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Shakeup in Tuscaloosa
The most surprising statistic of Alabama's loss at UCLA is that the Crimson Tide offense scored only 10 of the team's 24 points. The vertical passing game that coach Mike DuBose promised for the last eight months didn't materialize. The longest completion, 27 yards, came on a tight end screen. Starting tailback Shaun Bohanon fumbled twice. Now, the changes: Alabama will eliminate some schemes and reduce the number of decisions that quarterbacks Andrew Zow and Tyler Watts must make at the line. Also, Bohanon has fallen to third team, behind Ahmaad Galloway and Brandon Miree.
Pac-10 better, but not there yetAfter we spent most of last season making fun of the Pac-10, fair play compels us to note the big season-opening wins by USC, UCLA, Washington and Stanford. In fact, the Trojans, Bruins and Huskies all scored at least 29 points.Offense is never the problem out West. In the last five seasons, the Pac-10 champs didn't all lead the league in total defense, or scoring defense. But four of them led the league in total offense. Still, it's no coincidence that in that time, the conference became a laughingstock. Defense may not win the Pac-10 but it wins national championships. If Washington slows down Miami, if Oregon stops Wisconsin and if USC limits Colorado, we can talk about the Pac-10 being back.
Rolling on the RiversEight months ago Phillip Rivers left high school to enroll at N.C. State. On Saturday, Rivers started at quarterback for the Wolfpack.While the team looked shaky -- N.C. State needed two overtimes to beat a much-improved Arkansas State team, 38-31 -- Rivers looked like he'd been there before. He completed 29 of 57 passes for 397 yards, got the ball where it was supposed to go and never appeared to lose his poise. Rivers' throwing motion won't win any style points -- he tilts his head and comes over the top almost like a pitcher -- but it's clear he's listening to Norm Chow, his position coach. Chow created a lot of passing stars at BYU. His newest creation looks promising. Sports Illustrated senior writer Ivan Maisel covers the college football beat for the magazine and appears each Saturday on CNN's "College Football Preview." Click here to send a question to Ivan's mailbag.
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