Bad-news openers for Florida St., Texas, Florida
The anticipation for week one of the college football season can only be surpassed by the overreactions to week one of the college football season.
LOL, Tom Herman hype. Sam Darnold and No. 4 USC? Overrated. Florida? No quarterback. North Carolina State? Already a disappointment.
The only thing we know for sure: Alabama is really good again, and losing to the top-ranked team might have been the second-worst thing that happened to No. 3 Florida State.
The Top 25 thoughts, takedowns and takeaways from the first fullslate Saturday of the season:
1. Florida State could’ve recovered from simply losing to Alabama. The leg injury suffered late in the fourth quarter by quarterback Deondre Francois could ruin the Seminoles’ season. The backup is freshman James Blackman.
2. Even if Francois is not out long-term, the Seminoles need him back soon. No. 18 Miami comes to Tallahassee on Sept. 16. That’s not much time to develop a true freshman.
3. Herman’s Longhorns looked a lot like Charlie Strong’s Longhorns against Maryland. Terrible tackling. Messy special teams. Costly penalties. The Terps played the fourth quarter with a freshman backup quarterback and still put
away the Longhorns, 51-41. 4. Quote from Herman: “Why can’t we get out of our own way?” Charlie Strong nods.
5. Herman wasn’t the only new coach in Texas to have a rough debut. Matt Rhule and Baylor lost 48-45 to Liberty, which is transitioning from FCS to FBS.
6. Maybe we should be paying a little more attention to Maryland? Second-year coach D J Durkin’s team overachieved to get to a bowl game last season and showed that it might be taking another step forward.
7. USC extended its winning streak to 10 games. Western Michigan gave the Trojans all they could handle, but USC pulled away 49-31.
8. Heisman favorite Darnold did not throw a touchdown pass — after throwing at least two in each game during USC’s nine-game winning streak last season — and the Trojans’ run defense got pounded by the Broncos. But like No. 2 Ohio State and No. 8 Washington, the highly ranked team separated in the second half.
9. The Heisman Trophy winner, however, was pretty great again: 485 total yards for Lamar Jackson as No. 16 Louisville held off Purdue .
10. No. 17 Florida was missing its leading returning receiver and rusher because of suspensions, but it doesn’t excuse the woeful offensive performance in a 33-17 loss to No. 11 Michigan. Coach Jim McElwain is still looking for a quarterback.
11. Another problem for Florida: This offensive line was supposed to take a step forward. Gators running backs carried 13 times for 29 yards.
12. Apparently, one defensive starter returning was all Michigan needed. Sophomores Devin Bush and Rashan Gary are ready to live up to their five-star pedigree.
13. Michigan kicker Quinn Nordin made four field goals, including two from 50-plus.
14. Score one for the SEC over the ACC, which was able to claim the title of best conference last season. South Carolina beat North Carolina State 35-28. The Wolfpack were a trendy pick to make some noise in the ACC.
15. Maybe South Carolina will be the team making some noise. The SEC East has no clear-cut favorite and Jake Bentley might be the best quarterback in the division.
16. The showcase game for Wyoming’s Josh Allen against Iowa did not do much to justify the quarterback’s hype. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound latebloomer, who NFL scouts will watch closely, was 23 for 40 for 174 yards and two interceptions in a 24-3 loss to the Hawkeyes.
17. Hard to draw any conclusions against Kent State, but Kelly Bryant did nothing to make Clemson fans worry about the fifth-ranked Tigers’ new starting quarterback in a 56-3 win. Next up for the defending champs: No. 12 Auburn.
18. Saquon Barkley’s Heisman Trophy campaign got off to a solid start with 172 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries as No. 6 Penn State beat Akron 52-0.
19. In other Heisman contender news: Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield tuned up for next week’s road trip to No. 2 Ohio State by completing his first 16 passes and going 19 for 20 for 329 yards and three touchdowns in the first half of the Sooners’ 56-7 victory against UTEP.
20. Also prepping for a week two showdown: Notre Dame had three 100-yard rushers, beating Temple 49-16. No. 15 Georgia comes to South Bend next.
21. Georgia QB Jacob Eason went out with an injured knee early against Appalachian State. The Bulldogs rolled behind freshman Jake Fromm. Coach Kirby Smart said Eason’s knee was sprained.
22. When quarterbacks transfer, the perception of them seems to get better. For those who thought former LSU quarterback Brandon Harris would finally reach his potential at North Carolina, not a good start. Harris went 7 for 16 for 60 yards and two interceptions as the Tar Heels lost 35-30 to California.
23. Notre Dame transfer Malik Zaire did not look like the answer for Florida, but Auburn’s first game with Baylor transfer Jarrett Stidham went well. He had two TD passes and a scoring run in a rout of Georgia Southern.
24. FCS scares: No. 19 USF needed a fourth-quarter push to beat Stony Brook 31-17. Pitt needed overtime to beat Youngstown State 28-21. Oregon State needed a wide-right field goal attempt to escape Portland State, 35-32.
25. Illinois avoided an embarrassing opening loss at home to Ball State with a come-from-behind 24-21 win.