This is the first in a weekly series I intend to post reviewing the most recent weekend of college football. It will focus on opponents of the Buckeyes, but will have commentary and observation from around NCAA football as well. So let’s get started.

Opponent Watch

• Youngstown State (0-1) – See game review posted yesterday. Conclusion: Expected Win
• Akron (1-0) – Played Army on a neutral site in Cleveland, won 22-14. Conclusion: Expected Win
• Washington (1-0) – Played Syracuse away, at night and won 42-12. Conclusion: Convincing Win
• Northwestern (1-0) – Played Northeastern at home, won 27-0. Conclusion: Expected Win
• Minnesota (0-1) – Played Bowling Green at home, lost 32-31 in overtime. Came back from 21 points down. Conclusion: Heartbreaking Loss
• Purdue (1-0) – Played Toledo away, won 52-24. Conclusion: Good Win
• Kent State (1-0) – Played Iowa State away, won 23-14. Conclusion: Quality Win
• Michigan State (1-0) – Played University of Alabama Birmingham at home, won 55-18. Conclusion: Expected Win
• Penn State (1-0) – Played Florida International at home, won 59-0. Conclusion: Expected Win
• Wisconsin (1-0) – Played Washington State at home, won 42-21. Conclusion: Quality Win
• Illinois (0-1) – Played Missouri at a neutral site, lost 40-34. Conclusion: Loss with dignity – Illinois is much improved and would have won this game with one less turnover.
• Michigan (0-1) – Played reigning Division I-AA Champs Appalachian State, lost 34-32. It’s September 1 and Michigan has already dropped out of the MNC race. Michigan cannot be allowed to win the Big 10 now on general principal. The players who stayed to win a championship must be thinking about those fat NFL paychecks now…An unbelievable collapse – UM’s 2nd and 3rd stringers should have been able to beat ASU. Conclusion: Humiliating Loss that will be discussed all season and beyond.

Buckeye opponent’s record after the first week, 8-4. As it stands now, I would say either Wisconsin or Penn State have to be the favorites to win the Big 10. I don’t think OSU beats either based on observations to date. Teams do improve over the course of the season, so I expect that this may change from week to week. But right now, I’m calling Wisconsin the heavy favorite to win and the only BCS rep from the Big 10 this year.

Quick Hits from Around College Football

Division III Champion Mount Union carried on where it left off last year, scoring 52 points in the first quarter to set a new single quarter scoring record. They won 75-7 over Averett…

Teams that look like MNC contenders from week 1: LSU, Louisville, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, California, and USC.

The jury is out on these teams who are technically still in the running, but their week one play leaves room for doubt: Texas, Virginia Tech, Arkansas, and Auburn.

These teams stand virtually no chance of contending for the MNC, but still looked good in week one: Rutgers, Cincinnati, Boise St, Connecticut, Nebraska, Georgia Tech, TCU, Texas A&M, Alabama, Arizona St, and Hawaii.

The season is over for these teams in the first week: Michigan (see above), Notre Dame (this is what happens when the defense AND offense suck), Stanford (no improvement under Harbaugh), and Syracuse (no improvement from prior years).

Game of the week, Bowling Green’s win in OT over Minnesota. The Gophers rallied from 21 down to tie the game. Each team traded field goals in the final minute to tie it up at 24. In the first possession of OT, Minnesota scores fast and kicks the PAT. In the second possession of OT, Bowling Green scores fast and elects to attempt a 2 point conversion, which was good for the win.

Non-football comment for this edition, the Virginia Tech mass murder was a tragedy and was horrible. But it had nothing to do with football. Let’s stop talking about it now and get on with the season.

In the coming week I’ll post an Akron/OSU preview, a game review of Akron/OSU, and a Weekend Update Sports edition.