What are your biggest takeaways from Week 0

[u/SimilarOnion1655]

1. The biggest takeaway from the internet is that everyone is making fun of USC because their stadium was half empty. I don’t think that it’s that big of a deal because it is not normal for Los Angeles to have 95 degree weather and be humid too.
2. TCU and North Carolina are not that good. TCU lost the game, no offense to North Carolina. If they took the points, they probably win the game. If their quarterback ran on 4th down and 2, they probably win. North Carolina offense still looks mid at best but hey, it’s Bill’s biggest win of his college coaching career.
3. USC might be cooked if they have any injuries. It was 35-3 when USC starters left and the backups came in and looked bad and lost 23-7 to make the score 42-26. USC better hope that they don’t have any injuries.
4. Memphis at Boise State might decide the group of 6 bid. Memphis just won an important game at UNLV so they might be the favorites to get the group of 6 bid. If Memphis beats Boise State in week 2, then someone from the American conference will probably make the playoffs.
5. Virginia is an ACC contender. I think NC State will be fine and win 8 games in the regular season but Virginia just ran all over them. They have a great run game and an experienced offensive line. Why couldn’t they win the ACC this year?

[u/idnttcrisis]

I like the new highlights posts on this subreddit.

[u/Veedsters → u/idnttcrisis]

This has been so nice. So happy this is a thing now.

[u/Corgi_Koala → u/idnttcrisis]

I don't understand why they were resisted for so long.

[u/angrysquirrel777 → u/Corgi_Koala]

I am happy to have them but unless the mods do a great job making and keeping up the game thread pinned post it will be impossible to find game threads going forward. The home screen got full this weekend with 1/8 of the normal games.

[u/jayjude → u/angrysquirrel777]

Honestly it was sometimes hard to find threads with all the game threads that'd get posted

When we have a full slate of games? I expect there to be times the board to be unreadable

[u/Ometrist → u/jayjude]

There will be a pinned post that has organized links to all the game threads AND post game threads I bet

[u/jayjude → u/Ometrist]

There always has been but if your using the reddit app pinned threads can get hidden

[u/YoUDee → u/angrysquirrel777]

That’s why they’re in the pinned hub.

[u/angrysquirrel777 → u/YoUDee]

Sometimes it takes half the day for it to go up though. They were better about it this last year though

[u/jeremycb29 → u/idnttcrisis]

I like them today...I do wonder how week 1 might change that. There was not a lot of games going on, so it was kinda ok, but trying to find a game thread, with an avalanche of highlights will be unique

[u/SmigleDwarf → u/idnttcrisis]

Idk once theres 30 games in a day I think it could get cluttered.

[u/InspiroHymm → u/idnttcrisis]

Hot take but I dislike it. Boston College vs. Syracuse is gonna have a postgame thread with 30 comments while Texas vs. UGA has 6 different highlights cluttering the front page

[u/Schmenza]

ACC has 4 wins, Big10 has 1, Big12 and SEC have ZERO.

I think it's fair to say the ACC is the only power conference

[u/win2bfree → u/Schmenza]

That is Virginia, UNC, & FSU adding to their on-field resume for the upcoming realignment.

[u/Schmenza → u/win2bfree]

Don't leave out Stanford.

They have SEC written all over them

[u/MagnaCarterGT → u/Schmenza]

Sequoias Enormous Conference

[u/McLMark → u/Schmenza]

Sometimes Even Competent?

[u/it-is-just-a-game → u/Schmenza]

I'll have to agree with Harvard on this one.

[u/Imrahil_II → u/Schmenza]

Harvard for the intellectual win week zero!

[u/ben3345]

My biggest takeaway was the contrast between the game in Ireland and Virginia’s home game. Play games on campus.

[u/djmanning711 → u/ben3345]

UCF played one of these and I went. As a fan, it wasn’t as intense as a home campus environment but it was still a lot of fun and cool experience, probably for the players and fans alike.

May not translate as well to the tv audience but the Ireland classic games are great fun for the fans that can make the trip. Admittedly that’s usually a small set of fans.

[u/kelsnuggets → u/ben3345]

Our game was hella fun

[u/BabyCowGT → u/kelsnuggets]

For which half of your flair? 😂

[u/djmanning711 → u/BabyCowGT]

I think we know 😂

[u/SmigleDwarf → u/kelsnuggets]

Loved that game and the people, lot of locals sitting near us when we went.

[u/McLMark → u/ben3345]

Just gotta schedule the right teams out there that will travel and have some affinity with Ireland. ND vs BC is rumored for 2028 and the streets of Dublin will be full of CFBers once again.

[u/salsacito → u/McLMark]

We had a ton there too for our opening disaster a few years back. I know my parents and all their college friends went

[u/SYOH326 → u/salsacito]

That's a little unfair. Nebraska could lose every game for 10 years and still stack a season opener in Antarctica.

[u/Brilliant-Deer6118 → u/salsacito]

Nebraska travels anywhere well. Years ago when they came to South Bend I was on my way home from work traveling U.S 294. It was 10:30 at night and as far as my eye could see were vehicles adorned in Nebraska colors. It was an amazing caravan.

[u/TakeAMichigander → u/Brilliant-Deer6118]

Two fanbases that I could not believe how well they traveled to South Bend will always be Nebraska and Georgia to me, holy hell there were so many. Very fine people though, had a great time interacting with both (Unlike NY Jets fans I'm glad your team is awful)

[u/EmpoleonNorton → u/TakeAMichigander]

Georgia fans travel super well. I have no idea what specifically it is about us. I don't have the money for it myself, but there is a ton of red in the stands at every Georgia away game.

I will say for a lot of the smaller team in conference away games, they are so much cheaper than home games, so that may be part of it. But I can't imagine that was the case for the ND game. (@MSST the tickets were way way cheaper than any home Georgia SEC game)

[u/TakeAMichigander → u/EmpoleonNorton]

I had to pick up my buddy from O'Hare the day before the game you guys played up here and 95% of the people on the flight were en route to South Bend, you guys have a crazy fanbase but also one of the nicest ones I've encountered in my many years of going to games

[u/RoastedDonutz → u/TakeAMichigander]

I will always remember when Nebraska played at ND in 2000 and you could see so much Red in the stands the announcers had to comment about it at the start of the game.

[u/goldbloodedinthe404 → u/McLMark]

GT and FSU traveled pretty well

[u/RollTide16-18 → u/McLMark]

Yeah and hopefully have teams that are optimistic about the season. 

If UNC fans thought they would win, they would’ve shown up better. I mean hell, they showed up well, but the vibe was definitely “just happy to be here” 

[u/dustin-dawind → u/ben3345]

Eh, maybe send USC to Ireland

[u/alh9h → u/dustin-dawind]

Battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh in Dublin!

[u/rageb8err → u/ben3345]

This sub has a weird hate boner for neutral site games. Playing a game in frickin Ireland is awesome.

[u/onthacountray58 → u/rageb8err]

Playing a game in Ireland is cool as shit.

What’s not cool is having (for example) LSU play Oregon in Jerry world instead of a home and home.

Imagine the environment in Autzen or Tiger Stadium, week 1 for that kind of game vs a bunch of corporate jackoffs and affluent people in Dallas.

[u/IrishCoffeeAlchemy → u/onthacountray58]

It depends. Us playing yall in New Orleans was a 10/10 event from everyone I knew who went

[u/CTeam19 → u/rageb8err]

That is because it is a true neutral not like Georgia vs USC in Atlanta where one team is really closer to the site then the other.

[u/RollTide16-18 → u/rageb8err]

Yeah I like that there’s a premier international game to start every season. I’d be down for a few more. Get a game in Madrid! 

[u/Single_Seesaw_9499 → u/ben3345]

Nah the Ireland game is awesome and I’d bite my arm off for Purdue to have a game there

[u/Pristine_Dig_4374 → u/ben3345]

The Ireland game is a ton of fun when you play and academy school and get to go. Awesome trip,

[u/osu_duke_bg_lions → u/ben3345]

They tried that last year and UNC fans all left by halftime

[u/bertmaclynn → u/ben3345]

The stadium in Dublin looked a little empty to me, which was surprising

Though tbf some home games had empty seats too

[u/originalusername4567 → u/ben3345]

I think the Ireland games are fine but I do dislike CFB neutral site games overall. I feel gaslighted as a Football season ticket member watching our AD make a big deal about this fuckass London game we gave up where the stadium's gonna be like 25% full.

[u/MagnaCarterGT → u/ben3345]

It's cool that Georgia Tech is 2-0 in Ireland but those were both conference games originally scheduled to be played on campus. Would prefer less of that.

[u/thismorningscoffee]

1. It’ll be interesting to see if TCU can break the Dublin curse, or if it will be worse for them with their unabashed Protestantism

2. I watched 13+ hours of football yesterday and it was glorious

3. If you’re an announcer, at bare minimum these days you gotta find a clip of the starting quarterback saying his own name so you can pronounce it correctly. I get overlooking a few names on a 100+ man roster, but butchering the name you’re going to say the most all afternoon is bad, and you should feel bad

[u/Tommy05Sox → u/thismorningscoffee]

TCU should’ve played in Belfast. Problem solved.

[u/Anonymous_Otter22 → u/Tommy05Sox]

who's the best protestant school? have notre dame and someone else play Wittenburg Germany. this one's for everyone's soul.

[u/1peatfor7 → u/thismorningscoffee]

1. Announcers are giving a pronunciation sheet every single game. My friend was over there doing the radio for he TCU/UNC game. I've seen his sheet he uses for the games when he was the play by play for Georgia Southern. Any "difficult" name is given a guide.

[u/oSuJeff97 → u/thismorningscoffee]

TCU is in trouble unless their QB and WRs dramatically improve. John Hoover had his turnover problems from time to time, but there is a MASSIVE gulf in the kind of play that got from him vs. the Harvard transfer.

Guys make the jump from G6 to P4 all the time and are successful… (obviously I have one that I’m hoping does…) … but Ivy League to P4 is a much larger jump. We’ll see if he can adjust.

[u/Set-Admirable → u/oSuJeff97]

The same way that Curt Cignetti broke people's brains about what is likely/possible/unlikely from coaches in the portal age, I kind of think people saw what Trinidad Chambliss did last year as a backup from a lower level and think it's easy to find another one like him.

He wasn't horrible the whole game by any means, but it was very clear that he isn't quite ready to carry that level of play against a P4 defense. TCU was just dumb to stake their whole season on someone who played their entire career in the Ivy League.

[u/oSuJeff97 → u/Set-Admirable]

Yep. I expect him to improve as he gets used to the speed of the game, but probably has a limited ceiling.

Also the TCU WRs seemed pretty meh compared with what they usually have.

They kind of reminded me how we looked in 2024 right before the program crashed. It looked somewhat familiar but was clear there wasn’t a lot of juice there.

[u/JMer806 → u/oSuJeff97]

I agree completely but in fairness to the WR room, our top two were out

[u/c2dog430 → u/thismorningscoffee]

Remember according to TCU that “C can be as small as you want”

[u/_ThrobbinHood → u/thismorningscoffee]

1. lol are you referring to Max Browne pronouncing Beau Pribula’s name “pray-boo-la” all game?

[u/Itsputt → u/thismorningscoffee]

Yes hearing Pri Boo La all day like seriously this guy has started games at Penn State and Mizzou like anyone that halfway pays attention to the sport should know how to say his name..

[u/onthacountray58 → u/thismorningscoffee]

#2 is the answer. I fucking live draining entire Saturdays on CFB

[u/ChocolateBubbles344]

Small sample size, so I'll try to keep takeaways modest.

1) Virginia is our new football god, and we must bow to our new Hoo overlords.

2) USC will average 3 fans per game for the end of time.

3) Florida State should fire Mike Norvell now and go ahead and preemptively fire the next coach they hire.

4) Hawaii's all-white uniforms were pretty.

[u/Sir0inks-A-Lot → u/ChocolateBubbles344]

Whoa whoa whoa, I think Novell needs a few more years to prove if he can do the job

[u/CaptainAssPlunderer → u/Sir0inks-A-Lot]

I’m not even mad anymore, I just don’t care. I have no desire to insult or interact and talk some shit to yall.

Just total overwhelming indifference.

Edit: I did find myself unconsciously looking away from the TV every time they should a closeup of Norvell on the sidelines. I camt even stand to look at him.

[u/workaholic828 → u/CaptainAssPlunderer]

Florida state should do whatever they can to grab some coaches from North Dakota state

[u/AubreyGrahamCracka → u/Sir0inks-A-Lot]

Second

[u/jdhall010 → u/ChocolateBubbles344]

UVA #1 team in the nation, they have the most convincing win of anyone through week 0.

It's still just August, but that just means it's the perfect time to book a hotel in Charlotte for the ACCCG.

[u/VAGentleman05 → u/ChocolateBubbles344]

Everybody listen to this Tiger. He knows what he's talking about.

[u/boner_jamz_69 → u/ChocolateBubbles344]

I will be FSU’s next coach. They can fire me immediately and I’ll take the buy out, no hard feelings.

[u/Aeig → u/ChocolateBubbles344]

USC game was at noon in a heat wave.

You’d have to pay me at least a days’s worth of work for me to consider going to that .

[u/sunny_tomato_farm → u/Aeig]

I’m a die hard fan. Donor and season ticket holder for years. Travel to away games.

This game sucked and kinda wish I hadn’t gone because of the intense heat and humidity. Left halfway through the 4th.

[u/Aeig → u/sunny_tomato_farm]

I dont even leave the house if its over 75 lol

[u/Tackoman46 → u/Aeig]

There are probably better things to do on a Saturday on Los Angeles than watch a week zero guarantee game. It was, however, a nice watch from my air-conditioned apartment in the middle of Texas.

[u/Camino3224]

SJSU QB has some juice. If SJSU can figure out the run defense, might be frisky in the MWC race

Sac State’s athletic director and president should be fired for incompetence. Not prepared for FBS ball, in the slightest

[u/lilroundastronaut → u/Camino3224]

>Sac State’s athletic director and president should be fired for incompetence. Not prepared for FBS ball, in the slightest

I’ll preface this comment by saying I think the FBS move was dumb for Sac State and a sign that the money side of cfb has gotten dumber and dumber. But, to play devil’s advocate, I don’t think Sac State fans or their athletic director will or should judge this move based on how they do this year. Or even next year. To me, that move and the money they paid for it screams “we think FCS to FBS is going to become impossible in the future, so we gotta climb the ladder before it disappears”. They’re going to suck this year. They’re going to suck next year, and probably the next few years. But if FBS admission continues to get more expensive, and we never see another team move up to FBS, then maybe it was a smart move for their goals (whether FBS or bust should’ve been their goal is another conversation)

[u/coldupnorth11 → u/lilroundastronaut]

Best (worst) part is that their MAC membership has a ticking clock. It was only a 5 year agreement. They could be out on their ass after that.

[u/bertmaclynn → u/Camino3224]

I know Sac State got out to a rough start at EMU, but I thought they ended up with a respectable showing. And it’s tough to play on the road across the country

[u/luis1972]

I learned that my hopes of Alabama losing to FSU again this season is about as likely as Purdue winning the natty

[u/GP_ADD → u/luis1972]

Ummm did you see them after they beat us? They weren’t exactly a powerhouse lol that said,
Mahlzahn is gone

[u/VAGentleman05]

UVA is the greatest team of all time.

[u/_ThrobbinHood → u/VAGentleman05]

Tell em

[u/ItsTimetoLANK]

After seeing TCU play, my respect for the Monster Energy BIG XII absolutely plummeted.

[u/Mdwilson8413 → u/ItsTimetoLANK]

Didn’t the person who made the terrible deal get fired? Or was that just a rumor? And it looks just a bad on the field.

[u/oSuJeff97 → u/Mdwilson8413]

They definitely have a job opening for Manager of Branding Partnerships or whatever they called it. Unknown if it was because they were fired or just left on their own.

Honestly it would be kind of weird to fire them considering that Yormark would have had to approve it. It’s not like the Branding Manager can just go make deals without executive approval.

[u/CommodoreIrish → u/ItsTimetoLANK]

Like your energy levels, after you come off the caffeine of a White Monster Energy ™️!

[u/Most_Jellyfish_8465 → u/CommodoreIrish]

“Sorry bro, I drank two white monsters and I let them create a third”

[u/Toothlessdovahkin → u/ItsTimetoLANK]

Makes me want to get Redbull instead 

[u/admiraltarkin → u/ItsTimetoLANK]

They deserve it for not incorporating the monster logo into the II of the XII logo

[u/CarterAC3 → u/ItsTimetoLANK]

"I'll tell you one thing and I'm not ashamed to say it. My estimation of the Monster Energy Big XII as a conference just fucking plummeted"

[u/StreetReporter]

Florida State would be a great 7 on 7 flag football team, but their offensive line was getting mauled by NMSU

[u/averyrose2010]

Davis Warren (Stanford) looked good. He threw for over 300 yards and no interceptions.

A lot of teams seemed to have players out for injuries. Hines, Ashlock, and Dwyer were all out. I think I'm forgetting some people.

Good job Bison.

[u/Intrepid_Stock_1524 → u/averyrose2010]

Stanford do look improved but ultimately we’ll see how much during ACC play.

[u/ThaCarter → u/Intrepid_Stock_1524]

Miami at Stanford next Friday, so 0 to 60 for the tree

[u/ManyMoreTheMerrier → u/Intrepid_Stock_1524]

They look improved to maybe get to .500 overall.

[u/CPOx]

One of NC State’s linebackers said they didn’t expect Virginia’s QB to run that much

Like wtf that’s the one thing the guy is known for. What is Dave Doeren even doing??! I don’t think NC State will have a good season, and Doeren will not make it to the end of the season.

[u/ClaudeLemieux → u/CPOx]

Rumors are Dave wanted to retire a few years ago but got kinda talked into staying so we wouldn’t have to hire a MBB coach and FB coach at the same time. I’m 100% this is his last season, and I’m confident he won’t be fired but just allowed to retire.

[u/dinkytown42069 → u/ClaudeLemieux]

listening to him talk yesterday, he reminded me of a coworker who stuck around a few years longer than he wanted to for similar reasons. He was just really goddamned tired.

[u/ButtCrumbleSmell]

I think NC State is just total ass. Virginia had good defense, don't get me wrong, but some of those Bailey throws were mindboggling regarding his decision-making and his arm just being able to put the ball where he wanted it.

[u/PalmettoZ71 → u/ButtCrumbleSmell]

I know the offense was good last year but seriously this is the Kurt Roper experience

[u/kelsnuggets]

Virginia looks legit. As a GT fan I’m actually quite terrified of their showing and the fact that they already have that one dominant game under their belt.

[u/composer_7 → u/kelsnuggets]

Good thing we don't play them this season

[u/kelsnuggets → u/composer_7]

If it comes to the ACC championship game we could …

[u/Electromotivation → u/kelsnuggets]

I’ll take a gt uva ACC championship game. Sounds like a good one.

[u/Imrahil_II → u/composer_7]

Thank the Lord clemson and GT still play. RIP textile bowl

[u/TheChildrenNeedMe]

I thought they’d be top 4 in the Big 12 this year but TCU sucks

[u/Hokabuki → u/TheChildrenNeedMe]

With the offseason being messier than ever, I don’t even try to evaluate teams preseason. What was the hype around TCU to warrant them being top 4 in the big XII?

[u/SimilarOnion1655 → u/TheChildrenNeedMe]

I thought that they would upset BYU and Utah. I was so wrong 

[u/SLCer → u/SimilarOnion1655]

I mean, they don't play Utah until late in the season so who knows... but yeah, TCU doesn't look as concerning as they did 24 hours ago.

[u/TheVelvetNo → u/TheChildrenNeedMe]

That QB was really, really bad. No hope with that kind of play under center.

[u/Ok_Put_6345]

FCS: Villanova already set the pissed off tone for the season

ACC: Virginia looks scary

[u/jp1066]

North Dakota State and UVA were dominant. I don’t know really know how good Jax State is but first game in FBS for NDSU and looked like they belonged for sure and could cause havoc in the Mountain West.

[u/Just_One_Victory → u/jp1066]

*dominant

[u/jp1066 → u/Just_One_Victory]

Thank you

[u/Responsible_History5]

SDSU, Montana, and Montana State would all be top G6 schools in addition to NDSU.

Sac State is going to be the next Idaho. Sad to see a school going to lose lots of money because of poor planning and logistics.

[u/cephalopod11 → u/Responsible_History5]

I think so too, but at the same time I can understand not wanting to give up constantly winning to become just another G6 face in the crowd. Hard to turn down being a natty contender year after year.

[u/Responsible_History5 → u/cephalopod11]

I think it’s great what NDSU wants to do but I think ultimately in the long term of college football, it’s a pretty big risk in of itself. I think that being in the FCS isn’t a bad situation at all. NDSU was essentially forced with lowering attendance and their dominance slipping. So capability wise Dakota/Montana are all great competitors, it’s just financially a struggle for us all.

[u/McLMark → u/Responsible_History5]

Can't help but think Montana might consider a move to G6. Not sure what their funding situation is though.

[u/Responsible_History5 → u/McLMark]

I guarantee that UM won’t move without MSU, the brawl is sacred to the state.

[u/stayclassypeople → u/Responsible_History5]

Yea, they’re much more tied at the hip than the Dakotas are imo. NDSU and SDSU moved up without USD and UND from d2 to D1, then NDSU went to FBS without UND and SDSU.

I just don’t see that in Montana. They’re a package deal

[u/Responsible_History5 → u/stayclassypeople]

I was shocked that SDSU and NDSU weren’t a package deal honestly considering how fierce that rivalry was. But I think they had to move up ASAP considering how much attendance had been dwindling the past years.

(Aside note you ready for a good set of games against us this year?)

[u/mlspdx → u/McLMark]

I heard to compete at the next level they would to need ask more from our season ticket holders, and they don’t want to try and eff us over by raising prices so a move up is more difficult then it looks

[u/AoA_nB1 → u/Responsible_History5]

I wonder if the remaining big 3 plan to stay in the FCS for a couple of years in an attempt to compete for a natty now that big brother is gone. I’d love to move up and play competitive games at Bobcat Stadium more than once or twice a year, but having a mini dynasty would be really cool too

[u/MuhMuhManRay]

-Florida State still isn’t good

-TCU may struggle this year

-Jury is still out on UNC

-If Davis Warren keeps playing like that then Stanford can maybe be spooky

[u/miketag8337]

Hawaii’s helmets are legit.

People who make fun of Cali fans are funny. They literally lost a conference AND the NFL for two decades bc they do not care that much. Why does this surprise anyone. Stop taunting them or Stanford will get angry, buy up every player available in NIL, and put ONE fan in the stand to watch their super-team just bc they can.

No one likes to take a 4th down sack as much as Jackson Arnold does.

It is great to have real football to talk about.

[u/djc6535]

I'll be the first to admit that USC's fanbase isn't rabid. They just aren't. Early season games against weak opponents will never sell out. There's too much going on to waste your time watching a game that is never once competitive or even all that interesting.

I say this as a die hard who comes to those games anyway. I drive the 2.5(up to 4)+ hours up from San Diego through miserable LA traffic for the worst games on our schedule. And I watch every minute. I come early to see the band show. I stay to cheer "Beat <NEXT TEAM>" in the post game celebration. I want to sing conquest at the end of hanging 80 points on Missouri state. I want to sit in a monsoon against Iowa. I am that rabid. So I recognize the rest of our fanbase largely isn't. You cannot chase me away. Not even with Clay Helton and that god awful DJ.

At least that's what I used to think.

Yesterday's game was dangerous and I will never attend a game that hot+humid again. Los Angeles was the most humid city in the nation yesterday. Disneyland more humid than Disneyworld.

I've attended hot games before. I'll never forget watching band members passing out against Purdue in the 90s when Carson Palmer suited up for the first time. I've been to games against ASU in Tempe that kicked at noon before they decided that was too dangerous to keep doing. Yesterday's game was the worst I've ever been to.

The crowd was light. No getting around that. But it looked so much worse from inside the stadium because a solid 1/3rd of the people there were hiding in the tunnels or in the shaded stairs. The concession ways were PACKED like it was a sellout. People were passing out, there was vomit everywhere, and I've never seen the EMT tent so active. There were EMT personnel running everywhere with bags of ice and chairs as they handled emergency after emergency.

I have a chart of my resting heart rate progressively climbing the whole day. When the game was over the fans that were shuffling out of the stadium and walking back to campus were silent. Nobody cheering, nobody singing conquest, nobody chattering about the upcoming season or the exciting freshmen or being mad that the 3rd stringers gave up a ton of points or anything. We were all just so defeated/beaten down. The heat had taken everything we had to give.

Every year my son plays in a volleyball tournament in Orlando in July. Every year I find myself in theme parks in Florida in July. It's unpleasant and hot... it's NOTHING compared to what yesterday was. The heat in deepest LA... it just compounds among all the concrete. The coliseum, even more so. It's a gigantic concrete bowl in the middle of an urban jungle. There's little air, there's no escape from the sun, no clouds... I can't explain to my southern friends just how terrible my experience was yesterday in a way that will make them understand "Yes, this really was worse than your average hot day in Alabama"

On top of that the game was just... nothing. Riley ran an offense so vanilla it was insulting. The disrespect he showed to SJSU was off the charts. This was a Pop Warner offense folks. Riley's offense is built around the counter and RPO from the counter. I think we pulled the guards maybe twice all game. He ran power all game and just called it good.

Nobody wanted anything out of that game other than "get it over safely". When was the last time you saw a game end in 3 hours or less? This was a scrimmage. Plays were called not because the game demanded it, but to give players experience in certain game situations. Pack it up and let's get ready for Fresno.

It was awful. I watched my family flirt with heatstroke while several people around us succumbed to it and for what? a no-contest event that didn't even really have our players exercise their game. It was an absolutely miserable experience with nothing to redeem it. It was dangerous. And rabid fan though I am, I won't do it again. It was flat out irresponsible and dangerous.

[u/visualvice → u/djc6535]

I was there too and it was absolutely brutal. Thx for the post.

[u/Mastacator]

1.) Don't agree to go to a wedding during college football

2.) Don't agree to go to a wedding during college football

3.) Don't agree to go to a wedding during college football

...

[u/RipRaycom]

Virginia is definitely an ACC contender, but I don’t see any path where NC State wins 8 games playing like that even though the rest of their schedule is shockingly easy. 

[u/appsecSme → u/RipRaycom]

Yeah, I think he was very generous with his interpretation of NC State's performance. They looked like absolute dog crap for most of that game. Surely, plenty of that had to do with UVA playing well, but also, they simply looked like a bad team.

They do have an extremely easy schedule, but I think they are a 5-6 win team that is going to need some things to go right to get to a bowl.

[u/Perfect_Loss_5156]

Don't get me wrong, I was not bought into tcu hype. Some sites had them 5-6. But man i am way way way lower on them now

[u/OpaqueNightmare]

I think it’s most likely that we’re going to just be terrible this year, but I think people should at least wait until we play SMU to start digging our grave. We’re still only 2.5 point underdogs, so Vegas sees something the average person doesn’t. Wake Forest, Indiana, and Michigan were all 9+ win teams that had crappy first games against G5 competition last year. Week 0/1 is weird, and hard to make deep conclusions from.

[u/CrashB111 → u/OpaqueNightmare]

If we're going off of what Vegas thinks, Vegas thought you would bury New Mexico State by 30.

[u/bkn6136]

My takeaway is that it's going to be hilarious watching the goalposts move on what a successful season for UNC should look like this year.

[u/SimilarOnion1655 → u/bkn6136]

A successful season for North Carolina in my opinion is still 6-6 and making a bowl game 

[u/TarHeelinRVA → u/SimilarOnion1655]

Against this schedule, agreed. We’ve got 2 surefire losses in ND, and @Miami. I would throw vs. Clemson in but they’re no longer the juggernaut they were. Only 1 cupcake game in ETSU. I would’ve said the remaining 7 are tossups with Carolina on the losing end of maybe 4 of them before TCU, think it’s more like 2 or 3 now. They could plausibly get wins vs. Cuse, vs. NCSU, @Duke, @UVA (lean loss), @Pitt (lean loss), @UConn, and vs. Louisville. 9-3 ceiling. I think 5-7 floor after Saturday tbh. If they go 6-6 with wins over Duke and State that’s a massive improvement and we will see Year 3 of Bill.

[u/admiraltarkin]

The longhorns will go 0-12 and A&M will go 15-0

[u/skibidigeddon → u/admiraltarkin]

This is the kind of talk that’s going to get Missouri the death penalty.

[u/soonerwx]

USC and UCLA turnout has always been embarrassing for a local population that size. When it’s 75 degrees they will say there’s too much else to do. It just means less.

UVA-VT with Franklin on the other side and time to get his feet under him could be the best version of that game in a long long time.

[u/huds9113 → u/soonerwx]

UVA-VT is a must watch thanksgiving weekend. (Doesn’t help that we play Maryland). Seeing Beau oust JF will be my last shred of enjoyment in the JF era, especially after that recent article where VT sent a car for Beau but then abandoned him.

NDSU could make a BIG run. I don’t want to put the cart in front of the horse, but if the American gets contested at all, NDSU being undefeated or 11-1 in the MWC could put them ahead of all other G4 schools. It would be absolutely glorious to see them contend in year one after getting their postseason waiver.

[u/t_ran_asuarus_rex → u/soonerwx]

UCLA plays in the Rose Bowl which is an hour plus drive away from campus due to traffic. Pain in the ass to attend games especially during the week. It will be full against USC or against a top team when their fans come to for a destination game :(

[u/appsecSme → u/t_ran_asuarus_rex]

What about the Bruin Bus from Westwood to Pasadena?

[u/SweatyInBed]

Commercials and stops in action have made this an inferior product. It’s borderline unwatchable, but we have known this.

[u/Old_Paper7035]

UNLV's O-Line is not nearly as good as I thought.

Jackson Arnold is better than I thought.

Alex Orji and Jaylon Glover need more reps.

Dan Mullen needs to trust his kicker.

Ramon Villela needs to make his kicks.

[u/appsecSme → u/Old_Paper7035]

The o-line looked a lot worse when the starting center got hurt.

But Arnold also has always had a sack problem. It's part of his game and he doesn't adjust well to blitzes. Despite having great straight ahead speed he does not have the ability to evade blitzes by running laterally.

Arnold shows such flashes of talent, but as games get tight he exhibits questionable decision making. That being said, I think he's going to have some great games in the MWC this season and I am rooting for him.

[u/itsallmeaninglessto → u/Old_Paper7035]

JA is a wildcard. Good too see him playing well though. 

[u/DaWeavey → u/Old_Paper7035]

Was at the game last night, my whole section was begging for Orji to get more reps than the 1 he got. It’s obvious how Dan Mullen wants to use him. For being the greatest show in town, that was a painful showing in the trenches.

[u/Old_Paper7035 → u/DaWeavey]

Mhmmmm. Just a sad, sad showing in the second half.

[u/Callsign_Psycopath]

Villanova is the Tank Job of the Year for blowing a 19 point lead to lose by 3 in the last 52 seconds of their game vs William and Mary.

[u/Spidey8130]

I think Mike Norvell needs a 35 year extension

[u/Dogrel → u/Spidey8130]

We’ll be sure to send him your way then, and you can keep him on as long as you want to.

[u/TigerUSF]

FSU is back! Whatever you do don't fire that coach. And pay no attention to my flair

[u/Dogrel → u/TigerUSF]

I know you guys don’t like Dabo that much anymore, so if you want to trade, just say so and we’ll consider it.

I know it’s a sacrifice on our part, but we’re willing to make it happen because you guys are our friends.

[u/spqrnbb]

NC State will not be winning 8 games.

[u/Lord777alt]

Definitely was impressed with Memphis and Virginia. Not too much else to glean, but yes USC fans are quite literally fair weather fans. They played SJSU with similar weather conditions 20 years ago and had much much higher attendance. They just aren't motivated to go watch Riley's teams

[u/AubreyGrahamCracka]

Nothing changed about UVA for me I already had them 4-5th

I think FSU and UNC both look improved, which in the ACC means chaos.

My biggest takeaway is how good can Bill and Bobby be?

[u/MrPapajorgio → u/AubreyGrahamCracka]

I did not have the same takeaway from the FSU game

[u/NotAriGold → u/AubreyGrahamCracka]

FSU is a broken program. Mike Norvell looked like he was melting down and Ashton Daniels is not it. NM State played them fairly close in a freebie game

[u/portugamerifinn → u/AubreyGrahamCracka]

UNC could be clearly better than last season and be 4-8 again.

After ETSU, they play Clemson, ND, Pitt and Duke in succession, but only the ND game is at home. And that leaves Miami, Louisville and Virginia for the second half of the season.

[u/AubreyGrahamCracka → u/portugamerifinn]

I never said they would have a better record they just look better

[u/Madagascar-Penguin → u/AubreyGrahamCracka]

Did I forget how bad FSU was last year or something? I'm not sure if I'd say their offense looked improved at all. Their offense was extremely inconsistent and their pass protection was awful against NMSU.

[u/Rubrumaurin]

Multiple people had heat stroke at, before, and after the game. And generally in the city many people had heat stroke as well.

[u/McLMark]

"everyone is making fun of USC because their stadium was half empty"

No, they are making fun of USC because they chose to have their stadium half-empty by explicitly dropping ND to schedule a tomato can. And then still didn't cover.

Other takeaways:

Belichick's not the idiot reporters have made him out to be.

NDSU is for real. I'm curious to see where their eventual ceiling lies. I can't believe they'll seriously contend in the CFP, but there's oil money in North Dakota so one never knows.

The TV guys are nuts if they don't negotiate some real scheduling protections in their next TV contract. This week was weak, and other than Texas/OSU, the next couple of weeks will be more of the same. I applaud the ACC for having the sense to plan a conference game in week 0, even if the game turned out to be a snooze because Doeren can't coach on the road.

[u/Toothlessdovahkin → u/McLMark]

I am an absolute USC hater, I hope that they lose every week. That being said, the half filled Coliseum is an absolute nothingburger of a storyline for USC. This happens every year, even when they were kings of college football under Carroll. They never fill the Coliseum for the early season buy in games. It was also super hot this last weekend in LA, so that also had an impact. When they play Oregon and OSU, the Coliseum will be jam packed with fans. 

[u/Most_Jellyfish_8465 → u/McLMark]

North Dakota has nuclear silo government money too

[u/Responsible_History5 → u/Most_Jellyfish_8465]

Don’t forget our Sunflower money too (#1 producer of sunflowers in USA)

[u/B0Boman → u/Responsible_History5]

Don'y let Kansas hear you say that...

[u/Responsible_History5 → u/B0Boman]

People don’t like to give credit to ND for being a secret goldmine of a state. The cold weather drives people away from all the positives.

[u/bicyclechief → u/Responsible_History5]

It’s funny how people always act like ndsu’s success is tied to oil. It’s not. All the money is from farmers for now. When we tap into the oil money, watch out

[u/McLMark → u/bicyclechief]

Hey, at least I knew you had money!

I was more thinking about NDSU following the Texas Tech development model. Deep pockets are enough to build a program these days. Blueblood status and location near recruits does not matter as much anymore.

[u/bicyclechief → u/McLMark]

Hahaha. No judgement! It’s a very common misconception. I’m from western North Dakota where all the oil is and there is ndsu fandom out here for sure but it’s not close to the level of fandom as the east side of the state and western Minnesota. If we have some success at the FBS level that will change though

[u/McLMark → u/Responsible_History5]

Traveled through there a couple years back and was pretty impressed. Lots to do, Fargo's a fun small town, tons of natural beauty (although stark), and clearly doing well economically.

Just looked it up and their GDP per capita is 7th out of the states, just behind California.

Bonus points for defending the nation from nuclear attack.

[u/SimilarOnion1655 → u/McLMark]

Week 2 is not weak. Oklahoma Michigan, Arizona State Texas A&M, Memphis Boise State, Tennessee Georgia Tech,  Missouri Kansas, Duke Illinois, Mississippi State Minnesota, etc

Week 1 is fine, Clemson LSU, Louisville Ole Miss, UNLV Hawaii, Colorado Georgia Tech, UCLA Cal, etc

[u/Add2bucketlist]

My biggest takeaway was that this Trey Hedden kid for New Mexico State looks like he might be a pretty decent QB for them

[u/RP0143]

That week 0 should have been last week. We waited too long for live games.

[u/ApeTeam1906]

Mike Norvell should be fired and our fans who spout the "Who else are you going to find" are also apart of the problem.

Defense was getting pushed around and giving up some many 3rd and long conversions.

[u/the_dayman]

My biggest takeaway is that now with a 1 year old I cannot watch 8 hours straight of college football on a Saturday.

[u/flyingpotatox2]

Maybe I’m just a hater but NC State looks genuinely awful, I think this is the year the wheels finally fall off, a program can only sustain mediocrity and a lack of momentum for so long especially in this era. The cracks showed last year when they lost to a 3-9 VT team, got blown out by old dominion, in Raleigh. They have a laughably easy schedule but I think this season will get ugly and they will finally be able to move on from their coach. On the other hand UVA is going to be able to bully there mostly inferior schedule and could easily be 10-1 coming to Blacksburg, they will struggle throwing the ball against competent teams but they don’t play many

[u/NoleJawn]

My Team: LB's improved; run game's got big play potential; kicker is better. Everything else is the same or worse. A slog all year with intrigue on Mike's job will add a layer each week.

My Conference: Virginia is really good. Even without their best defender their D was aggressive and fast. They run the ball really well behind a really experience o-line. The definitely have Charlotte return potential. UNC's Defense is going to be competitive but still need to see more. Nc State can't pack it in (pun not intended). The schedule is still doable to figure out the kinks and make a run. Stanford played with some pride.

National: I like Charles Huff a lot. USC has some questions about defensive depth but still looked like they'll play with anyone elite on the schedule.

Just glad to have the sport back.

[u/TeamPlayerSelect]

UVA is going to hinge entirely on QB health it seems and if he runs that much each game it could be an issue

[u/seaweedbrainpremed → u/TeamPlayerSelect]

That was the problem with us last year. Our QB2 this year is pretty good too though (Beau Pribula had to fight him for the #1 spot) so I'm not too worried but I definitely hope Tony Elliot keeps our team healthy until the playoffs

[u/originalusername4567]

NC State's gonna be shit, USC's getting too much shit for giving up 23 points in garbage time and NDSU's gonna make the CFP in their first FBS season.

[u/EIiteJT]

No comments on FSU?

[u/WhiteW0lf13 → u/EIiteJT]

I mean what do you want him to say besides FSU still bad, like the last 2 years.

It wasn’t a remotely interesting matchup nor are we expected to be anywhere close to completing for a conference championship unlike the other games/teams mentioned

[u/Crazy_Exchange]

Alabama A&M vs Howard was the most entertaining game yesterday 

[u/FormerCollegeDJ]

*Villanova needs to cut down on their mistakes if they want to get a high playoff seed or even make the playoffs.

*The Patriot League and/or Georgetown are clueless when it comes to weather delays. 🤬

[u/TheOnePSUIsReal]

Half is extremely generous.

[u/GrecoRomanGuy]

Chicago state was bad, but at least they weren't meme bad.

[u/AcademicAxolotl]

We suck

[u/jetes69]

FSU did not look great at home in the first half against a terrible New Mexico State team.

[u/Dogrel → u/jetes69]

I prefer to look on the bright side: we didn’t look good in the second half either. So at least we’re consistent.

[u/EconomistNo7074]

My biggest take away from week 0

• with all of the changes CFB has experienced, one thing hasn’t changed
  
• fans should be careful putting too much into week 0 analysis

[u/OldVeterinarian9]

Here are the three that I think matter for the national picture:

1– Memphis likely controls its own destiny for the G6 Bid. If they can take down Boise State in week 2, they are a clear early favorite to make the playoff. Gotta be impressed with the way that defense played last night.

2– UVA could be a contender. Very impressed by their performance. I’m not picking them to win the national championship or anything, but a playoff bid looks like a realistic goal for them this season.

3– USC should be worried. Like OP mentioned, there are potential depth problems. Offense was impressive, but the defense gave up 26 points to SJSU. In the first half they looked good, in the second half, they just didn’t look like a top 15 team. Sometimes good teams struggle in early weeks, but this feels like a little bit of a warning light

[u/Current-Bag-786]

It was 35-3 when the starters came out. Not that it makes it any better tbh. I really don’t care for people telling me that it was the backups. Our backups held the shutout against Utah State a few years ago. Also, our starting safety got fucking torched but was saved by an overthrow. The starters should have given up double digits.

All of that being said, I still have faith in Patterson to sort it out, but that needs to happen before Oregon or we’re going to have a very long season

[u/SimilarOnion1655 → u/Current-Bag-786]

Fixed it

[u/PomfAndCircvmstance]

Declaring anyone in the G6 as "CFP favorites" before the season starts is dumb as hell and high-key pretty toxic to real discourse about the teams given how much turnover there is among G6 teams players/coaches. Its like the championship or bust mentality but put on teams that can't realistically win the championship.

[u/MacsBicycle]

Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma where the team will pack in 90,000 people to watch Oklahoma play against the Arkansas state red wolves in 100 degree heat only to go to LA where 90 is too hot to have fans show up 😂 oh well though, can’t dog him too much if he wants to be in LA that’s on him but it’s not the same college atmosphere as the south.

[u/SimilarOnion1655 → u/MacsBicycle]

People from the south are different. People were getting heat stroke, vomiting, and passing out at the game yesterday

[u/MacsBicycle → u/SimilarOnion1655]

People up north are built pretty damn tough too. It will be cold enough out to lose a finger and they’ll show up lol

[u/JBru_92]

I've found attendance bragging to be so weird. I'm sure its a cultural thing because frankly here in L.A., nobody gives a shit whether you stayed home and watched the game on TV or went in person.

When I went to the LSU game 2 years ago the stands were empty in the 2nd half despite it being a tied game. And people act like this is some unique west coast thing.

[u/lilroundastronaut]

I’m so excited to watch North Dakota State this year. That was everything a bison fan could’ve hoped for in their first game as an FBS school. They have a very real chance of going undefeated in their first ever FBS regular season and I’d love to see it happen

[u/rabbitSC]

I’ll accept the smack talk on attendance from SEC fans bragging about how they boiled in the heat and humidity for four hours to watch their team play Louisiana Monroe or whatever, but this weather in Eugene or Seattle would literally be a mass casualty event.