NFL
Week 1 in College football has come and gone. There are story lines already being formed.
5 Things We Learned About Week 1:
#5) Is Chip Kelly a mad scientist or genius?: Chip Kelly compiled a record of 46-7 at Oregon before he left for the NFL. He was 33-3 in the PAC-12 and his team finished each season ranked #11,#3, #4 and #2. In his first year at UCLA his team went 3-9. Kelly lost the first game of the season to a good Cincinnati team,24-14. Kelly has 87 freshman and sophomores on his 2019 roster. Will UCLA let Kelly develop this program or will he be on the hot-seat when they win 4-5 games this year?
#4) Could this be the year a running back wins the Heisman Trophy?:
Since 2006, there have been two running backs to win the Hiesman Trophy, Derrick Henry (2015) and Mark Ingram (2009). Clemson’s Travis Etienne rushed for 205 yards and had three touchdowns. Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor had 4 touchdowns in Week 1. I expect Etienne to be in New York and a finalist for the Trophy. Last season the sophomore, Clemson running back ,averaged 8.1 yards per carry and had 24 total touchdowns.
#3) UCF is now the best college football program in Florida:
There are six states that produce the best high school prospects in the country:
California
Ohio
New Jersey
Florida
Texas
Pennsylvania
Ohio State does a tremendous job of keeping their home grown talent in Ohio. Rutgers University has never done this in New Jersey. UCF is now dominated the recruiting wars in Florida. Over the past 2 years UCF is 26-1 with two different coaches. They would beat Miami, Florida and Florida State if they played.
#2) Mario Cristabol needs to look in the Mirror after Oregon’s loss to Auburn:
The #11 Oregon Ducks came into the game against #16 Auburn Tigers with a good offensive game plan. The Ducks led 21-6 midway through the 3rd quarter. The difference in this game was the Auburn coaching staff made adjustments, Oregon didn’t. Auburn went on a 21-0 scoring run to win the game. With a freshman quarterback, Bo Nix, the Auburn coaching staff was aggressive they let him make plays. With a senior quarterback, Justin Herbert, the Ducks played not to lose. Herbert could be the #1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft but Cristabol handcuffed him and played super conservative. The Ducks were out coached on every level in the 2nd half. This is a loss that already has Oregon fans wanting to fire their offensive coordinator, Marcus Arroyo, and I don’t blame the fans.
#1) Good for Jalen Hurts:
Jalen Hurts started for the Alabama Crimson Tide for 2 years. He led them to a national championship and two final four appearances. Last season he was benched for Tua Tagovailoa. In his first start as the Oklahoma quarterback, Hurts led his team to a 49-31 victory. He completed 20 of 23 passes, had 323 passing yards and 6 total touchdowns.
Parting Shots:
Florida State’s Willie Taggert is the most overrated, under criticized coach in Division I football. FSU lost to Boise State in their home opening 36-31.
Taggert’s career record:
Western Kentucky… 16-20.
South Florida… 24-25.
Oregon… 7-5.
Florida State… 5-8.
He is literally failing upward.
How far has the Tennessee Volunteers football program fallen? They lost their home opener to a 25 point underdog, Georgia State, 38-30.
USC wasn’t ranked in the top 25 in pre-season. On Saturday night, they lost their starting quarterback, J.T. Daniels to torn ACL. He will be out for the season.
Keep your eye on Scott Frost and Nebraska Football. They have the possibility to finish in the TOP 20 by the end of the season.
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