FAVORITE TEAMS

Here are my few takeaways from Week 1 of college football.

• Wisconsin was solely underestimated because their defense played very well and the run game was solid as ever. Quarterback Jack Coan played well as the new starter too.
• All 10 Big 12 teams won their games, but Iowa State survived a near upset against Northern Iowa. Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts was really impressive in his debut but still needs to clean up his ball control issues when running.
• The SEC motto “It Just Means More” must mean a lot more because three (Missouri, Ole Miss, and Tennessee) lost to Group of Five teams (Wyoming, Memphis, and Georgia State). I was really disappointed by Missouri’s defense and Tennessee overall.
• I’m unsure where Florida State was in the 2nd half. Their offensive line also is continuing to be awful.
• The Big Ten may need to be careful this season. Purdue and Northwestern already lost their non-conference games. Michigan State won, but their offense still struggled against a suprisingly good Tulsa defense. The majority of the points came from kicker Matt Coughlin and a defensive score by Kenny Willikes.
• A few of the AAC teams (Cincinnati, UCF, and Memphis) and Mountain West teams (Boise State, Nevada, Wyoming, and Hawai’i) impressed in their season openers.
• Most of the starting freshmen quarterbacks and transfer quarterbacks impressed in their debuts in Week 1. But there’s also backup quarterbacks that’ll probably start this weekend due to injury…

5) #12 TEXAS A&M (1-0) AT #1 CLEMSON (1-0) – 12:30PM PT/ 3:30PM ET [ABC]

Last season, they nearly came away with a big upset that could’ve put Clemson in a dire situation with trying to make the playoffs with one loss. Texas A&M is the hype of college football, but they have yet to win at Clemson. This is also their first of three true road test of the season. They will have to rely heavily on quarterback Kellen Mond to play really well in this game. Even if Clemson has a whole new defensive line, Xavier Thomas can still lead the pressure and the coverage is really good. All the pressure is on Texas A&M to play an A+ game all four quarters to beat Clemson, and their defense especially has to play well and not allow many big plays.

4) #21 SYRACUSE (1-0) AT MARYLAND (1-0) – 9AM PT/ 12PM ET [ESPN]

Believe it or not, this game is a potential upset game. Syracuse allowed negative four yards of rushing, but gave up over 200 yards of passing. To add on, quarterback Tommy DeVito threw two interceptions and his pass completion was a lowly 48.6 percent. Maryland’s running back Anthony McFarland will play a bigger role after rushing only 18 yards on six carries, but he did rush for two touchdowns. The Terps passing game was also solid behind Virginia Tech-transfer quarterback Josh Jackson after throwing for four. Syracuse shouldn’t underestimate playing Maryland because they have some decent talent. Anthony McFarland will be key to the Terps chances of upsetting a ranked non-conference opponent once again in 2019.

3) ARMY (1-0) AT #7 MICHIGAN (1-0) – 9AM PT/ 12PM ET [FOX]

I’m not saying Army will beat Michigan, but I’m saying what can Army get out of Michigan on Saturday? Yes, they were nearly upset by Rice, but Army’s defense played enough to only allow seven points even though they are dealing with replacements up front. Unfortunately, Rice wasn’t much of a passing team and relied heavily on the run. Michigan has plenty of depth in the run game to see who has more control in time of possession. Shea Patterson should have no problem since Army lacked in pass rushing. But Michigan’s offense did start off slow in the first half before scoring 27 by halftime. Will that happen again Saturday? Army’s time of possession will be key to potentially upsetting the Wolverines. They did it last year at Norman, Oklahoma, but that was with their veteran defense. Let’s see if they can keep things close in Ann Arbor.

2) SOUTHERN MISS (1-0) AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (1-0) – 12:30PM PT/ 3:30PM ET [ESPNU]

I put this matchup on the list because Mississippi State’s defense allowed over 400 yards of offense, including three touchdowns on the ground against Louisiana last week. The loss of their defensive line leaves a weak spot for Southern Miss to maybe take advantage. Southern Miss’s defense should give them a chance to keep things close and make Mississippi State work for every yard. Quarterback John Abraham was reliable after throwing for 293 yards, but Southern Miss needs more play from their run game. If Mississippi State fails to plug their holes on their defensive line, Southern Miss could be another team to upset an SEC team this season.

1) WESTERN MICHIGAN (1-0) AT #19 MICHIGAN STATE (1-0) – 4:30PM PT/ 7:30PM ET [BIG TEN NETWORK]

Quarterback Jon Wassink is healthy and ready for a big challenge against Michigan State’s defense. He threw for nearly 400 yards and five touchdowns. However, they’re playing against a whole different team that has one of the best defenses in the nation. Western Michigan didn’t get much from LeVante Bellamy in the run game, but it could be his toughest challenge. Michigan State pushed Tulsa’s run game into -73 yards last week. With all the praise from the Spartans’ defense, their offense again had some struggles and were unable to capitalize on the redzone on more than one occasion. Their 28 points was deceiving because 12 of them came from their kicker Matt Coghlin, a touchdown came from defensive linemen Kenny Willikes’ fumble recovery touchdown, and their defense forced a safety. Western Michigan’s offense is much better than Tulsa, but can they score more points and control the ball while their defense prevent’s Michigan State from many scoring opportunities?

OTHER GAMES TO WATCH

LSU AT TEXAS – 4:30PM PT/ 7:30PM ET [ABC]

MIAMI (FL) AT UNC – 5PM PT/ 8PM ET [ACC NETWORK]

MINNESOTA AT FRESNO STATE – 7:30PM PT/ 10:30PM ET [CBS SPORTS NETWORK]

SAN DIEGO STATE AT UCLA – 1:15PM PT/ 4:15PM ET [PAC-12 NETWORK]

BYU AT TENNESSEE – 4PM PT/ 7PM ET [ESPN]