This year I hope to give you a quick recap of some things that I found interesting in college football this week. These will likely focus on the Longhorns but include other things I noticed.
I will call this "It was the Best of Times it was the Worst of Times" and take you through the Horns highlights and lowlights and then the winners and losers in each conference.
For those that want to miss out on the Texas love, skip ahead past the Longhorns takes.
Longhorns
As a reminder here were my Longhorns predictions for the year. So was it UT's improvement or does ULM suck this bad? Honestly we don't know and we probably won't find out this week either as Texas faces a potential beatdown by Bama. But what did we see?
Balance- The Longhorns ran 29 times and threw 29 times. The team did NOT put the entire game on Ewers in his first start. Why so few offense plays? Well the defense scored on a pick 6 and the special teams blocked a punt for a TD. Almost everyone seemed to contribute. That's what you want in a cupcake game in week 1.
JT Sanders is who we thought he was! Be afraid Big 12. If the Horns have the RB, WR, AND TE all going we will just outscore you. Sanders (6/85/1 TD) was the top receiver on a team with several great receivers.
Ewers is Brett Favre. Quinn is going to make us gasp both in joy and dread at times. Enjoy the roller coaster this year. The gunslinger is going to be a net positive against most teams- maybe not Bama.
The Kids are Alright- All night true and red shirt freshman and sophomores played like third year players.
The freshman in the O-line held their own and within 4 weeks Campbell and Williams may enter the mix even more. What if the Horns played five true freshman OL say in the second half of Kansas because they were actually the best 5? You read it here first.
It wasn't just the OL. On defense, Sorrell, Coffey, Burke, Johnson, and Guilbeau all had their moments.
Penalties- the Longhorns has 5 penalties for 25 yards. With all of the first time players in the game on opening night, let's keep that up PLEASE.
Special Teams- Ok they had a bad punt and missed a field goal but overall the special teams for Texas were better that most. Considering the low expectations, we will call it good.
Ok, it wasn't all positive. Here are some questions I have after ULM.
Were they just hiding Worthy? I assume the scheme used did not allow Bama to see how Sark plans to use his most explosive offensive threat.
Did Jaylen Ford play? I swear I saw him in there but he appears to not have recorded a single defensive stat. All off-season were heard great things. Was PK hiding Ford in his scheme too? Let's hope so.
Hudson Card looked like a back-up that did not have a lot of reps. Let's hope he has time before he needs to play.
Overall, the 52-10 beat down of ULM had a lot of positives. Brace yourself Longhorns fans. Bama week is going to be a blast with EVERYONE coming to town for this game. The game itself may not be so fun. I am sticking with my 48-24 Bama prediction. Prove me wrong boys! Make it a better game than I expect and I will love you for it.
The Best of Times in the NCAA- Who looked underrated or great in week 1? As a reminder, here are my picks for the season. I will limit this to games with ranked teams in general.
The games- there were a lot of entertaining and fairly close games in Week 1. This was good TV. Oh and if you played a cupcake, you won't get credit in this section. Looking at you Ags, Sooners, and Bears. Yes, I know the Horns had a cupcake game, but they are MY team so yeah.
Georgia- it's not a shock that Georgia is good. It was shocking that they pounded #11 Oregon that bad.
Ohio State AND Notre Dame- a very competitive game led by two tough defenses. It felt like football from a different era but it was still good.
Florida with the WIN- huge game for the Gators beating a really good team and credit to Utah for making the trip. Utes, now go undefeated and win the Pac 12 and let the 4-team playoff debate happen.
So you want to play in Fayetteville?- you don't have to tell me how foolish it is to schedule a non-conference game there. Arkansas fans are great and they willed their team over Cincinnati. At least it was not at night.
So is UTSA this good or is Houston overrated? Horns fans will soon find out. UTSA trading blows with the #24 team in the country nets them the moral victory and a spot here.
The backyard brawl was fun. More of that please Pitt and West Virginia.
The Worst of Times in the NCAA- Who looked overrated or bad in week 1? I will sprinkle in a couple of non-ranked teams in this category just because.
Special Teams Sucked in week 1- all over the country kickers missed critical field goals and even extra points. Kickers and Punters were blocked because their special teams lines forgot how to block in 2022. Returners dropped kicks left and right. Some special teams coordinator need to look in the mirror today.
LSU- my son went to LSU and they are my #2 team and no team illustrated the special teams sucked take more than LSU. Brian Kelly is about to learn how tough a place Baton Rouge can be after what the fans think is a bad loss. Being the ONLY SEC team with a loss is not where one wants to be in their first year. Thank goodness the play Southern this week but week 3 vs. Miss St. in Tiger Stadium? No thanks, I will watch it.
Oregon- The Ducks were beaten down by Georgia.
Iowa- WHAT THE HELL was that? A 7-3 victory with two safeties? No thanks.
Oklahoma St. defense- I know they were winning big when it happened but letting Central Michigan score 44 does not bode well for the Cowboys.
NC State- Larry didn't you predict NC State in a NY6 bowl? Yeah that took a hit.
North Carolina- The Tarheels escaped Boone with a two point win but I someone please check on Mack Brown. That game was not good for his health. App State plays the Ags next in the hellhole known as College Station. Watching.
So there you have it- my takes on week 1. The Horns won so it was a good week.
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