As a new blogger it is a constant struggle to find my voice. I haven’t done any serious writing in at least eight years and it shows. So far this page comes off like a reporter who doesn’t actually do any reporting. This happened then that happened, then this, then that. Sure I sprinkle in some of my effortless comedy, and in recent posts I have started to make some more bold statements. Desperately trying to avoid being a hot take cannon, it is very difficult to find balance in terms of saying some stuff without this just being a blog where I say stuff.
So what the hell am I even talking about? I just think I’ve been taking this too seriously, and as a result it hasn’t been very fun or entertaining. Coming off one of the most fun and entertaining weeks of football in recent memory, let’s hope the Superior CFB Blog can start to follow suit.
Alabama 20, Texas 19
I traded away my Gopher tickets for extras to another game. Then, I got major FOMO and considered buying more. Ultimately I let logic prevail, knowing the matchup with Western Illinois would be over by halftime and that there was a chance for the rest of the early slate to be special. While most of the chaos didn’t really heat up until the afternoon, this matchup of historical heavyweights carried the load. Bama came in as twenty point favorites and most (including me) thought they would likely cover.
The Horns weren’t having any of it. Redshirt freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers came out slingin’ that rock around and marched down the field twice in the first quarter to the tune of 134 yards on only twelve attempts. It looked like Texas was going to score at will until one of my favorite breakouts Dallas Turner put a questionable hit on the phenom signal caller that knocked him out of the game.
The Tide wasn’t doing much to help its cause, either. Coming into the season there were questions about the receiver group and offensive line, and both issues showed up in this game. Outside of an 81 yard touchdown run by Jase McClellan, Alabama couldn’t get any push against the Texas front all day. In recent years it wouldn’t have mattered because of the star talent they had on the outside, but that’s just not the case in 2022. The team lost nearly all of its experienced pass catchers and it showed as Bryce Young struggled to get on the same page with his receivers for most of the day.
In the end the team that usually finds a way, found a way. Bama got totally bailed out by what probably should have been an intentional grounding in the endzone when the referees got distracted looking for a targeting call that didn’t include any helmet-first contact. Then they got bailed out again in a more conventional fashion, by their Heisman winning quarterback. Young really is a special player and even with all of the concerns stemming from their performance Saturday, they will go as far as he can take them. I’m a little concerned about the Longhorns, however. The narrative coming out of the game is that they have arrived and understandably so. They went toe to toe with the big dog in a way that only a legit program could. My concern lies within the overreactive nature of this sport and how much momentum can swing. With Ewers out for at least a couple weeks, I’m afraid they could be one or two bad losses away from this whole thing swinging back in the other direction. Let’s all just enjoy this game for the gem that it was and hold off on making any major proclamations in either direction.
Kentucky 26, Florida 16
It’s a good idea not to make any major proclamations after any one game. Overreacting is human nature, and with a sport that elicits so much passion and excitement it’s even easier to get caught up in it from week to week. Seemingly everyone (except me) got caught up in the hype surrounding Florida’s week 1 win over Utah, and completely disregarded what Mark Stoops has built in Lexington. Sure, Anthony Richardson was magical vs. the Utes, but it was one game. We are still talking about a quarterback with only a few starts under his belt. The safer bet was on the team that is built around a stellar defense and a more experienced quarterback that is an elite talent in his own right. Will Levis did just enough to get the job done, but Stoops defense carried the day, picking off Richardson twice, once for six. The tenth year coach really captivated me on Saturday night. Seconds after upsetting the Gators on their home field to become this winningest coach in Kentucky history (passing some guy they called The Bear), Stoops quite eloquently summed up his emotions with ESPN’s Katie George. I know I started this section advising against overreaction, but that game alone has me on the Kentucky and Mark Stoops bandwagon.
Upset City, Baby!
Major dominoes fell this weekend, all in the afternoon slate and on the home fields of the favorites. I’d be remiss if I didn’t start with the one I picked. Does it count as an upset prediction if you admit that it’s based in bias when you make it? Yeah, I despise Bucky, but I really do like this Wazzu team. Of course, I like them because of their young and energetic head coach who really seems to get it, and their (supposedly) exciting air raid offense led by a gunslinging former FCS quarterback Cam Ward. We didn’t see much of the offensive production on Saturday but Jake Dickert led Washington State to an upset victory at the stadium he grew up dreaming of playing in. It also helps that the game played out exactly how I said it needed to for the Cougs to pull off the win. Turns out this blogging thing is pretty easy when you can predict the future.
The other two upsets were bit more perplexing, and much more concerning for the teams on the losing end. Texas A&M and Notre Dame both lost on their home fields to Sun Belt conference teams, Appalachian State and Marshall. Both can be attributed to anemic offensive performances by the home teams, and both have their fanbases in complete panic mode. While the loss all but ends the Irish’ season, first year coach Marcus Freeman has his excellent recruiting start to fall back on and they will essentially be playing for next year from here on out. Tyler Buchner was lost for the season with a shoulder injury so there will be ample time to get a feel for the most important position heading into 2023.
The situation with Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies is a little more complicated. While he is actually coming off having the best recruiting class in the modern era, per 247sports, and is also the beneficiary of a brand new contract extension that has his buyout rumored to be in the 90 million dollar range, there are some serious concerns over the direction of the program. All the talent in the world should theoretically lead to wins, but his archaic offense seems to have fallen behind this ever-changing game. Haynes King is supposed to be his guy, but once again the Aggies aren’t getting enough production from the quarterback position. Luckily for Fisher, when you play in the SEC one non-conference loss doesn’t kill your season, as you will have many opportunities to pick up marquee wins. The only problem is that you have to actually pick up those wins. A&M has a brutal stretch upcoming and we will learn a lot about them in the coming weeks.
Other Notes
-One of my other hundred favorite teams Tennessee took care of business as a road favorite against a higher ranked Pitt team on the strength of a masterful performance from QB Hendon Hooker and his top target Cedric Tillman. Coach Josh Heupel clearly has the Vols back on track, but they were bailed out by an injury to Pitt QB Kedon Slovis. I’m not so sure the Panthers wouldn’t have won this one if he was able to stay in the game.
-If there’s a team I hate as much as Bucky, it’s Iowa. That’s why it brings me so much joy to see their offense be the most miserable of them all. This time they actually produced the seven points on the scoreboard (two safeties and a field goal last week), but it wasn’t enough against a real FBS team in Iowa State.
-USC’s new Lincoln Riley led offense looks unstoppable behind transfers Caleb Williams and Jordan Addison. They had a huge game against Stanford but the defense looked shaky in allowing 28 points. I’ll be in Seattle in less than two weeks to see the Cardinal take on Washington live, and will get a better idea if it was the strength of their offense or the deficiencies of the Trojan defense that led to that total.
-Baylor at BYU was quite possibly the game of the day. It was a matchup of hard-nosed and experienced teams. Unfortunately for me, I’m turning into an old man. I passed out early in the third quarter and missed the OT finish that saw BYU move to 2-0.
Thanks for reading!
Superior CFB 