Written by Alexandra McClain
In my last column, I made my predictions for the teams making the NFL playoffs. This week, it seems I will be eating those words come season’s end. Four of my picks lost in their opening games. Of course, at least one of my picks had to lose since the Vikings and Saints were playing each other in the opening week, but there were upsets across both the NFL and NCAA football.Starting with college games, No. 13-ranked Virginia Tech was upset by James Madison University. At the beginning of this season, the Hokies were subject to championship buzz, but only two games in, they can forget about it. This upset by the JMU Dukes also shuts down any championship hopes for Boise State. When the Broncos beat the Hokies last week, the win could have been the one that helped to get them into the national championship, but with the stunning loss to the Dukes, the impact of the Broncos’ victory is lessened, and likely a one-loss SEC or Big 12 team will be selected over an undefeated Boise State team for the BCS championship.Other upsets last week in college football won’t have the impact on the rest of the season that Virginia Tech has the potential to have, but several other ranked teams faced upsets this week. No. 15 Georgia Tech fell to unranked Kansas as the Jayhawks bounced back from an embarrassing performance in week one.In a more evenly matched game, the No. 22 Georgia Bulldogs fell to the No. 24 Gamecocks of South Carolina. The South Carolina defense held the Bulldogs to only six points in the game, causing Georgia to fall to 0-1 in SEC play.This weekend in week one of the NFL season, several teams lost unexpectedly. The Indianapolis Colts, one of my Super Bowl picks, lost on the road to the Houston Texans by a final of 34-24. Manning and company did well on the offensive side of the ball after a shaky first half, with Manning passing for well over 400 yards. But the Colts defense was unprepared for young running back Arian Foster. After going undrafted in 2009, the Texans signed him as a free agent last year when he averaged 4.8 yards per carry. In Sunday’s game, Foster got the ball 33 times for 231 yards and three touchdowns, the total TDs for his career entering Sunday’s game.Of my picks that lost, none surprised me as much as the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys defense held the Redskins to a mere six points. Unfortunately, the offense allowed seven more on a fumble at the end of the first half. That fumble, returned for a TD, proved to be the deciding factor in the game. Cowboys fans had a glimmer of hope as time expired and Tony Romo connected with Roy Williams for a would-be touchdown, but a holding call on offensive tackle Alex Barron nullified the TD and ended the game with the Cowboys losing 13-7.
