College Football Week 1 Preview - Harbaugh, Harbaugh Never Changes

Liking college football is a lot like being in a bad relationship. You know the relationship will end in sadness and despair and yet each time it comes back you promise that this time will be different, that this time you won't take it for granted.




Michigan at Utah

I don't think the infamous interview signaled the end of Cowherd, but I like to anyway.

Is it possible to be tired of a team and their coach before said team and coach have even played a down? I'm sure if you were to ask Utah or Michigan State for that matter they'd say yes. For months now all anyone has talked about is Michigan and their new head coach, one Jim... Or is it John Harbaugh. I mean I don't think anyone would blame you if you thought that with the amount of hype surrounding Michigan they must be one of the top 5 teams in the country. Oh, weird. All the same, I'm sure pretty much everyone at this point is ready to stop talking about Harbaugh's off the field shenanigans and move on to actually talking about football. With that being said I suppose we should talk about who is the starting quarterback for Michigan. Oh... We don't know. Well, the players know. But we don't. According to Harbaugh they don't know either... Err that's what he wants them to think. They should both prepare like they're the starter. Except that they do know. Damnit. I got tricked into talking about another Harbaughism. Did I say anything about Utah? I'm really bad at this.

 But seriously.

Depending on where you look Utah is expected to win by anywhere from 3 to 5 points. Now, a lot of people are saying that Utah will use a lot of the Michigan talk over the past 8 months as a chip on their shoulder. I mean, I'm sure that will happen to some extent but I don't think that's enough to convince me to take the over especially considering this is the first game of the season for both teams and I'm sure there will be some cobwebs.

Utah has a lot to like. Their RB, Devontae Booker is on the Heisman watch for some and in a game like this, that could be huge. Utah's defense last year also led the nation in sacks and against whoever Michigan decides to start, Morris or Rudock, it's anyone's guess, that again could be huge especially if it's the less experienced Rudock, Finally, Utah has a solid kicking game that was 80% last year while Michigan, like with the quarterbacks, is unsure who their kicker will be.

With so much to like about Utah I'm sort of surprised with myself that I'm taking Michigan outright for the upset. The old adage that says in these close games pick the team with the strongest unit... Well I'm pretty sure Jim Harbaugh is the singular strongest factor in this game even if he's on the sidelines. Harbaugh has shown that in addition to being a pretty decent coach he is also a bit of a quarterback whisperer so I'm pretty sure whoever takes the first snap tomorrow will be ready. History also tells that more often than not Michigan wins their openers, Harbaugh wins his first games, and Michigan more often than not beats the Pac 12. Let's also not forget that for some reason A LOT of people think Michigan can win it all, either that or Vegas is just fucking with us.

Michigan 24 - Utah 21

South Carolina at North Carolina

Spurrier - Familiar with roast beef.

The Steve Spurrier experiment at South Carolina is definitely coming to a close and I sort of have to ask what it showed. I mean there was a period from '11 to '13 where he/they went 11-2 each season but still failed to go to an SEC championship. For me it shows that Spurrier is a good coach that failed to develop a good quarterback at least while at South Carolina.

After a pretty disastrous 2014 the Gamecocks look to rebound in 2015... How cliche was that? Anyway, they begin their campaign on the road against that other Carolina to the North in one of the very first meaningful college football games of the season. Apparently this is officially known as the 'Belk College Football Kickoff Game' (what is a Belk?) And I use meaningful pretty loosely here, apparently no one really considers this a rivalry and there's expected to be something like 20,000 empty seats (Mostly due to high ticket prices.) 

This is expected to be another pretty close one with the South barely escaping with three points. I'm going to say right now that I'm again taking North Carolina for the upset, if you can call it that. The interesting thing to watch in this game will be if either team can stop the scoring as this one looks to be a shootout. Both teams are debuting new, yet familiar defensive coordinators with NC going with Gene Chizik (one time Cam Newton helper) and Spurrier hiring John Hoke (brother of Brady and also was with Spurrier when he was at Florida). 

Indeed North Carolina's defense was real bad but it should be better this year if nothing else because it literally couldn't be much worse. South Carolina meanwhile must break in a new quarterback and learn a new scheme. The strongest unit in this game... Again I use the term strongest loosely here is probably North Carolina's offensive line but again that is simply by virtue that they return mostly everyone so they should be better, right? 

South Carolina 31 - North Carolina 34

Texas at #11 Notre Dame

I still don't like him.

Wasn't that nice how Brian Kelly gave that guy a scholarship? 

This game is going to be all about the quarterback play of both teams. I mean, you could say that about any game but this one in particular has a lot of questions surrounding it. How will Notre Dame move past the Golson era and into the Zaiera (thanks Solid Verbal) and how will Texas fare with their two quarterback system? My guess? Probably not that great. 

At the end of last season, Malik Zaire's one start in the bowl game against LSU looked pretty good. He went to work on the ground and through the air and most importantly limited turnovers. Texas on the other hand will play both Swoopes and Heard. Isn't there a saying about two quarterbacks? Expect that no matter who is taking the snaps they will be handing if off plenty to Texas senior RB Jonathan Gray.

On the other side of the ball, Notre Dame has problems. All indications are that safety and oft injured Max Redfield has developed nicely during the off-season. However, a lack of outstanding pass rushers could make life a bit easier for the Texas quarterbacks. Texas meanwhile could has problems of their own as the offensive line is quite young. Having the overall #10 recruit in the country will surely help though as Malik Jefferson tries to prove his status. 

Vegas has Notre Dame up by 9 1/2 and I'm inclined to agree. I can't by into Texas' quarterback situation or their protection. For Texas to have any hope on the road in such a hostile environment Jonathan Gray would need to have a huge game and fast. However, with such an inexperienced line, again starting at Notre Dame, I wouldn't count on that happening. Expect Notre Dame to make things very difficult for the Texas offense from the outset, not allowing them to find any sort of rhythm. I expect Notre Dame to start out slow but pick things up by the second half. Zaire will continue on from where he left off last year.

Texas 24 - Notre Dame 34

#1 Ohio State @ Virginia Tech

Gotta catch em all.

To use another cliche, Ohio State's biggest opponent this year might not be the teams on their schedule but rather the ridiculous expectations. Ohio State enters the year as the first ever unanimous #1. Not one person could find a reason for Ohio State not be at the top. Literally every other year you have one or two people who vote someone else to make a name for themselves, but not this year. I guess they realized that putting someone else at the top was so ridiculous you would lose all credibility.

On paper this team is loaded. They return basically everyone on both sides. Have you heard about the quarterback situation at OSU? There's also Zeke Elliot and Joey Bosa (who won't be playing).

But let's not jump ahead of ourselves. Virginia Tech can beat Ohio State. They did it last year at Ohio Stadium. Granted, a lot has changed but anything can happen on the road and Bud Foster has had a year to concoct another scheme to make the Buckeyes sad.

This is reflected in the line. Consider everything OSU brings to the table yet Vegas has them up by only 14. Two touchdowns is a lot but again, this is the first unanimous #1 team ever. You would think they would be up by at least 21 despite being at (unranked) Virginia Tech.

As mentioned before, Ohio State will play this game without four key players most notably All-American Joey Bosa. Offensively though it gets worse as OSU will be without a lot of offensive spark in Jalen Marshall, Dontre Wilson, and Corey Smith. Newly converted receiver Braxton Miller will need to make an impact fast to make up for that lost firepower. Michael Thomas will also need to continue his streak as he becomes on the favorite targets of whoever the quarterback ends up being.

For Virginia Tech to win they will need to do what they did last year, but better. Much will hinge on the defense's ability to shut down the best offense in the country. Michael Brewer, the Virginia Tech quarterback will need to have a big game. Last year he worked well to convert third downs and indeed that will be another huge aspect of the game again. Ohio State was unable to convert third downs and also unable to get off the field for Tech's. If Brewer has another great game and VT shuts down Thomas and Miller it could be another long night for the Buckeyes.

Going by a pure gut feeling there's a lot to be concerned about. Granted, as a Buckeye fan I pretty much always feel uneasy. But this has all the makings of a perfect storm of shit. A night game, the whole country will be watching, sky-high expectations, 4 key players will be missing, I could go on. On paper Ohio State still has more than enough talent to win but strange things happen at night, especially to the Buckeyes. I suspect this game will much too close for comfort. Ohio State's defense needs time to get back up to speed and at Virginia Tech is probably one of the worse places to work out the kinks. All that being said Ohio State simply has too much talent, both on the field and off, to lose to Virginia Tech twice.

Ohio State 34 - Virginia Tech 24

No. 3 Alabama vs. No. 20 Wisconsin

(This is Fany Pack's Fany Pick of the Week.)

Alabama is going to win this game. They know that, college football analysts know that, the Badgers themselves know that. So what's interesting about a game in which the outcome is already essentially known?

Reason No. 1: It's the first game between two ranked teams this season (and the only one in Week 1). Beyond this and a few other interesting games like Michigan-Utah, the weekend isn't shaping up to be too exciting. I know some people get excited for Ohio vs. Idaho, but I'm not one of them.

Reason No. 2: This game gives Wisconsin a chance to prove themselves against a tough SEC team again. Sure, I don't see a repeat of their overtime win against Auburn in last season's Outback Bowl, but if the Badgers can at least stay in the game against Alabama on Saturday, it'll help wash off the lingering stank of last year's Big 10 Championship blowout. To quote Badgers running back Corey Clement: "We just don't want to put on the same show we did against Ohio State."

'Bama is the 10.5 favorite in the neutral-field matchup at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. While they made the playoffs last year, they've lost some key players, including quarterback Blake Sims, so I think Wisconsin will be able to keep the game decently close.


Alabama 21 - Wisconsin 10