SEC, Big East make big statements in Week 1

[TyBull]

SEC, Big East make big statements in Week 1

By Steve Megargee, Rivals.com College Football Staff Writer

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge said his teammates could hear California's players screaming "Pac-10" during pregame warm-ups Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

The Volunteers spent the rest of the day helping the Southeastern Conference deliver an emphatic response.

Tennessee's stunning 35-18 demolition of the ninth-ranked Golden Bears helped the SEC make its case as the top BCS conference.

"This game wasn't just for Tennessee vs. California," Ainge said. "It was the South vs. the West Coast. The SEC and Pac-10. We took that to heart."

The opening week featured three SEC/Pac-10 matchups. Auburn buried Washington State 40-14, while Southern California salvaged some Pac-10 pride with its 50-14 whipping of Arkansas.

But the biggest stories of the first week came in the Big East.

The conference lost arguably its most dynamic player when Louisville's Michael Bush broke his leg in Sunday night's game with Kentucky, but it also continued to shed its "Big Least" label by winning two of three head-to-head matchups with the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Pittsburgh quarterback Tyler Palko showed signs of regaining his 2004 form in a 38-13 whipping of Virginia, while Rutgers went on the road and beat North Carolina 21-16. The ACC's only victory over the Big East came at Wake Forest, where the Demon Deacons outlasted Syracuse 20-10.

The Rutgers victory was particularly interesting because it featured a breakthrough performance from Raymell Rice, who gained 201 yards and scored three touchdowns. The combination of Rice and fullback Brian Leonard could give Rutgers one of the nation's top backfield tandems.

The unofficial SEC-Pac-10 and Big East-ACC challenge represented just one of the top 25 storylines of college football's opening week. Now let's run down the rest of the Top 25 ...

[bulls96go]

the BE needs to cont that trend.

we need to schedule more mid to lower level BCS and make our case consistantly that top to bottom we are a solid conference.

we also need to beat the big dogs as well

[smazza]

who did big east beat?

[Guest AstroBull]

Rutgers beat NC

Pitt beat Virginia

Wake beat 'Cuse

[TyBull]

Rutgers beat NC

Pitt beat Virginia

Wake beat 'Cuse

Hey USF defeated Ronald McNeese Hamburger State

[bulls96go]

the pac 10 does not look so good

osu loses to boise state a non BCS

usc and who else?

cal just got smaked back to the stone age

hope the BE keeps getting solid occ wins

i hope usf wins 2 quality occ, big 12 and acc

[smazza]

BE opening day schedule was weak