Last week I opened with the question of whether there’s such a thing as a bad win. That question was prompted by Oregon’s very narrow victory over Idaho. I used that game as evidence that nobody knows anything going into Week 1, and we know only a little more going into Week 2.

Most people would probably forget about that opening game because football teams tend to get better as the season progresses. (The difference between adequate and excellent coaches is how much their teams need to improve and how quickly they do so.) And hey, it was Idaho. No one outside of that state will pay the least bit of attention to the Vandals for the rest of the season.

Except for me. I noticed that in Week 2 Idaho went to Wyoming … and won.

There’s a geometric progression of evidence as the season goes on. After that Oregon-Idaho game most people wondered if it was just a case of first-game yips for the Ducks or if this was a distant early warning that Oregon wasn’t very good. But it turns out that Idaho might just be a really good FCS team. That first game influenced how I picked Oregon in Week 2. Boise State hasn’t been Boise State for a couple years, but I figured the game would be close, and it was. That to me is evidence that Oregon might be off a little bit -- but it’s still too soon to tell. Two games is not enough evidence to determine the trajectory of a season.

I don’t know why I feel compelled to mention that on this site this week. No particular reason, I guess.

And speaking of things without reason …

I said Penn State 48, BGSU 13; actual score, Penn State 34, BGSU 27

This, too, might be a distant early warning. Of what, I don’t know.

I said Rutgers 38, Akron 12; actual score, Rutgers 49, Akron 17

Rutgers is quietly taking care of business, but regression to the mean is always a danger for the Scarlet Knights.

I said Maryland 28, Michigan State 24; actual score, Michigan State 27, Maryland 24

Beating Maryland on the road is not shocking, but doing so in September certainly is.

I said Washington 33, Eastern Michigan 7; actual score, Washington 30, EMU 9

I have to sand and stain my deck this fall. Not really looking forward to that.

I said Nebraska 30, Colorado 20; actual score, Nebraska 28, Colorado 10

The important thing is, Deion Sanders has yet to win a truly big game in Boulder.

I said Oregon 31, Boise State 28; actual score, Oregon 37, Boise State 34

See above. I’m concerned if I’m an Oregon fan, but I’m not worried.

I said USC 23, Utah State 17; actual score, USC 48, Utah State 0

I guess USC wasn’t looking ahead after all. Enjoy the week off.

That makes for a 6-1 performance in the newer part of the Big Ten. Week 2 still tends to be easy, but the tougher games start now.

I love that the Civil War is under (okay, half-under) the Big Ten umbrella now. It’s very important because, since the other Big Ten schools’ in-state rivalries have no juice, now Iowa-Iowa State has some company.

One of my rules is “Competition creates competitors.” Oregon has been in two absolute dogfights. Oregon State has beaten up a couple of soft-bellied bobos. That’s going to matter around the third quarter, when the Beavers are wondering why everything that worked so well in the first two weeks isn’t going so great in Week 3. Oregon fans should breathe a little easier after this one.

Oregon 28, Oregon State 13

And we get the Apple Cup too. I love it. It’s like our four new schools were Big Ten schools all along, what with big rivalries and goofball trophies.

Everything I said about Oregon State sort of goes for Washington State too, although the Cougars have at least played a Power 5 team (Texas Tech). But you know who hasn’t faced a serious challenge yet? Washington.

The Huskies, of course, played for the national title last season, and you can’t expect a team that does that to fall off too much the following season. Even with considerable turnover on the roster and staff, Washington should still have the firepower to take down Wazzu, but it won’t be easy, and it won’t be pretty. Should be a really fun game, though.

Washington 34, Washington State 31

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Manhandling Colorado Is the signature win Matt Rhule and Nebraska needed to reawaken the echoes of old. And yet, believing that it’s still a big deal to beat the Buffaloes is like believing that there actually are hot singles in your area who would like to meet you. Coach Prime’s team is a fraud. We knew it last year and we still know it.

Now comes Northern Iowa and I checked, Mark Farley is still coaching them. I think he’s been there almost as long as Kirk Ferentz has been in Iowa City. The Panthers have gotten off to a 2-0 start, though I hasten to point out that both victories were over Pioneer League (non-scholarship) teams, one of which (St. Thomas) is still transitioning from Division III. I expect the Panthers to give the Huskers a fight -- that’s just what they do -- but it should be another week of “seems like old times” in Lincoln.

Nebraska 34, UNI 14

I have been writing this column for over twenty seasons, and the following sentence is one I have never written before:

Have you been paying attention to Indiana?

Under first-year coach Curt Cignetti, the Hoosiers have carpet-bombed two opponents already: 31-7 over the University of Pitbull ... erm, FIU, and an eye-watering 77-3 embarrassment of woebegone Western Illinois. That suggests that there may be good things happening on both sides of the ball.

UCLA, meanwhile, squeaked out a win against Hawaii, then took a week off.

Again, two games (actually just one for the Bruins), not a lot of evidence. I’m still going on hunches here, and my hunch is that Indiana delivers a “welcome to the Big Ten” that UCLA won’t like.

Indiana 40, UCLA 24

Everyone* is talking about Virginia quarterback Anthony Colandrea and how he has returned to form.

*: Not actually everyone; Virginia football is so irrelevant that when you type “virginia football” into Google it assumes you mean Virginia Tech.

Well, I’ve never heard of him before, so I cannot confirm this. I can confirm that beating Wake Forest by one point is not the most impressive thing I’ve ever heard of.

Maryland has to be smarting from the close loss to Michigan State last week. Teams like the Terps know that there are 3-4 guaranteed losses ahead on the schedule so losing to a team that should be more or less your peer is rather a bit damaging. I’ve always admired the amount of fight in Mike Locksley’s teams; if they go down, they go down swinging, like they did last week.

Then again, good quarterback versus semipermeable secondary is danger in a can, and that’s what Colandrea will be facing this week. Aidan Chiles made it look too easy last week (though he did get picked off three times). This could be a barn-burner. Or it could be September Maryland working off some angst. I favor the latter.

Maryland 44, Virginia 38

Click here for Part Two of this week's picks -- Pickin' on the Old Big Ten.