Week 1- Winners, Losers, Observations and Overreactions!

Week 1 of the college football season doesn’t usually bring us too much excitement outside of the fact that we’re back to playing college football- which I guess actually is quite exciting but I digress.  In most cases we got what we expected; a bunch of blowouts, a few exciting top 25 matchups and some serious head scratchers.

 

Winners

 

Moral victories- Oklahoma State, West Virginia & Virginia
Sure there are no moral wins in this sport but a few teams have a lot to take away from competitive losses.  Oklahoma State and West Virginia took FSU and Alabama, respectively by surprise.  Though they both came up just short, no one expected either team to be in the game, much less competitive.  The Cowboys played toe-to-toe with the defending champs and had some chances late in the game to take the lead.  West Virginia was in similar positions against the Tide and if it weren’t for some red zone miscues, we might be talking about week 1 shockers!  Virginia outscored UCLA 20-7 but were undone by three defensive touchdowns by the Bruins.

 

Texas A&M
Someone forgot to tell Kevin Sumlin that his team is supposed to be rebuilding and Kenny Hill isn’t Johnny Manziel.  South Carolina was the favorite by most media outlets to win the SEC East and were even in some people’s early playoff picks, but that made no difference to the Aggies.  Hill (44/60, 511, 3 TD’s) and A&M thoroughly dismantled the Gamecocks in Columbia, ending an 18-game home winning streak and potentially ending SC’s playoff hopes. 

 

USC
Few people in college football had a worse week leading up to this game then SC’s new head man, Steve Sarkisian.  Despite all the distraction, Sark and the Trojans were able to shut out the noise and turned in one of the most impressive performances of the week.  The Trojans ran 105 plays (105 PLAYS!!!) on offense and racked up 701 yards on their way to their 52-13 win over Fresno State.  It’s no secret that USC has talent but I think this certainly puts the Pac-12 on notice the SC will be a player. 

 

NDSU
Because everyone loves to get paid to beat the crap out people.

 

Losers

 

South Carolina
This could go in the overreaction column because I don’t necessarily think this is as much an indictment on SC as it is a wakeup call about A&M.  That said, the loss on Thursday exposed some glaring issues for Steve Spurrier’s team, especially in the defensive secondary.   

 

UCLA
This game should have been an explosion for Brett Hundley and the UCLA Bruins, but their 28-20 win over Virginia has left more questions than answers.  Virginia outgained UCLA and had it not been for three defensive touchdowns, we might be talking about one of the all-time week 1 upsets.  Hundley, a preseason Heisman candidate has yet to go from a good player with a ton of potential to the player that dominates week-in and week-out regardless of the opponent.  All is not lost for Jim Mora and UCLA, but this team needs to take some major strides in the next few weeks to be a serious contender in the Pac-12 South.

 

Washington
I’m not sure that there is a spelling for the sound the Huskies made late Saturday night after they stole a win at Hawai’I (AT HAWAI’I!!!!).  Bleegh!!!  There’s a good chance Hawai’i won’t win three games this season and the Huskies were a trendy dark horse pick to challenge for the North (including by yours truly).  While I don’t think it’s time to panic in Seattle, my blind faith that Chris Peterson is a step up from Sark might be wavering just a tad.

 

Miami
This was a tough game to watch and concerning if you are a Miami fan.  The ‘Canes looked painfully like the Miami teams we’ve come to expect out of Coral Gables- a far cry from the dominance of the 90’s and early 2000’s.  The offense failed to produce and the defense looked painfully uninspired. 

 

 

Overreactions

 

Texas A&M in the top four.  Look, I get the Aggies looked amazing on Thursday against South Carolina and there is a good chance they’ll end up competing in the SEC West.  Kevin Sumlin has a history of fielding explosive offenses and Kenny Hill joins a group of highly productive Sumlin quarterbacks; Manziel, Case Keenum, Sam Bradford, Jason White, Drew Brees, etc.  A&M’s couldn’t have kicked off the season any better, but we’ll see how this defense plays over the course of the season as they get deeper into the SEC schedule.

 

There are no dominant teams this year.  Ahh, come on, it’s week one and most teams are always working out the kinks.  Alabama got off to a sluggish start against Virginia Tech last season and went on to dominate almost every team they played until Auburn… which leads me to my next point.  Auburn nearly lost to Washington State to open the season last year and we all know how their season ended.  I fully expect Alabama, FSU and even UCLA dial it up in the coming weeks.

 

South Carolina!?!?  After getting crushed at home by Texas A&M it’s reasonable to assume that South Carolina’s season is essentially over.  I mean, there goes the East championship, no playoff berth, in fact, let’s just call the rest of SC’s season off.  Why bother?

 

The B1G’s playoff chances are over?  This might just be a slight overreaction but the light is dwindling.  Wisconsin could conceivably recover from its loss to LSU, run the table and win the B1G going 12-1, but that’s not likely.  JT Barrett did an admirable job but let’s face it, Ohio State doesn’t look like a contender without Braxton Miller.  Michigan State looks like the best candidate for the B1G to get a team into the playoff, which means the world is riding on their game at Oregon this week. 

 

Observations

The Big 12 is going to be much better than I originally thought.  Everyone’s been high on OU since their bowl win over Alabama, but Baylor, K-State and Texas each looked really solid in week one.  Even your middle of the pack Big 12 teams looked better than expected.  TCU seems to have found an offense, even if it was against Samford.  West Virginia and Oklahoma State both looked much better than expected in losing efforts against the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation, respectively. 

Texas A&M wasn’t just a flash-in-the-pan.  Kevin Sumlin is a legit coach and he and the Aggies aren’t going anywhere.

North Dakota State is probably the 60^th best team in Division 1 football.  Okay, there’s no way to really rank them but they’re making a living feeding on FBS opponents.

Nick Saban and the up-tempo spread offense.  As great a defensive coach as Saban and DC Kirby Smart are, Alabama’s chances of going to the playoff and winning another title are slim if they can’t get a handle on these offenses.

Todd Gurley is the best running back in college football.  See Clemson game.

 

 

 Players of the Week

Kenny Hill, QB, TAMU

How about breaking Johnny Manziel’s single-game passing record in your first start?  Hill threw for 511 yards and three touchdowns as A&M drilled South Carolina.

Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia

Gurley accounted for 293 total yards, running for 198 and three touchdowns and capped things off with a 100 yard kickoff return for a touchdown helping UGA seal the deal against rival, Clemson.
 

Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin

Gordon ran 16 times for 147 yards and a score in a losing effort to LSU.  Who knows how many he could have gone for had Wisconsin not inexplicably gone away from him in the second half.

 

Rashad Greene, WR, FSU
Greene had a career high 203 receiving yards on 11 catches against OK State and delivered a decisive 50-yard touchdown to help seal the win for the ‘Noles.

 

 

 

Top 25 Picks Review

 

No. 1 Florida State 37, Oklahoma State 31

Jameis and the Seminoles didn’t play their best game but took care of a feisty OK State.
Nick-Florida State, 38-21
Jeremy- FSU, 41-17

 

No. 2 Alabama 33, West Virginia 23
Concerns for Alabama?  West Virginia had a chance to win, but red zone blunders cost them.
Nick-Bama, 31-14
Jeremy- Alabama, 34-17

 

No. 3 Oregon 62, South Dakota State 13
Oregon vs. South Dakota… pretty much tells you all you need to know.
Nick-Oregon, 70-14
Jeremy- Oregon, 55-14

 

No. 4 Oklahoma 48, Louisiana Tech 16
Sooners were efficient in their win against Louisiana Tech.
Nick-Sooners, 56-35
Jeremy- OU, 42-10

 

No. 5 Ohio State 34, Navy 17
JT Barrett and OSU ran away from Navy late, but the Midshipman played the Buckeyes much closer than expect.
Nick-Ohio State, 35-24
Jeremy- OSU, 34-14

 

No. 6 Auburn 45, Arkansas 21
A tale of two halves.  Auburn turned on the afterburners in the second have scoring 24 points and shutting out Arkansas.
Nick-Auburn, 42-20
Jeremy- Auburn, 38-24

 

No. 7 UCLA 28, Virginia 20

Eesh!  UCLA and their Heisman-candidate offense were outscore 20-7 by Virginia’s offense.  Fortunately for the Bruins they managed three defensive touchdowns.  FYI- UVA was 2-10 last year.
Nick-UCLA, 45-24
Jeremy- UCLA, 38-14

 

No. 8 Michigan State 45, Jacksonville State 17
Sparty is primed for this week’s showdown with Oregon.
Nick-Michigan State, 38-3
Jeremy- Michigan State, 34-10

 

No. 10 Baylor 45, SMU 0
Art Briles thinks this is the best defense he’s had yet.  A scary though given Bryce Petty didn’t play in the second half.
Nick-Baylor, 48-34
Jeremy- Baylor, 45-21

 

No. 11 Stanford 45, UC Davis 0
Tune up for SC.
Nick-Stanford, 45-10
Jeremy- Stanford, 37-7

 

No. 12 Georgia 45, No. 16 Clemson 21
One team came away with answers, the other questions.  UGA looks like the real deal.
Nick-Georgia, 35-31
Jeremy- UGA, 31-27

 

No. 13 LSU 28, No. 14 Wisconsin 24
Never count out the “Mad-Hatter.”  LSU rallies in the second half outscoring the Badgers 21-7 on their way to the win.
Nick-LSU, 31-28
Jeremy- LSU, 24-23

 

No. 15 USC 52, Fresno State 13
Welcome to SoCal, Sark.  Glad you’re here.  Now here comes Stanford.
Nick-USC, 41-30
Jeremy- USC, 38-17

  

No. 17 Notre Dame 48, Rice 17
Despite the suspensions of their top receiver and defensive back, Everett Golson looked better than ever in his return to the Irish.
Nick-Notre Dame, 42-24
Jeremy- Notre Dame, 35-14

 

No. 18 Ole Miss 35, Boise State 13
The defense looked as advertised.  Unfortunately, so did Bo Wallace- hype and turnovers.
Nick-Ole Miss, 45-41
Jeremy- Ole Miss, 37-17

 

No. 19 Arizona State 45, Weber State 14
It was 38 before Weber State could blink.
Nick-ASU, 45-17
Jeremy- ASU, 51-14

 

No. 20 Kansas State 55, Stephen F. Austin 16
There’s a lot hype around K-State this year their 55-points against SFA is a good way to start.
Nick-Kansas State, 45-17
Jeremy- K-State, 35-10

 

No. 21 Texas A&M 52, No. 9 South Carolina 28
The first shocker to start the season.  A&M might have reloaded and SC has more holes to fill than we originally thought.
Nick-South Carolina, 38-31
Jeremy- South Carolina, 35-24

 

No. 22 Nebraska 55, Florida Atlantic 7
One down, seven more to go for Bo Polini and his Huskers.
Nick-Nebraska, 49-17
Jeremy- Nebraska, 34-7

 

No. 23 North Carolina 56, Liberty 29

This offense is dangerous with Marquise Williams.
Nick-North Carolina, 45-14
Jeremy- UNC, 45-14

 

No. 24 Missouri 38, South Dakota State 18
Maty Mauk was efficient in his first start of ’14, leading Mizzou to an easy win over SDSU
Nick-Missouri, 38-13
Jeremy- Mizzou, 41-13

 

No. 25 Washington 17, Hawai’i 16
We’ll see what kind of difference Cyler Miles can make when he comes back next week.
Nick-Washington, 48-10
Jeremy- Washington, 45-13



Happy week 2 to you all!  Check back for our Week 2 Preview.  As always, thanks for reading!  Follow us on Twitter @307CollegeFB