College Football is Back!
Image courtesy of thescore.com.
By Griffin Cappiello
After its annual hiatus, the long-awaited return of college football is finally here! Week 1 featured several highly anticipated storylines — Arch Manning taking charge of the Texas offense, Colorado and Boise State in the post–Travis Hunter and Ashton Jeanty world, and Bill Belichick’s college football coaching debut — and they did not disappoint.
On Thursday evening, #25 Boise State faced off against South Florida. The Boise State Broncos, who made the College Football Playoff last year, largely thanks to star running back Ashton Jeanty, did not fare well in their first game following Jeanty’s departure for the National Football League, losing 7-34 to the Bulls.
On Friday, the Colorado Buffaloes hosted the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Colorado’s first game after Heisman-winning two-way player, Travis Hunter and quarterback, Shedeur Sanders were drafted to the NFL was simply not a success. Deion Sanders, also known as Coach Prime, led his team to a lackluster 20-27 loss to the Yellow Jackets.
On Saturday, #1 Texas matched up against #3 Ohio State in a rematch of last year’s College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl. The Ohio State Buckeyes won this previous matchup, and went on to win the National Championship. Texas’ sophomore quarterback Arch Manning, nephew of Super Bowl winners Peyton and Eli, went 17/30 for 170 yards in his starting debut, but was largely left ineffective for a majority of the game. The defending national champions won 14-7, and moved to take the top spot on the AP poll.
Upsets were a common theme throughout the opening weekend of the college football season; #9 LSU beat #4 Clemson 17-10 in a Tigers versus Tigers matchup, while #8 Alabama, still struggling to find an identity post–Nick Saban, lost 17-31 to unranked Florida State. #6 Notre Dame, coming off a loss in last year’s National Championship, also lost in a close 24-27 game against #10 Miami.
On Monday night, the North Carolina Tar Heels welcomed the TCU Horned Frogs to “Chapel Bill.” The college football coaching debut of legendary NFL head coach Bill Belichick, now at the helm of the North Carolina football program, was highly anticipated by many, including former Tar Heels Michael Jordan and Lawrence Taylor, who were both present at the game. Unfortunately for Tar Heel fans, Belichick’s debut left much to be desired in a 14-48 loss. Despite being known for his defensive prowess, TCU’s 48 points were the most ever conceded by a Belichick defense.
Looking ahead to Week 2, only one ranked versus ranked matchup is slated for the week as #15 Michigan visits #18 Oklahoma. Arch Manning has his shot at redemption as the #7 Longhorns host the San Jose State Spartans, while Bill Belichick and the Tar Heels go on the road to visit Charlotte. Rounding out the Week 2 games are a handful of intrastate matchups: #16 Iowa State hosts Iowa, #17 SMU hosts Baylor, #22 Tennessee hosts East Tennessee State, #13 Florida hosts South Florida, #10 South Carolina hosts South Carolina State, and #3 LSU hosts Louisiana Tech.
