College football is back and it didn’t take long to remind us why it’s so fun. From the two marquee games on Thursday night living up to their billing, to the roller coaster of a day that Saturday was, week 1 did not disappoint. Here are my thoughts on all the action.
Live and in living color
After being relatively disconnected from college football recently, I’ve jumped back in head first this year. Not only did I invest in season tickets to the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers football season, but I have upcoming trips to both Seattle and Baton Rouge planned to catch games. Thursday night was the Gophers’ opener and it was everything I had hoped for. The energy on a college campus for a football game is unmatched. Just driving up fraternity row while hundreds of kids drank and danced in the front yards made me feel like a senior citizen. I was so in awe that I didn’t even notice the “you honk, we drink” sign one of the coeds was holding near the curb. Luckily my buddy did, reaching across and pressing the horn. They drank. After walking around the tailgates for a bit we snagged a spot at an iconic campus establishment I’ve been going to since I was a boy with my dad before hockey games. The vibes were immaculate as we sweated our asses off inside the roasting bar and chatted with the drunk old-timers who felt obligated to approach our table with their take on the upcoming season.
Everything about the game was right on script for a season opener. The lines at the gate were outrageous and moving extra slow while security worked out the kinks. It’s their first game as well, of course. Somehow we made it to the seats just in time for kickoff. The visiting New Mexico State Aggies (coached by former Gopher head man Jerry Kill) were overmatched. Their defensive lineman looked like they’d be big safeties at the Power 5 level and it showed as the Minnesota run game could not be stopped. The outcome was decided by the end of the third quarter (38-0 final), allowing us to meander to the plaza behind the opposite endzone and catch up with some old friends before slipping out early, a luxury of early season non-conference games that we likely won’t be afforded during an intense Big Ten season. I won’t be in the building this week as I swapped out my seats for some extras to the 9/17 game vs. Colorado. I look forward to reporting back from that game and many more as the season goes on!
A rivalry renewed, and a sneaky good early season conference matchup
While I was busy taking in the action on the U of M campus, there was a really solid slate of Thursday night games. If you’re wondering, yes, I recorded a couple. First was the renewal of the Backyard Brawl between West Virginia and #17 Pitt. When the Mountaineers joined the Big 12 after the 2011 season this rivalry was put on hold. Eleven years later the teams reconnected in non-conference play, making for an awesome matchup to kick off the first official week of the season. The game was a back and forth affair that went down to the wire and ended with the favorited Panthers picking up a 38-31 win. Nothing really jumped off the page regarding their performance, but sophomore transfer Konata Mumpfield did flash some of the potential that landed him on my breakout players list. West Virginia hung in all night against a ranked opponent and the effectiveness of their rushing attack surprised many, as their top two backs combined for 196 yards on 24 carries against what is expected to be a solid Pitt defense.
Penn State traveled to West Lafayette to take on Purdue in a sneaky good early season Big Ten matchup. While the game was great, another back and forth affair going down to the wire, neither team was very impressive. Despite picking up a 35-31 win, I came away thinking this looks like the same old mediocre Nittany Lions team that hasn’t been able to take that next step and truly compete with Ohio State in the East. Purdue looked like a team that could take a step back this year. Their surprising 2021 performance may have been a perfect storm of Aidan O’Connell catching teams off guard, while also capitalizing on the immense skill position talent he had around him last season. While the connection with longtime friend and transfer wide receiver Charlie Jones was strong (12 rec, 153 yds, 1 TD), the Boilermakers just didn’t have anything else to work with. Their run game averaged only three yards per carry and no other receiver had more than four catches.
Although I didn’t record/watch the Tennessee opener against Ball State, it was the other game I was keeping an eye on. As I outlined in my preseason AP Top 25 reactions, I’m obsessed with the duo of coach Josh Heupel and quarterback Hendon Hooker. They proved why on Thursday, dominating the Cardinals with another efficient offensive performance. Their upcoming matchup with the aforementioned Pitt Panthers will be one of the must watch games of week two.
Sweet, sweet Saturdays
Like usual, I was a bit too wordy above. I’ll try to be more concise as I run through Saturday’s action.
Unfortunately, I didn’t actually watch North Carolina‘s 63-61 win over Appalachian State, but those are the types of games that make college football so special. The Mountaineers came back from down twenty in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 49, before a final four minutes for the ages. The takeaways are that UNC quarterback Drake Maye is legit, but so are the problems with Gene Chizik’s defense.
I did watch #13 NC State take on East Carolina in a game that very well could have ended in an upset. Many (myself included) picked NC State to have a breakout season. Most however included the caveat of their history of repeated let downs. This had to feel like a bad dream for Wolfpack fans when the Mountaineers had a chance to win the game with a makeable field goal attempt. They missed and NC State held on for a 21-20 win. Preseason ACC player of the year favorite Devin Leary wasn’t great, but he will be fine. The strong performance of running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye, or Slimy Shark as they referred to him on the broadcast, was a pleasant sight and will need to be replicated week in and week out to take some pressure off the star quarterback.
Thankfully I didn’t pay much attention to Iowa‘s 7-3 win over South Dakota State in which their punter was they player of the game and they scored more on defense (two safeties) than on offense (one field goal). As a bona fide Hawkeye hater, it brings me joy to see such an anemic offense after an offseason full of talk related to the improvement of that group.
There’s not much to say about #3 Georgia‘s throttling of #11 Oregon. The SEC reigns supreme, and anyone who had concerns about the Bulldog’s player departures and lack of incoming transfers were quickly quieted. Kirby Smart has had an unprecedented recruiting run and it showed Saturday. I’d say Stetson Bennett shut up the critics up as well. I had expressed concerns in my initial Top 25 reactions post, but he looked the part of a championship, and possibly Heisman quarterback.
#23 Cincinnati looked more like a team that can compete with SEC schools, but ultimately beat themselves in a seven point loss to #19 Arkansas. The Bearcats dearly missed star quarterback Desmond Ridder, who seemed to come through whenever they needed him in games like this. On the other side, Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson had a solid game and is one of my favorite players to watch. He is good enough to carry the Razorbacks to a nice season.
The game of the night was supposed to be #5 Notre Dame visiting #2 Ohio State. While it was actually closer than expected, it figured to be much more entertaining. Buckeye preseason All-American wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba went down early and was a non-factor. Instead, Ohio State laid in the weeds for most of the night before pulling ahead late on the strength of a powerful run game and timely big plays from Heisman favorite quarterback C.J. Stroud. The Irish have to feel decent about how they played in a hostile environment against one of the nation’s elite teams, but they want to compete for championships, not moral victories.
The game of the night ended up being #7 Utah at Florida. Kyle Whittingham’s team has playoff aspirations, but everyone and their mother has been quick to point out their road SEC matchup in week one at The Swamp as a major hurdle. The Gators (and their fans) proved to be too much as they pulled off the upset. Quarterback Anthony Richardson lived up to the hype and then some. There has been talk of him having a Cam Newton like impact on this team. As someone who was completely captivated by that Newton season at Auburn in 2010, I initially scoffed at that notion; but Richardson is legit. He can do it all and did so with poise on Saturday night. New Florida head coach Billy Napier is as cool as the other side of the pillow and reportedly instilled that confidence in Richardson before the final drive. This team will go as far as their quarterback can take them.
I won’t touch on Alabama‘s dominant victory over over Utah State, or Texas‘ convincing win over UL Monroe, other than to say the early slate matchup in Austin next week is one I am really looking forward to. Bama should roll, but I’m very interested to see how Quinn Ewers looks against an elite defense.
Silly Sunday
In week 1 we get Sunday (and even Monday) college football. Yesterday’s game between FSU and LSU was weird, to say the least. The Tigers looked like the much better team to me, but the Seminoles played much better last night. Even so, LSU was inexplicably in the game late and was gifted a possession on a goal line fumble that gave them a chance to go 99 yards to tie. They did just that, even though Jayden Daniels couldn’t get much of a pass game going all night until that final drive. The only issue was that they missed the extra point to actually tie the game. FSU hangs on for the one point win and people keep making fun of Brian Kelly. I think the Tigers will right the ship to some extent. Although they won’t compete for a SEC title, Kelly is too good to fail in a talent hotbed like Louisiana.
Are you ready for some football?
As I write this we are minutes away from a Monday night matchup between #4 Clemson and one of its non-conference rivals Georgia Tech. There have been so many questions about the Tigers after their disappointing 2021. I even mentioned in my top 25 reaction that I felt like Dabo Swinney’s schtick might be wearing off. I have cooled on that take a bit. They have too much talent, especially on the defensive front, to not bounce back. The running narrative going into the season surrounds the poor 2021 performance of former top recruit, quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. Many are even predicting an eventual turn to freshman Cade Klubnik. Not so fast my friends! This idea seems to be based solely off the fact that Clemson made a similar switch to Trevor Lawrence in 2018. There is too much anecdotal evidence used in college football analysis if you ask me. This is a totally different situation and what happened in ’18 doesn’t really have anything to do with this year. We will just have to wait and see how it plays out. I’m predicting a solid year from Uiagalelei in an offense built around one of my breakout picks, running back Will Shipley. Clemson rolls over the lowly Yellow Jackets in week one, a team that is still trying to find its identity years after switching from the triple-option to a more conventional offense.
What a week it was! Thanks for reading!
Superior CFB 