one of the best defensive games of the year last year confused and frustrated Longshore and stopped future first-rounder Marshawn Lynch essentially snubbing the running back’s Heisman hopes in week one. Back for the Golden Bears are Longshore, running back Justin Forsett and wide receiver DeSean Jackson. This year’s game could make for one of the year’s best.

WHO YA GOT? This is one of those games that you hate to prognosticate because you know whoever you pick, you have a substantial chance of being wrong. I’m still going with Cal at home. I think what happened last year was a total embarrassment to Tedford and to the program and they’ll be hungry to exact some revenge. It will be a very tight game could be decided by 3 points or less.

FLORIDA STATE AT CLEMSON - 8:00 P.M.

When I interviewed Bobby Bowden a couple months ago, he cited the week 1 game at his son Tommy and the Clemson Tigers at Death Valley as the most important game of the year for his ‘Noles. And it is. Forget that FSU opens the season against a conference foe on the road, the game will be a crucial game for Drew Weatherford/Xavier Lee/Jimbo Fisher and the Florida State offense. Equally as important is the FSU defense who will be handed the dubious task of stopping James Davis and C.J. Spiller, one of the nation’s best running tandems.

WHO YA GOT? Feeling pretty good about Florida State in this one. Clemson starts its third quarterback in as many years and lost a good portion of its defense and won’t be able to match the firepower that Florida State will bring with them from Tallahassee.