"Week 1 Recap”
Written by Wendi
It’s not college football season without a little chaos to start off with. You have got teams wanting to play former NFL players and you have teams needing 60 minutes and 1 second to win a game with a Hail-Mary. You also have a certain coach’s son on staff under investigation for drugs and inappropriate relationships along with their GM resigning. There were also some weather delays on Saturday along with universities forgetting to pay the power bill prior to kickoff (yes, I know that’s not why). The Pac 12 now has more than two teams. Did I miss anything?
Houston took a big lead over Oregon State in the third quarter by scoring 20 unanswered points. However, the Beavers surged late and were down only just six points in the fourth quarter. A late touchdown sealed the win for the Cougars 33-20.
Billy Napier made his coaching debut with James Madison after an unsuccessful stint at Florida and scored on their first four possessions. Liberty was down 17-6 at the half and scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Liberty had a chance to tie the game late, but turned it over on downs near midfield and eventually JMU ran out the clock. Final score was 20-13.
Auburn defeated Baylor in a dramatic, low scoring thriller which ended with Auburn denying a two-point conversion by Baylor to win the game 17-16. I was screaming at Baylor (Evelyn can verify) "don’t go for two, it almost never works”. Apparently, they couldn’t hear me from my couch in southeast Alabama. Baylor did everything to lose the game and Auburn just does what Auburn does. As a matter of fact, I don’t know if anyone wanted to win that game. But a win is a win, right?
Cincinnati controlled the entire game against Boston College and was up 24-8 by the end of the third quarter. Turnovers and unable to convert on third downs proved costly for Boston College. Final score in that game was 34-15.
It was Duke’s running game that shined in the matchup against Tulane. The Blue Devils rushed for 250 yards to win 17-3. The Green Wave were shut out until the 4th quarter thanks to Duke’s stingy defense. Duke travels to take on Illinois next in an interesting matchup.
In a game that nobody probably watched or kept up with unless to glance at the score, Wyoming traveled to Colorado State for the Border War. This is Colorado State’s first year in the Pac 12 and under new head coach Jim Mora, they dominated 35-13.
The battle of the Tigers and which is the correct Death Valley was decided easily on Saturday night between LSU and Clemson. In dramatic fashion (as always with Lane Kiffin), he marched onto the field, not with just his team and coaching staff, but with some people I had to google who they were. Just why? Was there a purpose? It was all LSU from start to finish. If his purpose was to make a statement as a villain, he lived up to that. Clemson got curb stomped so bad I am surprised Dabo is still the head coach at Clemson. The final was 51-10 and was Dabo’s worst loss. I’m sure some higher-ups are wanting to discuss his future. Maybe he needs to utilize that transfer portal like everyone else. You may not like it, but you must get with the times to stay competitive.
On Sunday, there were a couple of marquee matchups. Ole Miss hosted Louisville in some non-conference action, and this game kept you on the edge of your seat in an offensive show. It ended 41-38 with an Ole Miss field goal as time expired. Apparently, they don’t need Lane Kiffin to win games in Mississippi.
Notre Dame looked a little iffy in the first half against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field but opened it up in the second half by outscoring the Badgers 28-3 after being tied at 10 at the half. Turnovers deflated any momentum the Badgers had at any upset attempt. Final score was 41-13.
Despite a power delay at the stadium, and four terrible turnovers, SMU still managed to hang 585 total yards on Florida State’s defense. Is this the same Florida State team we’ve seen the last few years or can they turn it around after this loss? SMU won with a field goal for the lead with just over 20 seconds left on the clock 27-24. Maybe Mike Norvell needs to join Dabo Swinney in possible early retirement.
On to Pick’em’s…
We have a whopping 16 participants this year which means more money if you finish in the top three. With that, 12 of us had a strong showing by nailing over 50 points with three perfect scores of 55. With the SMU win, it shut out Sam winning $10 as he would have been the only one with a perfect score. It’s rare for a perfect score and to have more than one with a perfect score has never happened.
Mom had a rough start for the first half of her games and it cost her dearly. I could go on but she knows. I know. We all know. She has a history of bouncing back so we shall see but as it sits, she’s already 24 points from the leader(s).
In other irrelevant news, we should all be proud of Chris remembering to do his picks. Just make sure you remember EVERY week. Here’s hoping that you have an alarm/reminder set.
Point placement was key this week as most of the losses outside of Evelyn, Chris, Mike, and Christian, were 1’s and 2’s. Things are only going to get tougher from here.
Most points for the week: There was a three-way tie between David, Kim, and myself which means no one wins the $10 weekly price and it will roll over onto next week for a $20 payout.
Least points for the week: Evelyn had a rough start by losing 16 points in the first two games. Unfortunately for her, everyone just did better. She finished with 31 points. But if it’s anything like last year, she’ll follow it up with a perfect week.
Best pick of the week: I don’t know if there really was this week to be honest. It was week 1 and hard to gauge a team. Some of them were toss ups that came down to the wire.
Worst pick of the week: Mike and Christian putting up 10-points on FSU. Did y’all not see the Seminole defense from week 0? Even Adam passed on that. And he’s the FSU fan. How were you THAT confident to place 10-points on FSU and not on Notre Dame who was a big favorite? A case can be heard for Chris and Christian putting high points on Wisconsin.
Letters to the Editor:
I am trying to wonder how the 4 youngest players are starting off better than half the adults…..is it just luck of the first game? Speak for yourself…None of those 4 that you speak of are beating me…yet!!
What does Michigan and 60.01 have in common? For that answer, it may cost you a sack full of cash. You can just drop off at the MAC headquarters…I am sure they take checsk too.
Is the FSU GoFundMe page still taking donations for the electric bill today? Not for the electric bill but the buyout of Mike Norvell.
Here are the rankings after Week 1:
1. David – 55 points
2. Wendi – 55 points
3. Kim – 55 points
4. Sean – 54 points
5. Jacob – 54 points
6. Rick – 54 points
7. Teddy – 53 points
8. Adam – 52 points
9. Cindie – 52 points
10. Marc – 52 points
11. Sam - 51 points
12. Noah - 51 points
13. Mike H - 42 points
14. Chris - 39 points
15. Christian – 35 points
16. Evelyn – 31 points
Already a 24-point difference between 1st and last place!
