Three-Point Stance: Teams that should be worried, excited

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s thought-provoking Three-Point Stance is here with some teams that should be worried (or not), some non-bluebloods who could have a great season and predictions for week two.

Miami -- The ‘Canes looked awful against LSU on defense and especially on offense, and might be taking a step back from last season. Virginia Tech is a formidable foe in their division and unless some things change, they might not be the division champs we expected. Or is LSU really just better than we thought?

Florida State – The play-calling wasn’t great and, as it did last year, a talented roster just looked flat. Virginia Tech is a good team, but such an awful effort at home in the opener doesn’t bode well for a comeback season for the ‘Noles.

Michigan – The offensive line is horrible and the offense can’t function as a result so Shea Patterson is not the savior we all expected unless some things change. The defense is still solid and the Wolverines will win games, but they can forget about competing with the elite in the conference until they get fixed up front on offense.

Tennessee – Expectations weren’t that high for the Vols but some people had them upsetting West Virginia in the opener for some reason. Instead they got absolutely drubbed. Jeremy Pruitt has to change the culture at Tennessee and that will take some time so this could be a rough year. Maybe not as bad as last year, but it doesn’t look promising.

Texas – The Longhorns are supposed to be taking a step forward, aren’t they? They came out flat in the opener once again and despite a talented roster they continue to play down to opponents. Maryland looked good and was playing inspired football, but are the Terps even a winning team? Time will tell but we could look back on this one as a really bad loss.

West Virginia – Oklahoma is the favorite in the Big 12 but that West Virginia offense looks really good and the defense isn’t shabby. Can the Mountaineers push to the top of the conference or at the very least get in the title game? I think they can. TCU and others are a problem but so far so good for the Mountaineers.

Boston College – UMass isn’t a great opponent but don’t sleep on the Eagles. They have a formidable rushing attack, a quarterback who can make plays and a very underrated defense. They won’t beat Clemson in their division but could they finish second and win eight or nine games? They could.

Ole Miss – The offense looks really good and the Rebels could give some teams serious trouble in the SEC this season. They aren’t playing for a bowl game, they can’t with the NCAA sanctions, but they are playing to send a message and they seem to have a chip on their shoulder. Oh and they have the best wide receiver group in the country and a solid quarterback.

Mississippi State – The Bulldogs are probably better than Ole Miss but time will tell and it will be a great game to watch later in the season. The SEC West is stacked as usual and it will be tough going, but this is a team with a lot of talent and will be a tough out for some of the favorites.

Maryland – Is this a bowl team or is Texas that bad? I am leaning toward the former because of the passion the Terps seem to be playing with even without a head coach. I’m not thinking eight or nine wins, not in their division, but a 7-5 season and maybe another upset or two along the way is possible.

Georgia at South Carolina – A tough one to call even though most expect Georgia to roll. It will be a closer game than many expect but the Dawgs will pull it out in the end.

USC at Stanford – A great rivalry game to start the season, USC has the talent to pull off the upset but Stanford has the edge at home and wins by a touchdown.

Clemson at Texas A&M – Clemson rolls here and wins by 20 or more. The Tigers are a machine and A&M isn’t ready for showtime just yet.

Kentucky at Florida – Is this the year Kentucky breaks through and ends the streak of losses to Florida? Nope, it’s not, I have the Gators by two touchdowns here.

Penn State at Pitt – Penn State didn’t look good in the opener and will be playing angry and should take it out on Pitt, winning in a runaway.

Michigan State at Arizona State – The Spartans, like Penn State, looked bad in their opener and Arizona State is interesting under Herm Edwards. But I look for a Michigan State blowout here.

Mississippi State at Kansas State – K-State struggled in its opener but could give Mississippi State some trouble here at home. The Bulldogs win in a very close one.

UCLA at Oklahoma – UCLA looked awful and Oklahoma looked great. But the Bruins somehow keep this one close until the fourth quarterback before losing by double digits.