Week 1 - Ten things I think I think
There are still two football games on the board for week one, but we’re writing anyway. It’s Sunday morning, I’m the only one up in my house, and the coffee is flowing.
Not really wanting to over-react to a one-game sample size, but I watched the games just like you did. So let’s talk about ‘em.
Ten things I think I think from the first real weekend of college football, in no particular order:
10 - Graham Mertz > Cam Ward was an actual take by your boy
To be clear, I talked about this with my man
on our Friday podcast (you can listen below around the 29-minute mark), because we were previewing the Saturday slate. I want to get this out of the way because I’m going to own this LI thought (incorrectly) that Cam Ward would struggle in his first game at Miami in a hostile environment. Instead, Ward turned the Swamp into a Florida fire drill with folks heading for the exits and putting up over 400 yards of offense and 3 TDs. Mertz, meanwhile, didn’t break 100 yards passing, threw a pick, and left the game with an injury. A truly heinous take by me to start the season. Just reckless. Florida lost 41-17 and now things get really uncomfortable in Gainesville for everyone associated with what program
9 - Notre Dame did the thing
Tons of respect for the Irish for playing a true road game at an SEC venue. They went to A&M, bowed up, and played good enough football to win by 10 points at Kyle Field. I’m really not interested in the CFP debate on September 1st, but obviously Notre Dame does not have the luxury of losing two (or three) games and still getting a first-round bye like our friends in the SEC or B1G.
Riley Leonard wasn’t earth-shattering in his Irish debut, but he also didn’t throw two picks like Connor Weigman. It wasn’t pretty but this was the game Notre Dame didn’t need to win a beauty contest in. They just needed to win. Now they have a schedule where they’re going to be favored in at least 10 of their next 11 games, and the path has been paved.
On an unrelated note, if every FBS head coach was thrown into the ring in some sort of last-man-standing battle royal, I feel good about Marcus Freeman’s chances of emerging victorious, That man is jack diesel.
8 - The best game of the day was in Nashville
Didn’t think we’d be here talking about Vanderbilt football in week one, but here we are. The ‘Dores upset Virginia Tech and won their first football game in a calendar year on Saturday. Diego Pavia outplayed Kyron Drones and while no one expects this to turn into an SEC championship team, let’s give Vandy their flowers.
They led 17-0 in the 2nd quarter, then the Hokies woke up and eventually took their first lead at 27-20 with 4:21 to go in the 4th. Vandy needed a game-tying TD drive in the final two minutes, forced a three-and-out, but ultimately missed what would have been a game-winning FG as time expired.
In Pavia We Trust. The New Mexico State transfer put the ‘Dores ahead in OT and the defense did its job, holding on for the 34-27 win. It’s a massive W for Clark Lea and a humiliating loss for Va Tech, who some folks were touting as a darkhorse ACC contender.
And apparently that stadium in Nashville is still under construction.
7 - Ashton Jeanty is a grown ass man
For as good as the Vandy/VT game was, the mid-afternoon slate saw a doozy in Statesboro with Boise State beating Georgia Southern 56-45. It was a game that was dominated by Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty who put up this elite stat line:
Truly video game stuff from Jeanty who, despite the 77-yard TD run in the 1st quarter, busted a 75-yard TD run in the 4th when Boise was actually trailing. It was as dominant a week one performance as the sport had to offer, and it came from a game that, frankly, needed more attention than it was getting in the lead-up to Saturday.
If you’re looking for a Group of 5 team of destiny, why not Boise? Should be an entertaining next couple of months watching the MWC, Sun Belt, and AAC rise and fall as they vie for relevance in this new-look CFP landscape.
Someone from this group is going to be a #12 seed. Choose your fighter
6 - Colorado still can’t run the ball
Go back to Thursday night. We all saw it. Colorado has an elite college quarterback surrounded by elite playmakers at wide receiver. I am a Shedeur fan. Love all of their WRs - including Will Sheppard (Vanderbilt) who only had two catches against the Bison.
And yet. Colorado scratched for 59 rushing yards against an FCS team last Thursday. Granted, a really good FCS team, but if your Ohio State transfer running back is only getting 20 yards on 9 carries, we have a problem. Clock-management in the final 2 minutes of that game was a topic of conversation, remember? Why are they throwing on 1st and 2nd down and not milking this clock? It would appear that the Buffs still can’t run the ball, and they know it.
Do we think they’re going to just figure this out as the season progresses? Have you seen this schedule? Unless something changes Colorado is still going to struggle to get bowl eligible, let alone be relevant in what I think is the most entertaining conference in the country - the Big XII.
5- Has Penn State ‘figured it out’ ?
I said at the outset I don’t want to over-react to one game. But it’s hard not to be impressed with what Penn State did on Saturday. They looked … explosive. Drew Allar looked like a guy who I could … trust.
‘Explosive’ and ‘trust’ are two words I have not associated with Penn State in a very long time. In fact, the word I’d been using lately is ‘fraud’. But if Andy Kotelnicki keeps cooking up plays in Happy Valley with this roster, I’m here for it. That was fun to watch.
Part of me felt bad for West Virginia fans who had to deal with mother nature dropping a bomb on them at halftime. But it was 20-6 at the break. Morgantown was rocking until folks slowly realized - sort of like the Miami/Florida game - that these two teams were not close. Penn State’s defense was one of the nation’s best last year, and they brought it on Saturday. But if this offense is here to stay, then we have a situation.
4- Sell me all of your Clemson stock
I get that it was a 34-3 beatdown. But my pawpaw always said ‘buy low, sell high’. So I’m wagering that this is the lowest we can get Clemson all year.
Georgia does this to people. Look at the scores of some of these non-conference neutral-site games the last couple of seasons:
63-3 vs Florida State
65-7 vs TCU
49-3 vs Oregon
I’m not cherry picking games, this is what happens. It’s like the scene in Big Lebowski. Do you see what happens, Larry?
Clemson was the corvette on Sunday. Georgia was Walter.
For me, though, this was a 6-0 game at halftime. Georgia came out in the second half and started wailing on Clemson with the crowbar. This is what happens Larry!
Let me be clear, this is not a Cade Klubnik endorsement post. The jury is still very much out on that young man. But I still think Clemson will be there in Charlotte playing for a first-round CFP bye and so, if you’re selling, I’m buying.
3 - Don’t sleep on Arizona
I say this because, well, most of us were sleeping when Arizona kicked off against the Lobos Saturday night. I get it, the game started at 10:30 PM ET.
But Arizona went out and put up some eye-popping numbers on offense. Noah Fifita did his thing to the tune of 422 yards and 4 TDs. The Fifita-to-McMillan connection might be the best QB/WR duo in the country. Nonsense you say?
Obviously the defense in Tucson needs some work, but the entertainment value of the ‘Cats is off the charts. This team is fun. Friday night Sept 13th Arizona at Kansas State is going to be awesome, and will go a long way in sorting out who is at the top of the Big XII alongside Utah and Oklahoma State.
2 - Michigan looks mid
Before you send in the hate mail, yes I know that Michigan hosts Texas in week two in what’s going to be a massive game for both teams (and FOX). So sure, maybe they were keeping a bunch of offensive wizardry in the closet for next Saturday. But what if they aren’t?
What if Davis Warren is destined to be a 55% passer who’s averaging 7 yards per pass completion? What is Colston Loveland is the best pass catching option these guys have? Why isn’t Donovan Edwards gashing defenses like he did in the playoffs last year?
In no way, shape, or form do I believe that Michigan is a top-10 team in the country, despite their AP ranking. They are home underdogs to Texas (opening line right around 5 points) and I think they’re in danger of getting run out of the Big House. I could be wrong, like I was with my Graham Mertz prediction last week, but unless it’s all an elaborate ruse, Michigan looked very average against Fresno and that’s concerning.
1 - Give me LSU tonight
Without looking it up, does anyone remember the last time LSU didn’t start the season 0-1?
The answer is 2019 when some dude named Burrow was the QB and they opened the season beating Georgia Southern 55-3. Since then, it’s been season-opening losses to Miss State in ‘20 (the KJ Costello game), UCLA in ‘21 (the sissy blue shirt game), and losses to FSU the last two seasons in New Orleans and Orlando.
So the last time LSU started a season 1-0? Just like Staind, it’s been awhile:
Sunday night in Vegas, give me LSU over USC in a high-scoring game. I’m not allowed to bet on college football so this is for entertainment purposes only. But I think Garrett Nussmeier is going to be all right. Should be a fun one, and hopefully I don’t overdo it at the pool this afternoon with the kids so I can be somewhat attentive later tonight when this one kicks.
Enjoy the holiday weekend and thanks for reading. More to come!