College Football Official Week 1 Thread

[Butter]

Tomorrow night!

This week's top 25 action:

Charlotte v. #19 Louisville - Thurs. 7 PM, Fox Regional
Appalachian St. v. #9 Tennessee - Thurs. 7:30 PM, SECN
Furman v. # 12 Michigan St. - Fri. 7 PM, BTN
Northwestern St. v. #23 Baylor - Fri. 7:30 PM, Fox Regional
Kansas St. v. #8 Stanford - Fri. 9 PM, FS1
#10 Notre Dame v. Texas - Sun. 7:30 PM ABC
#11 Ole Miss v. #4 Florida St. @ Citrus Bowl, Orlando - Mon. 8 PM ESPN

Saturday:
Hawaii v. #7 Michigan - Noon ESPN
Bowling Green v. #6 Ohio St. - Noon BTN
#3 Oklahoma v. #15 Houston @ NRG Stadium, Houston - Noon ABC
Rutgers v. #14 Washington - 2 PM Pac 12 Network
SE Louisiana v. #21 Oklahoma St. - 3:30 PM Fox Regional
Miami (O) v. #17 Iowa - 3:30 PM ESPNU
#16 UCLA v. Texas A&M - 3:30 PM CBS
#5 LSU v. Wisconsin @ Lambeau Field - 3:30 PM ABC
UC Davis v. #24 Oregon - 5 PM Pac 12 Network
#18 Georgia v. #22 North Carolina @ Georgia Dome, Atlanta - 5:30 PM ESPN
UMass v. #25 Florida - 7:30 PM SECN
#20 USC v. #1 Alabama @ AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX - 8 PM ABC
S. Dakota St. v. #13 TCU - 8 PM Fox Regional
#2 Clemson v. Auburn - 9 PM ESPN

[dawgfan]

Can I just note how surreal it is to realize this is the first time Washington has been ranked to start a season since 2003? If you'd told me back then there would be a 13-year gap before the next time the Huskies were ranked in the pre-season I'd have thought you were absolutely insane.

[tarcone]

I am very excited about this season.
Such a rollercoaster few years of Iowa FB.
We have an elite defense.
We have the #1 rated offensive line according to ESPN.
We have a healthy, experienced QB.
We have a couple of really good RBs.

12-0 is not out of the question.

But, always a but, Iowa never lives up to the hype. When there are expectations, bad things happen.

I cannot wait for this season.

[Kodos]

I just want IU to build on their momentum with another bowl season. And for IU to win their bowl this time out. Go Hoosiers!

[CU Tiger]

All I want is for Clemson to improve their record by 1 win this year.
Can they please give me just this?

Absent that I will settle for the same record and a 1 spot improvement in their final ranking.

[lungs]

I don't have huge expectations for Wisconsin this year. The schedule is pretty brutal so 8-4 or 7-5 is about what I expect.

[bob]

Yay 7:30 AM EST kickoff for GT - BC on Saturday.

Actually, might as well get that out of the way early so I can focus on the important games.

Poor Ireland.

[digamma]

Those are the Tech fans we know and love! You never disappoint.

We are getting up and cooking an Irish breakfast (or something like that) and my boys and I will be glued to the TV early. Excited to watch Justin Thomas play at least 12 more times.

[Butter]

T-shirt mistake pits ‘Georgia vs. Boston’ | www.ajc.com

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by lungs

I don't have huge expectations for Wisconsin this year. The schedule is pretty brutal so 8-4 or 7-5 is about what I expect.

Wiscys schedule is beyond brutal.
Im glad we see you after you are done playing UM, MSU and OSU.

[EagleFan]

Michigan State versus Furman? Were the Sisters of the Blind already booked?

[Julio Riddols]

When Furman wins, you won't be making jokes. Nobody will.

[MrBug708]

Everyone is picking TAMU over UCLA. Hoping this is the start of a great year

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Butter

T-shirt mistake pits ‘Georgia vs. Boston’ | www.ajc.com

I heard about that. Very funny. My wife's boss flew over to be at the game.

[bob]

Originally Posted by digamma

Those are the Tech fans we know and love! You never disappoint.

We are getting up and cooking an Irish breakfast (or something like that) and my boys and I will be glued to the TV early. Excited to watch Justin Thomas play at least 12 more times.

Are you suggesting this is a marquee matchup?

[digamma]

Didn't say that at all. But it's not an embarrassment either that you need to apologize for. And separately, I'm going to have a blast watching. How often can you wake up to seeing your team's game start?

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Michigan State versus Furman? Were the Sisters of the Blind already booked?

Furman had 2 less FBS wins than South Carolina last year and were both 1-1 against common opponents, so don't get too cocky.

Either way, I predict a 45-10 MSU win.

[Logan]

If Rutgers can keep it to something like 31-14 or 31-17 I'll be happy. Tough opener for Ash but my hope is that we see much better fundamentals on defense than what we were operating with last year. A new offense and a QB that still hasn't shown much progress in live play going up against that secondary could be bloody.

[booradley]

I just want Wake to beat Tulane tonight. Just taking it one painful week at a time ...

[Thomkal]

well Coastal Carolina's " in limbo session" starts this week as they travel to Lamar. Good thing they are travelling as we are expected to get 10 inches from the tropical storm tomorrow. Local newspaper doesn't seem to know what to do with their season either as they have barely covered it.

[cartman]

Cautiously optimistic for the Texas-Notre Dame game on Sunday night. Still no clue on who will start at QB for the Longhorns. My gut is telling me Tyrone Swoopes will get the start, but will have a short leash before Shane Buechele gets his shot. Should be a great atmosphere at the stadium.

[Eaglesfan27]

I can't wait for Saturday night. I am hoping USC can shock all of the experts picking Bama.

[MacroGuru]

BYU vs Arizona at Phoenix on Saturday.

BYU has outsold Arizona for the game.

It's weird having one of your best friends from HS be the HC at your favorite school, however it has been awesome getting inside to meet the team and the coaches.

We have tough first 7 games this year. We could honestly go 1-6, but I think we end up 3-3

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Logan

If Rutgers can keep it to something like 31-14 or 31-17 I'll be happy. Tough opener for Ash but my hope is that we see much better fundamentals on defense than what we were operating with last year. A new offense and a QB that still hasn't shown much progress in live play going up against that secondary could be bloody.

I think the unknown factor of Ash and his staff being new at Rutgers could play in their favor. The UW coaches have been studying a ton of film from Ohio State and Houston and the other places where this staff coached, but they all admit they're not entirely sure what to expect.

I expect the Husky defense to be quite good, but the unknown with them is pass rush. Our two hybrid OLB/DE types graduated this past season and the replacements are probably not at their level. That said, the secondary should be very good and the DL is deep and talented.

The offense will be interesting to watch. Still very young overall, but now with some experience. Gaskin is a helluva RB and Browning is growing into a savvy QB. Doesn't have a big arm, but is pretty accurate on the short and intermediate stuff and has good anticipation. The OL should be better, but they're still fairly young and learning. The WR group is a big question mark. We get back John Ross who is as fast as anyone in the country, but needs work on his routes. I expect to see liberal use of the TE group which is quite deep. Darrell Daniels could be a real weapon for this team - 6'4", 240 lbs with WR wheels and a very aggressive mentality.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

I think the unknown factor of Ash and his staff being new at Rutgers could play in their favor. The UW coaches have been studying a ton of film from Ohio State and Houston and the other places where this staff coached, but they all admit they're not entirely sure what to expect.

I expect the Husky defense to be quite good, but the unknown with them is pass rush. Our two hybrid OLB/DE types graduated this past season and the replacements are probably not at their level. That said, the secondary should be very good and the DL is deep and talented.

The offense will be interesting to watch. Still very young overall, but now with some experience. Gaskin is a helluva RB and Browning is growing into a savvy QB. Doesn't have a big arm, but is pretty accurate on the short and intermediate stuff and has good anticipation. The OL should be better, but they're still fairly young and learning. The WR group is a big question mark. We get back John Ross who is as fast as anyone in the country, but needs work on his routes. I expect to see liberal use of the TE group which is quite deep. Darrell Daniels could be a real weapon for this team - 6'4", 240 lbs with WR wheels and a very aggressive mentality.

Yeah the problem with even watching the staff's prior stops is we don't exactly have OSU athletes on defense and some of the Houston athletes on offense. Style wise we should be fairly close...quicker pace, trying to get guys in space, but it's going to be a couple years before we (hopefully) really see the talent match what they want to achieve on both sides of the ball. But in the meantime they're not going to try and shoehorn the system without any regard for the guys currently on the team.

We bring back some good experience on the OL so that will probably be as close to a neutral matchup as we can get. Lot of talent at RB...under our old staff we would try and slow the game down through running the ball but I'm not sure if that will be the plan here.

Just excited for games to start and more excited for the change in the program.

[ISiddiqui]

So apparently Penn State is going to honor the 50th anniversary of Joe Paterno's first game on Sept 17th game against Temple. You'd think they would have found someone better at PR, especially with the stuff that recently came out about how Paterno knew about Sandusky's crimes for decades. Yikes.

http://www.espn.com/college-football...ame-head-coach

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

So apparently Penn State is going to honor the 50th anniversary of Joe Paterno's first game on Sept 17th game against Temple. You'd think they would have found someone better at PR, especially with the stuff that recently came out about how Paterno knew about Sandusky's crimes for decades. Yikes.

Penn State Nittany Lions to honor Joe Paterno on 50th anniversary of first game as head coach

Yeah, time for someone to step in and shut Penn State football down.

[EagleFan]

App State!!!

[ntndeacon]

Originally Posted by booradley

I just want Wake to beat Tulane tonight. Just taking it one painful week at a time ...

As do I. I've heard we have a chance to possibly go bowling....6-6 range.

[Suicane75]

Appalachian State is playing like it's 2015 and Tennessee is playing like it's 1965.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by ntndeacon

As do I. I've heard we have a chance to possibly go bowling....6-6 range.

Wake has a couple of good young guys. A bowl wouldn't shock me this year.

[MrBug708]

What's up with USC? Did they really like how will muschamp turned a school, with all the resources and access to talent of Florida, into a total dumpster fire. Hire that man.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

What's up with USC? Did they really like how will muschamp turned a school, with all the resources and access to talent of Florida, into a total dumpster fire. Hire that man.

I have to admit, this isn't exactly the biggest shock in history.

In Knoxville however, there's about to be a coach that could go to work for Muschamp (or anybody else afaic) if things don't straighten out over the next 30 mins.

[Suicane75]

Pot becomes legal in most of the country. Experts tout Tennessee as legit national title contenders. Correlation?

[Butter]

I know this is BS to say it now, but I thought this App St.-Tennessee game could be close. App St. is a good program, and UT is horribly overrated. Not surprised it was close, no matter how it turns out.

[JonInMiddleGA]

It's incredibly hard not to pull for Appy State in this one honestly.

They showed up. Uncoached overrated & overhyped outfit didn't.

[Easy Mac]

That App State coach needs to be in the NFL, because that clock management was downright horrendous.

[Julio Riddols]

Indiana has a defense this year?

Either that or FIU is TERRIBLE offensively.

[Atocep]

I think Tennessee is using up every break they could reasonably expect to get this season.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Undeserved, but at least it wasn't a loss. Exactly.

It's still a one man team and trying to limit Dobbs to "save him" for future contests was one of the more obviously idiotic strategies I've seen in a while. He's ... all ... you ... have. And while he didn't look great for much of the night either, without him you couldn't beat a top notch high school team.

[CU Tiger]

And now USCjr is getting a gift as Vandy gags away an easy W.

[cartman]

In their last 15 games, Wake Forest has three wins where they didn't score more than 7 points.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Undeserved, but at least it wasn't a loss. Exactly.

It's still a one man team and trying to limit Dobbs to "save him" for future contests was one of the more obviously idiotic strategies I've seen in a while. He's ... all ... you ... have. And while he didn't look great for much of the night either, without him you couldn't beat a top notch high school team.

I wonder if he's ok. He took a heck of a shot to the ribs there.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

I wonder if he's ok. He took a heck of a shot to the ribs there.

He looked a little gingerly in the brief bit of video in the locker room, if I had to guess I'd think "bruised ribs" (since there were no trainers near him)

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Undeserved, but at least it wasn't a loss. Exactly.

It's still a one man team and trying to limit Dobbs to "save him" for future contests was one of the more obviously idiotic strategies I've seen in a while. He's ... all ... you ... have. And while he didn't look great for much of the night either, without him you couldn't beat a top notch high school team.

Were Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara sitting out or what am I missing? 2 of the top returning backs in the country.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

And now USCjr is getting a gift as Vandy gags away an easy W.

That was definitely battle for worst team in the SEC. That was an awful game of football.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Julio Riddols

Indiana has a defense this year?

Either that or FIU is TERRIBLE offensively.

FIU is terrible.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Were Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara sitting out or what am I missing? 2 of the top returning backs in the country.

Wow. I'd submit neither are top 3 in the SEC maybe not top 5 much less the country.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

Wow. I'd submit neither are top 3 in the SEC maybe not top 5 much less the country.

Yeah Fournette and Chubb are better no doubt. AFter that Id take Hurd and around 30-35 in the country Id put Kamara. They both are far from non factors. Hurd has underachieved thus far but he is still a monster.

Never said they were top 5 in the country. I said top returning backs(meaning top 40-top 50sh). Id put Hurd around 10th, Kamara around 30-35.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Were Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara sitting out or what am I missing? 2 of the top returning backs in the country.

Hurd had a very quiet 100 & change. Kamara was non-existent almost, 9 touches (6 rush/3 rcpts).

But they only managed to avg 3.0 ypc regardless. Line got matched or even whipped by Appy all night.

edit to add: meanwhile Appy avg 4.3 ypc, without a run longer than 20 (i.e. it wasn't skewed by one long run or anything)