The Rest of College Football

[Dr. Strangelove]

Randy Edsall announces he's retiring at the end of the year. This after getting humiliated by Fresno and then losing yesterday to Holy Cross. His return to UConn did nothing to slow UConn's seemingly inevitable slide towards returning to FCS

[AlabamAlum]

What a heartbreaker for FSU. Chin up, Dr. Von Nostrum, wherever you are.

[Mike]

Hasn’t Brian Kelly killed enough people already?

[AlabamAlum]

Indeed. He literally sent a child to his death. His punishment for that horrible crime was a contract extension and media to be virtually silent about the blood dripping from his hands.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Another Wide Left for Free Shoes U?

[lineygoblue]

When I saw that ball sail wide left all I could think of was the old Megasite days...

[CGVT]

Fucking Notre Dame. Jesus.

The kid hit the kick from 50 as they stopped play to review. Dammit

[AlabamAlum]

Yeah, Norvell essentially “iced” his own kicker but he had to challenge to get the bad call by the refs overturned. That said, it was a hard call to make real time and if the refs had called it correctly to begin with the Shamrock Child Killer would have challenged and the kid would have still been “iced” anyway- but at least then it would have been the other team icing.

[Cody_Russell]

Iced his own kicker and started the wrong QB. FSU blew it.
Entertaining comeback game nonetheless.

ND has a lot to patch up if they are going to make the Playoff again.

[CGVT]

The “all world tight end dropped two critical third down passes

[JRB]

The Top Ten After Week One...

1. Alabama. What is there left to say? If Alabama's going to play like that every week, this is going to be a very predictable list this season, at least at the top. It seems this program never misses on a major recruit, and never starts a season needing to work out any kinks. It's really astonishing to watch-- I don't think Miami's at all a bad team. Alabama's just capable of beating good teams that badly. Hell, they expect to beat good teams that badly. Now for the Crimson Tide, it's on to...checks schedule...Mercer? Mercer?? Dear God, why?

2. Ohio State. It was entertaining for longer than I expected, but in the end, the Buckeyes looked pretty much how I expected them to look. They might have trouble stopping people at times, but they're going to be able to dial up more big plays when they need them than anyone on their schedule can make against them. If there was a question about if they had game-breakers in the backfield, Miyan Williams and Treveyon Henderson look to have answered that. Maybe Penn State can slow them down? I don't think Oregon can, especially if Kayvon Thibodeaux can't go.

3. Georgia. Well, I was right about Georgia lacking the firepower on offense to do much against Clemson's defense-- they gained less than 300 yards of offense. But I did not foresee Clemson having even less firepower, thanks largely to one of the most terrifying defensive performances I think I've ever seen. That was amazing defensive football, and it was a joy to watch. If the Bulldogs are this good now, and they can survive the injury and illness bug that keeps biting them(they've got a number of starters hurt, and now they seem to be struggling with a COVID outbreak), this might be the one team that has a chance to dethrone Alabama.

4. Oklahoma. I have a rule about not dropping a team after a win, but I'm sorely tempted to do that in a couple of cases this week. With respect to Oklahoma, from what I saw of their game with Tulane, the Green Wave might be better than expected(I thought Michael Pratt played exceptionally well), but OU's defensive questions have not gone away. They might make the playoff again, but they're not winning anything at that level with a back seven that tackles this poorly. Also, Spencer Rattler might have a little bit of the bad Brett Favre in him. He seems to believe he can make throws he doesn't have to make.

5. Texas A&M. Yes, it's the third SEC team in the top five. Such is the world we live in now. The Aggies move up by default here-- I only got to see highlights of their victory. They seem to have a defensive playmaker on the backend in Leon O'Neal, and they gained nearly 600 yards of offense. That's the good news. The bad news? Haynes King threw three interceptions against Kent State.

6. Cincinnati. The Bearcats are already higher on this list than I thought they'd ever get, and the weekend's events lead one to think they might have a decent shot at sweeping that Notre Dame-Indiana road swing after all.

7. Penn State. I'm convinced the Georgia-Clemson game was a case of two excellent defenses that were significantly ahead of their offenses. I'm undecided on Penn State's 16-10 win over my dark-horse playoff pick, Wisconsin. This might have been more bad offense, especially in Wisconsin's case, as Graham Mertz did not perform as I thought he would. Still, a big road win gets you rewarded in these parts. This might be too high too soon, but if so, it'll work itself out.

8. Iowa State. This is the other case of a team I'm not going to drop after a win. I was in the "Michigan should hire Matt Campbell" camp at the end of last season, but for all the good he's done for the Cyclones, he seems to have a problem with season openers. This wasn't even the first time they'd struggled with Northern Iowa in an opener-- they went to triple-overtime against them two years ago. This team needs a world of improvement this week, or they're not on this list next week. At least, they don't have to play next week at...

9. Iowa. I wasn't a big believer in Indiana coming into this season-- I think they're still missing talent in a lot of areas, and that they'll miss Kane Wommack more than was considered. Still, I didn't expect them to get Kinnicked in week one. Iowa's been on fire since the middle of last season, and even though they've got to go to Ames this week, I think they're going to get the job done. They'll need better QB play to stay on this list most of the year, but maybe only a little bit better.

10. Notre Dame. You have to wonder what might have happened if Mackenzie Milton had played earlier for Florida State, or if Mike Norvell hadn't handed the Irish a touchdown with his gamble on 4th-and-2 from his own 33 in the third quarter. But, as much as Brian Kelly might want to have his team executed, the Irish got a tough road win against a talented, if underachieving, program in week one, and they've found a QB that can win for them in Jack Coan. Those are accomplishments this early in the season.

Next Ten: Clemson, Oregon, Florida, USC, Wisconsin, UCLA, Utah, Texas, Auburn, Arizona State

[AlabamAlum]

I expect Auburn might be in a lot of polls, Jason. It may be deserved, but it’s so hard to tell when they play a team that is 1-23 going back to November of 2018. The Zips lone win in that 34-month timeframe was against winless Bowling Green last year who played a reduced 5-game schedule due to Covid.

[JRB]

Agreed. I feel pretty good about the first 18, but I was reaching for the last two spots. If Virginia Tech had been a little more convincing in the second half against UNC, I'd have probably given them a spot around there.

[AlabamAlum]

Understandable. I think I would throw Montana, Tulane, FSU, or UCF a spot before Auburn. And you know how completely impartial I am when evaluating Auburn.

((((cough, cough))))

[AlabamAlum]

Also, Re: Clemson’s sched. It’s just not good. I don’t really see a potential roadblock to them winning out.