Week 1 of the college football season produced plenty of excitement. Between all of the upsets, statement games, and close calls, there was hardly a dull moment on opening weekend. While some of these things were expected, there were a number of things that we didn’t see coming.
That’s the focus of today’s roundtable discussion.
Q. What was the biggest surprise in week 1?
Phil Harrison
On Twitter: @PhilHarrisonCFB
The Biggest surprise? Let me first say I wasn’t the least bit shocked that the Wisconsin Badgers were able to go toe-to-toe with LSU. After all, the game was in the general vicinity of brats, beer and cheese, and Wisconsin has shown that its style of play does well against SEC teams.
I was taken aback on them notching one in the left-hand column though.
The Tigers have tons of NFL talent on that roster, including Mr. Leonard Fournette and a whole host of other big play threats. I figured the game would be close for a while, and then the Mad Hatter would eat some grass and dial up some riverboat gambling plays that his guys would execute for game changing, momentum grabbing moments.
In the end, it didn’t happen. Wisconsin teetered on the edge of self-imploding in the second-half but was able to hit pause on the movie we say two years ago, and finish the job for perhaps a season defining win.
Now, all Paul Chryst has to do is have his team rinse and repeat that effort against what might be the toughest schedule in the country.
Terry Johnson
On Twitter: @SectionTPJ
I’ll go with Southern Mississippi’s comeback win over Kentucky.
Admit it: you probably didn’t see this upset. After all, the Wildcats raced out to a 35-10 lead with less than a minute to play before halftime. What fan wouldn’t change the channel to watch another more competitive game?
Watching another contest was a huge mistake, because Southern Mississippi’s offense put on amazing fireworks show. After struggling for most of the first half, the Golden Eagles would score on their final six possessions of the game, closing the contest on a 34-0 run. Kentucky’s defense had absolutely no answers for the USM offense, which finished the game with 262 yards rushing and 258 yards passing.
The Eagle defense was every bit as outstanding, recording four sacks, and holding the Wildcats to just 46 yards in the second half.
In a weekend loaded with surprises, this was the biggest one for me. While I figured the Eagles would give UK a game, I didn’t they’d absolutely dominate the second half.
Kevin Causey
On Twitter: @CFBZ
There were certainly a lot of surprises in week one, but none was bigger for me than Houston’s win over Oklahoma.
Tom Herman and Houston earned my respect in 2015, but beating Oklahoma in their season opener takes them to the next level. The Cougars won some big games in 2015, including a win over Louisville and a victory over Florida State in the bowl game. Florida State is a big-time opponent, but motivation is a funny thing during bowl season and that win didn’t mean as much as beating an Oklahoma team in the season opener.
If you didn’t already respect Tom Herman and Houston, you have to now. The Cougars aren’t going away any time soon.
Bart Doan
This probably didn’t register on many neutral fans’ shock meter like some of the other games, but Eastern Washington’s 45-42 win over Wazzu was pretty galling considering the Cougs had all the motivation in the world to not overlook EWU or at least understand what was coming.
I mean, rewind back to last year and there is Washington State again, losing at home to an FCS foe to open the season. In that case, it was Portland State. You’d think that loss would be fresh in the minds of the Cougar staff and players, and heck, it probably was, but not to the degree it needed to be and here we are again.
Now, WSU did go on to a 9-win season and that Portland State loss was one of only four, but really, these are games you need to be winning or not losing consistently. And if it’s just the fact that EWU or Portland State has better players, well, recruit better, no?
