By Staff
EAST LANSING – It may have been a beautiful afternoon to watch college football on Saturday, but it certainly wasn't much fun.
Michigan State, Michigan and Notre Dame were less than impressive in their season openers.
The Spartans, which I had the opportunity to watch in person, came away with a 10-point victory over Idaho, however, the game was still in doubt with 30 ticks left on the clock.
With my laptop trained on Ann Arbor, I somewhat followed the Wolverines' 27-7 win over Vanderbilt.
Through the play-by-play being streamed to my computer, the Wolverines didn't exactly impress me with their offensive play.
The same can be said about the Michigan State offense.
With that being said, I was impressed with the Spartans' defense. After talking to a few people who got to see the Michigan game live, they too were impressed with the Wolverines' defense.
Both teams showed tremendous speed on the defensive side of the football.
I found that interesting because for a while, teams were trying to get as big as they could get.
The trend now, on both sides of the football, seems to be smaller and faster.
I think both teams will have good seasons, but I doubt if either Michigan State or Michigan will challenge for a national title.
The Spartans and Wolverines will be hard-pressed to be a contender in the Big Ten race if their offenses do not improve dramatically over the next few weeks.
That brings me to the third team we will be covering closely this season – Notre Dame.
Like Michigan State and Michigan, the Fighting Irish looked fast and physical on defense.
Notre Dame's offense, however, was another story.
I realize that the Fighting Irish played the best opponent of the three schools.
Georgia Tech has talent and was very good on defense.
Their offense was somewhat lacking as well, giving the Irish an opportunity to stay in the game despite falling behind, 10-0.
While Michigan and Michigan State will not necessarily face a tougher opponent on Saturday, the Fighting Irish will definitely have to turn it up a notch against Penn State.
This should be an interesting game because the Fighting Irish and Nittany Lions have not faced each other in 14 years.
I am looking forward to seeing how well our three teams compete this weekend.
All three teams should improve on offense. If they don't, it could mean trouble down the road.
Look for all three teams to come away with victories on Saturday.
After all, defense wins championships. Offense wins games.