Fear and Friday's (Poem) | College Football Week 1 | YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
Starting off September ‘23 a bit different. This is the opening song on Zach Bryan’s brand-new album that came out last Friday. This is actually a poem he wrote with a guitar strumming along here and there. He tweeted this snippet out back in March so it was cool to see him use it as the opener for his album.
Amen.
On to the College Football this weekend…
These two schools have only played each other once and that happened to come last September 2, ‘22 when TCU beat Colorado 38-13. The last time TCU took the field, they lost in the National Championship Game against Georgia 65-7. TCU enters the ‘23 season as the #17 ranked team in the nation in large part because of how much they lost to the NFL last season. They saw 8 players get drafted in the ‘23 NFL Draft including their QB1, RB1, WR1, WR2, top o-lineman, top edge rusher, one of their top CBs, and best linebacker. A totally different team of players will take the field for the Bullfrogs but they’ll still have head coach Sonny Dykes on the sidelines.
TCU’s QB heading into last year was Chandler Morris who actually got the start against Colorado in ‘22 but got hurt in the 2nd half which set the stage for Max Duggan’s Heisman Trophy 2nd place finish. Morris and TCU may want to feature their 6’7” TE, Jared Wiley who last season was an Honorable Mention in All-Big 12. On the defensive side of the football, shutdown CB Josh Newton will be on an island and will get traction as a Thorpe Award candidate. Newtown will match up against Colorado stud WR Travis Hunter.
While TCU had one of its most successful seasons in school history, Colorado on the other hand was a miserable 1-11 last season. In walks Deion “Primetime” Sanders who after coaching Jackson State the past two years to a 23-3 record has raised the standard for the Buffaloes. The minute Sanders was announced as the Colorado head coach, he immediately told the current players that many of them would not be on the team come next fall. Two of the guys who have followed Primetime to Colorado from Jackson State are his QB son, Shedeur Sanders, and WR/CB Travis Hunter. Back on May 8th, Week to Week Notes already featured a bit on Shedeur Sanders - he is currently our 8th-ranked player. Travis Hunter is a two-way player attempting to learn the trait from Shedeur’s father. Hunter is not yet draft-eligible in ‘23, but he’ll be playing on Sundays eventually.
Colorado are underdogs and many pundits are saying that despite their roster transformation they still have one of the worst rosters in college football. With this game being the opener of the 1st real College Football Saturday of the year, how could you go against Primetime?
Prediction: 30-29 Colorado (+20.5 Colorado & Under 64)
Boise State of Idaho travels northwest to take on Washington University. These two schools have played each other 5 times since ‘07 with Washington holding a 3-2 series lead. Washington head coach, Chris Petersen, coached Boise State from ‘06 to ‘13. He famously called the Statue of Liberty play in the ‘07 Fiesta Bowl which really put Boise State on the map nationally. Both schools had successful ‘22 seasons with Boise State going 9-4 and falling just short of a Mountain West Conference title, while Washington finished as the #8 ranked team nationally with an 11-2 record. Washington enters the ‘23 CFB season as the #10 school in the country.
Boise State’s best player is their redshirt sophomore QB Taylen Green. The 6’6” QB has a cannon for an arm and can run like the wind. He also has some weapons to play with in RB George Holani and RB Ashton Jeanty who nearly combined for 2,000 yards on the ground in ‘22. Boise State will need their ground game to be effective if they want to upset Washington.
Chris Petersen’s Huskies have some real NFL talent. Their edge rusher, Bralen Trice led all CFB in pressures last year with 67. On offense, they have one of the most potent combinations of QB-WR returning with Michael Penix Jr. and Rome Odunze. Expect these two to hook up for a TD or 2.
Boise State will always have that aurora of an upset school around them because of the State of Liberty in the Fiesta Bowl and their crazy-ass Blue Turf field, but Petersen’s got the more talented squad and a Heisman hopeful in Penix Jr.
Prediction: 35-20 Washington (-14.5 Washington & under 58.5)
North Carolina played South Carolina in College Football for the first time back in 1903. The Carolinas have faced off 59 times since with North Carolina winning 35 of them. This game will be played in a neutral site in Charlotte (where the Panthers play). Both schools had winning seasons in ‘22 and have experienced QBs. The Tar Heels enter the ‘23 season ranked #21 in the nation but are coming in on a 4-game losing streak.
UNC’s QB Drake Maye will likely be one of the top picks in the ‘24 NFL Draft. It still remains to be seen if their transfer WR, Devontez Walker, can play this season. The NCAA is being sticklers over the fact that Walker has transferred twice in his collegiate career and thus is making this situation a whole ordeal. Pretty wild how they can’t give the kid a yes or no. Maye may have to rely on his connection with TE Bryson Nesbit who is from Charlotte. Will they get him a hometown TD?
Spencer Rattler has had quite the College Football career. He entered the scene in Oklahoma as a 5-star recruit and the top high school QB in ‘19. He went viral for his immaturity and poor play, lost his starting job at Oklahoma to Caleb Williams, and then transferred to South Carolina last year. As a Gamecock, Rattler scored 18 touchdowns and threw for over 3,000 yards in ‘22. His top target, WR Antwane Wells Jr. otherwise known as “Juice” has a lower body but is expected to play after dealing with it this preseason.
Prediction: 31-28 UNC (-2.5 UNC & Under 64.5)
If you thought the Carolina rivalry dated back far, sit down while you read about how West Virginia and Penn State first played each other in 1891. This was so long ago that West Virginia’s head coach’s name was Fredrick Lincoln Emory and Penn State didn’t even have a coach. Weirdly, just like the Carolina matchup, this is the 60th time these two schools will face off. The Nittany Lions mauled the Mountaineers a whopping 48 times since 1891. That said, these two haven’t played each other since 1992. A rivalry revival!
West Virginia’s Garrett Greene is the classic undersized speedy QB. I’m not going to compare him entirely to Johnny Manziel, but I mean, West Virginia is a party school. While he has only started twice in his career, Greene has compiled to throw for 664 passing yards with 5 passing TDs and 664 rushing yards with 9 rushing TDs. West Virginia S Aubrey Burks is “An extension of the coaching staff. I can’t stress it enough.” That’s some high praise from West Virginia’s safeties coach Dontae Wright. Burks and Wright would meet every morning over the offseason and Burks credits Wright for boosting his football IQ. (Source: WV Metro News)
For the nationally #7th ranked Penn State, I have to start with Chop Robinson off the edge. The #9 ranked prospect on Week to Week Notes got his nickname out the gate, “When I came out of the womb, I was 14 pounds. A real big baby, and my dad and my mom started calling me a pork chop. Once I got older, I was like, ‘Well, I can’t have people calling me a pork chop. So, I just kept it to chop, and that’s how I got my name.” Robinson ain’t alone when it comes to NFL talent Penn State has on defense, CB Kalen King and LB Curtis Jacobs will also one day play on Sundays. King led the Big Ten in pass breakups in ‘22 and Jacobs’ twitch at LB should make him the perfect guy to QB spy on Garrett Greene. The only thing that makes me nervous for this game is Penn State’s QB Drew Allar will be making his 1st career start, but at least he’ll sleep well knowing Olumuyiwa Fashanu (Week to Week Notes #14 ranked prospect) is protecting his blindside.
Prediction: 33-10 Penn State (-20.5 Penn State & Under 50.5)
Lastly the best matchup of the weekend, I had to bury the lead because this is in chronological order and they play on Sunday. These two College Football programs have only played each other 10 times with FSU winning 8 of them. These two CFB titans played on September 4th, ‘22 where FSU squeaked by in a 24-23 win. Both programs would win 10 games in ‘22, but they’re thinking even bigger than that in ‘23 as LSU is ranked #5 while FSU is ranked #8 in the country. This game will be played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, a stadium that was built under FDR’s Public Works Project during the Great Depression. Random factoid.
The Seminoles at QB are running it back with Jordan Travis. It’ll be Travis’ 6th year in college, he transferred after redshirting at Louisville and then with COVID, the NCAA allowed everybody another year of eligibility. Travis plays a bit herky-jerky at QB and it doesn't look pretty but you can get away with it in college. It also helps that he has some elite NFL prospects around him. At tailback, Trey Benson averaged 6.46 yards per carry which led the ACC in ‘22, and had a hot stretch to close the year where he became the first player to earn outright ACC Running Back of the Week in 3 straight weeks. This will be Jahiem Bell’s debut as a Seminole, I wonder if they will give the versatile TE some carries to go with targets. At WR, Johnny Wilson (ranked #21 prospect by Week to Week Notes) is the team’s best player on offense. At 6’7”, Wilson averaged 20.86 yards per catch last year and is a monster at contested catches.
On the defensive side of the football, Jared Verse off the edge will be spotlighted. Coming off of a 9 sack campaign, the former UAlbany Great Dane is FSU’s Defensive MVP. He was the only player in the ACC and one of two Power 5 defenders nationally with four games of 2.5 tackles for loss in ‘22. Jared Verse (#6 ranked prospect by Week to Week Notes) has elite speed and power. Verse had 2 sacks last year against LSU.
For the LSU Tigers, 19-year-old sophomore LB Harold Perkins might be their best defender and that’s saying something considering they have Maason Smith & Mekhi Wingo on their defensive line. After being primarily used as an edge rusher as a freshman, Perkins will move to a more standup LB role that head coach Brian Kelly thinks he is up for. Kelly said, “His plays came from mostly the perimeter… He’s still going to get after the quarterback, but he’s going to after running backs and tight ends. And I think that’s going to be exciting to watch.” On offense, Jayden Daniels will be in year 2 as the Tigers’ QB1. Daniels has great speed and has already gotten chatter from NFL circles that he might be better off transitioning over to WR in the pros. Speaking of WR, Malik Nabers is expected to have 80 to 90 catches this season for the Tigers as Kelly plans on moving his top playmaker all around the field, so he’ll be featured heavily.
Last year’s matchup ended in FSU fumbling the ball at the LSU 1-yard line with 1 minute and 20 seconds left to play. Down 7, LSU took the ball and drove it 99 for a TD as time expired to seemingly put the game into overtime. Unfortunately for the Tigers, the extra point was blocked. I’ll take Florida State in a close one, just no way it’ll have as dramatic a finish. Or can it? It’s college football, who knows?