Week 1 Recap

UNC 19 @ Minnesota 17

On Thursday night we didn’t get a marquee matchup between college football powerhouses but we did get a whacky down to the wire college football game between these two. Even though this was the appetizer for what was a pretty amazing course of Saturday college football, it should not be overlooked!

Minnesota fell short with a missed 47 yard field goal as time expired, ending the game 19-17 in UNC’s favor. We were RIGHT THERE! But we’ll take the push and that’s why we gave out Minn +2 and not the moneyline. I was spot on for the most part about this game but it came with a few surprises.

Darius Taylor did not play for Minnesota but Marcus Major didn’t care. He rushed for 73 yards and 1 TD on 20 carries. While those aren’t eye popping numbers, if you watched the game he earned every single yard. Major was breaking tackles and moving mountains to try and get Minnesota 1st downs. While Max Brosmer struggled a lot early. Brosmer the FCS transfer only finished 13/22 with 126 yards and was sacked 5 times along with losing a costly fumble in the 4th quarter. Meanwhile Max Johnson suffered a leg injury that will sideline him for the rest of the year. Conner Harrell stepped and did his best to not make any costly mistakes and get them out of there with a win.

Both offenses did not look good and neither could get the passing game going. I was pleasantly surprised by both teams' defensive efforts, especially the UNC LB’s and DBs. They were flying to the ball all night and had unobstructed lanes because the DL was clogging up the trenches. Minnesota was in the driver seat for this one and oddly decided to run the ball to the right hash before the final FG attempt. Very weird decision considering their kicker had missed one from a similar spot earlier. I think Minnesota should have won that game but some poor decisions in the 4th quarter led to this disappointing finish.

NDSU 26 @ Colorado 31

Just as we predicted, there were a lot of eyes on this game. If you opened twitter/X on Thursday night you couldn’t escape the memes. Rightfully so, Colorado asked for attention and now they’re getting exactly what they asked for but I have to give NDSU credit for coming into an FBS program’s house and putting on a show.

Bison QB Cam Miller was electrifying on Thursday night. Miller was 18/22 271 yards 1 TD in the air while rushing for 87 yards and 2 TDs on 15 carries. That OL we talked about for NDSU lived up to the hype and gave enough push for them to outrush CU 168 yards(4.1) to 65 yards(2.9 per play). That rebuilt Colorado defense we were hoping for didn’t show up. While Shedeur and the offense looked awesome and the OL improved, only giving up 1 sack, the defense stunk on ice. If this NDSU team could take CU down to the wire by possessing the ball and being efficient, imagine what a P4 school could do to them? Colorado still has a lot to improve on and will be tested this week against a revamped Nebraska offense led by Dylan Raiola.

#25 Clemson 3 vs #1 Georgia 34

Here’s our first winning play of the season! I was getting nervous toward the end that Clemson might just pile it on but until the 4th quarter we were cruising. Not much to say for UGA besides they are exactly who we thought they are and it's a national title contender. UGA cements themself yet again in a tier above everyone else with this opening game.

We can talk about Georgia all day but it would just be giving praise across the board. Beck looked great, the offense opened up in the second half and the defense was lockdown. On the other hand, there’s a lot to talk about for Dabo and the Tigers. Klubnik still has yet to prove he’s the guy we thought he was when he got recruited. Klubnik finished 18/29 with only 128 yards and 1 INT and was sacked twice. While RB Mafah and WR Antonio Williams were doing everything in their power to move the ball, Clemson just couldn’t. It’s safe to say that Clemson doesn’t have “the guys” on this roster they’ve had in years past and at this point it just has to be the transfer portal. Even so, I was still right about Dabo’s guys on the DL. It was tough for them to maintain when they spent so much time on the field.

Now while this game told us UGA is still UGA, but don’t make a ruling on Clemson just yet. They did just face off against the best team in the country. However, I don’t foresee Clemson running the table until the playoff, but they still have an opportunity to right the ship. Unfortunately, I highly doubt it especially if Klubnik doesn’t show improvement quickly.

#8 Penn State 34 @ West Virginia 12

This game had shades of last year but Penn State broke open in the second quarter and even though there was a long weather delay, they adjusted well and finished strong in the second half. WVU’s only TD of the day came in the 4th quarter on a 1 yard run by CJ Donaldson. Penn State’s defense proved to be a top tier defense this weekend. The PSU defense racked up 7 TFLs, 2 Sacks, and an INT against the Mountaineers. While Garrett Greene did have some nice throws WVU was strangled by the Nittany Lions. WVU was outgained 242 to 457 and only averaged 3.7 yards per play to PSU’s 7.6.

Don’t throw away WVU because of this game, I expect them to show up in the BIG12 battle tested and ready to compete for the conference. Although they have a daunting schedule, safe to say they won’t be afraid of anyone they line up against for the remainder of the season. While the CFB casual says “So what Penn State beats WVU? They do this every year and still fall short!”, this time it could be different. New OC Andy Kotelnicki and his delicious DQ blizzard offense look to be improved. To paraphrase here, Kotelnicki said his offense looks messy and complicated, kind of like a DQ blizzard. But it’s actually really simple, it’s just some good ol’ ice cream with your favorite candies mixed in, pretty simple right? That’s exactly what his offense was this weekend. Allar didn’t have to throw the ball a ton in order to make downfield plays. He finished 11/17 with 216 yards and 3 TDs. The dynamic running game led by Nick Singleton (13 carries, 114 yds, 1 TD) was enough to open up the down field passing game for Allar and Tre Wallace. While PSU didn’t display dominant receivers, Wallace (2 TDs, 117 yards, 5 rec) proved to be a reliable one. If Kotelnicki can continue to improve this offense and the defense remains healthy, Penn State could have a shot at the BIG10 for real this year.

#12 Miami 41 @ Florida 17

“It's all about the U!”. That’s all you can really say to this one. This game was built on a lot of “What Ifs” and safe to say we know the answers now. Cam Ward is the real deal, Cam Ward for Heisman. I said it. He was the most calm, cool, collected QB I’ve ever seen play a game. His disposition is unmatched and as long as he stays that way, it’s going to be hard to rattle this Canes team on the road.

Ward finished 26/35 382 yards, 3 TD, and 1 INT but the numbers don’t do it justice. He was changing arm slots like Mahomes, extending plays with his feet, even throwing across his body for big completions! The expensively revamped Gator defense did not live up to expectations allowing 529 yards and 385 through the air. Billy Napier’s seat is a lot hotter and to add insult to injury he couldn’t even open a water bottle to cool it down. With Florida’s grueling schedule, I can’t see a world where Napier doesn’t get fired. He’s simply not the guy for the program. On other hand, The U may have found their guy in Mario Cristobal. Year 3 is the benchmark and Cristobal is off to a hot start. With 3 G5 games coming up, Miami is going to build momentum before heading into VA Tech who needs to fix a lot. With the downfall of FSU, Miami is starting to fill up the room of conference contenders.

#5 Notre Dame 23 @ Texas A&M 13

We were half right here! We hit the under but A&M lost outright and we laid 3 with them. I’m starting to think I’m a bit early on A&M and Elko’s going to need a bit more time before fully turning this thing around. While the general consensus is that A&M was a “turn key” program, it takes time to build culture and that’s the end game for Elko and company.

I have to pay some respect to Notre Dame as I thought they were a bit overrated. With a win like this I can confidently say they’ll be in the playoff. The Irish line that only had 6 combined starts heading into this game stepped up against a tough SEC DL. They paved the way for strong RB play from Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price combining for 135 yards on 22 carries (6.1 per play). Riley Leonard hung in there and got the job done but I think is getting a little too much praise right now. I will say while he didn’t play an outstanding game, he didn’t make mistakes either and you can’t say the same for Conner Weigman. Weigman finished 12/30 with just 89 yards and 2 INTs. Weigman’s play is described best by the below clip of him. While A&M’s offense was NOT good, don’t throw them out just yet, they were facing what could be the best defense in the country. While A&M is not a playoff contender at this point, they still get to faceoff against Texas to end the season.

#13 USC 27 vs #18 LSU 20

As a stand alone game on Sunday USC and LSU delivered. Unfortunately, it we didn’t hit the over but both offenses performed well. Miller Moss and Garrett Nussmeier both lit it up in the air. Moss threw for 27/36 370 yards and 1 TD. Nussmeier was 29/38 for 304 yards and 2 TDs with a late INT on a hail mary play with no basically no time left. While both offenses were great and we saw ton of highlight plays from guys like Kyren Lacy, John Emery Jr., Zachariah Branch, Kyron Hudson and so many more LSU was undisciplined. With 10 penalties resulting in 99 yards and coming in some crucial situations the Tigers were outclassed. Brian Kelly’s performance to the press after was definitely amusing but also true. His team was undisciplined and due to bonehead penalties threw away game they could have won.

Now both defenses are, as we predicted, very bad. However, there were some bright spots for teams. USC especially played a sort of bend don’t break style especially with a big 4th down stop in the 1st quarter. Despite a ton of highlight plays from WRs on both teams, there was definitely improvement specifically for USC on defense. If this USC team can keep the offense rolling with Miller Moss, they may have a chance to contend for the BIG10.