Believe it or not, the first full week of the college football season kicks off exactly two weeks from today. With that in mind, we’ll take a closer look at the week 1 in our weekly roundtables. Yesterday, we talked about the biggest storylines for the opening weekend. Today, we’ll shift gears a bit, and discuss which coach or team could really use a victory in the season opener.
Q. Which team/coach must win in week 1?
Kevin Causey
On Twitter @CFBZ
Terry Johnson
On Twitter @SectionTPJ
I’ll take a different approach and say that Houston must win in week 1.
Make no mistake about it: the Cougars can still have a great season even if they lose to Oklahoma. However, Tom Herman’s squad finds itself in a unique position. Instead of having to win every game and hope for some upsets, Houston has a chance to actually play its way into the College Football Playoff. Should the Cougars beat Oklahoma – who many experts expect to win the Big 12 – they will have a signature victory that the Selection Committee simply cannot ignore. Even if Houston were stub its toe in conference play, it would still find itself in position to qualify for the College Football Playoff if it wins the AAC.
It’s also important to note that a Houston victory could become more important as the season progresses. Remember, the Sooners play Ohio State in Norman two weeks after this contest. It’s not a stretch to think that Oklahoma would beat an inexperienced Buckeye team playing its first road game, especially after how well the Sooners responded after losing to Texas last year.
However, none of these things matter unless Houston takes care of business against Oklahoma in the season opener. If the Cougars want to qualify for the College Football Playoff – and send a not-so-subtle message that they belong in the Big 12 – they must win this contest.
Bart Doan
“Must wins” to a coach are every game, to a fan are only the games their team is playing in, and to hot take artists, based on the situation. So basically, other than all of them, there are no “must wins.”
A team that has a little more riding on things though than simply meeting goals or getting off on the right foot is probably West Virginia. If the current staff under Dana Holgorsen gets off to a bad start … and losing at home to Missouri would constitute just that … the natives will be restless.
WVU gets the game at home against what has been a good SEC team the last several seasons, albeit one with more questions than entering most recent campaigns. To be blunt, this one one they need to win, especially with what should be a high-powered offense under quarterback Skyler Howard.
I think when you look at things from a coaching perspective, Week 1 is massive for the Mountaineers, for more reasons than just wins and losses.
Phil Harrison
On Twitter @PhilHarrisonCFB
If I’m judging “must wins” then doesn’t it make sense to look at the landscape of games and see which one has the biggest upset to derail national title dreams? It’s a brave new College Football Playoff world and the goal is to make it to Tampa.
A loss anywhere is tough, but a loss early with bigger tests coming is a Lord of the Rings expedition.
Terry mentioned this game, but I am going to go the other way with it. Yes, it would be a program changer for Houston to beat Oklahoma at a “neutral” site, but think about what’s at stake on the other sideline.
The expectations for Oklahoma this year are sky high and anything short of making the playoff is a bust. A loss to Houston wouldn’t kill those hopes, but it may be a fatal wound that would be hard to put salve on. It would mean at least a run through the rest of the schedule to get back in the conversation, but there’s bigger tests coming down the pipe.
A loss in week one by the Sooners to an upstart Cougar team, just before having Urban Meyer and Ohio State swashbuckle into town two short weeks later leaves no room for error and could kill the dream before Oklahoma even lays its head on the pillow.
Bob Stoops has to have his team show up and beat Houston to live another day.
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