There was no way that a slate of games that had been anticipated since the early summer could live up to expectations. By rush hour on Friday afternoon the buildup had many pondering the purchase of four more televisions in order to fully immerse themselves in so many high-profile tilts. However save for a thrilling conclusion in South Bend, it's safe to say that the Greatest Weekend of Games in the History of Games was, well, a bummer.
Florida State didn't get off the plane, Penn State arrived a gunfight with some down pillows, and Jacory Harris showed up in Columbus in a very giving mood. So clearly Week Two's matchups looked much better and paper, and the beauty of such spectacular duds is that we have 10 regular season weeks to make up for it.
Fourteen other thoughts and observations from Week Two:
-Hawaii is off to a very nice start. They battled USC in the opener, and then traveled all the way across the world and won a tough one at West Pointe. Kudos to Bryant Moniz as he's looked pretty impressive over the last two weeks.
-It's not panic time, but you should be a wee bit concerned over the start to Dion Lewis' season.
-I'll preface my praise with the now-obligatory "We'll have to see if he can stay healthy during the Big Ten season" statement. However Denard Robinson looks so in-control of the Rodriguez offense that it's scary. Of course so did last season's starter following a stirring win over the Irish. It'll be interesting to watch how this one plays out.
-Wow, I just watched LaMichael James make one of the best runs I've seen in an awfully long time.
-Eventually others have to realize just what type of quarterback is operating out of College Station. Non-fantasy owners know about Jerrod Johnson, right?
-Time to take a shot on Eddie Wide. Matt Asiata isn't 1B, he's hopped into the backseat.
-By no means has Dayne Crist looked like a world-beater, however the Irish offense without their starter at the helm was painful to watch. Michael Floyd can't go a third game without a score, right?
-Something is very reassuring about watching Taylor Martinez run around in Lincoln. It's as if a return to a running Cornhusker quarterback is the final step in fully erasing the Bill Callahan era. There's no shame in knowing who you are and from where you come.
-Auburn's Cameron Newton is the real deal, as he just looks like the calm, composed and explosive quarterback who's perfect for Gus Malzahn.
-Dan Persa is going to be a pain in the you-know-what for Big Ten defensive coordinators, and he's passing some bigger-named quarterbacks as fantasy options on a weekly basis.
-Zach Collaros' owners can breathe a little sigh of relief.
-The Cal Bears are looking like one of those teams that is going to put it all together. We knew what we had in Shane Vereen, but Kevin Riley is seasoned and talented, and he's working with two great receivers in Marvin Jones and the freshman Keenan Allen.
-When Notre Dame and Miami meet at Soldier Field in 2012 can we deem it illegal to talk of the loser ever "Returning to Glory?" It's one thing to hear it from both schools every year, but knocking one out for good would be nice.
-Oh Marshall, Marshall, Marshall. I feel your pain.