College Football Roundup; NFL Season Opening Questions

We've written often about the folly of predicting college football games.

Upsets and surprise teams abound.

You're talking about 18-21 year old kids who can easily be distracted by a fight with their girlfriend, a bad test, or a hangover.

Even grizzled, six-year veterans, like Stanford quarterback Ben Gulbranson, can play awfully, as he showed last week in Hawaii.

Despite the inherent risk, those of us in the blogosphere still decide to bring out the crystal ball from time to time, because it's so much fun.

Last weekend, we picked the three biggest games--going with Texas over Ohio State, Clemson over LSU, and Notre Dame over Miami.

And we were wrong about all three games. I guess it's time to replace me with AI.

Some highlights and lowlights from Week 1:

Top Teams Fall: Four of the top-ranked eight teams lost--No. 1 Texas, No. 4 Clemson, No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 8 Alabama.

Sark Fails Again: Texas coach Steve Sarkisian proved again that he can't win the big games, falling to Ohio State 14-7 and losing his No. 1 ranking in the process.

Sarkisian, a renowned offensive strategist, called an extremely conservative game with little motion and an over-emphasis on the run. And he confirmed his career-long ineptitude as a play-caller in the Red Zone, as the Longhorns were stopped on the Ohio State one and nine.

Manning Underwhelms: Ultra-hyped Texas quarterback Arch Manning was a near bust. At halftime, his stat line was 5 completions in 10 attempts for 26 yards. He short-hopped several receivers, overthrew others, and looked rattled under pressure.

Manning finally showed some spark in the fourth quarter, but even then he threw behind receiver Ryan Wingo on a key third down that would've kept the Longhorns' final drive alive in the closing minutes.

Cal Transfer Shines: Former Cal tight end Jack Endries had a big 30-yard reception for Texas in the fourth quarter on the best pass Manning threw all day.

Stanford Transfer Sits: Former Stanford receiver Emmett Mosley won a starting job, but was sidelined by a leg injury and didn't suit up against the Buckeyes. His replacement, Parker Livingstone, scored the Longhorns' only TD.

Clemson Disappoints: Clemson couldn't run the ball against LSU, gaining 31 yards on 19 carries, and without star receiver Antonio Williams, who left after the first series with a hamstring injury, quarterback Cade Klubnik couldn't do it alone.

Irish Fall Short: Notre Dame fought back from a 21-7 deficit but fell short, 27-24. Miami's new quarterback Carson Beck looked better than when he played for Georgia.

Easy Wins: Other top teams--Oregon, Penn State, Georgia, Michigan, Oklahoma, Florida, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, SMU and Arizona State--all won easily against cupcakes.

Biggest Upset: Florida State, undefeated but spurned by the College Football Playoff in 2023, then a ghastly 2-10 last year, started the season by crushing No. 8 Alabama 31-17. The hero was former Boston College quarterback Tommy Castellanos, who threw for 152 yards and rushed for 78 and a touchdown.

And Coach Kalen DeBoer's seat at Alabama just got much warmer.

Cal Freshman Brings It: Cal scored an impressive 34-15 win in Corvallis over Oregon State. The Bears freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, the five star recruit who flipped from Cal to Oregon and then transferred back to Cal, had a brilliant debut. 

Sagapolutele completed 20-for-30 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns. Not bad for the first true freshman to start at Cal since Jared Goff.

Bruin Transer Busts: Another transfer, UCLA's Nico Imaleava, didn't fare so well. Iamaleava, who walked away from a $2.2 million deal at Tennessee,  suffered a humiliating 43-10 home loss to Utah. He went 11 of 22 for 136 yards and was sacked four times in front of an announced crowd of 35,032 at the Rose Bowl. 

I guess now we can understand why UCLA coach DeShaun Foster wouldn't let reporters watch his practices.

Utah Impresses: On the other side of the field, former New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier shredded the Bruins, going 21 of 25 for 206 yards and two TDs while running 16 times for 87 yards and a score. 

Utah should win the Big 12 this year. As we've been saying for years, Kyle Whittingham is one of the best coaches in the country. Now that he's stopped waiting for Cam Rising to recover from his litany of injuries and has brought in a very talented new quarterback, the Utes will be very tough to handle this year.

Games of interest this weekend:

San Jose State at Texas. Pity poor San Jose State. The Spartans, coming off a tough 16-14 loss to Central Michigan, in which they missed two late field goals, travel to Austin to meet the Texas Longhorns, smarting from their loss to Ohio State. I hope they're getting a fat check.

Michigan at Oklahoma. Two new quarterbacks in a marquee matchup. Both QBs started well last week. Michigan's $10M freshman, Bryce Underwood, completed 21 of 31 for 251 yards and a touchdown in the Wolverines' workmanlike 34-17 win over New Mexico. John Mateer, the transfer from Washington State, had a brilliant debut for Oklahoma, hitting 30 out of 37 for 392 and two touchdowns. He also ran for a score. 

Stanford at BYU. Stanford will try to bounce back from an ugly loss to Hawaii. On the other side of the field, starting for BYU, will be two Stanford transfers--quarterback Bear Bachmeier and his brother, wide receiver Tiger Bachmeier.

No picks this week. I've learned my lesson.

NFL Opens: The NFL gets underway this week. Some of the most intriguing questions.

Can the Eagles repeat?

Can the 49ers contend for the Super Bowl? Aging stars, extensive turnover on defense, and a void at wide receiver are among the issues. And will we see the Christian McCaffrey, Offensive Player of the Year, from 2023, or the injury plagued back of 2024?

Can the Lions contend again with two new coordinators and an aging roster?

Will Cincinnati play enough defense to give Joe Burrow a chance? The Bengals' QB is a trendy pick for league MVP after a brilliant season last year.

Can Patrick Mahomes rebound after a "down" year in 2024?

How long will the Giants wait to insert Jaxson Dart as starting QB over fading Russell Wilson?

Is Ashton Jeanty the real deal?

Has Jerry Jones ruined the Cowboys? And did he just make the Packers Super Bowl contenders by trading/giving them Micah Parsons?

How far can Jim Harbaugh take the Chargers?

Can Pete Carroll work his magic with the Raiders?

It's going to be a fun season.