The opening week of the major college football season kicked off on Thursday night and took full advantage of five uninterrupted days on the last vacant weekend before the NFL cuts out it's share starting September 13th. When the dust settled in Blacksburg, Virginia late Monday night the only certainty was that the CFB Playoff picture got, if nothing else, at least 1/15th clearer.
The Good:
Tiquan Lang
The junior safety from Marshall had the game of his or anyone else's life on Saturday versus Purdue. Lang recorded 17 tackles and two interceptions BOTH returned for touchdowns. Yet perhaps the most amazing feat was not being a unanimous National Defensive Player of the Week award winner.
Josh Rosen
The UCLA freshmen QB only went 28/35 for 352 yards with 3 TD's and no picks in his first collegiate game. That's good enough for a total QBR of 90.8. The Walter Camp Player of the Week, Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week and Manning Award Star of the Week will have to hone his skills on the road at UNLV next Saturday and host BYU the following week before the schedule really heats up with Arizona and ASU back to back.
Alabama
The Crimson Tide put a lot doubts to rest and a lot of fear into the rest of the country with a convincing win over Wisconsin in Arlington, Texas Saturday Night. The score (35-17) was closer than the game but Alabama coach Nick Saban relied heavily on the reserves for much of the second half. Tide RB Derrick Henry catapulted himself into early Heisman contention with 147 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Braxton Miller
The former Ohio State starting QB/Heisman candidate played his first game back from injury (and at wide receiver!) on Monday night against the Virginia Tech Hokies. Braxton was a career 5,000+ yard passer, 3,000+ yard rusher and accounted for 84 total TD's as the signal caller for the Buckeyes before being injured last season. In his first stint as wide receiver he collected 78 yards and a TD including the highlight of the night.
The Bad:
Stanford
The Cardinal came into the season ranked #21 in the country with a veteran senior QB in Kevin Hogan and having won two of the last three Pac-12 championships. Only to promptly lay an egg in a 16-6 loss at Northwestern, a team still feeling the impact of losing to Braxton Miller and Ohio State two-years ago. The clock is ticking for head coach David Shaw who may have finally run out of (Andrew) Luck.
Kansas, Washington State and Wyoming
All three programs lost to FCS opponents the opening weekend. South Dakota State, Portland State and North Dakota respectively. None of these FBS schools would be considered title contenders and some FCS schools have been making serious strides in recent years but Kansas and Washington State are in power conferences and should be ashamed of themselves. Unfortunately for Kansas, their schedule does not get any easier for the rest of the season. At least Washington State and Wyoming get a chance to settle their mediocrity on the field in two weeks in what should be a classic.
Texas
When the eyes of Texas are upon you, try not to lose by 35 to Notre Dame. Texas has played for two NATIONAL titles in the last decade but the Horns have fallen on hard times (comparatively) in Austin with a record of 36-29, including only one 9-win season, since 2009. Charlie Strong is a good coach and Texas is rich with recruitable talent which only adds to the perplexing dilemma of how a team with incredible facilities, incredible program support and it's own television network can be so incredibly inept in almost all areas of the game. Texas hosts the no-longer-a-pushover Rice and high scoring Cal before conference play begins in three weeks. If the Longhorns can't win either of those games, they may not find a win until November when Kansas comes to town.Penn State
The second season of the James Franklin era in Happy Valley started under historically dubious circumstances with a 27-10 loss against in-state rival Temple. (See below) The Nittany Lions are lucky to only have one conference game (Rutgers) in the next four weeks before Indiana comes to Beaver Stadium October 10th. The bad news is the rest of their schedule will not afford them the same opportunities as all the ones they missed against the Owls.
The Ugly:
Week one is supposed to be about new beginnings. A land of blinding optimism where playoff hope springs eternal. Sadly, in this oft cruel game, tragedy strikes before the game clock reaches triple zeroes for the first time. Thus is the case for Syracuse, Va. Tech and BYU. All three programs lost their starting QB to injury on the opening week. Terrell Hunt (Cuse) and Taysom Hill (BYU) are out for the season while Michael Brewer (VT) will miss at least a month if not two.
Allegiances and color schemes aside, every good fan knows the joy and entertainment from this game comes from great competition and no one wants to see these athletes hurt. It's especially difficult when a player has battled back from injury before, as is the case for Cougars QB Taysom Hill. Hill suffered injuries in 2012 and 2014 before returning this season as an outside Heisman candidate. When healthy, Hill is one of the most gutsy and dynamic playmakers at the position.
We're Going Streaking!
Temple defeated Penn St. on Saturday for the first time in 74 years. < -- READ THAT AGAIN. The last Owls victory over the Nittany Lions came on October 18th, 1941. 50 days before Pearl F'n Harbor! Penn State's 38 wins (with one tie) over Temple is the second longest winning streak over a single opponent after Notre Dame's 43 game dominance of Navy that ended in 2007. It was the longest active streak in the NCAA with that honor now falling to Florida, which is currently riding a 28-game winning streak against SEC East division rival Kentucky.
Temple won the game 27-10 thanks in large part to the defense, which held PSU to only 180 total yards and sacked QB Christian Hackenberg 10 times.
After Temple travels to AAC title-contender Cincinnati on Saturday, their schedule is very forgiving until late October with games against MAC opponent Umass, FBS newcomer Charlotte, Blue Devil Week 1 doormat Tulane and UCF which lost to Florida International, in between. If the defense can continue to be solid and the offense remain steady behind the QB/RB duo of juniors P.J. Walker and Jahad Thomas, the Owls could have high hopes come November.
Heisman Candidates (Stats)
Ray Lawry (So. RB) Old Dominion - 223 rushing yds. 4 TD's
Patrick Mahomes (So. QB) Texas Tech - 473 total yds. 4 TD's, Int.
Tiquan Lang (Jr. DB) Marshall - See Above.
Heisman Candidates (Media)
Seth Russell (Jr. QB) Baylor - 376 passing yds. 5 TD's, Int.
Baker Mayfield (Jr. QB) Oklahoma - 388 passing yds. 3 TD's
Derrick Henry (Jr. RB) Alabama - See Above.
(My) Playoff Picture
1. Ohio State - "To be the Man, you gotta beat the Man. Wooo!" -- Ric Flair
2. Alabama - From start to finish, the Tide were the best looking Top 10 team opening weekend.
3. Baylor - Struggled early but the defense pitched a second half shutout. The offense which started to click late against SMU will have a real chance to sharpen itself against Lamar on Saturday.
4. Notre Dame - Outside of Alabama, the Irish made the biggest impact against a quality (cough) or what should be considered a quality opponent, at home versus Texas. As far as the opening week eye test is concerned the Irish passed with flying colors.
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