Manziel seemingly didn’t learn from his ‘suspension’. Photo by Thomas Campbell/USA TODAY Sports
The Good
Targeting: The newest rule that could have the biggest impact this season is the one governing defenders targeting defenseless players with hits to the head. Already players from Oregon and Texas A&M were ejected for such moves today. Some might complain about how it’s taking big hits out of the game, but intentionally targeting a defenseless player for a head hit is poor sportsmanship and doesn’t belong. That’s to say nothing of the health issues involved. Hopefully guys will start to get the hint after a few suspensions.
Georgia-Clemson: This was the marquee matchup for the first weekend of the season and it did not disappoint as it was the kind of game all college football fans could enjoy. The defenses took a back seat as the offenses came out firing and it was a back and forth battle throughout. This was a big game for Tajh Boyd as he beat the Bulldogs with his feet as well as his arm. Clemson held off a late charge from Georgia for what was definitely a huge win for the ACC.
The Bad
The American: Not exactly a good debut for the former Big East. Yes they did have a few wins, but it was the bad losses that land them in this spot. UConn couldn’t contain Towson who pulled away in the 2nd half, but it was South Florida losing to McNeese State by 32 points that was the real stinker. Both teams pretty much couldn’t stop their FCS opponents and needed these wins since their schedules don’t get any easier.
Les Miles: It appeared he spent some time at his own School of Clock Management. 15 seconds are left in the 1st half and he calls a timeout. Then the team has trouble getting to the line and the play clock runs out. Making matters worse they can’t score a TD. Then it gets weird with TCU thinking the half is over and running back to their locker room. Only problem is the half is not over and they have to come back out. Certainly eventful, right?
t. Perhaps they can take solace in the fact that between them, NDSU and EWU have won the last three FCS national titles. Still this shows these ‘cupcake’ games can be anything but easy.</
The Ugly
Johnny Manziel: So after being forced to sit out the first half (way to go NCAA) you’d think he’d learned some sort of lesson, right? Instead he does the ‘rubbing fingers to indicate money’, starts jawing at a Rice defender and to top it off makes a faux autograph gesture. Way to go show how much you’ve matured since last season John Boy. Of course that patch of air he signed is probably being sold on EBay or something right now.
Bad Starts: Kansas State was all set to defend its Big 12 title while Oregon State was looking to make some noise in the Pac 12 North. Neither had a particularly good start to their years against FCS teams. K-State blew a late lead against North Dakota State and the Beavers gave up the game winning score with under a minute lefp>
Awards
The ‘Charlie Weis Ate My Cheeseburger’ Award for Defense: Alabama and they’ll probably win this award a few times this season. They cruised over Virginia Tech as expected, but in a different fashion then usual. They have an incredibly stout run defense and allowed a shade over 150 yards on the ground, but it was their pass defense that really carried them, allowing just 59 passing yards to the Hokies.
The ‘Shirley, You Must Be Joking?’ Offensive Performance Of The Week: The entire Oregon offense. Despite scoring ‘only’ 66 points on Nicholls State, the Ducks were able to put 772 yards of offense including 500 yards on the ground. The backups were in early as expected, but even they were lighting up the scoreboard. So then the team had to get guys from the stands to do more mop up duty.
The ‘These Are Not The Droids You’re Looking For’ Mystery Of The Week: So we all know Oregon has 42 different jersey sets and are contractually obligated to wear each at least once per season. Today the Ducks were sporting the ‘Stormtrooper’ white version, but the mystery comes from the names on the back. Silver lettering on a white uniform? In the bright sun? Shouldn’t be something like green that’s a little easier to read? Then again they’re running down the field at such a fast pace that there’s not much time to read those names anyways.
