For those of you who have been here before, this has been a popular feature. For newcomers, every Sunday morning I'll put together ten thoughts on the weekend outside of the Mizzou game. Everybody here has tunnel vision for the Tigers, but may miss some of the rest of what goes on. Week one didn't have a lot of really exciting matchups or good games, but it was still our first full weekend of college football in nine months so let's break it down.
1) You can only start one place. Whether you thought Deion Sanders was a great hire or a disaster in waiting, you were absolutely interested to see what was going to happen. I had no idea exactly what to expect, but what I didn't expect was for them to come out and look as good as they did and walk out of Fort Worth with a 45-42 win over TCU. I understand TCU lost a lot from last year. They are still a representative Power Five team who I'd expect to finish something like 8-4 this season. Colorado hasn't just been bad, it's been a dumpster fire. This is the first road win over a ranked team since 2002. In other words, Coach Prime did something that Colorado has not done as a member of the PAC-12. Ever.
I didn't expect Dylan Edwards to score four touchdown in his first college game. I didn't expect Shedeur Sanders to throw for 500 yards and play a more or less perfect quarterback game. I didn't expect Travis Hunter to play 119 snaps as basically a full-time offensive and defensive player and clearly be the best player on the field. If he continues anything close to that the rest of the season, he's absolutely a Heisman finalist. Truthfully, if he plays 50 snaps a game on both sides of the ball, I have a hard time seeing how I wouldn't vote for him. If we're talking about the best player in college football, find me someone else who does that.
It's one week. This doesn't mean Deion is a definite home run. But I don't know how he could have started off any better. For all of those who looked at this as a publicity stunt or a gimmick, it quite clearly is not.
2) If week one is any indication, the PAC-12 is about to go out with a bang. The league isn't going to exist after this year (or if it does, it's in name only). But here's a sampling of what it's given us so far at quarterback:
Shedeur Sanders, Colorado: 38/47, 510 yards, 4 touchdowns
Caleb Williams, USC: 36/49 for 597 yards, 9 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in two blowout wins
Michael Penix Jr., Washington: 29/40, 450 yards, 5 touchdowns in a 56-19 destruction of Boise State
Bo Nix, Oregon: 23/27 for 287 and 3 touchdowns in a half in Oregon's 81-7 (yes, really) win over Portland State
Cameron Ward, Washington State: 37/49, 451 yards, 3 touchdowns (plus 40 yards and a TD rushing) in a 50-24 win over Colorado State
Y'all better stay up late to watch some PAC-12 after dark this year.
3) Up next for team of the week Colorado is the home opener against Nebraska. While the Buffs may have given us the biggest story of week one, the Huskers gave us the one I enjoyed the most. Scott Frost always seemed so close, but he kept losing close games in weird ways. Enter Matt Rhule. Nothing changed. The Huskers led Minnesota 10-3 with five minutes left and had a first down near midfield. They fumbled on the next play, gave up a tying touchdown with 2:32 left, drove to midfield, then Jeff Sims threw a pick with 58 seconds left. Minnesota moved to the Nebraska 29 and booted a 47-yard field goal. Gophers 13, Huskers 10. What a shame. You hate to see it.
4) Elsewhere in the Big Ten, one middle of the road team survived a G5 scare and another didn't. Illinois fell behind Toledo 19-7, scored 20 straight, fell behind again then drove for a game-winning field goal to beat Toledo 30-28. The Rockets are the MAC favorite and a solid team so a close game isn't a shock. Illinois faces Penn State and Wisconsin, but everything else is winnable and a bowl game should be the expectation in Champaign. They needed this one to avoid tripping out of the gate. Meanwhile, former Illini (and Mizzou) DC Ryan Walters saw his defense give up 366 yards and four passing touchdowns to Mike Keene in his first start for Fresno State. The last one came with 58 seconds left and the Bulldogs beat Purdue 39-35. Not necessarily an embarrassing loss, but also not the way to start your tenure.
Speaking o the middle of the Big Ten, Iowa has to average 25 points a game and win seven for offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz to get his contract renewed. The Hawkeyes are on track for one of those after a 24-14 win over Utah State. You can follow along with my favorite college football subplot here
5) What if Penn State has a quarterback? The Nittany Lions have been very good under James Franklin. Since the start of 2016, they're 60-19 in non-COVID seasons. But they're 3-9 against Michigan and Ohio State and they haven't won their division because of that. But they also haven't had a star quarterback. I think they do now. Drew Allar threw for 325 yards and 3 touchdowns in an easy win over West Virginia. The Mountaineers aren't great (Neal Brown may be the first unemployed coach this year), but they're a Power FIve team and better than most teams the top 25 faced this week. A lot of people have pegged Penn State as a playoff darkhorse. If they get there, it's because of Allar and a suffocating defense.
6) You don't just walk into Larmie, Wyoming and come out a winner. Texas Tech, a preseason Big 12 favorite, led the Cowboys 17-0 at half. Wyoming won 35-33 in double OT after stopping the Red Raiders' two-point try and converting their own. The game featured three missed field goals by Texas Tech. It's okay, Red Raider fans, nobody in Columbia is making fun of you. They know your pain all too well.
7) Two SEC East teams looked about like I thought they'd look. South Carolina lost 31-17 to North Carolina. No shame in that. The Tar Heels are pretty good. Most will see the score and say "Sure, Drake Maye is good and Spencer Rattler is not." Except Rattler actually was very good. He completed 30/39 for 353 yards. But he can't do it alone. The Gamecocks gave up nine sacks, had none of their own and ran for a whopping minus-2 yards on 31 carries. That's no way to win any games, much less games against competent teams. SC deserves a lot of credit for beating Clemson and Tennessee last year, but a step back isn't hard to see coming.
Speaking of steps back, anybody that goes from Anthony Richardson to Graham Mertz should expect one. Mertz and the popgun Florida offense lost 24-11 to Utah without Cam Rising on Thursday. The Gators are picked fourth in the East, but I think that's a spot or two too high. Billy Napier is recruiting his ass off, but he has to win enough games this year to make sure he gets to coach the incoming class. I'm not sure he will. I bet Deion Sanders would do a nice job with them though.
8) We'll post our plays of the week in this spot every week:
9) In this spot every week, we'll go stock up, stock down. Quick hitters, some of which I didn't have room for earlier.
Stock up: Colorado, Texas State, multiple Big Ten teams in the playoff, Jaylen Milroe as Alabama's starting QB, Jaxson Dart
Stock down: The Big 12, Arizona State, Butch Jones, Boston College, Miami (OH) as the real Miami
10) The best game of week one is tonight with LSU and Florida State at 6:30. But here are five games I'll watch next week other than Mizzou/Middle Tennessee:
Illinois at Kansas, 6:30 Friday, ESPN2: Could be a lot of points in this one. Both teams could be bowl bound.
Nebraska at Colorado, 11 am Saturday, FOX: A 2-0 start would make some serious waves and have the Buffs ranked (they may be on Tuesday)
Troy at Kansas State, 11 am Saturday, FS1: I don't think the Trojans win this. But Tulane won in Manhattan last year and rode it to a great season. Could Troy do the same? Will be worth watching with the Wildcats headed to Columbia the following week.
Ole Miss at Tulane, 2:30 Saturday, ESPN2: Sure the Rebels scored 73 on Saturday, but Tulane ain't Mercer.
SMU at Oklahoma, 5:00 Saturday, ESPN+: Who doesn't like a good ACC/SEC showdown?
1) You can only start one place. Whether you thought Deion Sanders was a great hire or a disaster in waiting, you were absolutely interested to see what was going to happen. I had no idea exactly what to expect, but what I didn't expect was for them to come out and look as good as they did and walk out of Fort Worth with a 45-42 win over TCU. I understand TCU lost a lot from last year. They are still a representative Power Five team who I'd expect to finish something like 8-4 this season. Colorado hasn't just been bad, it's been a dumpster fire. This is the first road win over a ranked team since 2002. In other words, Coach Prime did something that Colorado has not done as a member of the PAC-12. Ever.
I didn't expect Dylan Edwards to score four touchdown in his first college game. I didn't expect Shedeur Sanders to throw for 500 yards and play a more or less perfect quarterback game. I didn't expect Travis Hunter to play 119 snaps as basically a full-time offensive and defensive player and clearly be the best player on the field. If he continues anything close to that the rest of the season, he's absolutely a Heisman finalist. Truthfully, if he plays 50 snaps a game on both sides of the ball, I have a hard time seeing how I wouldn't vote for him. If we're talking about the best player in college football, find me someone else who does that.
It's one week. This doesn't mean Deion is a definite home run. But I don't know how he could have started off any better. For all of those who looked at this as a publicity stunt or a gimmick, it quite clearly is not.
2) If week one is any indication, the PAC-12 is about to go out with a bang. The league isn't going to exist after this year (or if it does, it's in name only). But here's a sampling of what it's given us so far at quarterback:
Shedeur Sanders, Colorado: 38/47, 510 yards, 4 touchdowns
Caleb Williams, USC: 36/49 for 597 yards, 9 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in two blowout wins
Michael Penix Jr., Washington: 29/40, 450 yards, 5 touchdowns in a 56-19 destruction of Boise State
Bo Nix, Oregon: 23/27 for 287 and 3 touchdowns in a half in Oregon's 81-7 (yes, really) win over Portland State
Cameron Ward, Washington State: 37/49, 451 yards, 3 touchdowns (plus 40 yards and a TD rushing) in a 50-24 win over Colorado State
Y'all better stay up late to watch some PAC-12 after dark this year.
3) Up next for team of the week Colorado is the home opener against Nebraska. While the Buffs may have given us the biggest story of week one, the Huskers gave us the one I enjoyed the most. Scott Frost always seemed so close, but he kept losing close games in weird ways. Enter Matt Rhule. Nothing changed. The Huskers led Minnesota 10-3 with five minutes left and had a first down near midfield. They fumbled on the next play, gave up a tying touchdown with 2:32 left, drove to midfield, then Jeff Sims threw a pick with 58 seconds left. Minnesota moved to the Nebraska 29 and booted a 47-yard field goal. Gophers 13, Huskers 10. What a shame. You hate to see it.
4) Elsewhere in the Big Ten, one middle of the road team survived a G5 scare and another didn't. Illinois fell behind Toledo 19-7, scored 20 straight, fell behind again then drove for a game-winning field goal to beat Toledo 30-28. The Rockets are the MAC favorite and a solid team so a close game isn't a shock. Illinois faces Penn State and Wisconsin, but everything else is winnable and a bowl game should be the expectation in Champaign. They needed this one to avoid tripping out of the gate. Meanwhile, former Illini (and Mizzou) DC Ryan Walters saw his defense give up 366 yards and four passing touchdowns to Mike Keene in his first start for Fresno State. The last one came with 58 seconds left and the Bulldogs beat Purdue 39-35. Not necessarily an embarrassing loss, but also not the way to start your tenure.
Speaking o the middle of the Big Ten, Iowa has to average 25 points a game and win seven for offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz to get his contract renewed. The Hawkeyes are on track for one of those after a 24-14 win over Utah State. You can follow along with my favorite college football subplot here
5) What if Penn State has a quarterback? The Nittany Lions have been very good under James Franklin. Since the start of 2016, they're 60-19 in non-COVID seasons. But they're 3-9 against Michigan and Ohio State and they haven't won their division because of that. But they also haven't had a star quarterback. I think they do now. Drew Allar threw for 325 yards and 3 touchdowns in an easy win over West Virginia. The Mountaineers aren't great (Neal Brown may be the first unemployed coach this year), but they're a Power FIve team and better than most teams the top 25 faced this week. A lot of people have pegged Penn State as a playoff darkhorse. If they get there, it's because of Allar and a suffocating defense.
6) You don't just walk into Larmie, Wyoming and come out a winner. Texas Tech, a preseason Big 12 favorite, led the Cowboys 17-0 at half. Wyoming won 35-33 in double OT after stopping the Red Raiders' two-point try and converting their own. The game featured three missed field goals by Texas Tech. It's okay, Red Raider fans, nobody in Columbia is making fun of you. They know your pain all too well.
7) Two SEC East teams looked about like I thought they'd look. South Carolina lost 31-17 to North Carolina. No shame in that. The Tar Heels are pretty good. Most will see the score and say "Sure, Drake Maye is good and Spencer Rattler is not." Except Rattler actually was very good. He completed 30/39 for 353 yards. But he can't do it alone. The Gamecocks gave up nine sacks, had none of their own and ran for a whopping minus-2 yards on 31 carries. That's no way to win any games, much less games against competent teams. SC deserves a lot of credit for beating Clemson and Tennessee last year, but a step back isn't hard to see coming.
Speaking of steps back, anybody that goes from Anthony Richardson to Graham Mertz should expect one. Mertz and the popgun Florida offense lost 24-11 to Utah without Cam Rising on Thursday. The Gators are picked fourth in the East, but I think that's a spot or two too high. Billy Napier is recruiting his ass off, but he has to win enough games this year to make sure he gets to coach the incoming class. I'm not sure he will. I bet Deion Sanders would do a nice job with them though.
8) We'll post our plays of the week in this spot every week:
9) In this spot every week, we'll go stock up, stock down. Quick hitters, some of which I didn't have room for earlier.
Stock up: Colorado, Texas State, multiple Big Ten teams in the playoff, Jaylen Milroe as Alabama's starting QB, Jaxson Dart
Stock down: The Big 12, Arizona State, Butch Jones, Boston College, Miami (OH) as the real Miami
10) The best game of week one is tonight with LSU and Florida State at 6:30. But here are five games I'll watch next week other than Mizzou/Middle Tennessee:
Illinois at Kansas, 6:30 Friday, ESPN2: Could be a lot of points in this one. Both teams could be bowl bound.
Nebraska at Colorado, 11 am Saturday, FOX: A 2-0 start would make some serious waves and have the Buffs ranked (they may be on Tuesday)
Troy at Kansas State, 11 am Saturday, FS1: I don't think the Trojans win this. But Tulane won in Manhattan last year and rode it to a great season. Could Troy do the same? Will be worth watching with the Wildcats headed to Columbia the following week.
Ole Miss at Tulane, 2:30 Saturday, ESPN2: Sure the Rebels scored 73 on Saturday, but Tulane ain't Mercer.
SMU at Oklahoma, 5:00 Saturday, ESPN+: Who doesn't like a good ACC/SEC showdown?
