Sunday, August 31, 2008

CFB Viewing Report: Week 1

I took Dylan Thomas' advice. Though his most famous poem dealt with a subject more weighty than summer's annual disappearing act, I did exactly as he requested. For three weeks, I fought like hell against the opening of NFL training camps. Now, over a month later, the beginning of a new college football season was coming, whether I wanted it to or not. By the time the opening weekend began - the only one in which college does not compete with the NFL - I had resigned myself to its arrival.

It's here. And time for me to give you a rundown of the games I saw. As was the case last year, the only way I count a game is if I saw at least one play from scrimmage. But there is a twist to this season; since our move and the subsequent addition of DirecTV (sports tier and GamePlan), our volume of games should increase dramatically. At the end of the season, we'll tally up all the games and conferences we saw and see if there's anything we can learn from it.

The fruits of that, however, won't be known until at least Week 3. Tonight, I wound up getting involved with a friendly poker game (finished third; the top two got paid, of course); next weekend, the Sprint Cup tour rolls into Richmond, which means there will be limited viewing opportunities.

With all of that in mind, here's the Week 1 rundown:

Akron (lost to Wisconsin 38-17)
Appalachian State (lost to LSU 41-13)
Bowling Green (beat Pitt 27-17)
California, Pa. (beat West Chester 44-32)
Coastal Carolina (lost to Penn State 66-10)
Colorado (beat Colorado St. 38-17)
Colorado State (lost to Colorado 38-17)
Delaware (lost to Maryland 14-7)
East Carolina (beat Va. Tech 27-22)
Florida (beat Hawaii 56-10)
Fresno State (beat Rutgers 24-7)
Georgia (beat Ga. Southern 45-21)
Georgia Southern (lost to Georgia 45-21)
Hampton (beat Jackson St. 17-13)
Hawaii (lost to Florida 56-10)
Illinois (lost to Missouri 52-42)
Indiana (beat W. Kentucky 31-13)
Iowa (beat Maine 46-3)
Jackson St. (lost to Hampton 17-13)
LSU (beat Appalachian State 41-13)
Maine (lost to Iowa 46-3)
Maryland (beat Delaware 14-7)
Michigan (lost to Utah 25-23)
Missouri (beat Illinois 52-42)
Navy (beat Towson State 41-13)
Northwestern (beat Syracuse 30-10)
Ohio (lost to Wyoming 21-20)
Ohio State (beat Youngstown St. 43-0)
Oklahoma State (beat Wazzu 39-13)
Oregon (beat Washington 44-10)
Penn State (beat Coastal Carolina 66-10)
Pitt (lost to Bowling Green 27-17)
Rice (beat SMU 56-27)
Rutgers (lost to Fresno St. 24-7)
SMU (lost to Rice 56-27)
Southern Cal (beat U.Va. 52-7)
Syracuse (lost to Northwestern 30-10)
Tennessee (lost to UCLA 27-24)
Towson State (lost to Navy 41-13)
UCLA (beat Tennessee 27-24)
Utah (beat Michigan 25-23)
Villanova (lost to West Virginia 48-21)
Virginia (lost to USC 52-7)
Virginia Tech (lost to East Carolina 27-22)
Washington (lost to Oregon 44-10)
Washington State (lost to Oklahoma State 39-13)
West Chester (lost to California, Pa., 44-32)
West Virginia (beat Villanova 48-21)
Western Kentucky (lost to Indiana 31-13)
Wisconsin (beat Akron 38-17)
Wyoming (beat Ohio 21-20)
Youngstown State (lost to Ohio State 43-0)

Italics indicate a non-Division I game.

Edits to add Sunday games.