College Football Week 1 Takeaways

Georgia Is Still Really, Really Good At Football

Going into halftime with a score of 6-0 Georgia, there was a lot of questions that needed answering. Is Clemson better than expected on defense? Is Georgia’s offense not as good as expected? Is Beck really a Heisman candidate? One thing that never wavered during that time was whether or not Georgia’s defense was the real deal. The Dawg’s D is a wall that even ghosts have to knock twice to get through. In the second half though, Georgia’s offense clicked, and we saw why they are the #1 team in the nation. Down the stretch they will need to pick it up on O in the first half to take some pressure off the defense, but if I’m Kirby Smart, I write the first half off as 1^st game jitters and move on to next week’s prep. 

The U Might Be On It’s Way Back

Cam Ward and the Hurricanes went into the swamp to open the season and really brought a hurricane with them. Their defense was pressuring Florida’s Graham Mertz all night (who is probably getting benched for the 5-Star freshman DJ Lagway who came in and drove the team down immediately), and held him to under 100 yards. Both UF quarterbacks threw an interception, and then run game put up 139. But The U rushed for 144, and Cam Ward looked like he was out for vengeance and the guy has never even played Florida before. 385 in the air and 3 TD’s, he looked like he could be a legitimate contender for the Heisman if he continues to perform like he did today – cool, calm, collected. 

Notre Dame IS THE SAME Notre Dame

Before I say anything: going into Kyle Field, at night, A&M home opener, and winning is impressive – I will give them that. Now, year in and year out, we see the same thing from Notre Dame. Highly ranked, highly recruited, and highly underwhelming. O-VER RA-TED (in the chant cadence you hear at games). The argument from the Irish every year is “we play a tough schedule”, however they have only ranked above 19^th in strength of schedule three times in the last 13 years, and have an average ranking of 27^th over that time. Being an Independent will forever hurt them, because it’s apparent yearly during bowl season when they get used to wipe the floor in a bowl game, they aren’t as good as the media and polls say they are. Not winning a major bowl since 1993 says enough. Riley Leonard looked like a QB who should be playing at somewhere like, I don’t know, Duke (cough cough). The young O-line really stood out above the rest (good QB works with what he’s got). Their defense looked good, but A&M offense looked horrible. Tomorrow I’m sure the media will be hyping Notre Dame up beyond belief, I’m looking forward to it triggering me. 

Michigan IS NOT THE SAME Michigan

The Wolverines struggled to get it going against the Fresno State Bulldogs. Their offense has been revamped since last year under Jim Harbaugh, and the new looks isn’t good looking. Former walk-on quarterback (and cancer survivor – props to him) Davis Warren was chose to replace NFL 1^st round pick, J.J. McCarthy, after a battle in camp for the starting job. Unfortunately for Michigan, he looked like a former walk-on. It wasn’t announced until right before gametime who would be behind center for Michigan, and I can only assume it was because new head coach Sherrone Moore couldn’t decide between the lesser of two evils in warm-ups. Luckily for them, their defense looked like it didn’t have to replace five starters drafted in the NFL and another three starters, they picked up right where they left off last season. 

Other Take Aways: 

• Oregon barely beat FCS Idaho, but Dillion Gabriel was 41-49 for 380 and 2 TD’s. 
• Alabama and Jalen Milroe don’t miss Saban – yet. 
• Jaxson Dart played an FCS school and played better than any other QB playing against FCS/Group of 5 schools, like significantly better.
• I forgot, so you probably did too, Will Rodgers from Mississippi State is now Washington’s quarterback.
• Arch Manning would be the starting QB at 120-125 of the other 134 teams. It’s a shame he didn’t trasnfer, but also, I love that he didn’t transfer. Keep the loyalty in college sports!

Till Next Time,
Trevor