College Football Week 1 Takeaways

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Week 1 CFB Takeaways


College Football is finally back and Week 1 was a good one, but also a let down. Majority of the top marquee games were dominated by one side. Harbaugh and Michigan were thoroughly outplayed by Notre Dame, and left UM alum Braylon Edwards in meltdown mode. Miami’s #8 ranking went up in question after a terrible showing in Jerry World. Tua and Co. dominated Louisville, and Taggart had an abysmal showing in his Doak debut.  Now here is my top 4 takeaways from week 1.

  1. Lethal Simplicity

An offensive term coined by Florida State Head Coach Willie Taggart to describe his offensive system was the downfall for him and a couple of big time head coaches. Miami, and Michigan fell into lethal simplicity as well. A vanilla offense with a lack of creativity was the downfall for Harbaugh, Richt, and Taggart. Going against some of the nations better Defensive Coordinators the simple offenses were  just too easy for the aggressive defenses to defend. 

All three teams got something out of the passing game, but the run game was never able to get going, forcing the teams to become one dimensional. Miami struggled only gaining 84 yards on the ground on 34 carries. That is 2.4 yards per carry. Michigan struggled on the ground gaining 58 yards on 33 carries producing a 1.8 yards per carry. Florida State gained 94 yards on 28 carries that equated to a 3.4  yards per carry. Majority of the teams yardage was on 1 carry by  RB Cam Akers on a 85 yard run early in the 4th quarter.

2.  New Alabama, Old Alabama

Alabama defeated Louisville 51-14 in a Week 1 showdown in Orlando. The most intriguing QB battle of the Summer was in full effect, but was it really a competition? The box score and play calling says no. Tua and Hurts stats were far from equal as Tua threw 6 more passes than Hurts and also threw for more yards 227 to Hurts’s 70 yards. Tua  Tagovailoa brings an element to Nick Saban’s offense has never seen before. His legit dual threat ability is a dynamic that will take a once run oriented offense to the next level. Tua passing ability is one of the best that has ever come through Tuscaloosa in the Nick Saban era. The three sophomore stud Wide Receivers,  Jeudy, Ruggs III, and Smith, and Tua will lead an exciting passing game for the Crimson Tide. 
Old Bama, the Crimson Tide defense was back to its old ways as the season kicked off against Alabama. Smothering the Louisville offense for majority of the night.  Alabama were sound and dominant in the first half of this game. Holding Louisville’s offense to 122 yards on offense. 100 yards passing and 22 yards rushing. There wasn’t much else to see in this one as nothing really changed. Louisville finished with 268 yards, 252 passing, and 16 yards rushing. The star of the defense was Safety Deionte Thompson who showed range and playmaking ability on the back end. 

3. Heisman Dark Horses

Although there wasn’t any big time performances, there was a couple of players to watch out for in the heisman race that are under the radar. ‘

Kyler Murray: Oklahoma

The Multi-Million Dollar Man, Kyler Murray is a phenomenal talent in the Lincoln Riley Air Raid Offense. He has the dual threat ability to put up outstanding numbers. FAU gave him little resistance in the 63-14 win over the Owls. Murray went 9-11 209 yards and 2 Touchdowns. Also, rushing for 23 yards on 4 carries. Murray will be a person to keep an eye on throughout the season.



Trevor Lawerence: Clemson

Trevor Lawerence, #2 quarterback in the nation coming out of high school.Lawerence battled through fall camp with Sr QB. Kelly Bryant. Lawerence is the better thrower, but Bryant has the experience. Lawerence had a pretty impressive debut against FCS Furman University. Lawerence went 9-17, 135 yards and 3 Touchdowns. For Clemson to win a National Title, they will need to move to Lawerence sooner rather than later. Lawerence may have a chance at a heisman moment this Saturday night as the Tigers travel to College Station to take on the Texas A&M Aggies

Dwayne Haskins: Ohio State

Another highly touted prep QB, Haskins is a rare breed in the Urban Meyer system. A system that usually relies on mobile quarterbacks. Haskins is a more of your prototypical pro style quarterback. Haskins has the accuracy to make all the throws and make Ohio State’s passing legit and to balance the rushing attack led by JK Dobbins and Mike Weber. Haskins had a impressive debut against Oregon State. Haskins went 22-30, 313 yards, 5 touchdowns and 1 Interception. His first big game is in 2 weeks against TCU and Gary Patterson’s Defense on September 15th. 

4. New Coaches Debut, But Day and Canada Stole The Show.

There were numerous anticipation of new coaches making their debuts this weekend, but Matt Canada and Ryan Day stole the show. Both programs in the past month were under heavy scrutiny and controversy, Canada and Day righted these ships and put on impressive debuts for their program. 

Ryan Day put on impressive performance as the Buckeyes easily defeated Oregon State 77-31. Day’s offense put on a clinic as Haskins, Webber, and McLaurin produced for the Buckeyes. Haskins and Co. out gained the Beavers 721-392 with and outstanding 325 yards on the ground. The defensive play particularly well too.

Canada on the other hand pulled off an upset against #23 ranked Texas 34-29 in a well played game in Landover, Maryland. Canada the OC who came from LSU is touted as one of the better Offensive Coordinators in the nation. The team rallied together with former teammate Jordan McNair on their mind and played pretty well. Maryland out gained Texas 407-405. Maryland QB Kasim Hill played well enough to win. Hill went 17-29 222 yards and 1 Touchdown. I see Maryland having continued success throughout the season. 



Week 2 Games to Watch

#2 Clemson v. Texas A&M
#3 Georgia v. #24 South Carolina
#13 Penn State v. Pittsburgh

#10 Stanford v. #17 USC

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