WEEK 1 REVIEW

After Ohio State showed us how much of a different level they were on in last night’s center stage game against Virginia Tech, week 1 of the 2015 season is officially in the books. I wanted to give my thoughts on what I’ve learned over the weekend. I don’t want to make any major overreactions like most fans nationwide, but I will give a few thoughts on what jumped out to me. Here’s “My Take”…

Injuries

I’ve been watching college football for years and I don’t recall a time where I saw so many injuries in opening week. And these aren’t just minor sprains to average players, but they are big time season ending injuries for some of the top players in the country. Taysum Hill (BYU), Mike Williams (Clemson), Taurean Folston (Notre Dame), as well as returning ACC Player of the Year James Conner (Pittsburgh), are among the many that suffered extended or season ending injuries. I can’t even begin to understand the frustration that comes from preparing all offseason to go out and perform for your team and then going down in week 1. It’s probably even worse for a guy like Jonathan Williams (Arkansas) who suffered an injury during the offseason that will keep him out for the entire 2015 season. I’m sure nothing is more mentally challenging than having to recover from an injury you suffered in week 1. Not only can you not go out and play the game you love, and attempt to advance your career, but you can’t help your teammates and coaches accomplish the goals you all set out to achieve. For a guy like Hill (BYU), who has had 3 straight seasons end early due to injuries, this comes as another significant blow and another challenge that I hope he can come back from. Sometimes you can have a positive outcome from a season ending injury, such as Ohio State’s Braxton Miller. Miller missed last season with a torn labrum, recovered, changed positions and looked like an 08’ Percy Harvin in that Urban Meyer offense! Hopefully the players injured this week can have a similar story to tell.

SEC Dominance?

After questions came about last year about the SEC, and if they were slipping, they definitely impressed in week 1. If I learned anything from last year, it’s don’t jump on that Texas A&M bandwagon so soon; but after seeing all those playmakers on offense, paired with Myles Garrett leading John Chavis’s defense will definitely make it hard for me not to! Not only were they impressive, but they were in complete control of an Arizona State team that some people had picked to win the PAC 12 (Me and Kirk Herbstreit L).

We all wondered who would be starting for Alabama this year at QB, and we found out early when Jacob Coker took the field against Wisconsin. He definitely played solid but he didn’t have to do a lot with Derrick Henry and Kenyon Drake making plays all day. Alabama controlled the game on both sides of the ball but there is still a lot more to learn about them. Can Coker win a game for them when the running game isn’t working? We’ll have to see. Luckily we won’t have to wait long as they kick off against an Ole Miss team in a couple of weeks that looked great on Saturday. I don’t care who you play, 76 points is impressive!

Auburn was good and bad against Louisville. They struggled with the Cardinals running quarterback, and had troubles with their own quarterback. Preseason Heisman contender Jeremy Johnson threw 3 interceptions in his first game as “The Man” at Auburn. His development is essential to the Tigers winning the West this year and I’m not sure the coaching staff will make sure he corrects those issues.

PAC 12 NON Dominance

After so many people were speaking of the PAC 12 overtaking the SEC as the nation’s best conference, they sure didn’t prove that in opening week. Losses by Washington, Washington State, Stanford, and Arizona State in a primetime game against the SEC didn’t do much for conference prestige. Neither did Oregon, who despite winning comfortably, still gave up over 500 yards of offense and 42 points to FCS school Eastern Washington. UCLA and freshman sensation Josh Rosen looked great, and USC handled business against ASU. It’ll be very interesting going forward seeing how Stanford and Arizona State bounce back. The PAC 12 will however have another chance to redeem themselves as they take the main stage in a top 10 matchup with Michigan State this Saturday!

Ohio State and Everybody Else..?

Virginia tech played hard and competed until starting quarterback Michael Brewer suffered another one of these terrible week 1 injuries, but did anyone honestly think OSU would lose?? They have way too many weapons at their disposal, not to mention they have 2 Heisman caliber quarterbacks! Not to mention 3 of their best offensive players didn’t even play last night! 2 time Big 10 Player of the Year Braxton Miller who changed positions looked like a Heisman candidate last night. With a cupcake schedule, I would be SHOCKED if Ohio State didn’t cruise to the playoff.

In conclusion, we are 1 week in so there’s no need to make any drastic statements about the season, or your favorite team being great or terrible. We have a lot to learn! Injuries have changed several teams outlook and we won’t know much until the conference season really gets going. But if week 1 showed us anything at all, it’s that we’re in for a helluva year…and Texas still SUCKS.

That’s “My Take”