There’s nothing better than the first big week of the season. Plenty of intriguing matchups on the board turned into a pretty fun Saturday. From start to finish, this was a great day of football.
Orange Teams
Texas, Tennessee, Syracuse, Bowling Green, Miami and the Baltimore Orioles. Really tough Saturday for Orange teams that aren’t Clemson.
Texas played putrid defense and lost. Syracuse got murdered. Bowling Green scored zero points. Miami lost, and so did the Orioles!
Forget all of that, though. Tennessee is the worst of all.
That pretty much sums it up! I got a free play and took the under on Tennessee wins at 6.5. That feels pretty good right now.
Clemson won and they looked pretty solid doing so. Texas A&M is a good football team and Clemson stifled them for most of Saturday afternoon.
MSU Offense Has Life
It’s been nearly four years since MSU scored fifty points in a game. The offense was magnificent tonight. The playcalling was creative. The offensive line had their best game in years. Brian Lewerke looked like a totally different quarterback. The cherry on top? Elijah Collins came dangerously close to 200 yards on the ground on less than twenty touches. Michigan State desperately needed someone to step up at running back, and Collins did just that.
The opponent was Western Michigan, but this was fun to watch as a Spartans fan.
"It's the result of a lot of hard work by a lot of people."
– Take a bow, Coach Dantonio. The @MSU_Football head man just tied the program's wins record with No. 109. 👏 pic.twitter.com/KNjcRc1zIk
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 8, 2019
Tim Lester really let this get away from the Broncos early. It didn’t look like they were ready to respond to a big early deficit. They were not as aggressive as I expected. Michigan State’s defense gave up some yards, but they tightened up when they needed to. Great game for MSU all around. That’s 109 wins for Mark Dantonio. One more and he’s MSU’s winningest coach. Let’s go get that next week.
Nebraska
Last week, I decided to pump the brakes on any hype I had for the Huskers. They took a 17-0 lead into halftime, intent on proving me wrong. They spent the entire second half proving me right. Colorado came to life and forced OT, winning 34-31.
This is James Stefanou. HE'S THIRTY TWO YEARS OLD.
He just kicked the game-winner for Colorado against Nebraska. You've gotta love college football. pic.twitter.com/5KvmJ7Tg19
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) September 7, 2019
Nebraska’s defense is still a massive project. I didn’t see much that I liked in the second half. They got torched through the air, they didn’t get to the QB, and Colorado ran the ball successfully when they needed to. Adrian Martinez is terrific, but he can’t lead them on his own. If they can’t fix this defense, the honeymoon with Scott Frost is over.
Ryan Hilinski
The Hilinski family has been through so much the last few years. I can’t even begin to imagine how they feel or what they’ve experienced. But on Saturday, they got to see #3 take the field.
Ryan Hilinski got his first start for South Carolina on Saturday and ran with it.
24-30, 282 yards, and two touchdowns. That’s a pretty solid debut for a freshman in a blowout win. I’m excited for what this guy does over the next couple years. He was a highly-touted recruit, and he could do really well for the Gamecocks. They’ve got a tough schedule ahead that definitely includes some more losses. But today, I was really happy for them.
https://twitter.com/gamecocksplash/status/1170384458517819392?s=21
Fun Fax
Coastal Carolina had never beaten a power five team in their short history as an FBS program. They’re leaving Lawrence, Kansas, with a 12-7 win tonight.
Tennessee has not been 0-2 since 1988.
Miami has not been 0-2 since 1978.
Alabama has never covered a spread greater than fifty points under Nick Saban.
For the first time ever, LSU has beaten a top-10 non-conference opponent on the road.
Random Things
I am still out on Nebraska. Maryland looks more like the team everyone thought Nebraska would be.
Virginia might be a the best football team in the state of Virginia.
Michigan’s offense looks all kinds of bad. They’re out of sync, they’re sluggish, they’re sloppy.
Kansas State is quietly very good.
Baylor is going to ruin someone’s season.
Hawaii is 2-0 in Pac-12 play this season.
Florida State needed overtime to beat Louisiana-Monroe at home. That’s not good.
USC might be the Pac-12’s best shot at the playoff now.