From The Stands — CFB Week 1

Jamie Van Dee
Sep 4, 2018 · 4 min read
Boise State now has a Turnover Throne. I love College Football.

College Football is back! It felt so good to be sitting on my couch watching football with a cold beer in my hand. I got to see a Turnover Throne. Exciting freshmen. Old favorite players. Upsets. Almost Upsets. Texas lost. Unfortunately Ohio State did not. Some sweet uniforms debuted. Even had some games cancelled due to inclement weather. That part sucked.

It only gets better from here.

Team of the Week — Auburn: The Tigers dominated Washington in the first quarter and made life very difficult for the Huskies in the Red Zone. This was one of the best games of the weekend. A true slugfest with neither team backing down. The defense was stellar for both teams. Auburn’s offense just had a little more in the end. Auburn showed they have the ability once again to be a force in the SEC West. They will challenge Alabama and if they can get their offense going may run the table. Check out some highlights below, especially the catch by #80 Salvatore Canella. Stellar. (Honorable Mention: LSU, Notre Dame, Alabama)

Uniform of the Week — UCLA: I love the powder blue look on a football field. An afternoon game at the Rose Bowl made these really pop. It is a traditional uniform that just works every damn time. UCLA should only wear these. Too bad they did not make them play any better in Chip Kelly’s first game. Woof. (Honorable Mention: UNLV, Appalachian State, Northern Illinois, Utah)

Here are some of my thoughts on the weekend:

Michigan is starting to piss me off with their crappy stubborn offense. Harbaugh is going to need to adapt his offense to Shea Patterson and Dylan McCaffery. Both of them are mobile QBs who work better in the spread. Adapt to your players or pick players that fit your system better. Harbaugh is running out of time for the latter.

Oklahoma just might be better than they were in 2017. the College Football Playoff is certainly in play for the Sooners. Kyler Murray is damn good and the defense looks improved.

The Exciting Freshman of the Week is Rondale Moore. He is just a stud that brokee Purdue's all-purpose yardage record in his very first College Football game. He is going to be lots of fun to watch for the next few years.

Michigan State and Penn State struggled against teams they should have handled easilyin Utah State and Appalachian State. Going to be tough for them to win the B1G East by just surviving each game. Also, why was everyone treating a possible App State upset of Penn State the same as the Michigan one? Stupid to compare a FCS team to a now FBS team.

Will someone please explain to me how the outline of the state of West Virginia can be a placeholder for the letter “O”? It looks ridiculous. Do better Mountaineers.

Texas is decidely not back after an ugly and swampy loss to Maryland. When do we start asking if Tom Herman is actually a good Head Coach? Are we sure he is? He was a great Offensive Coordinator. In my humble opinion, other than his first season at Houston, he has largely been an average Head Coach.

Since Iowa State and Nebraska both had their games cancelled due to thunderstorms, they should play each other on December 1st. That is, if neither are in their respective conference championship games. It will never happen but it would make this fan very happy if the Cyclones could battle the Cornhuskers once more. I miss that rivalry.

Beer of the Week — Euchre Pils by Arbor Brewing. Light and refreshing. Perfect for the first Saturday of College Football. I also mixed in the always great Ichabod by New Holland.

My Top 25:

  1. Alabama (1–0, LW: 1)
  2. Georgia (1–0, LW: 2)
  3. Clemson (1–0, LW: 3)
  4. Oklahoma (1–0, LW: 5)
  5. Auburn (1–0, LW: 19)
  6. Wisconsin (1–0, LW: 6)
  7. Ohio State (1–0, LW: 8)
  8. Washington (1–0, LW: 7)
  9. Oregon (1–0, LW: 10)
  10. Notre Dame (1–0, LW: 18)
  11. Boise State (1–0, LW: 12)
  12. Mississippi State (1–0, LW: 13)
  13. Michigan (0–1, LW: 4)
  14. TCU (1–0, LW: 17)
  15. Virginia Tech (1–0, LW: 15)
  16. LSU (1–0, LW: NR)
  17. Stanford (1–0, LW: 14)
  18. South Carolina (1–0, LW: 21)
  19. West Virginia (1–0, LW: 22)
  20. Utah (1–0, LW: 23)
  21. Penn State (1–0, LW: 16)
  22. Miami (0–1, LW: 9)
  23. Central Florida (1–0, LW: 24)
  24. Michigan State (1–0, LW: 11)
  25. Northwestern (1–0, LW: NR)

Thought about it: Iowa State, USC, Texas A&M, Memphis

Dropped out: Arizona, Florida State

I hope Ohio State loses next week.

Jamie Van Dee

Written by

Iowa born. Current Michigander. Iowa State Fan. Beer lover.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade