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6) Detroit Lions
Blame it on the officials. Blame it on the offense that scored one touchdown in 60 minutes of play. Blame it on the rain. It doesn’t matter. The bottom line is that the Lions lost another painfully winnable game, and one that they desperately needed to get this season rolling in the right direction. Now Jim Caldwell’s crew is 1-1 and facing a trip to dreaded Green Bay this Sunday.
For all the talk last week about not missing Calvin Johnson and the offense being more diverse without him, that narrative came to a screeching halt Sunday. Sam Martin was called on to punt five times, though it felt like twice that watching the game. The first half of the Lions schedule is loaded with home games against marginal teams. The thought was that it would allow the team to jump out to a hot start and possibly back into a surprise playoff spot; yeah, so much for that plan.
5) Eastern Michigan Eagles
The Charlotte 49ers have only been playing college football for a couple of years now, but even so, a road win for the EMU Eagles is not an everyday occurrence. The men from Ypsilanti went down south and took care of business with a healthy 37-19 destruction over the gridiron newbies. After getting demolished in the previous week by Missouri, this was a much-needed step back in the right direction for Eastern -- especially since their club was the subject of national discussions in the off-season regarding schools that bleed money through unsuccessful football programs.
4) Central Michigan Chippewas
Cooper Rush
Let’s start the Heisman chatter for Chippewa quarterback Cooper Rush! In his season opener, Rush threw for a single touchdown against Presbyterian. Then in a Week 2 shocker, he tossed four TDs in helping to topple Oklahoma State. On Saturday, Rush went absolutely bananas on UNLV, firing six touchdown passes in another CMU triumph. He’s got another chance to earn some nationwide attention this weekend when the Chips head to ACC country for a battle with Virginia.
3) Michigan State Spartans
It seemed like most people were marking Saturday night’s game in South Bend as a Spartan loss before the teams took the field. As we’ve seen over and over again in the Mark Dantonio era, such predictions rarely carry any weight. MSU carved up the Irish defense all night long. They rushed for 260 and threw for 240; pile up 500 yards against any opponent and you should leave the stadium with a W.
The final 17 minutes of the game were quite lethargic, but it’s understandable that you’d let the foot off the gas a tad when ahead 38 to 7. That failure to deliver a final dagger probably irked Dantonio, but still, the Spartans are a perfect 2-0 as they get set for an unusually early conference opener this Saturday when 11th-ranked Wisconsin invades East Lansing.
2) Michigan Wolverines
It’s a little bit difficult to judge just how strong a squad Jim Harbaugh has this season. Sure, they’ve played three games and won all of them; however, none have been on the road, and none have come against ranked opponents. In fact, the next two games for Michigan will also be in Ann Arbor. But you can only beat the teams that are on the schedule, and the Wolverines have done just that.
The defensive effort against Colorado was highly suspect, and there’s a reasonable chance that the Buffs pull the upset if quarterback Sefo Liufau does not go down with an injury in the third quarter. But the way Michigan responded after going down 28-24 showed that this team is capable of responding to some adversity (pay attention, Lions). 7th-year senior De’Veon Smith rumbled for a long touchdown and then Jabrill Peppers stuck the nail in the coffin with an electrifying score on a punt return.
The accuracy of Wilton Speight needs to see an uptick with Big Ten play beginning this Saturday against Penn State. He completed just 16 of 30 throws against Colorado.
1) Western Michigan Broncos
Why not give the top spot in the state to hyperkinetic coach P.J. Fleck and the upstart Western Michigan Broncos? After all, they are more than deserving. On Saturday, the Broncos absolutely throttled Illinois in Champaign, the second Big Ten scalp they’ve collected this year (they won at Northwestern in Week 1).
When a MAC school travels to play a team from the Big Ten, the general thought is that the little guy will get outclassed. Western Michigan is changing that narrative on a near-weekly basis.
They are 3-0 and have yet to commit a single turnover. Their pint-sized running back, Jamauri Bogan, stands just 5-foot-7, but he’s kept the legs churning enough to eclipse the 100-yard mark in every game thus far.
On October 1st, it will be Western going to Central, kicking off the MAC schedule for both teams. It should be a highly entertaining affair and could propel the victor to a possibly historic, bracket-busting season.
