And not one single team that played ought to feel good.
- Hawaii struggled with Delaware State for three quarters. They’re clearly terrible.
- New Mexico collapsed in the 2nd half against Montana State. I like Bronco Mendenhall in a theoretical kind of way, but they’re terrible & have a long, long way to go.
- SMU struggled against terrible Nevada. Perhaps they have some non-terrible things in front of them, but that performance was awful through 3 quarters.
- Nevada blew a golden opportunity against what ought to be a decent SMU team. Like New Mexico, they found a way to lose. Terrible.
- FSU didn’t have its act together, at all. Its defense was thoroughly out-played by GT. They have trust issues with the QB & it’s not difficult at all to imagine at least a couple more losses in their future.
- It felt like Georgia Tech played at the very top end of its range & only narrowly defeated an FSU team that, as mentioned, didn’t have its act together. GT’s offense has real possibilities but it feels like that defense is going to struggle against more proficient offenses as the year goes on. I’ll take the under on GT being a playoff contender.
- North Dakota State at Colorado (Thursday) & also South Dakota State at Oklahoma State: both of them cases of superior habits vs superior talent. It will be interesting to see how that shakes out. I’m guessing it goes habits 1, talent 1
- North Carolina at Minnesota: seems like an unfamiliar & unnatural battle. Something so sissified as NC baby blue should never be seen in Moose habitat, even in August & even against mediocrities like the Golden Gophers. The whole matchup is out of place & for that reason I like Minnesota.
- Penn State at West Virginia: WVU underperformed in this game last year, which was also a Week 1 game. They’re getting 8 or so points and if I were a betting man which I’m not I would like Garrett Greene, at home, with Week 1 home energy, to keep it within a touchdown. I stop short, however, of predicting an outright WVU win.
- Notre Dame at Texas A&M: a new system at A&M goes against a proven QB in a new system in Riley Leonard. Too many new things to have much confidence one way or the other. I’d stay away from it if I were a betting man which I’m not. But I think somehow the Aggies get the win.
- Clemson vs Georgia (in Atlanta): Does anyone realize how remote & tiny the town of Clemson SC is? Who here has actually been there? It’s literally as if someone dropped a major football powerhouse university on top of Granbury TX or something like that. I’ll pull for Clemson but more than that I’m interested to see whether Klubnick can take his game to a new level, or whether Georgia demonstrates a continuity of dominance in terms of physicality and overall athleticism.
- Colorado State at Texas: primarily interested to see Sark’s pre-game outfit now that the fashionista is in the rear-view mirror. Also interested to see how Texas defense handles the tempo. Interested to see how Texas distributes targets to new WR corps.
- Miami at Florida: Miami is favored by a smidge and I do not like Week 1 smidge favorites on the road. Interested to see how future opponent Florida operates overall.
- USC vs LSU (in Las Vegas on Sunday): I like LSU’s new QB more than USC’s, and I’ve always objected to Lincoln Riley on principle. I think this will be a good game though.
