Week 1 Review
Week 1 Review
Week 1 is mostly in the books, and College Football fans across the world are temporarily sated. (Do you like that word, ’sated’? Get used to it, I like it.) We still have Louisville hosting Notre Dame, but, honestly, it’s very doubtful it will end in an upset. I’m in favor of a surprise upset, but, rare things occur rarely – but they do occur. This weekend there were blow-outs, there were some very close games, and, son-of-a-gun if we didn’t have more upsets than were expected.
Clemson vs Georgia Tech – Ok, yeah, sure, the South Carolina Tigers are good, as in very good. There I said it. I don’t like it, but facts are facts. Judging by their first game of the season, Clemson didn’t miss a beat during the off-season exodus of their defensive line. QB Trevor Lawrence zipped the ball around the field like he’s done this his entire life, no big deal. The Yellow Jackets had nothing in the arsenal that even came close to being a deterrent, much less a speed bump. Next week, Clemson will be hosting A&M and, hopefully, the long-haired QB will run out of hair conditioner and he’ll decompensate. At least, this is what The Daughter is hoping for.
Texas State vs. Texas A&M – Speaking of A&M, they had their own tune up game against Texas State, who is coached by their former offensive coordinator. Coach Spivital did not enjoy his return to Kyle Field. The Aggies showed the Bobcats little-to-no respect as they thumped the Bobcats, 41-7. The Aggies did not look like world-beaters, they have plenty to work on, but, hey, they won, and mostly looked good.
Duke vs Alabama- All Alabama fans have heard all they can stand from all quarters since January, and, yes, the Tide deserves every bit of what they got. Enough is enough! This is a new season and time to set things a’right! But, …uh… Bama didn’t quite come out of the gates like the angry elephants they should have been. Heck, on the first offensive series, the Tide went three and out! The wet blanket of oppression (defeat) that has hung over the faithful seemed to be still evident. At the end of the first quarter, this sodden quilt had not lifted. Then, Tua and the offense caught a spark and before long the Crimson was on fire. By the end of the game, Tua had thrown 31 passes, completing 27 for 336 yards, four touchdowns, and, once again, he didn’t play a down in the fourth quarter. This is more like it. It was his seventh game with four passing touchdowns;- that ties a school record. The Red Elephant defense needs work, they are not scary, at least, not yet, but they showed promise of developing into a red wall. Duke didn’t score a touchdown, after all. Field goal kicking is still problem, but a funny one. The nation’s top kicker recruit tried two 40+ yard field goals, bouncing the first off the right upright and the second off the left pole. He made all six point-after attempts, so there’s hope.
Boise State vs Florida State – This game was supposed to be in Jacksonville, FL, but with Hurricane Dorian bearing down upon the east coast of the state, they moved the game to Tallahassee. As if them traveling all the way to Florida wasn’t enough, now the Broncos didn’t even have hotel reservations! At the end of the 1st quarter, it looked like the Seminoles were going to be just too much for the visitors. The score was 21 to 6. All the so-called know-it-alls in the sports world were saying Coach Willie Taggert had validated their learned opinions of him. BUT, Boise State was just getting started. True freshman Hank Bachmeier took this game on his shoulders and FSU didn’t have an answer for him. He brought the Broncs back, and by the end of the game he had delivered the game of his young life, throwing for 407 yards and leading BSU to the win, 36-31! The Boise defense needs to be recognized as well, as they held the Seminoles scoreless the entire second half. For Florida State, they have got to some how put this game behind them if they want to have a winning season. It’s going to be a tough hill to climb.
Oregon vs Auburn – Speaking of come back wins, the Plainsmen from the Ugly Corner of Lower Alabama plucked the Ducks from the left coast in the marquee matchup in Arlington, TX. The Quackers came out looking polished and ready, their speed caused the Tigers trouble, and by halftime the score was 14-6 as Auburn kicked two field goals (at least their kicker actually makes field goals). Second half kicked off and the teams swapped touchdowns. Then, about midway through the 3rd stanza, it was becoming evident that the big uglies of Auburn had neutralized the speed of the Ducks. The West Coast team was flat-out gassed. Freshman Bo Nix led Auburn to two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and one of them was a spectacular throw and catch to snare the win the game. In the SEC, it just means more.
Utah won the Holy War against BYU, 30-12
UCF crushed Florida A&M 62-0. The Knights are already measuring themselves for National Championship rings
Cincinnati continues their home win streak by defeating UCLA, 34-14. Maybe the next game will be better for UCLA, …maybe.
Minnesota struggled to row their boat against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, but the Gophers finally won, 28-21.
Michigan State smothered the Golden Hurricanes of Tulsa, where there has never been a hurricane, 28-7
Army beat Rice, 14-7, but the Black Knights may have been overlooking the Owls since next week is Michigan. Or maybe Rice is a lot better this year.
Oklahoma State put half a hundred on Oregon State, but they gave up 36.
Georgia downed Vanderbilt 30-6, but it wasn’t a cakewalk.
Ohio State is strutting like they are worldbeaters, taking down Florida Atlantic, 45-21. Buckeyes were shabby in giving up 21 points.
Michigan found out that Middle Tennessee was tougher than they thought but the Wolverines still won, 40-21.
Northern Iowa took Iowa State into three overtimes, but the Cyclones prevailed, 29-26.
Nebraska had a tough time husking corn against a little-known South Alabama, winning, 35-21. Not the performance we were expecting from the Scott Frost coached Big Red.
South Carolina had North Carolina down, but literally gave it away, losing 24-20. Coach Boom needs to update his resume. Again.
Georgia State was paid almost a million dollars to play Tennessee in Knoxville and took full advantage of the opportunity, defeating the Vols, 38-30! Fans in Kentucky, Nashville, Columbia, and Athens are snickering. Fans in Alabama are laughing outright.
Arkansas darn near slipped up against Portland State, but eked out a win, 20-13
Boston College ended hopes of Virginia Tech having a championship season, winning, 35-28. We said some hopes would be dashed on this first weekend.
Virginia upended Pitt, 30-14. Are the Cavs for real?
All the talk about Missouri being a dark horse in the SEC East turned out to be frivolous as Wyoming notched a SEC victory, winning 37-31. OR, Missouri is a dark horse and the Cowboys have turned into National Champion contenders, at least at 7000 foot altitudes.
Fresno State came close to pulling an upset at USC, but didn’t, losing 31-23. But the Trojans were scared.