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Everything you need to know about Week 1 of college football
The SEC had won 10 games on the opening weekend every year since 2007, but that streak ended — emphatically — this weekend. Losses by Vanderbilt, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State, Mizzou, and Kentucky confirmed that the SEC could only win nine games. This didn’t even factor in close calls by Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, and Texas A&M, or the Ole Miss-Florida State game, which is on Monday.
Of course, social media was ready to light the funeral pyre, but remember this: you won’t remember four weeks from now, much less four months. No one remembers how conferences did — just teams.
Week One is a crapshoot — teams are deliberately experimenting with schemes, and many, if not most, are trying to figure out who is going to get playing time.
Early-season losses aren’t good — no one would claim otherwise, but they don’t mean as much as they once did. The College Football playoff has put more emphasis on conference play than ever before — the early-season games are resume boosters. Some teams are starting behind, but don’t infer too much from one week of deliberate chaos — you won’t make it though the season that way.
With that, on with the show:
• Houston left no room for interpretation: they’re a title contender. They might also be too good for their own good.
• Alabama has its new quarterback, and it’s not who was expected. What a whoopin’ by the Tide on USC. Lane Kiffin sure liked it.
• Les Miles’ inability to develop any sort of passing game in Baton Rouge was exploited against Wisconsin, and it shows why he should have been fired last year.
• Gus Malzahn’s bizarre quarterback rotation lost Auburn a winnable game against Clemson, and it made his seat even hotter.
• Nick Chubb patched up Georgia’s glaring problems all by himself — that’s why he’s the most important player in the SEC.
• Oklahoma is not dead, but wide receivers are important and they don’t have a second one.
Nebraska had a touching tribute to punter Sam Foltz, who died in an auto accident this summer:
You can check out all the great stuff. Credit to Fresno State for playing along.
Hey @DesmondHoward....even at 2:34 am, we got you! ? #GoWyo pic.twitter.com/kwK3ntxyhf
— Wyoming Cowboy FB (@wyo_football) September 4, 2016
Not to be outdone, J.T. Barrett — remember when he was a Heisman finalist who had to be in a quarterback rotation last year? — put up seven touchdowns in a win over Bowling Green.
Oklahoma State did this, which was pretty cool:
The Cowboys won big.
IT'S FINALLY OVER!
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) September 4, 2016
This insane double pass gave @TxStateBobcats the lead for good in a crazy triple-overtime game. https://t.co/Tj0aJbJApl
KU students on field but goalposts stay standing. pic.twitter.com/rO0QuWvnNx
— Jesse Newell (@jessenewell) September 4, 2016
We had to take a delay of game, weren't able to get all 11 guys out to punt in time.
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFBNation) September 4, 2016
Missing one of them. pic.twitter.com/o3mzXQZqlO
Colorado looked awesome in a beat-down win over Colorado State.
They were the only Pac-12 South team to together a solid performance in Week One (other than Utah, because Utah never falters in any circumstances. They’re steady.)
Washington looked better in a beat down of Rutgers.
I’m pushing the #UDubHypeTrain to a new gear — John Ross looked tremendous; the defense looked better. I still have them in my playoff.
Texas A&M’s defense is the real deal, and the offense showed signs that it could be elite this season.
Trevor Knight is rock-solid and he has Christian Kirk, Josh Reynolds, and Ricky Seals-Jones to throw to this year. That defensive line has me swooning. The Aggies have a wicked schedule, but I still have them as a 10-win team — too many good things to overlook.
Eddie Piñeiro is bae #GoGators #SECNation
— Richelle Ross (@richellevross) September 4, 2016
Virginia Tech quarterback Jerod Evans looked great in his first game in Justin Fuente’s new system.
Standout WR Isaiah Ford hasn't stopped producing, while TE Bucky Hodges and WR Cam Phillips had really nice games. You can imagine this Hokie offense really flying at times this year. The upcoming game against Tennessee at Bristol Motor Speedway is a lot more interesting than it was on Wednesday.
Boise State is going for 12 this year.
They put an absolute spanking on Louisiana-Lafayette (what happened to Mark Hudspeth’s teams?) and get Washington State next. The schedule is a lot tougher than it reads for Boise State (Oregon State, Utah State, BYU, and Air Force are tough games) but Brett Rypien came out of the gates on fire and that’s a QB no one can match in the Mountain West.
