The Return of College Football: Week 1 Recap

I am thrilled to write that College Football is officially back. With the return of the season, Vintage & Coupe’s commentary and game picks are back as well. Some readers may have noticed that I did not make any game day picks for Week 1, and that is because it's a new season. I wanted to get a better feel and understanding of teams' performances in Week One before making any inaccurate commentary or outlandish claims about the games or the season ahead. 

Results from Week 1 

Texas 7 - 14 Ohio State

This was the number one game that was on my mind. A College Football Semi-finals rematch between Texas and the Defending National Champions, Ohio State. It still hurts to see Ohio State as the National Champions, but I am not going to spend this whole time writing about why I hate Ohio State. 

If you are a casual football fan, you would probably say that this game was boring based on the lack of points on the board and Arch Manning’s underwhelming performance. While I was disappointed by Manning’s performance, I was impressed by Ohio State’s defense. While the media does bash Manning for his performance, let's not forget that they were facing off against last year's National Champions. It is difficult for me to say whether Ohio State is at the same championship level as the previous year or if Arch Manning is not a good quarterback, given that both offenses did not play at their peak. 

Do I think Ohio State will be great this year? Yes. Is Arch Manning overrated? Not sure. Will Ohio State beat Michigan this year? Absolutely not. Go Blue. 

UNC 14 - 48 TCU

I was actually pretty hyped to watch this game this year. While UNC is known as a basketball school, I honestly thought former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick would turn this team around, similar to Deion Sanders at Colorado. 

I was very wrong after watching this game. TCU cooked UNC. While I think the Tarheels can prove themselves throughout the season, Belichick won’t be their savior. 

​

Clemson 10 - 17 LSU

I personally loved this game. If you wanted to watch an entertaining football game last weekend, this was the game to tune into. While Clemson fell short of winning at home against LSU, they looked pretty good out there. What looked even better was the LSU defense. After watching that game, I believe that LSU’s defense can be a major problem for other teams this year. I would not be shocked if LSU is a top five team this year. 

Notre Dame 24 - 27 Miami

This was a close and entertaining matchup, but the primary thing that stood out to me was the performance of those wide receivers, who were playing out of their minds. 

CJ Daniels looked like prime Odell Beckham Jr. out there with that one-handed grab. The game went down to the wire with the Miami defense shutting down Notre Dame’s offense, which led to Miami upsetting Notre Dame. I personally think that Miami can do some damage this year with the offense and strong D-Line they have at the moment. When looking at the Fighting Irish, I think they’ll bounce back. While they made several mistakes throughout the game, I think Notre Dame can still be a great team this year. 

FSU 31 - 17 Alabama 

I was not expecting Florida State to upset Alabama. I was especially not expecting a powerhouse SEC team like Alabama to lose in its Week One game. I could not tell if Alabama was playing horribly or if FSU are just dogs now. I was first shocked by the performance of the FSU QB until I realized Thomas Castellanos was the same QB at Boston College who upset FSU last year. 

It was a brilliant choice from FSU to pick up Castellanos as he absolutely balled out against the Tide. Alabama’s quarterback, Ty Simpson, on the other hand, did not play so great. While I think Alabama will bounce back this upcoming week, I don’t see the Crimson Tide as dangerous and feared as they were when Nick Saban was coaching. After this performance from FSU, I honestly think they could be solid contenders for the College Football Playoffs. 

Michigan 34 - 17 New Mexico

While I like to joke about Michigan due to having several friends who are die-hard Michigan fans, I must admit that I like this Michigan team. It's honestly not the team; it’s that man at the QB position, Bryce Underwood. 

The man has an arm from a QB. I haven’t seen a freshman QB zip the football like that. While I love scramblers and your typical field general QB, I love a QB who slings the ball like a madman. I was expecting Michigan to beat New Mexico, but now I am excited to see what Underwood has to show off through the season. 

Games to watch for to Week 2

When looking at the upcoming games, it is a bit of a snooze fest. Most powerhouse teams are playing trash schools, and I am expecting blowouts for most of them. However, there are some matches that pique my interest. 

#15 Michigan vs #18 Oklahoma 

#6 Oregon vs Oklahoma State 

Stanford vs BYU

#20 Ole Miss vs Kentucky 

Iowa vs #16 Iowa State

Stay Tuned for the Week 2 Game Picks.