College football is back and we were treated to some great games in week one. We waited all spring and summer with no games and then are faced with the decision on what game to watch when five or six great match-ups are on at one time on Saturday night. That's an embarrasment of riches but it makes it tough to keep up. The networks need to do a better job scheduling these games but who are we to complain? Week one is just about in the books but we still have one game on Sunday (Ohio at Louisville) and one on Monday (FSU at Pitt). Here are the highlights from the Thursday through Saturday action….
The Best Games
Ole Miss 39 Vandy 35
Two up and coming SEC schools fighting to try and get to the next level. Vandy scored with just a minute and a half left to take a three point lead but Jeff Scott then took matters into his own hands with a brilliant 75 yard TD run to win the game for Ole Miss.
Clemson 38 Georgia 35
This game lived up the hype and the key factor for Clemson was that they simply made less mistakes than Georgia and in the middle of this game the Clemson defensive line owned the line of scrimmage. Georgia's star RB Todd Gurley had 154 yards on just 12 carries including 2 TDs but it was Clemson QB Tajh Boyd and his five TDs that led his team to victory. It only gets harder from here for Georgia with South Carolina and LSU coming to Athens over the next few weeks.
A Startling Trend
Every year there is a team or two that falls to a FCS opponent. This year there were seven. Seven!
Eastern Illinois 40 San Diego State 19
Eastern Washington 49 Oregon State 46
McNeese St 53 USF 21
North Dakota State 24 Kansas State 21
Northern Iowa 28 Iowa State 20
Southern Utah 22 South Alabama 21
Towson 33 UConn 18
Most Impressive
Washington Huskies- It's usually the Boise State Broncos that are bashing heads on opening day but this year it was the Huskies that showed they should be taken seriously. After leading 10-6 in the third, Washington pulled away by scoring four unanswered TDs and winning 38-6 as QB Keith Price threw for 324 yds and RB Bishop Sankey ran for 161.
Biggest Storylines
Johnny Manziel lives in a world much like the Truman Show or EDtv where fans around the world are privy to his every move. When he taunted a Rice player by telling him he wasn't going to sign an autograph for him, social media exploded. I don't have a "strong media take" on Manziel and what kind of person he is but I will tell him that he needs to do a better job getting himself under control and being a leader for his team. His team is going to take his cue and follow his actions. He is an emotional player but he does need to tone it down just a bit. He lives under a microscope and the backlash is just beginning. Right now Johnny Football is the most hated man in college football and that's something he needs to understand.
Jadeveon Clowney was the media's whipping boy on Thursday as he was "out of shape" in the opener against UNC. Was he out of shape? Was he recovering from being sick? Either way, he's got to be licking his chops after watching the performance of Georgia's offensive line against what was said to be an average Clemson defensive line.
Looking Ahead
Here are the top games on the horizon for week two. Check back here during the week for predictions (I went 9-4, 69%, against the spread in SEC picks for week one) and previews:
Florida at Miami (FL)
South Carolina at Georgia
Notre Dame at Michigan
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