The 2018 College Football season started in August but the first weekend of September marked the start of some fresh new faces who are trying to take their respective teams to the promise land. Among the AP Top 25, six programs had a player making their first career start! The most anticipated start was Alabama’s hero Tua Tagovailoa, meanwhile, Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins, Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray and USC’s JT Daniels all replaced a longtime starter.
Overall, the performances were uneven. But a couple of quarterbacks could hardly of played a better game. So lets get this under way shall we?
Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama
Tua wasted little time showing off a little magic, and getting pretty lucky in the process. On the Crimson Tide’s opening drive, he impressively evaded a defender in the backfield and absolutely launched a pass into the corner of the end zone while taking a BRUTAL hit. Fortunately for Tua, the ball harmlessly fell into the waiting arms of fellow receiver of Jerry Jeudy. In my opinion, that was all luck and no skill.
The two sophomores later connected for a 25-yard touchdown where Tua hit Jeudy perfectly in stride for 6! He also found Jaylen Waddle for a 49-yard gain on one of his better throws of the game. He finished with the line 12/16 for 227 yards and two scored. He also took a designed run to himself and scampered in from nine yards for the score. I can confidentiality say he’s starting to unlock the full potential of Alabama’s offense.
Grade: A
Joe Burrow, LSU
Burrow’s final line didn’t stand out to many if I’m being honest. The Ohio State graduate transfer mustered 11 completions out of 24 attempts for 140 yards with no TD’s or INT’s. However, Burrow played much better then his final stat line showed in LSU’s 33-17 dominate win over Miami.
If Burrow’s wide outs hadn’t dropped a few prefect passes, Big Joe would of surely crossed 200 yards for the game. Regardless, Burrow passed the eye test and gave LSU fans something to cheer about from the QB position. Burrow wasn’t stellar, but he gave the Tigers some hope of a competent passing game this year.
Grade: B
Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State
Mr. Haskins has basically solidified himself as the greatest quarterback in Ohio State history. Sure, that maybe a huge overreaction but the sophomore had a fantastic game. Haskins connected with his targets on 22 out of 30 throws for 313 total yards and FIVE touchdowns in a 77-31 route of Oregon State.
None of the touchdowns were particularly very challenging throws. He hit Terry McLaurin on both a crossing and hook route, dumped an easy ball off to Rashod Berry in the flat and flipped scored to both Mike Weber and Parris Campbell respectively. Still, Haskins looked very comfortable under center and in the pocket, firing accurate passes with great anticipation. That’s a HUGE change from the previous years when the Buckeyes relied on J.T. Barrett.
Grade: A
Kyler Murray, Oklahoma
Kyler Murray has a very painless day. He had very big shoes to fill after the Sooners QB last year won the Heisman in Baker Mayfield. Kyler Murray finished his first career start going 9/11 for 209 yards and two scores. He didn’t take a snap after halftime, leaving a blowout over Lane Kiffin’s FAU late in the second quarter because they were up 42-0.
Murray also ran for 23 yards, 15 of which occurred on a remarkably elusive run. The mobile threat evaded a lot of tackles out there and showed Sooners fans that they’re in good hands with Murray. It was a small sample, but so far so good.
Grade: A-
JT Daniels. USC
The Trojans weren’t so sharp against UNLV until its fourth-quarter explosion, but Daniels put together a respectable debut overall. The true freshman relied heavily on high school teammate Amon-Ra St. Brown, who reeled in seven throws for 98 yards and a TD. Daniels wrapped up his college debut going 22/35 for 282 yards and one score.
On the less positive side, he was very ineffective in scoring territory. Daniels finished 5/12 for only 24 yards inside UNLV’s 40 yard line, so they had to settle for five field goals. Chase McGrath saved Daniels and connected on them all, but field goals aren’t going to win big games.
Grade: B-
Shawn Robinson, TCU
TCU kept it simple on Saturday afternoon, and Shawn Robinson thrived. Though the sophomore didn’t have a great yards-per-attempt average (7.6), he collected 182 yards and three scored through the air. Robinson finished with a 17/24 line during a 55-7 triumph over Southern.
Additionally, he showed the mobile threat that has excited Horned Frogs fans, running for a 26 yard score and 9 yard score. Those were his only two carries of the game because TCU didn’t need anything more. In two weeks, he’ll play Ohio State and Dwayne Haskins for a neutral-site showdown. That will definitely be a game to watch!
Grade: A-
