Observations from Saturday's games

Between diaper changes and playing in my daughter's kitchen, I managed to take in some college football action Saturday. I wish I could have taken in more games, but here are some interesting observations I made.

1. Georgia did exactly what it had to in Columbia, S.C. If the Bulldogs are to have any chance of playing for a national title this season, escaping with a narrow 14-7 road SEC victory won't hurt a bit. I don't care what the analysts say. This is one big victory down and only nine more to go. Up next? Ouch. A jaunt across the country to play an athletic Arizona State squad.

2. The Gamecocks (1-2, 0-2) showed plenty of grit against the No. 2 Bulldogs (3-0, 1-0). The Ol' Ball Coach still hasn't found any offense, but still a gallant effort after last week's shocking loss to Vandy.

3. With Lou Holtz in South Bend giving pep talks, kissing up to the Notre Dame faithful and unveiling a statue, watching halftime on ESPN games was bearable. Can someone else bring him to their campus next week?

4. Syracuse's Greg Robinson looks like a dead-man walking on the sidelines. He tries to pretend like he's still coaching, and that any of the players are actually listening. His assistants are networking with the opposing coaches for potential employment next year. 0-12 is looking like a reality.

5. I didn't see any of the East Carolina-Tulane game, but I was not shocked to see that they barely escaped New Orleans with a 28-24 victory. Following consecutive upsets of the ACC favorite (Virginia Tech) and Big East favorite (West Virginia), the No. 14 Pirates (3-0, 1-0) almost became the upset victim. Coach Skip Holtz' team needed a late TD pass in their Conference USA opener. Hey guys, I would get used to it. The rest of the conference is going to give you their best each week.

6. The Pac-10 just helped the Big East and ACC with their conference inferiority complexes (barring USC's performance against Ohio State). It took Cal about 2 1/2 hours to wake up at Maryland and didn't have enough magic and lost 35-27. Other embarrassing losses were Baylor over Washington State, BYU humiliating UCLA, and TCU over Stanford. Luckily Oregon rallied against Purdue and won on the road in OT.

7. Buffalo's Turner Gill will be coaching somewhere else next year. This former Nebraska standout has done an amazing job with the Bulls, who are now 2-1 after a 30-28 win over Temple. The last time Buffalo was over .500 and it not be Week 1 as a Division I-A team was back in 1969, when the Bulls finished 6-3.

8. This isn't the first time I have mentioned Ball State's Nate Davis, but many outside of the Mid-American Conference don't know who he is. He's easily the best quarterback that no one knows. He was lights out again on Saturday, completing 24-of-36 for two scores in a 41-24 win against Akron.

9. Could it be that David Cutcliffe has Duke fans not looking forward to basketball season already? The Dookies improved to 2-1 with a 41-31 victory over Navy at Wallace Wade Stadium. All right that's a stretch, but he's doing one impressive job. Probably the best since Spurrier roamed the sidelines back in the late 1980s.

10. Note to self (pick Missouri to score the most points each week in my College Picks league).