Welcome to another episode of the Land-Grant Podcast Network’s Power Two Podcast. In this show, we talk about Big Ten and SEC football…and everything else. This show is for diehard and casual college football fans.
After each action-packed week, we’ll bring you up to speed on all the major matchups from the previous weekend and preview the games, storylines and players to watch out for in the week ahead.
My name is Jordan Williams and I’m joined by my co-host DaNaysia Jones. Join us as we take a tour of the college football landscape.
At first glance, Week 0 looked like a bad start to the college football season, as Florida State and SMU were clear favorites on both sides in the only two games involving FBS schools. Instead, we got a big surprise: Georgia Tech fought to the end against Florida State and won the season opener on a last-second field goal.
Florida State was a top-10 pick but may have been highly overrated after losing quarterback Jordan Travis, wide receivers Johnny Wilson and Keon Coleman, and star pass rusher Jared Verse. Florida State could still contend for the ACC title, but that’s not a great start. Instead, it looks like Georgia Tech could build on last season and be a tough opponent in the ACC. It’s too early to gauge their potential, but if they can play like that all season, they won’t be an easy win.
DJ, an SMU alumnus, was worried about SMU before this game – and apparently with good reason. Despite being clear favorites, the Mustangs struggled against Nevada and needed a 16-point fourth quarter to secure the win. It’s Week 0, a win is a win. SMU is happy to have survived and will use this as an opportunity to get better.
Even though it was only four games, Week 0 showed the beauty of college football. Any team can lose on Saturday, regardless of their recruiting rankings, their overall team standings or their AP rankings. It may have been a bad slate of games on paper, but college football always finds a way to score.
Week 0 is over, now it’s time to focus on Week 1. A Labor Day weekend tradition continues with games Thursday through Monday. Overall, there are a lot of potential losses, but if you look closer, you might find a few crackers too. On Thursday, we have North Dakota State trying to beat Colorado and Coach Prime. Friday is a good day to spend with the people you love, but Saturday starts off with a bang.
Clemson vs. Georgia and Penn State vs. West Virginia open the weekend, followed by Miami vs. Florida, Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M and LSU vs. USC on Sunday. With several ranked games, we get an early test of how teams respond to early losses and which teams can rebound despite an early season loss and make the 12-team College Football Playoff.
It’s been a long, dramatic offseason, but we’re finally back!
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