College Football Random Thoughts From Around the Country: Week 1

After months of speculation and hype, the nation got real proof in games actually played on the field - not on paper.

ESPN GameDay Predictions:

	Kirk Herbstreit	Desmond Howard	Lee Corso
Champ	Ohio State	Stanford*	LSU
Runner-up	LSU	TCU	Oregon
Semi	Arizona State*	Texas A&M	Baylor
Semi	Oklahoma	Michigan State	Ohio State

*Lost on Saturday

#6 Auburn 31 Louisville 24

Tigers QB Jeremy Johnson did not win any Heismans Saturday in the Georgia Dome. He was 11-21 for 137 yards 1 TD and 3 INTs. New DC Will Muschamp has not turned the defense into the 2011 Crimson Tide defense. However, Gustav Malzahn's squad did get the W over the unranked Cardinals thanks to Peyton Barber 115 rushing yards and a few lucky bounces.

Texas A&M 38 #15 Arizona State 17

Many talking heads, including Herbstreit, predicted the Sun Devils to win the Pac 12. The Aggies won both sides of the ball with more physical line play. DC John Chavis is proving to be the better coordinator hire as his schemes had the ASU offense rattled and running for their lives. Coach Kevin Sumlin was determined to rotate both Kyle Allen and true freshman Kyler Murray into the game at QB despite the effectiveness of the returning starter Allen. Murray has some serious wheels but his passing game is lacking. True freshman Christian Kirk was electric scoring on a 79 yard punt return and a 66 yard reception in his college debut.

#2 TCU 23, Minnesota 17

I hope the College Football Playoff Committee was watching this game. This match-up with the Gophers was supposed to be the Horned Frogs' big out-of-conference game. If TCU was looking to make their case for a top four in December, this was not it. Frogs QB Trevone Boykin was okay (26 for 42, 246 yds, INT, TD; 18-92 yds, 1 TD) but certainly not Heisman-ish like every off-season blabbermouth wanted to tell you he'd be.

Northwestern 16 #21 Stanford 6

ESPN wonk Desmond Howard is likely regretting picking Stanford to win the Big Beer Tap Trophy this season. Ain't gonna happen. If I was a suspicious sort, I would say the Trees were throwing this game. They looked that bad. The sluggish and uninspired Cardinal were outgained 330-240 with only 85 on the ground. The Wildcats also won the turnover battle with two takeaways and no turnovers of their own.

BIG TEN BELLY FLOP

Including the above two scores, the Big Ten went 7-7 on the weekend, 2-4 against fellow Power 5 opponents, and 3-6 against fellow FBS members. The SEC went 12-1 (thanks Vandy) overall.

Ohio State 42 Va Tech 24 - The buckeyes have a cakewalk schedule until Nov. 21 when they host Michigan State.
Temple 27 Penn State 10 - Speaking of sluggish and uninspired.
BYU 33, Nebraska 28 - The Cornhuskers paid the Cougars $1 million to come into their house and spoil Mike Riley's coaching debut. The Mormons repaid that kindness with a last play 42-yard touchdown pass.
Indiana 48, Southern Illinois 47 - The Hoosiers gave up 659 yards to the FCS Salukis.
#3 Alabama 35, #20 Wisconsin 17 - did you hear about this one?
Marshall 41, Purdue 31 - Two pick-6s by Marshall's Austin Appleby were the Boilmakers undoing. Purdue led 31-27 with under 3 to play.
Utah 24, Michigan 17 - Honestly, this game was closer than I thought it would be. But still a big ol' L for Big Blue.
#5 MSU 37, W. Michigan 24 - non P5
Iowa 31, Illinois St 14 - FCS
Maryland 50, Richmond 21 - FCS
Rutgers 63, Norfolk 13 - FCS
Illinois 52, Kent State 3 - non P5

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Lightning in Red Stick (Photo by Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports)

LET IT RAIN!

McNeese State 0 LSU 0 - Both teams got one series in before the game was canceled due to weather. One season ago, Florida and Idaho had their game canceled due to electrical storms. The game was not rescheduled and the Gators finished 7-5. It probably would not have saved Muschamp's job but 8-5 looks much better than 7-5. I'm just sayin'. Despite LSU and McNeese being a two hour drive apart, the game was not played on Sunday nor will it be rescheduled. It makes no sense to not try and get this game in.
Georgia 51 Louisiana Monroe 14 - Monroe was no match for the Dawgs and Nick Chubb's 120 ground yards. Greyson Lambert was sufficient (8-12 for 141 yds, 2 TD 0 INT). Back-up QB Brice Ramsey (2-2-51-1-0) did not get much of a chance to show his wares. In an extreme case of overreaction, this game was shortened in the fourth quarter due to phantom lightning. There was a 76-minute delay in the third quarter but many annoyed UGA fans in attendance saw no lightning when the game was called in the fourth.
Another game affected by the weather was Toledo-Stony Brook led by former Bama QB Phillip Ely that got to halftime before the game was called. All stats from this and the LSU game are wiped out. Away teams get to keep the pay-offs for their visits.

Hey, come back here! (Photo by Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports)

MOVE ALONG. NOTHING TO SEE HERE

Tennessee 59 Bowling Green 30 - Jalen Hurd ran for 123 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries while former Bama player Alvin Kamaratallied 144 yards with two scores. The 604 total yards should be reason to celebrate but the defense gave up 557! Lightning stopped play with 8:30 left in the third quarter. The stoppage of play seemed to take the air out from beneath the Falcons' wings and the Vols scored the last 17 points. QB Joshua Dobbs and most of the other starters were forced to play most of the game.
South Carolina 17 UNC 13 - U-G-L-Y, they don't have an alibi, that game was ugly. Sloppy, error-prone, and uninspiring play-calling from Steve Spurrier made an uninteresting watch. But I think I have the Ol' Ball Coach figured out. He LOVES being a head coach and LOVES being a big fish in a little pond but he doesn't want to put in the time any more. This could get Bobby Bowden ugly.
Missouri 34 Southeast Missouri State Tech A&M 3 - Do you miss Bo Wallace? Well, you may be in luck as he may have returned in the form of erratic Mizz QB Maty Mauk (12-22, 181 yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT).
Arkansas 48 UTEP 13 - Brandon Allen threw for a career-high 308 yards and Alex Collins ran for 127 yards. However, the first-team defense gave up two long Miners scoring drives (FG and TD) in the first half.
Ole Miss 76 Tennessee-Martin 3 - This is how you are supposed to play teams like this.
Kentucky 40 Louisiana Lafayette 33 - After missing an extra point, UK led 33-10 and put on the cruise control. La-Laf stormed back with three TDs, two in which they converted two-pointers. A late Wildcats TD preserved the win. Not much learned.
Florida 61 New Mexico State 13 -  Will Grier and Treon Harris combined 29-of-36 passing for 379 yards and four touchdowns. The Gators gave up twp Aggies touchdowns in the second quarter.
WKU 14 Vanderbilt 12 - The Hilltoppers have put together some good teams in recent years. This is not one of them. Yet the 'Dores managed to find a way to lose.
Mississippi State 34 Southern Miss 16 - Dak & Co. let USM hang around for awhile before finally wearing them down.

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GRAB BAG

Notre Dame 38 Texas 3 - Irish QB Malik Zaire shows why Everett Golson transferred out. Rich oil tycoons are gnashing their teeth across the Lone Star State.
West Virginia 44 Georgia Southern 0 - A solid game from the Mountaineers.

YAWN INDUCING

Clemson 49, Wofford 10
Oklahoma 41 Akron 3
FSU 59 Texas State 16
Oregon 61 Eastern Washington 42 - that's a lot of points to be giving up to a FCS team with a new QB.

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BAMA STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

ALL Alabama SEC opponents won.
Middle Tennessee State stomped poor little FCS/HBCU Jackson State 70-14.
La-Monroe lost to UGA 51-14.
Charleston Southern (Ugh, c'mon Nick!) This FCS team has yet to play a game. Charleston Southern beat D2 No. Greenville 41-14.

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ELIMINATED:

All non-Power 5 teams (BYU and Notre Dame are still alive)
TEXAS
PENN STATE
COLORADO
WAZZU
WASHINGTON
PURDUE
NEBRASKA
MINNESOTA
KANSAS
UNC
VANDY

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Krazy Kristi's "SHUT UP!" of the Week goes to pretty much the whole Big Ten but especially Penn State. Karma ain't done with you just yet.

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• Alabama reserve defensive back Jabriel Washington will miss "a couple weeks" with knee injury. He did not play against Wisconsin.
  
• No other Crimson Tide injuries to report!
• As most of you saw, Wisconsin safety Michael Caputo was taken out of Alabama game with head injury on Saturday and did not return due to concussion protocol. His status uncertain as of Monday night but we are rooting for him.
  
• Auburn RBs Roc Thomas and Jovon Robinson both left the Louisville game with injuries leaving their status in doubt for the next few weeks. DL Carl Lawson sat for most of the second half after reportedly suffering a hip injury. DB Tray Matthews suffered a bad shoulder injury. No news on him as of yet.
  
• Mizzou running back Russell Hansbrough and center Evan Boehm both left the game in the first half with sprained ankles. Hansbrough had his right leg in a cast after halftime. Rut-roh!
• UCLA defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes tore an ACL and is out for 2015. Karma for letting him play in 2013. Prediction: he goes pro after this season.
• BYU QB Taysom Hill suffered a foot injury that will knock him out for the season.
  
• 2014 ACC offensive player of the year, James Conner, will undergo MCL surgery. Pitt's star tailback will miss the rest of the season. Prediction: he goes pro after this season.
• Clemson WR Mike Williams hauled in a four-yard TD pass before slamming into the goalpost. He suffered a small neck fracture but to his credit, he hung onto the ball. Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said the injury is not career-ending.
• Arizona linebacker and media darling Scooby Wright underwent a procedure for a lateral meniscus tear, but could be back in time for conference play.
• Notre Dame Coach Brian Kelly said Tarean Folston, the leading rusher from last season, sustained an injury to his right knee and is out for the year.
  
• Virginia Tech starting quarterback Michael Brewer broke his collarbone in the third quarter of last night's game with Ohio State. He will miss 4-8 weeks.
  

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ADOPT-A-TEAM
Last year's adopted team Colorado State did not need our help as they cruised to a 65-13 win over FCS/HBCU Savannah State. According to last week's poll, you want the Jags to get a little extra love from us.
31% South Alabama - W (see below*)
23% Georgia Southern - L
16% Navy - W
11% FAU! - L
8% Kent State - L
4% Hawaii - W

* Former Bama WR Joey Jones, the only head coach the Jaguars have ever known, led his team out onto the field to begin his seventh season in Mobile and came away with a tough 33-23 win over FCS Gardner-Webb. USA jumped out to a 13-0 lead but G-W fought back to score the next 16 points which included a safety and a pick-6. The Jags bounced back with the next 20 points while the Bulldogs rounded out the scoring with a meaningless TD in the waning seconds. Xavier Johnson was the star of the game with a 92-yard rushing score and a 56-yard receiving touchdown. UP NEXT: a trip to Lincoln, Nebraska!

STAT OF THE DAY

Rutgers held FCS/HBCU Norfolk State to a paltry -3 total rushing yards on 23 attempts. This stat includes a 23 yard run by a ... 'scuse me while I go to Wikipedia ... Spartans running back.

HEISMAN HYPE
With the exception of one year, the Heisman Trophy voting is basically a hype award. That being the case, we'll bring you "Who Will Win" and "Who Should Win".

• Who Will Win - Trevone Boykin, TCU. Stock up on Dramamine, because you are going to get sick of hearing the talking heads gush over him.
• Who Should Win - It's really way too soon but based on this past weekend's results and considering the opponent, my vote goes to Derrick Henry. Before the accusations of being a Gump are tossed about, recognize that this was the best performance of a player against a top 25 team. Runner up: QB Josh Rosen (28-35, 351 yds, 3 TD 0 INT, 1 sack) vs UVa.

Alabama dominated more than just the Badgers on Saturday. They also won the airwaves with 7.85 million viewers on ABC. The game easily outdistanced all other TV offerings including the Notre Dame-Texas match-up on NBC which carried less than half that amount at 3.82 million including Lou Holtz.

SEC Games this Week:

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Jacksonville St at 6 Auburn 11am/12pm, SECN- Go ahead and sleep in.
# 9 Georgia at Vanderbilt 2:30pm/3:30pm, CBS- Get the lawn mowed.
Fresno State at #17 Ole Miss 2:30pm/3:30pm, ESPN2 - Wash the car.
Toledo at #18 Arkansas 3pm/4pm, SECN- Game played in Little Rock. Watch for Rockets QB Phillip Ely.
# 19 Oklahoma at #25 Tennessee 5pm/6pm, ESPN - SEC GAME OF THE WEEK
# 24 Missouri at Arkansas State 6pm/7pm, espn3.com - Not much to see here.
Ball State at Texas A&M 6pm/7pm, ESPNU- How much will Sumlin force feed Murray on this team?
ECU at Florida 6pm/7pm, ESPN2 - This is no gimme for the Gators.
Kentucky at South Carolina 6:30pm/7:30pm, SECN - UK won this game a year ago.
# 14 LSU at Mississippi St 8:15pm/9:15pm, ESPN - Should be a telling game for MSU.

NATIONAL GAMES OF INTEREST:

Friday, September 11, 2015 HAPPY 102nd BIRTHDAY, BEAR BRYANT!
Miami (FL) at FAU! 7pm/8pm FOXS1 - Maybe traveling to Boca will finally get the 'Canes a sellout?
Utah State at Utah 8pm/9pm, ESPN2 - Battle of the Bees

Saturday, September 12, 2015
South Florida at #10 Florida State 10:30am/11:30am ESPN- Why so early?
Oregon State at Michigan 11am/12pm, ABC - The other Granola vs. Oven Mitt game.
Buffalo at Penn State 11am/12pm, ESPN2 - How do the Nittany Lions bounce back?
Miami (OH) at #20 Wisconsin 11am/12pm, ESPNU - Rooting interest!
Appalachian State at #12 Clemson 11:30am/12:30pm - First Wofford and now this? Take it easy, Dabo!
Hawaii at #1 Ohio State 2:30/3:30 BTN - Aloha
Minnesota at Colorado State 2:30/3:30 CBSSN - This game might be worth a peek or two.
Stephen F Austin at #2 TCU 2:30/3:30 FOXS1 - Back to typical Frogs scheduling.
Washington State at Rutgers 2:30/3:30, ESPNU - Might the Pirate be facing mutiny?
Tulane at #16 Georgia Tech 2:30/3:30, FoxSpSouth - Two former SEC teams face off (ask Kleph)
#11 Notre Dame at Virginia 2:30/3:30, ABC - The Dames should win but we can hope.
Memphis at Kansas 6pm/7pm - Memphis coach Justin Fuente will be a hot commodity after this season.
Lamar at #4 Baylor 6:30/7:30 FSN - zzzzz
#7 Oregon at #5 Michigan State 7pm/8pm, ABC - NATIONAL GAME OF THE WEEK
South Alabama at Nebraska 7pm/8pm BTN - JAGS!
Rice at Texas 7pm/8pm - How funny would it be... nah, it couldn't happen. Could it?
Georgia State at New Mexico State 7pm/8pm - Worst game of the Year.
#23 Boise State at BYU 9:15/10:15, ESPN2 - Elimination game?
#13 UCLA at UNLV 9:30/10:30 CBSSN - Check out freshman QB Josh Rosen if you are still awake.

#ALABAMA

MTSU vs. ALABAMA 3pm/4pm, SECN - Bama is favored by 34.

#RollTide!