šŸˆ Is Colorado Legit? 5 Takeaways from Week 1

PLUS: On this Day in Sportsā€¦

Author

Andy Elliott
September 05, 2023

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Can you believe it? Week 1 of the 2023 college football season is officially a wrap, and it was filled with upsets, blowouts, and doubts. Deion Sanders silenced the doubters with his upset victory over TCU. Kodak Black is completing side missions now. Oklahoma wiped the floor with Butch Jonesā€™ Arkansas State, with a score of 73-0. Fans like to cover themselves in mayonnaise. Liberty introduced a new hilarious turnover tradition with their ā€œJoker Maskā€. Oregon's mascot nearly had a heatstroke after cranking out a record-breaking 546 push-ups, and LSU's Sunday night performance was a ā€œtotal disappointmentā€.

šŸ‘‡

So, what were the top five takeaways from Week 1?

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āœļø TOP 5 TAKEAWAYS

#1. COLORADO IS FOR REAL

Sure, there may still be doubters after the historic 45-42 upset win over #17 TCU - who was embarrassed in last yearā€™s national championship game - but this team is legit. The defense still needs some work; however, the offensive plan going into that game was perfect, with at least 4 of Coloradoā€™s receivers recording over 100 yards, which has never been done before.

šŸ‘‰ To put the win into perspectiveā€¦

Colorado is the 1st power five team to win its season opener as at least a 20-point underdog since NC State in 1997.

šŸ‘‰ Shadeur Sandersā€¦

was the third quarterback in the past 25 seasons with an 80% completion percentage with 500 passing yards and 4 touchdowns against a Power Five opponent. The only other two quarterbacks to do that were Michael Penix last year against Arizona and Geno Smith did it in 2012 against Baylor.

šŸ‘‰Travis Hunterā€¦

Is now on Heisman watch after his performance on both sides of the ball on Saturday, being the first FBS player in the last 20 seasons to have 100 receiving yards and an interception in the same game. His instincts were incredible, baiting TCUā€™s quarterback Chandler into throwing that ball and making the play. Next-level football.

#2. BAD OFFENSIVE LINE = PROBABLY NOT THAT GOOD

Itā€™s not a sexy takeaway but we saw it all weekend long. If your offensive line is a liability, then your offense is probably a liability.

šŸ‘‰ South Carolinaā€™s offensive lineā€¦

was horrendous. They have excellent weapons on the perimeter: wide receivers Xavier Legette and Juice Wells, Spencer Tattler at QB, Trey Knox at tight end, the list goes on. The offensive line didnā€™t show up, which will be a significant obstacle for them moving forward if that continues to be the case.

šŸ‘‰ Ohio Stateā€™s offensive lineā€¦

didnā€™t look great either, specifically on the left side of the line. Josh Simmons, transfer from San Diego State didnā€™t play well and didnā€™t look very comfortable. The left guard Jonathan Jackson who everyone thought would be the best guy on that line looked shaky.

šŸ‘‰ LSU offensive lineā€¦

had two opportunities to punch in a touchdown from the 1-yard-line and couldnā€™t convert on either attempts. TWO! They need more push if they want to be the team they think they can be. They found themselves in critical second & third and long situations. FSU showed zero mercy, and neither will Alabama, Mississippi State, or Texas A&M.

#3. OFFENSE IS GALORE IN CFB

Offense clearly overpowers defense in college football right now. There were six teams who scored 65 points or more on Saturday, which is tied for the second most on a single day in the poll era since 1936ā€¦that trails only September 6th of 2014.

šŸ‘‰ FOUR AP Top 25 teamsā€¦

scored 65+ points: USC, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, and Oregon.

šŸ‘‰ THREE AP Top 25 teamsā€¦

scored 73+ points

šŸ‘‰ AP Top 25 teams averagedā€¦

47.8 points per game. Thatā€™s the most points per game by ranked teams on a single day EVER

#4. THE SEC IS HUMAN THIS YEAR

Yes, there were 10 teams in the conference who scored 40 or more points (the most ever in conference history on a single day), 10 teams that won by 30 or more points (again, the most ever), but the good is heavily outweighed by the bad.

šŸ‘‰ LSU was the favorite against Florida Stateā€¦

Yet, their doors blown off.

šŸ‘‰ South Carolina was a slight underdog against North Carolinaā€¦

got beat badly.

šŸ‘‰ Floridaā€¦

did not play well at all against Utah, and threw a screen pass as their very last play of the game.

šŸ‘‰ Bottom lineā€¦

Sure, maybe these teams arenā€™t the best examples or representation of the SEC; however, they should have held their own in opening week.

#5. QB COMPETITION IN OHIO & ALABAMA

Multiple quarterbacks played for Ohio State and Alabama this weekend. Letā€™s start with Ohio State.

šŸ‘‰ Starting QB Kyle McCordā€¦

for Ohio State looked gun-shy. Maybe a little scared to cut it loose. Probably thinking about if he makes a mistake then backup QB Devin Brown is going in the game (which happened). Brown came in on the 4th possession after Kyle McCord threw an interception. If youā€™re scared to make a mistake then you canā€™t play winning football.

šŸ‘‰ Backup QB Devin Brownā€¦

for Ohio State was probably a bit upset with head coach Ryan Day after he was quoted saying that he would have liked to get Brown more meaningful snaps after the game. Nonetheless, itā€™s time to make a decision at QB.

šŸ‘‰ Starting QB Jalen Milroeā€¦

for Alabama looked solid against MTSU. Very accurate on the deep throws. Heā€™ll be the starting quarterback going forward.

šŸ‘‰ Backup QB Tyler Buchnerā€¦

for Alabama lookedā€¦eh.

Caleb Williams has thrown a touchdown in 16 straight games for USC. The only other Trojan to do that over the last 20 seasons is Kedon Slovis (16 straight from 2019-21)

ā‰ļø TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE DAY

LAST WEEKā€™S POLL: Which city did the Rams originally play in?

Answer: Cleveland

šŸ’Ŗ ON THIS DAY IN SPORTS

1994 Jerry Rice surpassed Jim Brown as NFL's career TD leader with 127.

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