College Football Week 1: 5 biggest overreactions
The first week of the 2016 season of college football is finally over. It was an incredible weekend that saw four teams in the top-11 go down. There were epic overtime thrillers and games that were completely lopsided. Some teams came out of the gates looking like real contenders and others flopped hard. While there is a long way to go on the year, there is reason to overreact to things and make bold assumptions. That's what makes college football such a fun sport to watch.
5. THE BEST GAME OF THE SEASON HAS ALREADY HAPPENED
Let's just call it like it is, it's going to be hard for anything to top Texas and Notre Dame. It fit all the criteria of a classic. It had big plays, insane plays and improbable moments that left fans in disbelief. How often does a blocked extra point get returned for two points and force overtime? Even more importantly, it helped establish a couple narratives that will follow the two teams for the rest of the season.
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The first narrative being is that Notre Dame is going to have to rectify their quarterback situation soon. Brian Kelly went into the first game with a tough decision on his hands and came away with a loss because of it. It is clear that the man who should run the Irish under center is DeShone Kizer. He became an instant start with his play against Texas and had Notre Dame played him from the beginning, they likely win the game.
As for Texas, Sunday night was more than a huge win at home. It was a return to prominence for the Longhorns. The program is a real threat to win the Big-12 this season and they already have a leg up with Oklahoma losing. Shane Buechele did quite the job at quarterback in his debut in the team's two-quarterback system. They have the talent to be a great team and they have slowly put the pieces together dating back to last season. The Longhorns are for real.
4. THE PAC-12 IS DOOMED
The Pac-12 is in serious trouble. In fact, one should probably start lowering the lifeboats, because this ship is about to sink. The conference missed the playoffs last season and if there was smart money to bet, it's that they will miss it again this season. Over the weekend, the conference had a pretty bad start.
While Stanford won, there was nothing exactly jumping off the page from their victory. Down in the South, the two presumed favorites in USC and UCLA were heavily exposed. It's the second year in a row that a Pac-12 South team scheduled an SEC West opponent and watch things go south in a hurry. It happened to Arizona State, a favorite of many, last season.
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While UCLA can hang their hat on a tough overtime loss, the Trojans got absolutely embarrassed on national television. Neither team is going to be making the playoffs this season and their one loss has put them on the brink already. Now, both could certainly go on a run, but neither program has shown the consistency recently to show that they will.
So it's Stanford or bust, unless Washington or Oregon wants to prove they are for real. Washington State once again lost to an FCS school to begin the season and one has to wonder what exactly is going on with Mike Leach's program. This program is not in a good spot right now and one has to wonder if it has to get worse before it gets better.
3. JALEN HURTS IS THE NEXT BIG THING
Alabama didn't make many mistakes on Saturday night, but they did make one big one. That mistake was not starting Jalen Hurts at quarterback to begin the game. Luckily, he did find his way into the game and a star was born in Dallas. In just one blowout win over the Trojans, Hurts looks like the next coming of Cam Newton or Vince Young in college football.
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He was impossible for the Trojans to bring down because of his size and speed. Add in the fact that he has an absolute cannon for an arm and Hurts is going to take college football by storm. He's already developed a major connection with ArDarius Stewart and that's going to carry the team this year. Once he learns to find Calvin Ridley on the field, the team's offense will take off to the next level.
Hurts is a freshman and he's the real deal. With more seasoning and games under his belt, his legend will continue to grow. Having a game like he did against USC under the spotlight will help him once the Crimson Tide begin conference play. With Hurts under center for a while, the Tide are going to continue to roll over their opponents.
While it's lofty praise to compare him to two National Champions after one game, he is playing for the best program in the nation. He has all the tools and the platform to be the best quarterback in college football. It's going to be quite the ride for everyone in Alabama.
2. LES MILES IS A GONER
One of the best stories of the 2015 season was the way the LSU players rallied around Les Miles. After the program was going to make a hasty decision and get rid of their coach, the outpouring of support allowed Miles to keep his job as head coach of the Tigers. That's only going to go so far for Miles now.
After coming into the season with high expectations of making the playoffs, the Tigers have no margin for error after one week. The team lost on the road to a Wisconsin team wasn't ranked. While Wisconsin clearly should be a ranked football team, the Tigers were No. 5 in the nation and can't lose a game like that if they're going to make the playoffs.
Now, they have to go through the arduous task of running the table the rest of the way. That means they can't afford to slip up and lose a second game. If they do that, then they can kiss their playoff hopes goodbye. Their chances of getting there are tough and the minute they lose their next game if they do, the chatter about Miles is only going to heat up again if it hasn't already.
He had a great story of a team rallying around him last year, but he can't afford to carry those same results into this year. The team needs to play like a top team soon or he won't be the coach of the Tigers much longer.
1. OHIO STATE VS. MICHIGAN WILL BE FOR A PLAYOFF SPOT
The Big Ten is going to get a team into the playoff again this season. They might even get two if they're strong enough as they showed the first week. One thing is clear, the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines are on a collision course that will culminate in a trip to the College Football Playoff.
Neither team came out letting off the gas in their battles against inferior opponents. Both put the foot down and showed the strength of their programs. It's a testament to the work of Urban Meyer and Jim Harbaugh. Each of these coaches have revitalized their program and have turned them into teams that have a real shot at winning it all.
Everyone knows that Michigan and Ohio State is one of the biggest rivalries in college football. If they meet at the end of the season with real implications on the line, then it's going to be incredible football. These two programs hate each other with a passion and each would love to get a leg up on the other with a victory over the other. The team that does win will roll in the conference title game.
This moment has been coming for a long time for these two. The game will take place in Columbus and quite frankly, it can't get here soon enough.
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