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College Football Week 1
Last week was the appetizer with a few games but it didn't take long for the season's first upset as Northwestern took out Nebraska in Ireland.
It's week 1 so mostly cupcakes but there are a few good matchups starting with some big Thursday night games. Let's get right into it
Penn State at Purdue Thursday 9/1 8:00 FOX PSU -3.5
Did you know that most PSU fans HATE the Big Ten? Penn State is Rodney Dangerfield in the Judge Smails conference and they never miss an opportunity to give PSU No Respect. Case in point. This is 7 years in a row that Penn State opens conference play on the road. And to make it worse, 2023 and 2024 schedules are already set and guess what. PSU will open on the road for 9 years in a row. That makes it 18 road openers in 21 years. Yeah, nothing shady there. I hate these d-bags. The implosion of conferences and ultimate formation of a 30-40 team league can't come fast enough. On to the game
This will be the first ever (i think) matchup of 6th year Senior QBs with PSU's Sean Clifford vs Purdue's Aidan O'Connell. Clifford has had a rocky tenure but he's had 3 different OCs plus a covid year. This is Clifford's first time having the same OC for 2 years in a row.
Lots of PSU fans hate on clifford, but experience and system and surrounding talent counts for QBs. Where was Kenny Pickett last year at this time? You scoff but here's the numbers
Sean Clifford Career stats
601 of 1005 60.4% 7839 yds 62 TD 24 INT
Kenny Pickett excluding his last season
700 of 1177 60.4% 7984 yds 39 TD 25 INT
Clifford's stats are actually significantly better when you look at the TDs. Not saying Clifford will have a breakout season, just pointing out that QBs often get better with experience. That will not stop PSU fans calling for backup QB 5 star freshman Drew Allar as soon as Clifford throws 2 incompletions in a row.
PSU loses Jahan Dotson at WR but they could be better overall. Last year's #2 Parker Washington had a strong season and they added transfer WR Mitchell Tinsley who has 1400 yds receiving last year at Western Kentucky. The offense also welcomes the top RB recruit in the nation Nick Singleton.
On defense PSU lost key starters at pass rush and S. Jaquan Brisker was in impact player at S but they bring back ther other Safet Ja'ir Brown who lead the nation in INTs with 6 last year. Joey Porter Jr at CB is being looked at as a possible 1st rounder. Last year was about pass rush. This defense is about the secondary that could be one of the top groups in the country
Aidan O'Connel is very experienced and aggressive QB. He led the Big Ten in INTs with 11 so he can be baited into mistakes. Purdue had guys like Rondale Moore and David Bell at WR but right now they seem to lack that playmaker. Purdue's defense could miss DE George Karlaftis.
Purdue should be a good team and anytime you open on the road against a good conference opponent, it can be dicey
This is a huge game for Purdue. They don't play Ohio State of Michigan. A win vs Penn State could set them up for a spot in the Big Ten Championship even if they lose to Wisconsin later.
Oh yeah, the backyard browl is happening again
West Virginia at 17 Pitt Thursday 9/1 7:00 ESPN Pitt -7.5
They haven't played since 2011 but will now play 8 times in the next 11 seasons. Pitt has a lot to replace in Picket and Addison who was purchased by USC in the offseason. USC transfer Kedon Slovis takes over for Pickett in an offense that will likely feature the run more. WVU brought in a bunch of transfers so they may take time to come together. WVU new OC Graham Harrell worked with SLovis at USC so maybe he can tell his defense a few weaknesses to exploit?
WVU has had a good defense in recent years but they only return 4 starters. WVU will start JT Daniels who transfered from both USC and Georgia
Saturday Games
11 Oregon at 3 Georgia 3:30 ABC Georgia -17
Technically a neutral site game in Atlanta but only an idiot would claim this is not a home game for Georgia. Could Georgia have a bit of a hangover from last year? They lose an awful lot of players to the draft but they have tons of talent to replace them. Oregon has a new coach Dan Lanning, who was Georgia's DC last year, taking over for Mario Cristobol who went to Miami. Cristobol had built Oregon into a tough team on defense. Oregon also brings in familiar SEC face Bo Nix at QB. Could Oregon surprise with Lanning knowing some inside info and Nix also having experience vs Georgia? Probably not, but taking that 17 points is tempting.
23 Cincinnati va 19 Arkansas 3:30 ESPN Ark -6.5
can Cincy keep things going without QB Desmond Ridder on offense and Cb Sauce Gardner on defense? Arkansas has been slowly building up the program. This might end up being a tight defensive battle
7 Utah at Florida 7:00 ESPN Utah -3
This is a huge game for Utah if they want a spot in the playoffs. If they were to lose this game, it would probably be used against them to bar them from the playoffs even if they win the Pac 12. The PAC is generally seen as weak and if they have a loss to what may be a middle of the pack SEC team that will haunt them all year. If Utah does lose, the only bright side will be that most people will only watch 30 minutes of this game.
5 Notre Dame at 2 Ohio State 7:30 ABC Ohio State -17
ND has a new coach, promoting DC Marcus Freeman to the head job after Brian Kelly bolted for more money and the recruiting advantages of LSU's bagman network. Quite the game to make a debut. Notre Dame had a great OL 2 years ago and had to rebuild. That takes time and this year that OL should be much improved. Ohio State has tons of athletes but if they have a weakness, it's that they can be outmuscled. The trick is keeping the game close enough to wear them down. I don't think ND can pull this one off but 17 points could be a good bet as Ohio State's offense doesn't always fully click early in the season.
Last week was the appetizer with a few games but it didn't take long for the season's first upset as Northwestern took out Nebraska in Ireland.
It's week 1 so mostly cupcakes but there are a few good matchups starting with some big Thursday night games. Let's get right into it
Penn State at Purdue Thursday 9/1 8:00 FOX PSU -3.5
Did you know that most PSU fans HATE the Big Ten? Penn State is Rodney Dangerfield in the Judge Smails conference and they never miss an opportunity to give PSU No Respect. Case in point. This is 7 years in a row that Penn State opens conference play on the road. And to make it worse, 2023 and 2024 schedules are already set and guess what. PSU will open on the road for 9 years in a row. That makes it 18 road openers in 21 years. Yeah, nothing shady there. I hate these d-bags. The implosion of conferences and ultimate formation of a 30-40 team league can't come fast enough. On to the game
This will be the first ever (i think) matchup of 6th year Senior QBs with PSU's Sean Clifford vs Purdue's Aidan O'Connell. Clifford has had a rocky tenure but he's had 3 different OCs plus a covid year. This is Clifford's first time having the same OC for 2 years in a row.
Lots of PSU fans hate on clifford, but experience and system and surrounding talent counts for QBs. Where was Kenny Pickett last year at this time? You scoff but here's the numbers
Sean Clifford Career stats
601 of 1005 60.4% 7839 yds 62 TD 24 INT
Kenny Pickett excluding his last season
700 of 1177 60.4% 7984 yds 39 TD 25 INT
Clifford's stats are actually significantly better when you look at the TDs. Not saying Clifford will have a breakout season, just pointing out that QBs often get better with experience. That will not stop PSU fans calling for backup QB 5 star freshman Drew Allar as soon as Clifford throws 2 incompletions in a row.
PSU loses Jahan Dotson at WR but they could be better overall. Last year's #2 Parker Washington had a strong season and they added transfer WR Mitchell Tinsley who has 1400 yds receiving last year at Western Kentucky. The offense also welcomes the top RB recruit in the nation Nick Singleton.
On defense PSU lost key starters at pass rush and S. Jaquan Brisker was in impact player at S but they bring back ther other Safet Ja'ir Brown who lead the nation in INTs with 6 last year. Joey Porter Jr at CB is being looked at as a possible 1st rounder. Last year was about pass rush. This defense is about the secondary that could be one of the top groups in the country
Aidan O'Connel is very experienced and aggressive QB. He led the Big Ten in INTs with 11 so he can be baited into mistakes. Purdue had guys like Rondale Moore and David Bell at WR but right now they seem to lack that playmaker. Purdue's defense could miss DE George Karlaftis.
Purdue should be a good team and anytime you open on the road against a good conference opponent, it can be dicey
This is a huge game for Purdue. They don't play Ohio State of Michigan. A win vs Penn State could set them up for a spot in the Big Ten Championship even if they lose to Wisconsin later.
Oh yeah, the backyard browl is happening again
West Virginia at 17 Pitt Thursday 9/1 7:00 ESPN Pitt -7.5
They haven't played since 2011 but will now play 8 times in the next 11 seasons. Pitt has a lot to replace in Picket and Addison who was purchased by USC in the offseason. USC transfer Kedon Slovis takes over for Pickett in an offense that will likely feature the run more. WVU brought in a bunch of transfers so they may take time to come together. WVU new OC Graham Harrell worked with SLovis at USC so maybe he can tell his defense a few weaknesses to exploit?
WVU has had a good defense in recent years but they only return 4 starters. WVU will start JT Daniels who transfered from both USC and Georgia
Saturday Games
11 Oregon at 3 Georgia 3:30 ABC Georgia -17
Technically a neutral site game in Atlanta but only an idiot would claim this is not a home game for Georgia. Could Georgia have a bit of a hangover from last year? They lose an awful lot of players to the draft but they have tons of talent to replace them. Oregon has a new coach Dan Lanning, who was Georgia's DC last year, taking over for Mario Cristobol who went to Miami. Cristobol had built Oregon into a tough team on defense. Oregon also brings in familiar SEC face Bo Nix at QB. Could Oregon surprise with Lanning knowing some inside info and Nix also having experience vs Georgia? Probably not, but taking that 17 points is tempting.
23 Cincinnati va 19 Arkansas 3:30 ESPN Ark -6.5
can Cincy keep things going without QB Desmond Ridder on offense and Cb Sauce Gardner on defense? Arkansas has been slowly building up the program. This might end up being a tight defensive battle
7 Utah at Florida 7:00 ESPN Utah -3
This is a huge game for Utah if they want a spot in the playoffs. If they were to lose this game, it would probably be used against them to bar them from the playoffs even if they win the Pac 12. The PAC is generally seen as weak and if they have a loss to what may be a middle of the pack SEC team that will haunt them all year. If Utah does lose, the only bright side will be that most people will only watch 30 minutes of this game.
5 Notre Dame at 2 Ohio State 7:30 ABC Ohio State -17
ND has a new coach, promoting DC Marcus Freeman to the head job after Brian Kelly bolted for more money and the recruiting advantages of LSU's bagman network. Quite the game to make a debut. Notre Dame had a great OL 2 years ago and had to rebuild. That takes time and this year that OL should be much improved. Ohio State has tons of athletes but if they have a weakness, it's that they can be outmuscled. The trick is keeping the game close enough to wear them down. I don't think ND can pull this one off but 17 points could be a good bet as Ohio State's offense doesn't always fully click early in the season.
