Florida Atlantic joined Conference USA this season but little is expected of them in terms of really competing, heck they were barely worth mentioning in the Sun Belt, a much easier league.
The Arizona State Sun Devils didn’t play in Week 1, which means their matchup against the Sacramento State Hornets will be their first of the season. Sacramento State didn’t have last week off, but it probably wishes it did, as it fell 24-0 to San Jose State in the opener.
The Michigan State Spartans and their tenacious defense will face off against the South Florida Bulls on Saturday at Spartan Stadium, looking to improve to 2-0 on the year.
The Demon Deacons and the Eagles meet for the ninth time since Boston joined the ACC on Friday.
Both teams in this AFC match up lost their season openers and while Oakland did not play that badly the same cannot be said for the Dolphins. Ryan Tannehill did not have a good debut throwing 3 INT and he had the lowest QB rating by a Miami QB since the 2007 season.
Both the Saints and Panthers lost their season openers and one of these NFC South teams will be in a 0-2 hole early in the season. After breaking the passing yardage record last season he struggled in his first game not completing 50% of his passes after completing over 70% last season.
The Pats had no problem winning their season opener and while it is no surprise their offense played well it was a little surprising that their D played well. The Arizona Cardinals also won their season opener after Kevin Kolb came into the game and he will get the start in this game and has another chance to become the starter for Arizona if he plays well.
While the Jags lost their season-opener 2nd year QB Blaine Gabbert looked good and he now gives Jags’ fans hope for the future. However, they will be facing a Texans’ team that won last week and not only has a great offense, but a great defense as well.
It’s the battle of Ohio this Sunday in Cincinnati as the Bengals host the Cleveland Browns. Both teams will be looking for their first win in this one. The Bengals were crushed by the Ravens on Monday night.
Andrew Luck’s first game in the NFL didn’t go exactly as planned. The Bears defense made life miserable for Luck. Can he bounce back in his home opener against a mediocre Minnesota Vikings team?
The Buffalo Bills throttled the Kansas City Chiefs 41-7 as a 3.5-point underdog last year in the season opener. Kansas City certainly hasn’t forgotten that game, and the Chiefs are much healthier now than they were last season.
The Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers are bitter rivals. Last year, the Packers got the best of their Bears two times.
Green Bay only lost one regular season game in the 2011-2012 season, which is why it was so surprising when the Packers lost in week one to the 49ers. Chicago took care of business against Andrew Luck and the Colts.
Week 1 is in the books! It proved why we all crave NFL football. Sensational performances, jaw-dropping upsets and unforeseen story lines make up yet another typically fluid version of this week’s NFL Power Rankings!
Enough talk – let’s get on with Dave B’s Week 2 edition of the Rankings!
In one of the Saturday night games this week, the home team’s defense is going to get a serious test in Week 2. The Oklahoma State Cowboys bring their high-powered attack to southern Arizona to square off against the Wildcats in the desert heat.
#19 OSU Cowboys at Arizona Wildcats
Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012, 10:30 pm EST
Venue: Arizona Stadium, Tucson AZ
Gambling Odds from Sportsbook.com:
Spread: Ok. St. -10.5, Arizona +10.5
MoneyLine: Ok. St. -385, Arizona +325
Over/Under: 70.5
Frankly, things look to be breaking pretty well in the Cowboys’ favor.
Arizona just narrowly edged out Toledo last week, winning 24-17 in OT. Yes, this is against the MAC’s Toledo Rockets in Arizona’s season opener. Clearly, it wasn’t a very convincing win. Quarterback Matt Scott had a big day, tossing for nearly 400 yards, but the Oklahoma State secondary won’t be as liable to yield big gainers as Toledo was.
The Cowboys’ offense seems to have become more of a scheme-specific success. In recent seasons, both QB Zac Robinson and Brandon Weeden have excelled in a high-powered spread attack.
Now, Ok. State hopes it can be redshirt freshman J.W. Walsh that carries the torch. If last week is any indication, things will be just fine in Stillwater – the Cowboys crushed FCS Savannah State 84-0, the most thorough drubbing of the college football slate in Week 1.
Running back Joseph Randle will be a key piece for the Cowboys in 2012; he and sophomore Desmond Roland both put up 100+ rushing yards and multiple TDs in just single-digit carries in a laugher. Without a prominent passer established, the Cowboys game-plan might have more emphasis on the run in ’12, which shouldn’t slow them down one bit. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
For Arizona to nab an upset at home, Scott must air the ball out to talented WR Dan Buckner, a Texas transfer. Let’s also not forget that the Wildcats are breaking in the polarizing Rich Rodriguez as head coach. Even though Rich-Rod crashed and burned at Michigan, the Wildcats are hoping he can have more success in a program with less scrutiny.
Still, it seems that from a defensive perspective, if Oklahoma State can be anything more balanced than an offensive slot machine, it will not only lay the hurt on Arizona this week, but have a successful 2012 campaign also.
The Cowboys have a few players on “D” – CB Brodrick Brown, LB Shaun Lewis and DL Nigel Nicholas come to mind – but Arizona should still be able to drop some points on the visitors.
Expect Oklahoma State to win what will be a high-scoring contest, though that doesn’t necessarily mean that the finished product will be close.
The marching bands will need a lot of air in their collective lungs, because there’s going to be some touchdowns scored in this game.
#19 Oklahoma State vs. Arizona Score Prediction: Ok. St. 49, Arizona 30
The conference slate gets started right off the hop for the Georgia Bulldogs and the Missouri Tigers. The ‘Dawgs will see what one of the SEC newcomers brings to the table nice and early in the season.
I have to admit that I am bullish on Miami this season. I didn’t get to see a ton of their opener against Boston College but they won in hostile territory and that is what this program needs wins…they just need to get their confidence back – the swagger.
