Real Kato Blog: College Football 2012: Week 3 Recap

Michigan and N.C. State win their cupcake games handily; some surprises nationally.

Michigan 63, UMass 13. What can you take away from this game? Not much. UMass is a terrible team and Michigan did what it was supposed to do. Denard Robinson looked pretty sharp (except for a bad interception); the defense still seemed a bit soft at times; and Fitzgerald Toussaint still didn't seem his old self yet. We're still a work in progress. As Brady Hoke continues to say during his press conferences, play on both lines needs to improve.

One good thing is, this game was a pretty good warm-up for Notre Dame. While Notre Dame obviously has a lot more athletic talent, their offensive system is similar to UMass. Another good thing: we saw more bubble screens from Al Borges, who is clearly warming up to the concept.

Heroes: Denard, Drew Dileo, Will Hagerup (74 yards net punt!).

Goats: None.

Grades: Offense B, Defense B. Performed adequately but there's still obvious room for improvement.

N.C. State 31, South Alabama 7. Yawn. I'm still disappointed in State's rushing attack, which managed just 127 yards on 3.0 YPC. Mustafa Greene was suspended for the game, but still... the University of Texas San Antonio Roadrunners were able to run on South Alabama for 183 yards. So, you know... come on. If State is going to rely on Mike Glennon to carry them all year long, they're not going to be able to win consistently.

Around the Big Ten
#10 Michigan State looked hapless against #20 Notre Dame, losing 20-3. ND linebacker Manti Teo keyed on MSU tailack Leveon Bell the whole game, and MSU could not get any kind of passing game going as quarterback Andrew Maxwell looked pretty shaky. Already I can see that Notre Dame is going to present some matchup problems for Michigan.

#12 Ohio State held off Cal 35-28 but didn't look great doing it. Ohio State's defense looked vulnerable, and if not for some Braxton Miller heroics, Cal might have rolled to an easy victory.

Utah State missed a last-minute field goal, letting Wisconsin escape with a 16-14 win. Who's the best team in the Big Ten right now? Hard to say.

Maybe it's undefeated Northwestern, who beat Boston College 22-13.

Minnesota managed to avoid the upset against Western Michigan, winning 28-23.

Indiana was not so fortunate, losing to Ball State 41-39. Indiana is not good.

Around the ACC
UNC lost to #19 Louisville 39-34 after a late rally fell short.

Pitt stomped #13 Virginia Tech 35-17. Perhaps we shouldn't be so surprised here; Pitt's new coach Paul Chryst was Wisconsin's former OC, and Wisconsin clearly misses him. And VT tends to be perennially overrated.

Wake Forest gave #5 Florida State no competition whatever, losing 52-0. FSU has a big showdown against Clemson next week.

Georgia Tech rolled over Virginia 56-20.

Other Notable Games
#2 USC lost to #21 Stanford 21-14. Stanford just has USC's number, I think. Or USC was perhaps a bit overrated.

#1 Alabama stomped Arkansas. So much for my game of the week.

#14 Texas crushed Ole Miss 66-31. Texas looks better than expected.

#18 Florida beat #23 Tennessee 37-20. Is Florida back?

#24 Arizona beat South Carolina State 56-0. Rich Rod!

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