Official 2015 College Football Week 1 thread
 

The new season kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 3rd! 5 straight days of games over Labor Day weekend.

There is only one match up between Top 25 teams to start the season:

Wisconsin vs. Alabama (at AT&T Stadium, Arlington TX)

I won't post in one of these threads once the season starts but I will lurk. Can't wait to see which one of you is the first to complain about a call I make. :)

That ref is blind!!! What kind of call was that!!!

I think we already did that after the Dr Pepper halftime contest last year :D

Can I get a list of the games you ref so I can avoid watching the trainwrecks.

Good luck this season, Dr.

Will Texas be any good this year? Do they have any players left after last year's purge?

Not without a QB.

Interested to see how TCU does with all the eyes and the hype that is going with them.

No clue how they will do. They did lose a lot to graduation on the defensive side, but some of the new freshmen that are coming in (Malik Jefferson for one) look really promising. On offense, the O-line has to play better than last year, and QB is going to be a question mark. I think if they were playing Rice the first game of the season instead of a trip to Notre Dame, that Jerrod Heard would be the starter. They are moving to an uptempo offense, as opposed to the pro style attack they used last season. I'm guessing they will end up in the 7 to 9 win range this season. Based on his past history, the big jumps in performance for Charlie Strong teams are in years 3 and 4.

Does MJ4H still come around? 'cause Arkansas hopefully won't cover the 33 point spread against UTEP when we meet. Yeah, I said it!

Was hoping Jefferson would be an Aggie - he's a good one. How is Jonathan Gray looking? Big fan of his in HS

I dont see any scenario where yall hit 9 wins. Saw Heard play at Guyer a few times and while he is a good runner, his passing left something to be desired. Maybe he improved on that during his time on the acres

Im not real optimistic about the Hawks this season. I went through there schedule and figure a 7-5 season is what will happen.
The OTs are young and inexperienced. And not super talented yet.
I think we have speed in our skill players. But Iowa doesn't like speed much. or the players aren't great practice players. Just game breakers. Which means they sit.
A new QB. But one that is mobile and has a rocket for an arm.
RB by committee. They should be pretty good, though.

The D line should be solid. The LBs hopefully average. The DBs should be ok at corner, weak at safety.

But, hey, Iowa does have 2 punters and 2 kickers on scholarship. But I think a walk on is punting.

Gray looks like he is all the way back from the Achilles injury. He'll be the workhorse this year, since Malcolm Brown graduated. But it will depend on the OL improving over the trainwreck they were last season. There are some people hoping that Swoopes and/or Heard have something similar happen like to Boynkin when TCU went up-tempo last year. But again, to me the key will be how the offensive line performs. If they can't open any running lanes or protect the QB, then the defense will have to carry a lot of water this season.

I'm going out on a big limb here.

Mizzou will win the SEC East.

Clemson lost so much talent fro last years great Defense. A full 9 startes are gone and given a few recent injuries and attrition there is more than 6,000 snaps from last year not available.

Anything more than 8-4, 9-3 will be a success

Ohio St. @ Virginia Tech, TCU @ Minnesota, Louisville vs. Auburn, Texas @ Notre Dame, Arizona St. vs. Texas A&M, Michigan @ Utah, and BYU @ Nebraska are all real good week one games as well.

Apparently Ohio State's most promising young WR just suffered a serious injury in practice. The top 3 returning WRs are already suspended against VT so it's going to be a thin WR group in week one for Ohio State. Braxton Miller is going to get a workout in his first game.

Don't forget Chris Petersen returning to his old stomping grounds in Boise. Also the 3rd time Washington & the Broncos have played in the last 4 years.

There's a reason why Bud hasn't gotten a head coaching job.

Asshole College Football Coach Comes Up With New Way To Screw Over His Players

He's more deserving of an HC job than a lot of the prima donnas who end up attending college are deserving of being on a campus.

Anything that busts the absurdity of making them professional athletes while coddling them, I'm all for.

Go Blue! Interested to see what Michigan looks like with Harbaugh.

Bud is an X&O mastermind.
The reason he isn't a head coach is because he cant fund raise, he cant schmooze boosters and he is a marginal recruiter.

Fun side story. In 2008/2009 he interviewed for the Clemson HC gig. This is a verbatim exchange. (The interview, like all first interviews during that search, was taped)
AD: A lot of boosters are clamoring for the interim HC to be hired. We really like what you bring to the table. Of course pleasing boosters is necessary to fund raising. If we hired you, we would have a meeting with a select handful of associates and let you address them first. What would you say to convince them you were the right hire.
Bud: Honestly I dont give a flip what they think. Hire me I will win games, dont hire me and I will make sure to beat your ass everytime we play you. It is that simple.

Sounds cute. Sounds hard core. Sounds Lombardi-esque...doesnt sound like the CEO of a mult million dollar corporation.

Basically, this. Have heard a number of similar stories to yours.

I think the fining thing is kind of funny, but it's terrible PR for him and VPI and will certainly be used by others against VPI in recruiting.

Pumped for the Wisconsin/Bama game.

The Badgers have a fairly easy schedule this year so if they can pull off the upset against Alabama (and they can...Badgers Defense going to be stout again this year) they could make the Big 10 Championship with zero or 1 loss. Hopefully they can do better than the clown stomping they got last year....

Biggest questions for the Badgers will be their offensive line.. Shocker, right?

What a douche.

I'll take the heat... but I had the line set at 28.5 with my numbers so I think you should cover (especially if we get up early and decide to protect Collins now)

As an outside observer I wish Kyler Murray had gone to UT... instead we have to deal with a QB time share at A&M between two really good players and a UT held back by poor QB play.

ND looks good, but still thin in a few important places (RB & DL). Between Jaylon Smith, Kei'Varae Russell and Sheldon Day they have a potential AA at every level, but the Jarron Jones injury kills our DL depth. Getting Texas opening week this year is a blessing, @UVa is a little dicey, but really GT is the huge potential September land mine. Get through that and October should be a lot of fun with @ Clemson and USC. Anything past that is too far to project.

UMass should actually be a MAC contender in this, our last year in conference. Non-con isn't bad at all outside of the trip to ND - I like Colorado's coach, but I'm not willing to buy in to them being that much better yet, and Temple at a neutral site (plus @ FIU) is a winnable game. Fingers crossed for a bowl game before we enter the wilderness of FBS independence. Or at least for a healthy season from Frohnapfel and Tajae Sharpe - Tajae is better than Victor Cruz was in college imo, really intrigued to see how his NFL career plays out.

I'm buying Sark's first victory shot!

Top QB recruit, Josh Rosen, won the UCLA starting QB job.

When I saw this in your list, I was thinking "that's going to be a slaughter". I had to remind myself that Minnesota wasn't terrible last year.

You sure never miss a shot to troll USC...



I'm hoping for a bounceback season for IU after last year's debacle following the Sudfeld injury. He's back and healthy, and we'll need him to stay that way, because there is still a big drop-off to QB2. We'll sure miss Tevin Coleman, but UAB transfer Jordan Howard should be a bruiser behind one of the better o-lines in the Big Ten. Our d-line and linebackers should be the best IU has had in recent memory. The secondary is inexperienced but more physically talented than what we usually have. If Sudfeld stays healthy (and the secondary is decent), I can see 7 wins. If he goes down, it could be another year of pain.

Sure I do! :)

It is a PR problem. It kinda laughable that the dolts at Deadspin would think that an ASSISTANT COACH/COORDINATOR would have the authority to implement program wide policy.

VT is also the first school on record to officially state they will not use fines as discipline.

And if you don't think that other programs haven't thought of/implemented the same thing, I don't know what to tell you.

Minnesota was real good at home especially. Their only loss was to Ohio St., and they played them tough.

Granted, it could be a slaughter, and I wouldn't be too surprised.

It's Minny. You never know what your going to get.
But I am interested in that game.

And Wisconsin....

I remember seeing this stuff pop up a couple months ago, but the timing is pretty shocking

Illinois fires coach Tim Beckman after it confirms allegations of player abuse | Dr. Saturday - Yahoo Sports

Tim Beckman fired as coach of Illinois Fighting Illini

You have to go 25-12 if you are going to treat your players like this, not 12-25.

Why can't they be on our schedule this year?!? :cry:

Minnesota didn't play Wisconsin at home last year.

Rutgers gets Illinois next year after being welcomed into the league with Wisconsin and Nebraska as the crossover games for the first two seasons. :banghead:

Iowa has another cupcake schedule. Maryland and Indiana are our crossover games. And I still think 7-5. So frustrating.

Ooooohhhhhh
Iowa is wearing an alternate uniform. And it's not a throwback. We have a blackout game on 11-14. The Unix haven't been revealed. But they are all black with gold accents. They are made by Nike.
Welcome to the 21st century, Ferentz.

They quit playing Mizzou. Got tired of getting thumped.

You mean like last year?
Indiana upsets No. 18 Missouri on D'Angelo Roberts' late TD run

'Illinois' is spelled differently than 'Indiana'.

So I guess that is why Mizzou quit playing Indiana. They got tired of being thumped.

Back to football news, the FCS starts play tomorrow with the FCS Kickoff Game, North Dakota State at Montana, 2:30pm Central on ESPN.

Always fun to see the same troll who derailed a post pretend to be the one to put it back on track. I'd talk about North Dakota State and Mizzou too if I was a Texas fan.

Why did you bring up Mizzou regarding a comment about Indiana playing Illinois? They are two teams in the same conference. It has no bearing on their schedules if an out-of-conference game is played or not.

Because it's the first week and it's a clear reminder that they used to play us every 1st week.

Listen, I've literally gone months (at least all of 2015) without responding to a single post you've made. I've made a conscious effort to do so. Meanwhile, you repeatedly troll my posts with snipes and smart-ass remarks. Some on the board have even called you out as a cyber-bully. After this post, I'm going to go back to ignoring your repeated trolling, but stop acting like you're somehow achieving anything by continuing to troll my every response. At some point, it looks ridiculous. You're better than that. Act like it.

Umm.... ok :rolleyes:

The irony of this post is overflowing.

While I agree that it is ridiculous that he make that point, I too have noticed that you're always ready with a response to any of his posts.

Sir, I can a assure you that Cartman is not better than that! Good day!

Wow. That was quick.

+1

Forbes did a report on the Top 5 ticket prices on the secondary market. Irish season ticket holders that sell are gonna do well this year.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jesselaw...tball-tickets/

He totally missed Clemson - Notre Dame.

Cheapest tickets on stub hub are $285 now.
I personally sold 4 for $850 each. In the upper deck.

I have a friend who got $3,000 for a pair.

It looks like per Google the average Clemson ND ticket is around 400. Get in about 274. The article ranked them on average so that's why they aren't in the top five. Who knows how good or reliable the data is.

This has been a fun game to watch so far. Would be even better if we didn't have to hear Musburger OVEREMPHASIZE every OTHER word.

Yeah, the defense certainly looks like they are trying to get their legs underneath them. It's no surprise that the offensive line is starting open up some big holes as the massive size advantage starts to take hold. I'd expect the game to stay close with the Bison pulling away in the 4th as the Montana defense wears out. In the meantime, the NDSU defense is playing well, but a bit more pressure would be good too.

SHUT your MOUTH, cartman.

That's a KEY point, DIGAMMAHHH

This IS one HELL of A game. TURN on YOUR tv if YOUUU are NOT watching.

fuck

Sorry, PilotMan. That was a hell of a game. Montana scored the winning TD with 2 seconds left. I'm so happy that college football is back!

My dad just called and said, are you ready to head to Columbia next Saturday? WOOT WOOT!

Thanks...looking forward to it.


Because watching Furman football isn't a trainwreck enough?

Coastal Carolina is joining the Sun Belt. That'll make 130 FBS teams in 2017.

Coastal Carolina's move to Sun Belt will result in 130 FBS teams for 2017 - CBSSports.com

Is 130 an important number or just a fact?

3 days 23 hours and 51 minutes to Iowa football!!!!

And there was much rejoicing!

On the eve of a great Ameerican holiday a really good article on X&O Defense of Patterson and TCU. This is 400 level stuff if not graduate school stuff.

Hard Knocks: Playing Defense With TCU’s Gary Patterson «

HARBAUGH

Another EXCELLENT read here.
Why Jim Harbaugh and Michigan May Not Live Happily Ever After | Bleacher Report

Harbaugh is a manimal but that Beamer story...

What a fantastic read. Thanks for posting. Forwarding this on to some other buds that would get a kick out of this.

Chris Brown is awesome. I highly recommend most of his Grantland articles and the SmartFootball website.

Iowa' starting QB the last 2 seasons starts for Michigan tonight. I hope he has a great game to show how inept KF is.

North and South Carolina are playing like they bet on each other.

It seems like KF is validated, at least on that decision. Want him back?

I saw a nice Butt in traffic today.

Looks like a bad opening game result for Harbaugh.

Rudock has an OK arm, but his deep throws have been inaccurate and he telegraphs his throws to such an extent that his poor receivers lose most of their separation. I'd imagine there will be a lot of discussion about 1B over the next week (Harbaugh listed both Rudock and Shane Morris as co-starters).

This isn't a team that's anywhere near competing for the Big Ten title.

It's funny. But I thought I was watching Iowa last night. Lots of check downs and over thrown long balls. And a horizontal passing game.

I guess it's the bottom of the B1G, but several RU players arrested yesterday. Cops show up to practice to make arrests, including 2 starting defensive backfield players. And it wasn't jaywalking, rather assault, armed robbery, and more. Yay! Can't wait for Flood to be gone. One of the players had been suspended by coaches several times and was on probation (several of the coaches wanted him off) and the other starter was the player Flood allegedly tried to get better grades. You can't make this stuff up.

Do you work for the Star-Ledge or New Jersey Advanced Media?

Utah was favored by 5. I don't think anyone expected this to be a one year process.

People forget that he was 9-15 at Stanford when he didn't have Andrew Luck at QB.

Agreed. Do we remember what Michigan looked like in the last half of last season?

Sigh... Marquise with 3 red-zone INTs. Turn them into FGs and 13-17 becomes 22-17.

He also took over a 1-11 team though.

Yeah what cmp said. Stanford was dreadfully bad when he took over.

I thought the decision to go for it on fourth down rather than to take the FG to make it 17-16 was suspect. Other than one big play the defense had held S. Carolina to 10 points. Force a punt and get the ball back with 2 minutes left? Seemed like an easy call, but what do I known.

No, should I?

Lots of teams go from 1 win to 4/5 win seasons with a coaching change.

Plus he recruited and developed Andrew Luck, he has 4 QB's on campus or committed between the 2015 and 2016 classes (Luck was redshirted FR year too despite the team going 5-7), and the real driver behind those Stanford teams was the bruising offensive line which also takes time to develop. I guess I get that his arrogance has a lot of people rooting against him, and I doubt he stays long-term, but I'd be willing to bet a whole lot on Michigan being very good in 3-4 years. And I'm a Notre Dame fan.

Um, so? He was 4-8 and 5-7 after taking over one of the worst Pac-10 programs in recent memory, including notching a win over USC back when they were USC.

And why the caveat about Luck? That he got Luck to commit to him was no sure thing; he convinced Luck to believe in what he was building when Luck could have gone just about anywhere he wanted. And then he ensured that Luck lived up to his enormous potential.

Also, Stanford wasn't good simply because of Luck - Harbaugh built a culture of toughness and physical development there that was just as important as any key recruiting win. He built the Cardinal into one of the most bruising and effective running teams in the country and brought in the guys that helped Stanford field one of the strongest defenses in the CFB in the last 5 years.

Harbaugh might be a dick and a real pain in the ass to work with, but he's also one of the very best in the business.

Dude, no offense, but unless you're telling me you were an avid Pac 12 watcher during that time and still hold to this opinion, I'm kinda putting your take aside.

Before Harbaugh was hired, Stanford was putrid. Just terrible. They were beyond doormats. Harbaugh not only changed the kids in that program, he changed the program itself and the whole culture. That wasn't Luck. Luck was just a part of the scene; a key part, yes, but that was Harbaugh's program, through and through.

Harbaugh was so good at Stanford that an, IMO, pedestrian carry over coach in David Shaw has managed to keep that program going good by driving it on cruise control, and it has been what 4-5 years now? Crazy.