What was real and what was a mirage? Seven nuggets from opening weekend
The offseason is a nine month slog through the treacherous, lonely, scorching hot and yet somehow bitingly cold desert, and the first weekend is that first glimpse of water. It might be real, it might not, but in that glorious, life-saving moment, you don't care. You're just too damn delirious.
Much of what we saw in college football's protracted opening weekend will follow suit through autumn and into winter. Much of it will evaporate by next weekend. This is a recipe for sometimes drastic overreactions. In the first of six nuggets from the opening weekend, we'll attempt to sort to what's real and what is imagined.
Stanford's struggling offense at Northwestern: REAL. Head coach David Shaw is in his fifth year, and quarterback Kevin Hogan is a four year starter with more wins to his credit than any current FBS quarterback. There aren't a lot of new clubs in the bag here. And Stanford was held to 3.9 yards a play and without a touchdown in a 16-6 loss at Northwestern. This Cardinal team will need to lean on its defense a lot this fall.
SMU playing Baylor to a near draw in the first half: REAL. It's impossible to adequately quantify the difference between the SMU of September 2014 and the SMU of September 2015. Perhaps the difference between high noon on Mercury and midnight on Pluto might do it. The Mustangs' lack of depth and experience showed in the first half, but they played with a crispness, a purpose and a level of confidence they did not have a year ago. The first half of the previous sentence will change with time; the second will not.
Baylor's first quarter struggles against that same SMU team: MIRAGE. Missing two starters plus pulling together a phantom game plan will do that to you.
John Chavis will be a difference maker at Texas A&M: REAL. Myles Garrett will make any defense look at least 30 percent better than it is in his absence, but the Aggies played with a Chief-like speed and savagery. The same defense that allowed nearly 300 yards per game held Arizona State to 2.2 yards a carry on Saturday night in Houston. This wasn't Kenny Trill exploiting an overrated South Carolina defense in a shootout victory. This was a 21-point win over a Pac-12 South contender led by a stout defense and dynamic newcomers Christian Kirk and Kyler Murry. Doubt this team at your own risk.
UCLA can't compete in the Pac-12 South with a true freshman quarterback: MIRAGE. True freshman Josh Rosen played with the grace of a fifth-year senior, hitting 28-of-35 passes for 351 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. And he'll probably only get better from here.
Alabama's continued quarterback race is something to be worried about: MIRAGE. You saw Derrick Henry's three touchdown runs, right? A steady diet of that, Lane Kiffin, and it won't matter who takes the snap.
Temple's defense really is this good: REAL.We tried to tell you Thursday. (Okay, maybe we didn't go far enough.) After a 27-10 win over Penn State, the Owls have announced themselves as contenders in the AAC East.
For everything else that happened this weekend? Could be water, could be sand. But we're all drinking it anyway.
2. FBS head coaching debuts: Taking stock of the 16 head coaching debuts across college football.
- David Beaty and Kansas lost to South Dakota State, 41-38. On the bright side, Kansas ended the game on a 31-10 run. On the other, they fell in a 31-7 hole less than 150 seconds into the second quarter. And it ended in horribly.
- Pat Narduzzi and Pittsburgh defeated fellow newcomer Bo Pelini and Youngstown State, 45-37.
- Mike Bobo and Colorado State crushed Savannah State, 65-13.
- Jim McElwain and Florida blew out New Mexico State, 61-13.
- Mike Riley and Nebraska lost their first home opener in 29 years on a last-second Hail Mary to BYU, 33-28.
- Jim Harbaugh and Michigan fell to Utah in a valiant, yet still losing, effort, 24-17. But you knew that already.
- Gary Andersen and Oregon State topped Weber State, 26-7. Don't let the final score fool you: Weber State was within 6-0 at the half and 13-7 after three. Andersen at the half of Friday night's game: "As an offense, we aren't very good. That's the bottom line."
- Paul Chryst and Wisconsin put up a fight before falling to Alabama, 35-17.
- On short notice, Bill Cubit and Illinois smacked Kent State, 52-3. That's a larger win than Tim Beckman ever had in three seasons leading the Illini.
- John Bonamego and Central Michigan put on a good showing Thursday night, pushing visiting Oklahoma State to a 24-13 final.
- Chad Morris and SMU displayed the most feel-good 56-21 loss to Baylor. More on Morris and the Mustangs later.
- Tom Herman and Houston racked up 627 yards of offense in a 52-24 win over Tennessee Tech.
- Philip Montgomery and Tulsa and survived Florida Atlantic, 47-44 in overtime. Quarterback Dane Evans threw for a Baylor-like 424 yards.
- Lance Leipold and Buffalo blew out Albany, 51-14. As Leipold-coached teams do.
- Tony Sanchez and UNLV built an early lead over Northern Illinois but ultimately fell 38-30.
- Neal Brown and Troy lost at N.C. State, 49-21.
3. Notable coordinator debuts: While we're at it, let's look at how major coordinator hires fared in week one.
- South Carolina DC Jon Hoke: 440 yards allowed (208 rushing, 232 passing), 6.9 yards/play, 20 first downs allowed, 8-of-13 on third downs, three forced turnovers in a 17-13 win over North Carolina.
- North Carolina DC Gene Chizik: 394 yards allowed (254 rushing, 140 passing), 5.3 yards/play, 22 first downs, 8-of-15 on third downs, no forced turnovers in a 17-13 loss to South Carolina.
- Auburn DC Will Muschamp: 405 yards allowed (238 rushing, 167 passing), 5 yards/play, 27 first downs, 8-of-16 on third downs, two forced turnovers in a 31-24 win over Louisville.
- Kentucky OC Shannon Dawson: 435 total yards (178 rushing, 257 passing), 7.25 yards/play, 18 first downs, 5-of-14 on third downs in a 40-33 win over Louisiana-Lafayette.
- Notre Dame OC Mike Sanford: 527 total yards (214 rushing, 313 passing), 7.03 yards/play, 30 first downs, 8-of-14 on third downs in a 38-3 win over Texas.
- UCLA DC Tom Bradley: 336 total yards allowed (98 rushing, 238 passing), 4.87 yards/play, 19 first downs, 9-of-13 on third downs, one turnover forced in a 34-16 win over Virginia.
- Oklahoma OC Lincoln Riley: 539 total yards (100 rushing, 439 passing), 7.19 yards/play, 26 first downs, 4-of-13 on third downs in a 41-3 win over Akron.
- Georgia OC Brian Schottenheimer: 435 total yards (243 rushing/192 passing), 8.4 yards/play, 19 first downs, 5-of-9 on third downs in a 51-14 win over Louisiana-Monroe.
- Texas A&M DC John Chavis: 291 total yards allowed (92 rushing, 199 passing), 3.55 yards/play, 19 first downs allowed, 14-of-19 on third downs, two turnovers forced in a 38-17 win over Arizona State.
- Texas Tech DC David Gibbs: 637 total yards allowed (317 rushing, 320 passing), 6.5 yards/play, 34 first downs, 6-of-15 on third downs, four turnovers forced in a 59-45 win over Sam Houston State.
4. Because it's never too early to start regional chest thumping: Here's how the Power Five conferences have fared against each other so far this season.
ACC: 0-3 (0-2 vs. SEC, 0-1 vs. Pac-12)
Big Ten: 1-3 (1-1 vs. Pac-12, 0-1 vs. Big 12, 0-1 vs. SEC)
Big 12: 1-1 (1-0 vs. Big Ten, 0-1 vs. Notre Dame)
Pac-12: 2-2 (1-1 vs. Pac-12, 1-0 vs. ACC, 0-1 vs. SEC)
SEC: 4-0 (2-0 vs. ACC, 1-0 vs. Big Ten, 1-0 vs. Pac-12)
5. Best weekend ever: Michael and Karen Mangum. The Mangums are the Eagle, Idaho couple that produced BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum, thrower of this pass:
and Madison Mangum, catcher of this pass: 6. Worst weekend ever: The state of Washington. Washington lost to Boise State on Friday night. Washington State lost to Portland State, one of the worst FBS losses in recent memory.
7. Odds and Ends: - Temple's win over Penn State was the program's first since 1941. - Texas' 38-3 loss to Notre Dame was its worst opening day loss in 27 years. Six of Charlie Strong's eight losses in Austin have come by 21 points or more, including three straight losses by a cumulative score of 117-20. - If Alabama approaches you about playing you in a neutral site opener, run as far as you can as fast as you can. The Tide are 6-0 in such games, winning by an average score of 35-16. - May we all be spend one moment as happy as Bronco Mendenhall is here:
