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Evan Williams looked almost timid on return duty...

Writer Hayes is a graduate of Florida and lives/works from Orlando. Here's another brilliant assessment: https://x.com/MattHayesCFB/status/2096405090689077475 He has been a writer for many years including USA Today.

Who is playing playoff caliber football week 1 or even 2?! It's a long season. Improvement comes from practice, yes, but more importantly, actually playing the games. The best thing that could have happened did. The guys realized preseason press and hype isn't worth much. They dug down deep and fought through and won a good game against a quality opponent. Our guys learned something from this game. What did all those teams beating up on weak teams learn? I think we caught a glimpse of just how good we can be this year. All those mistakes, an O-line still developing and still 497 yards of offense! The defense is still learning to work together. Their 1st TD was a mistake by new players working together misreading the switch. A young linebacker crew learning to read and make defensive calls. All in all, lots of room for improvement, but oh, the potential is real!

I sort of expect this from fans of other teams around the country. I'm not too familiar with this writer but I recognize the name. So, knows better, he is just serving up the hot takes. He knows how long it took Kirby to break through at Georgia, how long it took Day to break through at Ohio State, the time frames for Saben and Swinney to win their first. He also knows, as a college football writer, that no FBS coach under 40 has won a National Championship since 1981. He does. Which means he is passing on an attempt at a fair and nuanced argument for something that will attract more attention. Totally seems to ignore Oregon beating both Ohio State and Penn State in 2024 and Penn State and Texas Tech in 2025. All big games at the time. I had a huntch so I checked and yes, leading up to the Oregon vs. Texas Tech playoff game, he indeed did say he didn't trust Oregon in a big game and predicted Texas Tech to win 24-20 (Jan. 1, 2026 USA Today roundtable). I bet I can guess his prediction (and reasoning) for the upcoming November 7, 2026 game against Ohio State too?

In 2014 Ohio State started the season with an unimpressive win over Navy and then lost to an unranked and eventual 7-6 Virginia Tech team. We all know how their season ended.

Restraining myself from saying something regrettable to the author.

Let's see how things turn out in November. Every team sees a big jump between fame one and game two. Additionally... Remember Penn State dominated their first few weeks last year. How'd that turn out for James Franklin?

Note I wrote Specialists, and not Special Teams. Why Perich is not the return guy is a mystery to me...

Oh, boo-hoo. Everybody is this way until they finally break through...and every SEC team can nearly blow a game without any bias against them. This is a writer who was looking for something to write about, and found a topic that would go viral. Meanwhile....in the 3.1 seasons, Dan Lanning is now 39-0 against teams who were not in the National Championship game. That doesn't suck... We'll get there!

Spot On, Charles. But the return game? I thought Perich was going to be the return guy. Any skinny on his failure to win the return role?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2026/09/05/why-oregon-football-fails-in-big-moments-dan-lanning-boise-state/91637416007/

Yahoo Sports picks Sayin and Dante as Week 1 winners - AMEN! https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/article/college-football-week-1-winners-and-losers-the-year-of-the-quarterback-has-gotten-off-to-a-stellar-start-010035468.html

Too many passes behind the line of scrimmage. Opponents know they are coming. There has to be other ways to get the WRs in space. OL needs to jell quickly. REALLY disappointed in the defense. With the talent returning, I expected the defense to throttle the BSU offense. Alas no.

Big Ten HQ released a statement and a video that shows Michigan deserved the one second. A Western Michigan defender came from out of bounds and made contact with the ball with one second left. Western Michigan's response? In OOC games, refs from another conference should be brought in to eliminate bias. Apparently, W. MI. poohbahs did not watch the Oregon game.🤪

I didn't notice the long snapper. They must be good!

They hit pay dirt in the portal, turned around their tackling issues, and Madsen has made a step up in his play. They should win the Pac easy and likely will be ranked in the top 15 by playoff time, which should be enough to be the G6 playoff representative.

They hit pay dirt in the portal, turned around their tackling issues and Madsen has made a step up in his play. They should win the Pac easy and likely will be ranked in the top 15 by playoff time, which should be enough to be the G6 champ.

Cheer Up! We could be fans of a team located in Pisscastaway, NJ. When you are favored by 29.5 points and lose to the team ranked 138th out of 138 FBS teams, you know that the shine is off Schiano, who is no longer welcome at Soprano family get-togethers. --- Or how about the team located in We Used to Be Clemson, South Cackalacky? Dabo's 2026 debut: 54 total yards on offense in the first half. A new low after the team finished 2025 with nine draft picks and seven wins. It was upsetting to see Dabo come out for the 2nd half. And how about Gaming Guru Stanford Steve, who had Clemson covering 10 points instead of scoring 10 in the 51-10 loss against LSU and not NFLSU? Did Steve go to Stanford, or Scamford? --- 91 newbies in Stillwater = a 10 to 24 loss at Tulsa. The first back-to-back wins over the Cowboys since Tulsa's victories in 1951 and 1952. Please, Cowpokes, whatever you do, do not wake up for Week 2.

Agreed. Our biggest losses last year were special teams, but hopefully this 1st game is representative of how they will play the rest of the season. Also the new long snapper is pretty good too!

I totally agree with your take on the linebackers. Jackson had five tackles and Mixon had four. Good enough for seventh and eighth for the game. The top six tacklers were DB’s and DL. Don’t even get me started on Mixon’s effort on the Sire Gaines TD after the fumbled punt return. I trust that Dan Lanning reminded him that the armless tackle is a very low percentage defensive play.

Nothing better than having cordinators going through on the job training. One would think this program could bring in experienced coaches.

Like most of you...I was crossing my fingers thinking about our new kicker and punter. But the opening kickoff by Gage Hurych revealed a leg I've never seen so strong, as he did not just put it deep in the end zone; it was not lofted, but nearly a line drive. Huge leg. The real test is kicking to the other end zone, on the side of the Mo Center, yet his KOs went deep in the end zone as well. His KOs were superb, and even the novice fans around me noticed as well. He was perfect yesterday; he did not start his season the way Atticus did last year. He nailed both FGs, (one a 44 yarder) and his PATs in a close game. And he's an Oregon-Boy from West Linn! The punter, Bailey Ettridge, was clutch, as he hit huge punts deep when we needed it, and even with a short field to punt to on occasion...his average was 48 yards a punt! I cannot remember a better first game for new specialists!

I remember some stuff coming out of fall camp that Davison was a little dinged up. The rumor was that be broke something but that turned out false ... But dinged up for sure. So I think the plan may have been to play Davison sparringly. He was more effective on his carries though as it kind feels like Hill, a back who thrives in space, is being used between the tackles that game ... Can't have him exclusively be the edges guy or the defense will ignore the middle but I feel he wasn't being used to his full potential. I also think the line is a bit dinged up as well. Iuli was also supposedly injured (minor) in camp and didn't participate as much as you would have wanted .... Again I think the goal was to keep him out for the game but they did end up putting him in later. The offensive line wasn't bad but it wasn't good either.

Michigan won but lost. A win for Boise State. 🤬The Broncos did exactly what they had to do. I was in the Big House with my daughter, a junior at Colorado, for the Kordell Stewart Hail Mary. For this reason, I extend the Wolverines greater grace. Lane gets a nice first-game ROI. Dabo? https://www.yardbarker.com/college_football/articles/cfb_week_1_winners_losers_lsu_dominates_in_lane_kiffins_debut_controversial_michigan_win_causes_uproar/s1_13132_44263705?utm_source=mb&utm_medium=email&mb_editi