This has been an exciting, yet very long college football opening weekend, and we still have one more game left on the FBS docket tonight, as Tennessee heads to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech. Here are my main observations for the opening weekend of college football, the 2017 edition, or as I like to call them, my seven points...
Point One
UNLV was favored by 45 points against one of the worst teams in FCS football, the Howard Bison. What UNLV managed to do Saturday night was historic, and not in a good way whatsoever. UNLV trailed at the half, and ended up blowing a two score lead in the second half, as Cam Newton's youngest brother led the Bison to a stunning 43-40 win in Las Vegas. It was measured as the biggest upset in the history of college football, by a point spread standard. There was hope that Tony Sanchez would turn the corner in 2017, but with this loss in his back pocket, his status cannot be defended. Howard's all-time football record is a measly 497-472-38, just in case you were wondering.
Point Two
I cannot understand, personally, how Kevin Sumlin remains employed today at Texas A&M. The Aggies held a 44-10 third quarter lead against UCLA in Pasadena, and somehow, in a quarter and half, completely squandered the 34 point cushion and found a way to lose to the Bruins, who were completely inept for the first 37 minutes of the contest on both sides of the football. It was the second largest comeback in FBS football history (the largest being 35 points in the game between Michigan State and Northwestern in 2006). Josh Rosen, who could not complete a pass to the jolly green giant in the first 2/3 of the contest, suddenly became Joe Montana halfway through the third quarter. It was inexcusable that Sumlin's Aggies could not contain the lead, and yet it was also inexcusable that UCLA found themselves in the position they were in. The comeback win was fantastic, but if the Bruins think they can win like this every week, they are severely mistaken. It was a great win, but it was also an alarming win.
Point Three
The top four teams in my early projections all failed to play a complete game, one lost, and another was lucky to have not fallen as a 28 point favorite.
Alabama beat Florida State, who were both in my top four, but there were issues on both sides. Nobody will question Alabama's defense, as they were dominant Saturday night in Atlanta in a 24-7 win over Florida State. The problem with Alabama was the offense, which showed some serious issues throughout the night. If the Tide cannot work out the offense, they could be in for trouble down the line.
As for Florida State, their defense was seemingly fine, but was left out to hang. With Deondre Francois being mostly ineffective, the news got worse in the 4th quarter, as he was knocked out of the game with a knee injury, and that injury will now cost him his season. With that development, I am forced to remove Florida State as both a national playoff and ACC contender, as the options behind Francois are not tenable to having a big season.
Ohio State also showed some serious flaws and failed to play a complete football game. The Buckeyes could not get their offense rolling until the second half, and Indiana led the Buckeyes at the half, 14-13. The Buckeyes cannot afford that kind of game as the schedule increases in difficulty, and Penn State showed no such flaws. The Buckeyes, despite a huge second half, look vulnerable.
USC, the 28 point favorite that I spoke of, also looked seriously vulnerable, as they trailed in the third quarter to Western Michigan. Sam Darnold, everyone's early Heisman favorite, showed some flaws as well, as he through just his second multi-interception game of his career. USC cannot afford to take anyone lightly, and I would be tempted enough from what I saw to call Stanford a narrow early favorite this week.
Point Four
Maryland did what I felt they would do in a 51-41 win on the road against Tom Herman and Texas, ruining Herman's debut as coach of the Longhorns. Maryland used several different looks on defense early to frustrate the Texas offense, and although the offense eventually got on track, it was too late to fully catch up, as the Longhorn defense, which was the real issue, failed to stop the Terrapins time and again. With Texas' offense being as bad as it was, they could be in real trouble when it comes to Big 12 play, as every team in the league could potentially run it up on them, except for Kansas. Texas being ranked in the pre-season can now be defined as a bad joke.
Point Five
Georgia could now be in major trouble depending on the extent of the injury to QB Jacob Eason, who will now be missing from the Notre Dame game with said injury. Freshman Jacob Fromm will now start at QB against the Fighting Irish, but this will not be the only game that Eason misses, most likely. This could have a serious effect on the Bulldogs' push to win the watered down SEC East.
Point Six
It would seem that Malik Zaire's arrival at Florida as a transfer meant little against the Michigan Wolverines. The Gators hung in early with freshman Feleipe Franks, but he was pulled for Zaire, who also failed to have much of an effect on the offense. THere was even a push to move Luke Del Rio onto the field, which did not happen, but if one of these QBs cannot step up and start getting it done, this could be a long season for Florida.
Point Seven
James Madison is still likely to be the top team in FCS football in 2017. Mike Houston's Dukes rolled into East Carolina and pasted a 20 point loss on the home Pirates. I called JMU the favorite in that game on ESPN in Las Vegas last Friday, and the Dukes had little trouble taking that to task. East Carolina will be fairly terrible, and James Madison will be a top four contender for their second straight FCS title.
No comments:
Post a Comment