After this first week of the long awaited play-off season, there is some serious re-thinking going on out there. Dang near every sportswriter had FSU and 'Bama in the playoff championship but Week 1 put some question marks on those two programs...
FSU held on to win and were it not for a fumble recovery they may have lost that game. One play away from losing to a non-ranked is not the FSU people were expecting. And Saban and the boys played about the same, finally pulling away in the end but not before a few thousand fans were sweating.
TAM showed that a few years of great recruiting and coaching pays off even though the one-man Johnny Football show left town. A seamless transition - just what a great coach expects. SCAR had their hat handed to them and they've got some work to do. UCLA struggled with a Virginia team that went 2 - 8 last season. They'll need serious OL improvement to allow their playmaker QB shine. OSU and LSU looked rusty and unprepared, even though they pulled out Ws.
Georgia played like a team just glad to be healthy and injury-free and have the chance to showcase the talent they couldn't last year. And that they did. They unveiled a deep backfield that will have defensive front fours huffing before half-time. Smart adjustments to their defensive scheme and offensive play calling garnered them a 2nd half shutout, an offensive explosion and the win over a very good Clemson team (beware FSU).
BYU played like they wanted to win. They brought and executed a good game plan and made well timed adjustments. (And it didn't hurt that they showed up a day earlier than last year's east coast first game debacle in Virginia). They proved they can still throw (and catch) the ball, play up-tempo when it makes sense and slow down if necessary, and have a successful, balanced attack. The 150 yards of penalties? So what - first game jitters and just proof they are playing with some passion (thank heaven). They'll give Texas a good run next week.
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FSU held on to win and were it not for a fumble recovery they may have lost that game. One play away from losing to a non-ranked is not the FSU people were expecting. And Saban and the boys played about the same, finally pulling away in the end but not before a few thousand fans were sweating.
TAM showed that a few years of great recruiting and coaching pays off even though the one-man Johnny Football show left town. A seamless transition - just what a great coach expects. SCAR had their hat handed to them and they've got some work to do. UCLA struggled with a Virginia team that went 2 - 8 last season. They'll need serious OL improvement to allow their playmaker QB shine. OSU and LSU looked rusty and unprepared, even though they pulled out Ws.
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| We'll see a lot more of this guy. |
BYU played like they wanted to win. They brought and executed a good game plan and made well timed adjustments. (And it didn't hurt that they showed up a day earlier than last year's east coast first game debacle in Virginia). They proved they can still throw (and catch) the ball, play up-tempo when it makes sense and slow down if necessary, and have a successful, balanced attack. The 150 yards of penalties? So what - first game jitters and just proof they are playing with some passion (thank heaven). They'll give Texas a good run next week.
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From Andy Staples at si.com:
"...Going into a season, we don't really know anything. That's the beauty of this sport. Even the safest assumptions can be turned upon their heads on an annual basis. We can't draw any real conclusions until October, but the constant guessing is half the fun....".