Opening Thursday Reactions
By Tucker Harlin
The Thursday slate of Week 1 college football games has come and gone.
Overall, there wasn’t much to come out of Thursday that was surprising, but it did give us some entertainment to start the year.
These are four reactions I had to the opening night of Week 1.
1. SEC TEAMS ARE OFF TO A VERY NICE START
Credit: University of Arkansas Athletics
This isn’t really surprising to me given Arkansas and Missouri both played FCS schools and the average SEC team can hang 40 against one of those in its sleep.
However, I was a little surprised by what the Razorbacks were able to do against Pine Bluff.
I know Pine Bluff is never mentioned in the circle of FCS powerhouses, but I also wasn’t expecting Bobby Petrino’s offense to score 10 touchdowns in his first game back in Fayetteville.
1928 was the last time the Razorbacks hung 70 on an opponent, so that alone makes me believe this offense will be a little better than people think.
We’ll have a better idea of what Arkansas looks like when it goes to Stillwater next week, but this is an incredibly positive start.
2. ARE WE OVERESTIMATING NC STATE?
I was going to have an eye on this game with the Wolf Pack on the horizon for the Vols, but this wound up being the biggest surprise of the night.
I never thought Western Carolina was actually going to beat NC State but the Catamounts gave it their best shot.
Grayson McCall nearly threw a pick six on the second possession and stuck the Wolf Pack in a precarious spot early.
Branson Adams’ rush touchdown put Western Carolina up 21-17 after three quarters.
Ultimately, the Wolf Pack’s talent covered up a lot of its shortcomings as receiver Kevin Concepcion and running back Jordan Waters powered it to a 38-21 win.
I remember that same uncomfortable feeling after Tennessee won ugly against Austin Peay the second week of last season, and the most souring loss of the season was what followed.
It could be a very similar situation for NC State next weekend.
3. COLORADO HASN’T GOTTEN ANY BETTER
I wasn’t expecting Colorado to run through North Dakota State based on the Bison’s history against FBS opponents.
That said, I saw no true signs of growth from the Buffaloes.
Don’t get me wrong, Shedeur Sanders to Travis Hunter is one of the most explosive connections that college football has to offer.
I have tons of questions about this defense and how much it will be able to slow down Big 12 opponents over the course of the season.
On offense, I still hate the Buffaloes rush attack.
The offensive line only surrendered one sack/TFL, but the Buffaloes only ran for 59 yards all game.
Stats aside, the situational awareness of the Buffaloes late in the game was nonexistent.
Even if you don’t trust your run game you shouldn’t be putting the ball in the air during the closing minutes of a game in which you have a one possession lead.
I’m no higher on Colorado than before it took the field.
4. MINNESOTA WITHOUT A STRONG RUN GAME IS A 4-8 TEAM
We knew that North Carolina @ Minnesota was going to be a game full of injury absences.
It had been discussed all week that Tar Heels quarterback Max Johnson wasn’t 100%, and he missed a good chunk of the second half after exiting with an injury.
But the Golden Gophers had an unwanted surprise hours before kickoff when it was announced running back Darius Taylor would not be available.
The Tar Heels held a 147-78 advantage on the ground, although Omarion Hampton is considered one of the best backs in this upcoming draft class.
The average Big 10 quarterback is just a game manager, and that’s what we saw out of Max Brosmer last night.
The Golden Gophers are generally not going to have better athletes than non Big 10 opponents in the power conferences. That’s ultimately been a difference the last two seasons for them against UNC.
It’s what sank the boat last night for P.J. Fleck.
***Spoiler- The Blitz cashed in on the under for the official Fanrun Pick ems Wild Card this week***
