So great to have college football back. There were some excellent matchups to start the season, seemingly more than usual. It’s too soon to say if that is directly in response to the new Playoff format, which is supposed to reward tougher scheduling. More likely it’s because these games are money-makers. Frankly I don’t care what the reason is, so long as we get more of these kind of non-conference games, even if it’s just a one-time thing at a neutral site.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

And once again we saw why preseason rankings, at least in some cases, aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. This time we saw three Top 10 teams lose (#3 Oklahoma, #5 LSU and #10 Notre Dame), two of them to unranked teams….and #2 Clemson could very well have ending up losing to Auburn, while #9 Tennessee quite frankly should have lost to Appalachian State.

At the same time, I’m not going to overreact to one game and bail on any of my preseason expectations for those teams. I already thought Oklahoma was overrated at #3, but they should still win the Big 12. I think LSU will bounce back and be fine, though I expected much better out of Brandon Harris (and Cam Cameron still somehow manages to drive me nuts, even though it’s been nearly four years since he was with the Ravens). Notre Dame left themselves with no margin for error if they want to get in the Playoff, but if things shake out the way I think they will they’d still have a good shot as a 1-loss team.

Speaking of Notre Dame, their 2OT shootout with Texas gets my Game of the Week honors. Charlie Strong is certainly coaching for his job this season, and these are the games he needs to win. If nothing else, it looks like Texas has themselves one heck of a QB to watch for at least the next three seasons. Crazy to think Shane Buechele is the first true freshman to start a game for the Longhorns since Bobby Layne in 1944. Love the poise he showed so fresh out of high school, and in such a big-time atmosphere too.

And can’t wrap this up without mentioning perhaps the most special moment of the week, and one of the things I love about college sports. You’d probably NEVER see this in the pros.

Awesome tribute by the Huskers there, had a lump in my throat watching that. Classy response by Fresno St to decline the 5-yard penalty too.

Look Ahead to Week 2: A letdown as far as great matchups (don’t worry, Week 3 looks almost as loaded as last weekend was). Maybe it’s best to dial it down a bit when you’re competing with the opening of the NFL season. But for those who gotta have football on Saturday the Tennessee/Virginia Tech game at Bristol Motor Speedway should at least be an interesting novelty, Penn State and Pitt renew an old rivalry that hasn’t been played since 2000, and the Holy War between BYU and Utah is usually pretty intense.

Mike Lowe
Mike Lowe

College Football Analyst

Mike is a Baltimore native living in Portland, OR since 2007. He currently runs his own business specializing in video production and online marketing. Prior to that he was a legal technology consultant, worked for 9 years at Johns Hopkins University and served 6 years in the Air Force. He also enjoys travel, food, beer, and is a volunteer at the Oregon Humane Society.

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