Observations From the Bye Week

Taking off the second week of the college football season is like kissing your sister. Or something.

Anyway, with nothing going on in Norman but the rent, please allow me to satisfy your Sunday football fix with observations from around the college world that are merely tangentially related to the Oklahoma Sooners.

*Texas Toughs One Out

I recapped what I saw last night out of Texas for Crystal Ball Run today. Basically, I thought the Longhorns looked awfully strong on the defensive of the ball, primarily in the front seven. Offensively, it appeared BYU was completely unprepared for the read option Texas was running with David Ash in at quarterback.

I didn't see much to make me think UT's ceiling this season is any better than 9-3, which is what I thought at the beginning of the year.

*Irish not "0-2 Bad"

Rough start to the year for Notre Dame, but these things happen when you turn the ball over a combined seven times in two games. ND's defense still bites, but look for the Irish to turn it around quickly. I think ND gets its first win of the year Saturday versus Michigan State in South Bend.

*QB May be Alabama's Undoing

Alabama's defense has lived up to its advance billing so far this year. The Crimson Tide D is as physical and fast as you'd expect from out of Nick Saban's teams. A.J. McCarron and Phillip Sims need to get better in a hurry, however, if 'Bama really does hope to win a national championship this season. I know "The Process" doesn't ask for much out of a quarterback, but a time comes in every championship season when a quarterback has to win a game on his own.

*Cowboys Roll On

From what I've seen, Oklahoma State hasn't missed a beat on offense since Dana Holgorsen left. The defense still leaves plenty to be desired. Same old story – Pokes will continue to beat up bad teams, but a conference championship isn't coming until OSU figures out how to stop people.

*Stanford Keeps it Physical

I caught part of the Stanford-Duke game yesterday. (Don't ask.) For the dozens of Cardinal fans out there, the good news is that offense is every bit as physical and nasty as last season.

The bad news: The defense appears to have taken a step back. When Stanford blitzed the Dukies' putrid offensive line, Cardinal defenders didn't have a tough time getting to the quarterback. However, the Blue Devils definitely had their fair share of success going up and down the field, especially during the first half.

(One more piece of good news: That Andrew Luck kid can still play.)