Quick Hits #2 - Views on College Football and NFL Predictions.

Another Saturday down, and it brought us some very enjoyable games. I went 2-1 with my picks, missing on the Notre Dame/Michigan game.

Some thoughts from around the nation:

- Dan LeFevour is a top five quarterback in my book. He was really clutch in CMU's improbable win over the Spartans today.
- Way to fall to the SI cover jinx, Oklahoma State. You still have no defense.
- Looks like Steve Spurrier might have himself a quarterback this year. Stephen Garcia looked very nice in the loss to the Georgia Bulldogs.
- The ACC is an absolute joke. Florida State was so close to losing to Jacksonville State led by LSU refugee Ryan Perilloux. Maryland barely defeated James Madison in overtime. Why does this conference have a BCS bid again?
- Army lost to Duke. I thought this would be the year the Black Knights got back to a bowl. Unfortunately, that probably won't be the case.
- And nice job Minnesota, the new stadium looks really nice.

Penn State/Syracuse thoughts:

- What was that rotation of quarterbacks Coach Marrone? You don't sub in and out Greg Paulus and Ryan Nassib every other play. Maybe if one was a pocket passer and the other was a scrambler, but that isn't the case. Greg only thinks he's a scrambler.
- Once again, the Penn State running game completely disappoints me. I don't know if it's the offensive line not getting a good enough push or if it's Royster and Green, but it needs to be shored up by conference play.
- Clark looked impressive again, besides about three passes. I think he's starting to like throwing to his big receivers. Graham Zug did a nice job getting open on the Orange secondary.
- Hey second-string offensive line: block for your future starting quarterback and don't get him killed. Newsome had to run for his life.
- It's official: Sean Lee is back. Big second half for the captain, including some clutch tackles and a nice sack of "Teabag."
- Brett Brackett, I will send you stick 'em. You need it after dropping another pass.
- Drew Astorino was the best player in the secondary today. Took some good pursuit angles, and made nice hits - something we'll need from our inexperienced defensive backfield.

Michigan/Notre Dame thoughts:

- Please, Michigan fans, don't think that you're getting nine wins after this performance. Notre Dame's defense was awful and so was yours.
- Tate Forcier, you earned yourself a gold star. Very nice game and a clutch last minute drive. And don't lie, you do get nervous.
- Michael Floyd, request a transfer out of Notre Dame right away. You are way too good of a receiver to be playing for a team like the Fighting Irish. Plus, with a good quarterback, I could see a Biletnikoff award in your future.
- Unfortunately, Lee Corso probably feels like there's a way Notre Dame can win the national championship.
- Probably product of the lack of defensive talent out there today, but I was also impressed with the backs. Armando Allen and Brandon Minor looked really good with the rock.
- Michigan's "maize-out" is nothing like the Penn State "white-out." Just saying.
- Notre Dame has some really hot blondes. That is all.

And finally Ohio State/USC thoughts:

- Some block O they got there - it was a U by the second quarter.
- Ohio State defense really stepped up tonight. The defensive line, especially this one kid (can't remember the number or name) really stood out to me.
- Matt Barkley looked okay out there, better than your typical freshman going into a loud environment. He didn't carry the team on that winning drive because it was mostly...
- Joe McKnight. I was wondering why recruiting analysts called you the second coming of Reggie Bush, but now I know. This is actually going to get me started off on a little rant, so here we go. You know how reporters just love USC's depth at runningback? "Oh my God, they go six deep! They're the greatest!" In my opinion, that hurts them so much. McKnight looks like the best back for them...when he gets his carries. However, since they go "six-deep" - which I only saw McKnight, Stafon Johnson, C.J. Gable, and Allen Bradford - he doesn't get enough carries, which limits his productivity. If they would stop worrying about spreading the ball around to all their backs and instead made McKnight and Johnson the main backs, it would help their offense so much. Bradford should have stayed as a linebacker; he doesn't impress me at all carrying the ball.
- Although they won, I can seriously see USC losing two games this year. And no, Notre Dame does not beat them.
- Congrats Terrelle Pryor, you don't know how to handle the pressure. Shut your mouth about defending Michael Vick, bashing Navy, and focus on giving your team a chance to win instead of choking it away. That last minute drive had to be one of the worst I've ever seen.
- Oh wait, TP had another interesting quote after this one: "I mean, we should have beat them, point blank. We should have beat them by two or three touchdowns, easy. The ball was falling the wrong way." I really hope Penn State lays a beatdown on them now.

And now to my NFL predictions. Italics indicates my pick.

JAC @ IND
DET @ NO
DAL @ TB
NYJ @ HOU
KC @ BAL
DEN @ CIN
MIN @ CLE
WAS @ NYG
SF @ ARI
STL @ SEA
BUF @ NE
SD @ OAK

And here are the three games to watch today:

PHI @ CAR

Honestly, I am not high on the Panthers...at all. After the Jake Delhomme meltdown against Arizona last year in the playoffs, I don't think they have the leadership on offense to contend. DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart will be the main focus of their offense this year, but I don't see them having the same amount of success as last year. On the other side, Philly is my pick for the NFC Super Bowl representative, so I expect them to win this game. Only two more games till Michael Vick is eligible.

Eagles 27, Panthers 17

MIA @ ATL

Another nice game here between America's cinderellas last season. Miami improved from 1-15 to win the AFC East and Atlanta went through the enitre Bobby Petrino debacle to make the playoffs. Atlanta is led by their second-year quarterback Matt Ryan, who has plenty of weapons at his disposal. Michael Turner, Roddy White and newly acquired Tony Gonzalez are Pro Bowlers that can break one for six at any time. The defense is pretty shaky, which concerns me. If they are fighting for a playoff spot come December and miss it, the defense will be the reason why. Miami retains basically the same team that they did last year, but New England got better so the Dolphins will be fighting for a wild card spot.

Dolphins 21, Falcons 20

CHI @ GB

An old-school rivalry to finish off the night - Bears/Packers. Chicago's fan base is estatic this year with the arrival of former Vanderbilt Commodore Jay Cutler. The pain and suffering of watching former starting quarterbacks Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton is finally gone, which has fans believing like I said. The receiver core is still extremely weak, as they are depending on an all-world returner in Devin Hester to be their number one guy. On the other side, you have a sleeper pick for the Super Bowl in the Green Bay Packers. Aaron Rodgers proved to me that he is the real deal, and he's got capable receivers in Donald Driver and Greg Jennings. Ryan Grant is in a make-or-break year, as he couldn't build on his breakout 2007 season. The defense adds USC rookie Clay Matthews to an already good linebacker core, and the team has switched to a 3-4 look. Look for a lot of big plays in this one.

Bears 24, Packers 20

Enjoy your Sunday everyone.