I won't say a lot about Miami because everyone has already belabored that point, but I will say this: I don't think even Miami can beat Miami.

The Hurricanes had three turnovers to Florida's two and still absolutely dominated. If you ask Larry Coker he will tell you that Miami did not play a perfect game against Florida. That is not nearly as good as you will see them be before the year is over.

And let's be clear that Ron Zook was not the problem for Florida. The Gators would have gotten spanked with Steve Spurrier as well.

Sooner struggles
Oklahoma will not beat Texas with the offense the Sooners have. Period.

Alabama has a great front four and an active linebacker corps, but rushing for nine yards (not counting sacks as negative rushes) is an embarrassment and that needs to get better. If they don't become a more balanced offensive team they will have some trouble.

Nate Hybl replacing Jason White is not the reason that offense struggled. He made some fantastic, courageous plays to help Oklahoma in that game and they wouldn't have won without him. I have a lot of respect for Nate because you never heard him complain last season when Jason White was named the starter, and the coaches said he had his best camp ever this offseason. He came in and made some huge deep throws to Mark Clayton and I respect him immensely.

But the OU offensive line had better look at each other and say "We have a fabulous defense and if we want to spend New Years in Tempe it's on us." The defense didn't look all that fabulous against Alabama, though, giving up over 300 yards to a team that has not always been strong on offense.

Something Bruin out West
I'd like to take back some of what I said last week and call myself out on this one. I thought Colorado State would beat UCLA because the Rams were tougher than the Bruins, but I need to give UCLA some credit for being very physical and running the ball extremely well against CSU. I thought Akil Harris got some tough yards against that defense.

	Cory Paus and UCLA might make some noise in the Pac-10 after all.

But more than anything defensive coordinator Phil Snow gets an A+. Cecil Sapp made a couple plays but they did a great job against the passing game. UCLA is a good football team and they're better than I thought. They deserve a lot of credit and after watching the rest of the Pac-10 I think UCLA has as good a chance as anyone of winning the conference.

We'll learn whether Washington State is any good this weekend against Ohio State. Washington has some good players but the huskies have some defensive issues. And I'm not writing USC off, either.

Oregon is a factor but I'm convinced they have some problems on offense. They're not getting pressure with the front four on defense and I think you can run right at them. Also keep in mind that Fresno State was starting a backup quarterback last week and Bernard Berrian is still out but the Bulldogs still ran the ball and even threw some against Oregon. They won't win the Pac-10 because of their defense.

As the season goes on it is going to be a lot of fun to watch the development of that conference.

Rocky times in Colorado
Craig Ochs has had three concussions and I feel terrible for him. I had one during my career, and when you see and MRI that shows bruising on your brain that changes everything. I could handle an MRI that showed torn ligaments and I could handle surgeries on my shoulder and elbow, but I didn't play much after they showed me a bruised brain. I know Colorado is going to do the right thing with Craig, but once the concussions start its hard to reverse course because you become so susceptible to them.

I really thought this was going to be the year that Colorado put together some balance with the running and passing games, and we saw with Bobby Pesavento last season just how good they could be on offense. But no matter how good their running backs are and no matter how good the offensive line can become, if you don't have the threat of a passing game it's difficult to be good on offense. Without Craig they could struggle even more than they have already.

Gary Barnett did a good job last year of pulling that team together and getting the best out of them, but he has a monumental task ahead of him this season.

Wild, wild 'Cats
You have to love Jared Lorenzen completing just 10 passes but throwing for five touchdowns. I was talking to Sean Salisbury, who covered the Kentucky game, and the one thing we noticed about Lorenzen is that we've never seen a guy that big be able to avoid pressure like Lorenzen does. He's not fast, but he senses when the defenders are coming and he can move in the pocket.

Everyone knew Lorenzen could throw, but I don't think anyone knew about their defense. They haven't played anyone from the SEC yet, but that defense plays hard, they're pretty good up front and they can get pressure on people. They're also looking pretty well-coached. They're not beating themselves and are playing very well. I'm not saying the Wildcats are this year's surprise team, but this is a great turnaround and a great story so far.

	Lou Holtz could be in for a long year at South Carolina.

Look out, Lou
South Carolina doesn't seem to be playing with the same confidence it had in the past. The Gamecocks look tentative, and I thought they would just line up and run over Virginia the same way Florida State did. I don't know if they're not opening up the offense because they're not comfortable yet with Corey Jenkins, and maybe the lack of a breakaway threat hurts them, but I just don't think this is a very good football team right now.

And when you start talking about the investigations hanging over them and the other extra stuff, it could be a long, trying year for Lou Holtz this season.

I like the way Matt Schaub competed for Virginia, though. He was smart to keep looking for Billy McMullen and I hope he has squashed the quarterback controversy there. Matt just needs a little confidence and he needs someone to show a little confidence in him. He's a good quarterback and when he's on he throws a nice ball, so I think they should stick with him.

Mack is back
It was a nice win for John Bunting and North Carolina against Syracuse, especially after losing to Miami (Ohio) the previous week, but the Tar Heels were playing a pretty bad Syracuse team and they have no shot at beating Texas this week.

Because of the teams coming up on the schedule this is an agenda game for Mack Brown and Texas. They have to get their running game going. Chris Simms is a great quarterback but if they're going to beat teams like Oklahoma they have to get the rushing attack in order. North Texas did a great job of stopping the run in the opener, so I believe the Heels can get ready to be pounded by some offensive linemen coming off the ball.

Two extremes for A&M
I was watching Texas A&M and thinking to myself that it must be frustrating to be an Aggies fan, because year-in and year-out they have a great defense but year after year they have an inept offense that puts that defense in difficult situations. They're great on defense again this year, they have speed and Mike Hankwitz is one of the best defensive coordinators out there, but they find themselves in third-and-long all the time and it has to be frustrating.

Mark Farris had his chance at quarterback and it hasn't worked out. Everyone wants them to bring in Reggie McNeal, but I thought when Dustin Long came in the game he made some plays. I don't know who they need to go with at quarterback, but they need a change because if they can run the ball get any offensive production they can challenge. This is a team could beat some people

Looking ahead a little...
I can't stress enough what a huge opportunity Marshall has this week at Virginia Tech. At the start of the season I talked to Bob Pruett and told him Byron Leftwich couldn't win the Heisman Trophy playing in the MAC against teams like Buffalo, but with Dorsey throwing three interceptions and not having huge numbers last week, the door is not just cracked but is halfway open for Leftwich in the Heisman race.

I think Virginia Tech's defense is very good, and if Byron Leftwich comes out and has a good game against that team he is the leader for the Heisman. A lot of people were saying things like that at the beginning of the year, but I certainly wasn't one of them.

I hope Marshall's defense understands what they're in for, because Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones are going to come right at them and pound them and if they don't step up it will be hard for Leftwich to win the trophy. This is a huge test and I can't wait to see him against that kind of competition.

Trev Alberts is a college football analyst for ESPN. He will contribute a weekly column to ESPN.com.