Football is officially back. College Football kicked off this Thursday, and there were some pretty significant surprises. Here's a breakdown of the 1st week of College Football.
Texas A&M vs South Carolina: Johnny Who? Kevin Sumlin and the Aggies aren't just going to roll over and die. They went into Columbia and did what no one else has done in 2 years by beating the Gamecocks; and they didn't just beat them. The Aggies flat out pummeled the Fighting Spurriers 52-28. The SEC West just got put on notice that A&M isn't going to be an easy out this fall, while South Carolina spent the holiday weekend watching game film trying to figure out what the hell just happened.
Boise State vs Ole Miss: I was actually at this game on Thursday night, which was close for the first 45 minutes. The Ole Miss defense was phenomenal the whole game, lighting up Boise's offensive players like they stole the last bottle of Pappy Van Winkle left on earth. The Ole Miss offense looked like the scene in Varsity Blues after they go to strip club, for 3 quarters. It was flat out pathetic. Then in the 4th quarter they turned into the Greatest Show on Turf to win 35-13. Boise State's a good team, but their depth and talent faded towards the end of the game. The Rebels offense needs to be more consistent going forward, because if they don't, they aren't contending for anything other than a lower tier bowl bid.
Temple vs Vanderbilt: This was just embarrassing. Temple utterly obliterated Vandy 37-7 in a delayed game on Thursday night. Temple won 2 games last year....2! I knew Vandy was going to take a step back without James Franklin, but winning 4 games this year might be a stretch if they continue to play like they did against the Owls. It may be a long season in Nashville.
Oklahoma State vs. FSU: FSU had all they could handle with Oklahoma State in Jerry's World on Saturday, but ultimately they triumphed against Gundy's boys. Winston showed some athletic skills in the 37-31 win, but it was a major wake up call for the Seminoles.
West Virginia vs Alabama: First of all, the picture above is a real thing. This actually exists at the Druid City Brewing Company in Tuscaloosa. Secondly, Bama may have a serious issue defending high speed offenses. This game should not have even been close, but WVU gave Bama some problems with the Tide ultimately winning by 10 in Atlanta. Bama gets 2 cupcake games in the next 2 weeks before Florida comes to town on September 20th.
Arkansas vs Auburn: Auburn has a great offense, that's clear, but their defense has some real questions. Arkansas went into the plains and exploited that defense throughout most of the 1st half. Then apparently there was an elevator malfunction and the coaches up in the booth couldn't get to the team meeting at halftime. The 2nd half was all Tigers as they shutout the Razorbacks on the way to a 45-21 victory.
UCLA vs Virginia: Well, the Cavs may be vastly improved this season. It is still a loss, but for a team that went 2-10 last year to compete with a National Champion dark horse, shows that UVA isn't looking to be the doormat of the ACC this year. London is on the hot seat, and if the Cavs play like they did Saturday, they could pull some upsets. Meanwhile, Hundley didn't do a whole lot to impress those NFL scouts in Charlottesville. If UCLA doesn't play better against the PAC 12, they aren't going to be in the playoff conversation.
Clemson vs Georgia: The Dawgs get revenge on the Tigers in Athens. After last year's classic loss, UGA returned the favor this year with a 45-21 win that showed Georgia is for real as the Dawgs put together a dominant 2nd half. In case you didn't hear about it...Todd Gurley averaged 13 yards per carry for 198 yards and 3 TDs. As of today he's the front runner for the Heisman, but more importantly for Georgia, they look like the favorites to win the East.
Wisconsin vs LSU: Wisconsin dominated the first half of this contest, but in true Les Miles fashion, the Tigers clawed their way back into a game they shouldn't have won, based on pure talent. The Bayou Bengals ended up with a 28-24 victory over the Badgers and again showed that even when they play poorly they are experts at finding ways to win.
Southern Miss vs Mississippi State: This game went as was expected. MSU absolutely decimated Southern Miss who are clearly still a very bad football team. A 49-0 drubbing at the hands of the Bulldogs left the Golden Eagles wishing for the days of Fedora. State gets UAB and South Alabama before they head to Baton Rouge, but the real story was Head Coach Dan Mullen channeling his inner Cousin Eddie while reading a mean tweet before the game. I won't give it away, but it was absolutely hilarious.
Utah State vs Tennessee: The line in Vegas was dropping all week on this game, because apparently no one had much faith in the Vols. Well, the Volunteers responded by crushing Utah State 38-7 in Knoxville. Worley had 3 TDs and 273 yards passing in the game that gave UT fans something to cheer about for the first time in a while. They shouldn't be too cocky though as they get Arkansas State next week before heading to Norman, OK to face the Sooners.
Idaho vs Florida: This game was postponed due to this. There is zero chance Florida loses that game. Idaho is arguably the worst team in college football. They've won 4 games in 3 years. The only real question is going to be when are they going to make up this game.
Week 2 sees a few more unique match ups before we get into conference play. Below are some of the more interesting games coming up this week.
Eastern Washington vs Washington: Upset alert. The Eagles are one of the best FCS teams in the country and Washington barely squeaked by this week.
USC vs Stanford: The Trojans head to Palo Alto in what should be a close game but a victory for the Cardinal, especially with everything Sark has had to go through this week.
Ole Miss vs Vanderbilt: Ole Miss should win this game easily, but for some reason the Rebels struggle even against bad Vandy teams. The Rebels win, but it is much closer than it should be.
Michigan vs. Notre Dame: The Irish should win this game. Michigan hasn't bounced back yet.
East Carolina vs South Carolina: Normally, I'd have said this might be a trap game for the Gamecocks, but the Pirates get them after a bad loss to A&M. Spurrier's team isn't losing after that game.
Michigan State vs. Oregon: This game is going to be one of the best non-conference games of the season. High-powered offense meets hard-nosed defense in Eugene at 3:30pm.
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