COLLEGE FOOTBALL: 5 THINGS TO WATCH
BEST GAME
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 3 Florida State at Atlanta’s new stadium, the home of this season’s national title game. The topranked team in the country has never started a season against a more highly ranked team than No. 3, making Tide’Noles unprecedented in college football history. Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide has routinely turned these neutral site openers into routs, but Florida State is probably the best team Alabama has opened against. The Seminoles have a potentially nasty defense led by preseason All-Americans Derwin James at safety and Tavarus McFadden at cornerback. Alabama has some reloading to do on defense, but quarterback Jalen Hurts is back after a brilliant freshman season.
HEISMAN WATCH
Last season Lamar Jackson of Louisville proved to have staying power. A brilliant first month carried him all the way to the Heisman, even though there were some stumbles late. Only one Heisman winner has repeated: Ohio State’s Archie Griffin in 1975. Jackson hasn’t been getting a ton of love this offseason, but he can provide a reminder as to why he won the Heisman last year against a Purdue defense that will be hard-pressed to stop him.
NUMBERS TO KNOW 3:
Georgia Tech has won three straight games against SEC teams, and five of its last six going back to 2015. The Yellow Jackets open Monday night against No. 25 Tennessee.
No. 7 Oklahoma has the longest current winning streak in the country. The Sooners should not have much trouble making it 11 against UTEP.
Fresno State will try to break the longest current losing streak in FBS against Incarnate Word in coach Jeff Tedford’s debut.
Florida’s winning streak in season openers, the longest current streak of its kind in college football. The No. 17 Gators put that on the line against No. 11 Michigan in Arlington, Texas.
10: 10: 27: UNDER THE RADAR
Eastern Washington at Texas Tech. Buckle up. The Eagles have been one of the top teams in FCS, with an offense that has routinely lit up FBS defenses in recent seasons. Texas Tech has been perpetually deficient on defense under coach Kliff Kingsbury, but the Red Raiders can score. EWU quarterback Gage Gubrud could have a huge game.
HOT SEAT WATCH
Texas A&M starts at UCLA on Sunday night, and the losing coach will immediately face a frustrated fanbase. Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin has been rattling off solid seasons for the last four years, but solid might not be enough to solidify his status with athletic director Scott Woodward. Bruins coach Jim Mora’s program has never quite reached the promise of his first few seasons, and is coming off an ugly 4-8 record in 2016.