Mike Farrell Sports

College Football Recruiting, Opinion, and Analysis

Happy Five, Upset Five Fanbases: Week 1

College Football Fans: Who’s happy and who’s not after their team’s Week 1 performance?

Pin

By Mike Huesmann

In my first weekly installment of five and five we look at five fan bases who will be joyful and five who will be pissed off after the week. The reasons could be varied but nothing provokes emotion, good or bad, in a grown man like the on-field performance of 19-year-olds and the well-paid men who coach them.

Happy Five:

Miami

There were questions and criticisms around Mario Cristobal, largely deserved and revolving around game management. He quieted those yesterday. Cam Ward looked like the veteran that he is and Damien Martinez ran hard. This is a team that I expect to win the ACC and make the playoffs. No one will want to play them then. The O line is nasty and will fight all day. We hear about the Canes being back so often it has become an eye-roll-inducing trope, but could they finally be right?

https://twitter.com/NickSabanJr/status/1830006834104844373

UNLV

The Rebels dominated Houston yesterday and look to be keeping up with the 2023 success. They’re going to be competitive in the Mountain West. Barry Odom is probably going to get poached by a P4 team this offseason and OC Brennan Marion might get his chance as a head coach. The Rebels are done sneaking up on anyone, we know they’re a force to be reckoned with.

More Sports News

Vanderbilt

I see you Clark Lea, I feel you, I applaud your offseason hiring of Jerry Kill. No one expected the Dores to come out and beat a Virginia Tech team with much hype in the preseason but that’s exactly what they did. Hiring Jerry Kill has been a masterstroke for multiple programs and this looks like it may continue. I had Lea on the preseason Hot Seat but that’s cooling rapidly. I question whether they can keep Diego Pavia healthy in the SEC but let’s worry about that later, we will revel in a Vandy win for the week. Anchor Down!

Notre Dame

We knew whoever won this matchup would be happy and it’s the Irish. They went into a tough environment in Kyle Field and came out with a well-deserved victory. Hats off to Marcus Freeman for having his team ready to play. We knew the offensive line and defensive backs would be good, they did not disappoint. Both are top 10, maybe top 5, units at their respective positions. The Irish are a playoff team that looks to be competitive with most teams.

Penn State

Questions revolved around if Drew Allar was really the elite recruit he once was, if the offense could adapt, and if the Nittany Lions could be a playoff team. All of these are tentatively a “yes.” In a bizarre game that had long weather delays, Penn State went into Morgantown and dominated a West Virginia team that has a feisty offensive line and will be solid in the Big XII. James Franklin probably wins 10 games and make the playoff this year, and with this schedule he better.

Upset Five:

Florida

I think expectations for Florida and Billy Napier are manageable this year. If they win six games, maybe seven, he keeps his job. That doesn’t look like it will happen after yesterday. I do think Miami is that good, as I outlined before, but so much was wrong for the Gators. Another game like this soon and the knives will really be out for Napier. Are we seeing a dead man walking?

Clemson

Dabo’s criticisms were magnified in their loss to Georgia in Week 1. No one expected a win, but people expected a closer game and an offense that wasn’t anemic. We had a close score for a half, but there was little doubt of a Bulldog win after 30 minutes and a 6-0 score. The QB play of Klubnik was poor and the playmakers didn’t make plays. He is as safe as can be, but the calls to adapt and modernize will be real and are warranted.

Minnesota

PJ Fleck will always rub people the wrong way with his mannerisms and persona, most of these people overlook how consistent and competitive he’s been at a school where that has rarely existed in the modern era. This game showed us zero imagination and risk from the Gophers. People don’t want this, and it will give the Fleck haters ammo to come after him if they don’t give Max Brosmer a longer leash.

Virginia Tech

Some people were very bullish on the Hokies and thought they could be a dark horse to win the ACC. They didn’t expect to go to Vanderbilt and come out with a loss where they were terrible in the first half. Brent Pry has had them looking good since the second half of last year but no one expected this. Kyren Drones and the defense have ample room to get better, granted Drones did look good after halftime. The schedule here is not difficult, and a good year still can happen.

Texas A&M

This is a classic overreaction to week 1 but the Aggies fans aren’t happy. Connor Weigman looked poor, the WRs were average, the defense did some things well and some not so well. The fans expected all the problems of the Jimbo era to be washed away, that was never going to happen immediately. This attitude also shows disrespect to Notre Dame who has an elite OL and DB room. They’re a playoff team in a few months. This loss by A&M isn’t terrible, but things do need to improve. 

Category: , Tag: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Pin

You’ll Also Like