Big Ten & SEC Week 1 Recap: Saban Stays Unbeaten Against Former Assistants, Citrus Bowl Rematch, and Hot Tubs in the Student Section!
Standings and Results
Big Ten
SEC
AP Top 10
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Clemson
4. Penn State
5. Oklahoma
6. Southern California
7. Washington
8. Michigan
9. Wisconsin
10. Florida State
Homecoming in Bloomington
College Football may have returned two Saturdays ago with a small slate of five games, but the first full week of action began this past Thursday, when College GameDay was on site in Bloomington, Indiana to prep us for Ohio State and Indiana.
The game, which featured the No. 2 team in the nation on the road against a conference opponent to start their season, also saw legendary coach Lee Corso make his long-awaited return to Indiana University, where he spent a decade as head coach from 1973-82. Check out two heartwarming moments from the pregame show below:
We’re not crying. You’re crying. https://t.co/QjNrGl1Z5r
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 1, 2017
That’s our Coach. pic.twitter.com/LFgM1BQRJx
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 1, 2017
Despite the feel-good moment, Corso was all business when it came down to making his picks, as he donned the Brutus the Buckeye headgear and selected the visitors to knock off the underdog Hoosiers. Corso was correct, as Ohio State overcame a 14-13 halftime deficit to run away with a 49-21 win, and on Saturday night, Corso again went against his heart and correctly picked Alabama to beat his alma mater, Florida State.
A Comeback for the Rosen One
Texas A&M traveled to Los Angeles to face Josh Rosen and UCLA in the Rose Bowl on Sunday night. After the Aggies jumped out to a 44-10 lead late in the third quarter, UCLA outscored A&M 35-0 over the final 19 minutes to secure the largest comeback in college football in over a decade and second-largest comeback in FBS history.
The only rally larger than the Bruins’ on Sunday night came in 2006, when Michigan State overcame a 38-3 third-quarter deficit to knock off Northwestern, 41-38.
The winning score came with 43 seconds remaining in the game, as UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen faked a spike and threw it to the back corner of the end zone to receiver Jordan Lasley, who made the catch to tie the game at 44-44 before the ensuing PAT gave the Bruins their lead. The catch wasn’t reviewed at the time, but replay later appeared to show the ball moving in Lasley’s arms while he comes down and eventually steps out of bounds.Video of the game-tying play is below:
UCLA’s game-winning touchdown catch might have been incomplete. And it definitely should have been reviewed. https://t.co/zkeVc5SE7Y pic.twitter.com/GFy8xvIPqE
— Dr. Saturday (@YahooDrSaturday) September 4, 2017
Alabama Takes the G.O.A.T. (Greatest Opener of All Time)
The Crimson Tide squared off with Florida State in what may have been the most highly anticipated season opener in college football history. Alabama entered the game ranked No. 1 and Florida State ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll. Since the AP Poll began in 1950, the top-ranked team has never met a Top-3 team in the opening week of the season.
The game was dominated by the defenses, but Alabama was able to take advantage of special teams and offensive mishaps and earn a 24-7 victory, the latest in an impressive series of Nick Saban wins over his former assistants:
Nick Saban improves to 11-0 all-time against his former assistant coaches, winning each game by at least 14 points
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 3, 2017
Adding injury to insult, Florida State will also need to rely on backup quarterback James Blackman going forward after starting quarterback Deondre Francois went down with a season-ending knee injury late in the fourth quarter:
Not good for Francois pic.twitter.com/Y6FlYipKtg
— Joe Fleming (@ByJoeFleming) September 3, 2017
A Different Kind of Monday Night Football
While Saturday’s meeting between Alabama and Florida State may have been the most highly anticipated opener of all time, Monday night’s kickoff game between Georgia Tech and Tennessee closed out the first week of the season with a doozy.
The Ramblin’ Wreck got off to a great start, keeping Tennessee’s offense off the field with several long scoring drives. In the end, Georgia Tech won the time of possession battle 41:18 to 18:17 and ran for 535 yards. But the option offense wasn’t enough to close out the game, and Tennessee’s offense turned the corner in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 unanswered points including the game-tying touchdown with less than two minutes to play.
In the second overtime, Georgia Tech answered the Volunteers’ touchdown, but head coach Paul Johnson chose to go for two and the win rather than settling for the extra point and going to a third overtime. Here’s how the decision played out:
This was a forward pass by about a foot. pic.twitter.com/VJiRyoqv8P
— Dr. Saturday (@YahooDrSaturday) September 5, 2017
Despite giving up over 600 yards of offense in the game, the Volunteers were able to get the only stat that mattered — a W. Tennessee joined some select company, becoming just the fifth team since 2000 to allow 500 or more rushing yards in a game and emerge victorious.
Since 2000, teams that gave up 500 rushing yds and won.
Tennessee joins the list.
(Passing #’s are winning team, running #’s losing team) pic.twitter.com/19dAFyO8lK— The All-American (@TheAthleticCFB) September 5, 2017
The action on the field wasn’t the only thing catching the attention of viewers at home. Many noticed that after each turnover the Volunteers defense forced, the defensive player would run over to the sideline and dunk the ball into a trash can. In case you missed it, check out one of the “dunks” below:
Not sure what’s more Tennessee. That they have a trash can on their sideline or that they missed the dunk. pic.twitter.com/O6dWwNYUMJ
— Not Jerry Tipton (@NotJerryTipton) September 5, 2017
A “Wave” We Can All Get Behind
One of most contentious topics in sports seems to be whether crowds should or shouldn’t do the wave at events. Some love it, some hate it, but it appears that Iowa has found one wave that EVERYBODY loves.
At the end of the first quarter the entire crowd at Kinnick Stadium turns towards the children’s hospital that overlooks the stadium and waves to the children.
Hawkeye fans turn and wave to the Children’s Hospital at the end of the first quarter. New tradition this year. Iowa proud. pic.twitter.com/S3FWHEm2vs
— Matt (@twilek7225) September 2, 2017
ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt explains further:
Taking a break during the game to wave to the children’s hospital next door.
OK, Iowa, this is awesome. https://t.co/U1KLbE5kp0
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 4, 2017
LSU Defense Ready to Geaux
The Tigers picked up right where they left off last season, when they shut down the high-powered Louisville offense and Heisman-winner Lamar Jackson in the Citrus Bowl en route to victory. This time around Bayou Bengals faced BYU in New Orleans, where they took defensive domination to a new level, allowing just 97 yards of total offense (including -5 rushing yards) as they kept the Cougars offense from crossing midfield all game.
With LSU rolling, the ESPN broadcast team had some fun with everybody’s favorite gumbo-eating coach and gave us their best Coach O impression. You can see Allison Williams’ attempt below.
And now… @AllisonW_Sports does an Ed Orgeron impression pic.twitter.com/oQNX96Vtck
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) September 3, 2017
2016 Citrus Bowl Rematch
Michigan and Florida met in Dallas for the first time since the Michigan’s 41-7 victory in the 2016 Citrus Bowl. Saturday’s rematch was a little closer, but Michigan again left victorious, 33-17.
Florida was playing without 10 players, who were suspended for the game, and started redshirt freshman quarterback Feleipe Franks, who beat out Malik Zaire and Luke Del Rio for the starting job in the preseason. The Gators defense scored twice on back-to-back pick-sixes, but the Gators offense struggled to get going, running for just 11 yards and turning the ball over three times (including a fumble in their end zone recovered by Michigan for a touchdown).
It was that kind of second half for the Gators …
Michigan 33, Florida 17 pic.twitter.com/5U7X0GCHTM
— ESPN CollegeFootball (@ESPNCFB) September 2, 2017
“Can I get a hot tub!?”
No, we’re not ONLY trying to rehash old State Farm commercials. If you hadn’t heard already, Rutgers installed hot tubs in their student section for the game against Washington over the weekend. While it didn’t lead to a win on the field, several fans in the crowd left the game feeling refreshed.
Greetings from the hot tubs at the Rutgers game: pic.twitter.com/Bk91slvGrm
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) September 1, 2017
Play of the Week:
South Carolina’s Jake Bentley made a fantastic running one-handed grab in the end zone to put South Carolina up 28-21 against NC State. The Gamecocks won the game 35-28.
it’s beautiful pic.twitter.com/d1qfm2Crcd
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) September 2, 2017
Tweet of the Week:
If the Chick-Fil-A game lasts into Sunday eastern time do both teams forfeit
— Fake Bo Pelini (@FauxPelini) September 3, 2017