As a connoisseur of college football, I can safely say this opening weekend was rich. Here are a few things that stood out to me:
TEXAS A&M’S NEW-LOOK DEFENSE
The Aggies haven’t had a problem scoring points since joining the Southeastern Conference in 2012. And opponents haven’t had any trouble at all lighting up the scoreboard against a porous Aggies defense, either.
A pedestrian defense has prevented the Aggies from reaching that next level, but after the first week of the season, it looks like things could be changing in College Station. Former LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis took the same position at Texas A&M during the offseason, and he had the Aggies defense looking fierce in week one.
The Aggies held Arizona State to 291 yards, and “3rd and Chavis” was nowhere to be found (the Sun Devils were 5-18 on 3rd downs). The Aggies recorded nine sacks — four of which came from junior defensive lineman Daeshon Hall.
If Texas A&M’s uptrending defense continues to play well, the Aggies will be a big threat in the SEC because we know putting points on the board isn’t an issue.
The madness is starting early
It didn’t even take a week or two for us to get our first glimpse of absurd finishes.
BYU found itself trailing Nebraska with seconds remaining in Saturday’s contest. Freshman quarterback Tanner Mangum, who was in the game only because senior starter Taysom Hill suffered a season-ending foot injury, found senior wide receiver Mitch Mathews on a 42-yard hail mary to win the game.
Kansas mounted a furious comeback against South Dakota State University but fell short when Jayhawks junior quarterback Montell Cozart fumbled the snap on a play where he would’ve spiked the ball to set up a game-tying field goal.
Baylor’s offense scoring with ease
Some say Baylor just scored again on SMU’s defense.
Jokes aside, the Bears had no trouble finding the endzone in a 56-21 victory against the Mustangs — 28 points in the first quarter and another 28 in the second half. They also managed to accumulate 723 yards of offense with seemingly little difficulty. The Bears rushed 37 times for 300 yards, or 8.1 yards per carry. I think they’ll survive without former quarterback Bryce Petty.
Injuries abound
It was a brutal week of injuries. Arizona junior linebacker Scooby Wright III reportedly underwent surgery for a lateral meniscus tear, according to several reports. If you’ve read this far, you know BYU lost Hill to a season-ending foot injury. UCLA junior defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes tore his ACL in Saturday’s win against Virginia, according to multiple reports. Notre Dame lost junior running back Tarean Folston for the season after he suffered an ACL tear in the team’s win against Texas. Clemson junior wide receiver Mike Williams suffered a small fracture in his neck and will face a lengthy amount of time on the sideline.
The list goes on-and-on, but the bottom line is that college football’s first weekend was cruel.
Week one layout is perfect
This was a tremendous weekend to be a college football fan. The games started Thursday evening and didn’t stop until after Monday night’s clash between Ohio State and Virginia Tech. Five straight days of football is something wonderful to behold. Every day had an entertaining game.
Jack Woods is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Ruston, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter @Jack_TDR.