College Football - Week 1

College football is finally here! Every week I will be doing a recap of what we learned from the previous week and a list of games to watch for the upcoming week, as well as my Prime 5 Picks. The “What We Learned” section will include some things we learned from the previous week of football and will always include some info on the Big Three Utah teams (sorry Weber State) as well as some other teams across the country.  

The “Games to Watch” section will list some exciting upcoming games in the next week. Last year I went 44-21 with my “Prime 5 Picks.” I’ll look to improve my record this season. Each week, I will make 5 picks and I’ll try to pick the underdogs who will pull off the upsets as well as road teams. I’ll be sure to include at least one of the Big 3 Utah teams.

What We Learned

BYU is not ready for big time football. They had multiple chances to take Virginia out in the rain-drenched, delayed, firework-filled game. After Hill led the Cougars with a very impressive drive, he wasn’t able to connect with his receivers after they fell behind. His 33% completion percentage should not entirely be a reflection of his performance Saturday with all the drops from BYU receivers. Good thing is it was only week 1 and not week 10.

Utah State showed us that they could score, but we knew that already. Chuckie Keeton had a great performance, but again, no surprise there. The defense didn’t really hold up, they still have some great rushers including Keeton, and they’re still within a touchdown of the Utes. We didn’t really learn a ton about this team and their new coach this past week, so we look forward to watching more of them.

The Utes are even harder to figure out than the Aggies. We knew they’d be close to Utah State. They received a 3-point margin for playing at home, and only won by four, so it’s safe to say this team is pretty even with Utah State. Fortunately for them they were able to extend their lead in the 12^th-oldest FBS rivalry.

 

Alabama is still the nation’s best team until proven otherwise. There is no clear-cut number two out there. 

Oregon had a dominating performance, an injury- and suspension-ridden Ohio State team handled business against Buffalo, Clemson upset Georgia at home, and Stanford is still hanging around with possibly the best coach in college football on their sideline. You also have South Carolina, LSU, Louisville, and Florida along with Manziel and company waiting to make their cases.

Boise State and Oregon State were a little overrated starting off. Boise State has been mostly overrated the past few years, but now I think writers and media analysts are hanging onto past success even more.

Florida State’s young phenom QB Jameis Winston is scary good. The freshmen threw for 356 yards and four TD’s while rushing for one as well. The scarier part is went 25-27. That’s an amazing feat no matter who you are. The scariest part is that this was his first college football game ever.

Games to Watch

We’re still weeding out the warm-up games a lot of teams have on their schedules, but there are a few really great games to watch this week despite the NFL stealing some of the limelight with its season-opener on Thursday. Here is the rundown of games to tune in to:

South Carolina at Georgia – The SEC opener will have title implications; that shows how deep the SEC is. Georgia will look to rebound from their loss against Clemson. South Carolina’s box score looked impressive against the Tar Heels, but North Carolina was able to give them fits with their fast-paced offense. Look for Georgia to improve upon the Tar Heels’ blueprint.

Florida at Miami – Florida will be favored in this game, but look for Miami to really put up a fight. The Canes sophomore running back Duke Johnson is arguably the best in the country. He put up 186 yards last week, albeit against an inferior opponent. Florida’s run-defense looked solid in their first outing.

Notre Dame at Michigan – This will be a tell-tale game for both sides. Notre Dame was really the ninth- or tenth-best team in the country last year despite their perfect record and BCS Championship Game bid. This year they’re ranked in the mid-teens right in front of a Michigan team who has national title hopes. Beating the Irish at home will need to be their first step.

Texas at BYU – Texas is much improved from years past, and BYU will be at home. Most have Texas favored in this game, but if BYU can pull off the upset, they’ll raise some eyebrows nationally.

West Virginia at Oklahoma – Last year, Oklahoma beat out West Virginia by a point in a high-scoring 50-49 game. That was also with Geno Smith leading the Mountaineers at QB. Oklahoma looks to be the better team, but it should be a fun game to watch.

Prime 5 Picks

Here are the Prime 5 Picks for week 2:

1) Texas over BYU (road win). Sorry Cougars, you start the year 0-2. Texas isn’t great, so it’s a winnable game for Bronco and bunch. Based on last week, BYU will also be praying for good weather.

2) Georgia over South Carolina (upset). Even though South Carolina has the best defensive lineman in college football, Georgia can avoid him. The Bulldogs are too much for the Gamecocks defense to handle.

3) Utah State over Air Force (upset). Utah State was able to figure out some things on offense, and this week they make some adjustments on defense to hold off Air Force.

4) Michigan over Notre Dame. While Michigan is barely favored at home, this is going to be a tough game. I don’t think the Irish get the breaks they did last year to finish unscathed in the regular season. 

5) Miami over Florida (upset). Florida will be favored this time, but this is their trap game. Miami has a dynamic runner and are a dark horse for many to make a BCS bowl game this year. Florida’s also on the road.