Week One CFB Recap

 Week One of the 2021 CFB season can only be described as “The Return.” I now understand after typing that how that could mislead some people and make them think I was referencing a specific, pivotal kick/punt return from the previous weekend. Unfortunately for said readers, I already came up with a wonderful theme for the week: The Return.


It was The Return of everything this week: The sport (It’s probably best to pretend Week Zero didn’t happen in case I have a readership base in Nebraska), the fans (There were no fans at all, just a few specks of dust in the Rose Bowl), and the pivotal players and teams. 


For the first time this year, let’s get into the 5 things I got excited about in College Football:


5 THINGS I GOT EXCITED ABOUT:


THE RETURN OF DEFENSE?!


Defense is back. 


Other than the part where #2 Oklahoma allowed 35 points to Tulane. (In fairness, it was an away game for the Sooners… that happened to take place in Norman, OK) And Ohio State dropping 45 while allowing 31 to the only rodent-nicknamed team in the defensive-centric Big Ten. 


The fact in college football right now is, offenses are better than the defenses they face, a trend that has picked up over a fast pace over the last decade. (Just ten years ago, Alabama and LSU stood at the top of the CFB pecking order, with head-to-head scores of 6-9 and 21-0.) That’s OK. That’s very fun. Imbalances aren’t necessarily a bad thing - find somebody who wasn’t enjoying the Red River Shootout last season. (Do I get a prize for finding this?)


Nevertheless, it only gives the fan greater appreciation for a rock fight, and that’s what we got in both marquee matchups on Saturday. 


Penn State and Wisconsin, through some magnificent combination of lockdown defense and lethargic offense, blew us all away by… not blowing us away. 


Then, Kirby Smart and Dabo Swinney showed their teams the tape of this game, and inspired them to do exactly the same thing, only with less offense. The two offenses earned six total points.


The reality is, the National Championship will likely be won and lost by the offenses. Still, diversity is the most important thing - getting dozens of different varieties of games is the best thing about the sport. So, no, this is not the football revolution you may have been hoping for, or praying against, after turning on ABC on Saturday night. But it is a very different style of playing football that as evidenced by the Bulldogs’ win in Charlotte, can certainly hold up at the highest level.


-THE RETURN OF FANS

-THE RETURN OF UCLA

-THE RETURN OF MCKENZIE MILTON

-THE RETURN OF THE LANE TRAIN


5 THINGS TO GET EXCITED ABOUT:


Michigan/Washington and Oregon/Ohio State: The famous, bitter Pacific Northwest/Midwest rivalry


Iowa State vs Iowa: The best (two top ten teams) game. Also the worst game


Notre Dame vs Toledo: Just get pumped to see old Irish faithful, present since the days of Knute Rockne and the Four Horsemen, get agitated about paying for Peacock


Utah/BYU: The Holy War Is An A+ Rivalry Nickname, even if I don’t quite understand why a game between a public school (made up primarily of Mormons) and an LDS school is christened with that name

 

15+ Straight Hours Of Football: No Explanation Is Necessary

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