Now that we’ve finished with our conference roundtable series, we’ll shift our focus to week 1.
If you missed any of our conference roundtables, be sure to check out the links below.
Q. What’s the biggest story line to watch in Week 1?
Bart Doan
On Twitter @TheCoachBart
The answer to this question can mostly be copied and pasted by year and it goes one of two ways:
1. The results of the neutral site games
2. Whoever ends up being the big upset victim
Since we don’t know number 2, even though it’ll be number one when it’s all said and done, look at the neutral site games … particularly Ole Miss – Florida State, North Carolina – Georgia, and Wisconsin – LSU as the most pivotal bunch.
Neutral site games provide the most grist for the opinion mill which lasts long into November and December when we’re weeding out who belongs in the playoff discussion and who doesn’t. Neutral site games are great for the sport because it gets these powerhouses playing against one another with unfettered desire compared to arguing about home and homes.
If the SEC falters in these games, particularly the Ole Miss and LSU games given the strength of the SEC West, they’ll be reminded of it throughout the week. In terms of the latter game, which gleefully (at least to the neutral viewer like me) pits powers from the two most opinion-generating conferences in the nation against one another, you’re sure to get an over-reaction that trickles down unfairly to the rest of the teams in the conference. You are who your friends (or enemies) are in college football, unfortunately.
Terry Johnson
On Twitter @SectionTPJ
I’ll go with Georgia versus North Carolina.
This contest will answer a lot of questions I have about the upcoming season. As soon as the game is underway, we’ll finally know who the Georgia starting quarterback will be. We’ll also have some idea of whether Nick Chubb and Sony Michel are 100%, which should provide some insight as to whether the Bulldogs will be a contender or pretender in the SEC East this fall.
In addition, this game will tell us a lot about North Carolina. The Bulldog ground game will show how much the Tar Heel run defense has improved this fall and whether it will be enough to repeat as Coastal Division champs. Likewise, we’ll find out if the UNC offense – which led the nation with 7.28 yards per play – is as good as it was last year with Mitch Trubisky taking over for Marquise Williams.
More importantly, the game will help answer a question that’s been on my mind since last December: is Kirby Smart the next Mark Richt or the next Will Muschamp? Don’t get me wrong, this contest won’t definitively answer that question, but how his team does against a ranked opponent will shed some light on how good (or great) of a head coach he is.
Kevin Causey
On Twitter @CFBZ
There are so many choices here. What happens if Clemson blows out Auburn? Is that the beginning of the end for Gus? How does the Kirby Smart era start for Georgia? LSU vs Wisconsin playing in Lambeau. Notre Dame vs Texas, USC vs Alabama. What a first week!
The storyline I’m watching is with Florida State. Just a few days ago it was announced that FSU QB Sean Maguire would be out for four weeks with a broken bone in his foot. This likely leaves Florida State playing against a dynamic Ole Miss offense led by Chad Kelly with a freshman at QB.
When I sat down and made my preseason Top 25 a couple of month ago, I had Florida State as my #2 team. Without a veteran presence at QB, I don’t know if I’d rank them that high if I did my poll again today.
I’m looking forward to seeing how Florida State reacts if Maguire is not able to go. Will Dalvin Cook step up with a huge game? Will Ole Miss be able to pull off the victory? That’s what I will be watching.
Phil Harrison
On Twitter @PhilHarrisonCFB
As a general theme, the story of the first week of the season has changed largely because of the College Football Playoff. We’ve always had some select marquee matchups in week one, but teams are now getting the message that the CFP Committee has posted in neon letters for all to see — strength of schedule matters.
To that end, we are seeing the population of must-see television games skyrocket as everyone else has already touched on here.
It may have been easy in year’s past to schedule a warm cup of milk and blanket to ease into the season, but now there’s only so much room and time to make an impression, and separation needs to begin to occur almost immediately to put the committee on notice.
As a fan, it’s great. As Bart points out, I love to see neutral site games at sometimes iconic venues you wouldn’t normally see. It’s almost akin to a mini-bowl season prior to the conference slates.
I have been a big proponent for an eight-team playoff, but I wonder if we’d see some of this dialed back if the population of teams eligible for the playoff got too high to where programs that have name recognition would start to reel-this in a bit and be more conservative with scheduling.
Either way you slice it, the shift in scheduling out of the gate has been great, and there’s a good chance it’ll continue to get better.
Conference Roundtables
Sun Belt
MAC
Conference USA
Mountain West
AAC
Big 12
Pac-12
Big Ten
ACC
SEC
