Winners and Losers from Week 1 of the 2015 College Football Season
College football's back, y'all.
Well, OK. It was back on Thursday. And last Saturday. But Sept. 5 marked the first full day of college football for 2015. That means Winners and Losers is back to wrap up everything that was good, bad, ugly, hilarious, touching and more.
Before diving into all of that, though, let's unveil our first winner: you. You did it. You endured the long offseason with perseverance. You watched entire replays of football games on YouTube and hype video after hype video. You even dropped the hottest of takes in every comment section possible.
For this, we thank you. You're the reason why this sport is so much fun.
And, now, let's get into all that was Week 1 of this college football season. From BYU's miraculous Hail Mary to Kansas' brutal loss to FCS opponent South Dakota State, there was a lot to cover.
Enjoy. Or send us hate messages. Either one.
Winner: #StittHappens
1 of 22So, this was actually Week 0...or Week -1...but who's counting? Besides, the first rule of Winners and Losers is that there are no rules, especially when #Stitthappens.
The 2015 college football season really opened up last Saturday when four-time NCAA Division I-AA champion North Dakota State traveled to Montana. It also so happened to be the first game for new Grizzlies coach Bob Stitt, the longtime coach for the Colorado School of Mines and offensive innovator who has influenced the likes of West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen.
Lo and behold, the game was a classic, with Montana winning 38-35 in the final seconds on a 4th-and-goal touchdown. You couldn't have scripted a game between two Football Championship Subdivision powerhouses any better.
Nor could Stitt have responded to this tweet from Gil Brandt of NFL Network any better.
Winner: South Carolina Linebacker Skai Moore
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Thursday's game between North Carolina and South Carolina was a low-scoring defensive struggle with solid running games. Just like everyone predicted, right?
Naturally, the MVP was Gamecocks linebacker Skai Moore. Not only did he lead his team with 10 total tackles, but he also had not one but two end-zone interceptions in South Carolina's 17-13 victory. And as Bleacher Report colleague Michael Felder pointed out, both of those picks against North Carolina quarterback Marquise Williams looked eerily similar from a play-calling perspective.
“Skai can pick the ball off. He does it in practice all the time,” head coach Steve Spurrier said after the game (via Matt Connolly of the State). “As everybody knows, if you play Cover 2, that middle linebacker down the middle, he’s got to cover a lot of range and [Moore] has a knack of watching the quarterback. Those were the plays that won the game. Skai Moore did it.”
Without those two picks, who knows what the score would have been. Either way, South Carolina put up a far better defensive performance than it did against Texas A&M in the 2014 opener. That's a step in the right direction.
Loser: Utah State
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It's not terribly uncommon for a team to struggle against a Football Championship Subdivision opponent in Week 1. But Utah State's 12-9 win over Southern Utah on Thursday was, in a word, gross.
The Aggies mustered just 250 total yards of offense in the escape. Returning star quarterback Chuckie Keeton averaged 3.3 yards per passing attempt and completed less than 50 percent of his passes. The box score progressed as such: 6-2, 6-5, 9-5—all in favor of Southern Utah.
Had it not been for an 88-yard punt return for a touchdown by receiver Andrew Rodriguez with 4:54 remaining, there's a good chance Utah State would have lost to an FCS team that finished 3-9 last year.
Why is all of this worth noting? Utah State has been one of the better non-Power 5 programs over the last few years and is projected to finish near the top of the Mountain West this year. At this rate, though, the Aggies have a lot of work to do to even compete in their conference, let alone have any sort of playoff-crashing hopes.
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Winner: Baylor QB Seth Russell
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This is the part where we say "yes, it was just SMU" because we know if we don't say it, someone else will. Still, you can't go wrong with 435 yards of total offense (376 yards passing, 59 yards rushing) and six total touchdowns in your first game as a full-time starter.
Yet, that's exactly what Baylor quarterback Seth Russell did Friday night against the Mustangs. Any questions about Russell's ability to succeed Bryce Petty were at the very least tempered, if not answered outright. Russell's first pass 42 yards downfield to Corey Coleman showed accuracy and arm strength. And his athleticism throughout the night gave the Bears offense a different look than it had with Petty.
Baylor won't be tested until it gets into Big 12 conference play, so Russell will have a few more weeks to put up big numbers and gain confidence. While true freshman Jarrett Stidham looked great in mop-up duty, throwing a touchdown on his first pass, he's not surpassing Russell anytime soon.
Loser: Officials in the Colorado-Hawaii Game
5 of 22Because it was played in the wee hours of Friday morning, chances are not many people saw Hawaii top Colorado 28-20. Or the obvious officiating gaffe at the end of the game.
Facing a 2nd-and-5 at the Hawaii 12-yard line with 17 seconds remaining in the game, Colorado quarterback Sefo Liufau completed a pass to Phillip Lindsay inbounds with 14 seconds left. With the clock still rolling, Mountain West officials bumbled and fumbled their way to the line of scrimmage, allowing all 14 seconds to run off the clock.
Game over.
It was not the officiating crew's finest moment, but a review from the Mountain West determined there was no wrongdoing. A statement from the conference was released to Brett McMurphy of ESPN.com:
"After a thorough review via the standard procedures of the Mountain West/CFO West infrastructure, it has been determined the MW officiating crew employed the appropriate mechanics on the final play of the Colorado at Hawaii game and were in no way deficient in the proper execution of their responsibilities. There is also no evidence the Hawaii player intentionally interfered with the placement of the ball and thus no action by rule was warranted.
"
There may not have been any wrongdoing from a technical perspective, but it shouldn't have taken 14 seconds to move the ball to where it needed to be.
Winner: Ole Miss DT (WR?) Robert Nkemdiche
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There was plenty to like about Ole Miss' 76-3 win over Tennessee-Martin. First and foremost, it was never a contest. Poor showings against FCS teams can indicate a lot of problems.
Quarterback Chad Kelly looked sharp, going 9-of-15 for 211 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Receiver Laquon Treadwell was back and healthy from a gruesome season-ending leg injury with four catches for 44 yards.
But this...this 31-yard touchdown pass from Kelly to defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche? It's the stuff of which dreams are made. It's the #blessedlife. It's glorious.
Make no mistake. This is not a "BIG MAN TOUCHDOWN." Nkemdiche is all muscle at 296 pounds. He's also a crazy, freakish athlete. Will this be the last time the Rebels use Nkemdiche in an offensive role? Let's hope not.
Loser: Stanford
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Bad news for anyone who had Stanford as a possible playoff team: Those dreams took a major hit in a 16-6 loss to Northwestern.
Before getting into the Cardinal's issues, let's give kudos to the Wildcats. This is a program that has endured all sorts of hardships on the field over the last two seasons. Remember, there was a time not too long ago when the Wildcats were a trendy Big Ten dark-horse candidate. This is a nice win for them.
As for Stanford, the Cardinal were flat-out getting beat up front, which was unexpected. The Wildcats had big plays through the air and on the ground and were able to run up the middle. Northwestern was the more physical team, hands down.
There's also building concern about head coach David Shaw and his conservative play-calling. Shaw has also failed to consistently develop quarterback Kevin Hogan, and the Cardinal did not display their typical smash-mouth rushing game. What passing game the Cardinal did have was erratic, full of drops and inaccurate passes. Hogan certainly didn't take the leap forward from the end of last season like he was expected to take, averaging just 4.4 yards per attempt. His final pass, a game-sealing interception, was a floater.
Blame the early kickoff time if you must, but there's a lot about Stanford that must improve quickly. Otherwise, this is not a team ready to compete for a Pac-12 North title, much less anything more.
Winner: Illinois Interim Head Coach Bill Cubit
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It's been a bad week for Illinois football. As you no doubt know by now, head coach Tim Beckman was fired just before the beginning of the season because of an external report into player mistreatment. While the program was showing signs of improvement under Beckman, the entirety of his time with the Illini was largely forgettable.
Offensive coordinator Bill Cubit has been promoted to interim head coach, and the Cubit era—however long it may be—got off to a great start with a 52-3 win over Kent State.
There could still be dark days ahead for the Illini program. It's not clear if athletic director Mike Thomas will even be the guy to make the next hire. But, even if only for a day, Illinois has something to cheer about.
Never underestimate how important that is.
Loser: Kansas
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It wasn't exactly breaking news that Kansas would be a rebuilding project—to put it lightly—under first-year coach David Beaty. But perhaps the uphill climb the Jayhawks are facing in 2015 was, dare we say, underestimated.
Kansas dropped its opener to South Dakota State 41-38. Credit Beaty's team for clawing back after falling behind 31-7, but the massive hole the Jayhawks found themselves in to begin with is eye-opening. Then, to top everything off, the Jayhawks lost the game on a fumbled snap-spike. You couldn't make this game up.
And this was the game Kansas had the best chance of winning all season. It's a long year, and every team deserves the benefit of improvement, but the loss Saturday makes you legitimately wonder if the Jayhawks will win a game at all.
If you didn't wonder that already, that is.
To make matters worse, the Jayhawks are down to about 60-65 scholarship players. They are also still paying buyout money to the man who put them in this situation: Charlie Weis.
Winner: UCLA Quarterback Josh Rosen
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We knew that UCLA true freshman quarterback Josh Rosen was special given that he was named the starter by head coach Jim Mora. But his first collegiate performance against Virginia showed just how special he can be.
In a 34-16 win over Virginia, Rosen went 28-of-35 for 351 yards and three touchdowns. Beyond the impressive box score, though, Rosen didn't look like a freshman. That's perhaps the highest compliment he can receive. All offseason, others, like ESPN.com's Ted Miller, have raved about what he possesses upstairs and his ability to transition to the speed of the college game. And that's on top of his physical abilities.
That was all on display against Virginia. Rosen looked cool and confident, but just as importantly, he played within himself and didn't try to force things.
Of course, it wasn't all Rosen. UCLA—the coaching staff and starting offense alike—did a great job of putting Rosen in positions to be successful. Rosen had clean pockets to pass from and open receivers to throw to.
It's just one game, but the future definitely looks bright for Rosen.
Loser: Penn State's Offensive Line
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The offensive line issues that plagued Penn State's offense a year ago unfortunately appear to be in effect to start the 2015 season. They were very much on display in Penn State's 27-10 loss to Temple. Christian Hackenberg went 11-of-25 for an average of 4.1 yards per attempt on the day.
Hackenberg was sacked four times in the first half (and eight times total). For context, the Nittany Lions gave up 3.39 sacks per game last year, worst in the Big Ten. The impact of that pressure has manifested into accuracy and confidence issues for Hackenberg, as B/R's draft guru Matt Miller noted on Twitter.
Temple has a solid defense, but Penn State's offense basically disappeared in the second half. It's unfortunate. Hackenberg began his career as a promising freshman but has been banged up repeatedly over the last two years. His game has regressed in a big way as a result.
As a pure NFL-caliber prospect, Hackenberg still has upside. He's a big player with a bigger arm and has shown flashes where he can throw the most beautiful ball in college football. There simply haven't been many moments in the past year-plus when he was comfortable in the pocket.
Winner: Auburn Defensive End Carl Lawson
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As it turns out, the dominant force in Auburn's season opener against Louisville was the defense. Just like everyone predicted.
It appears new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp had a noticable impact on that side of the ball in a 31-24 win over the Cardinals. From the interception by Tray Matthews on the very first play, the Tigers got off on the right foot. The crux of that success, though, came from the defensive line, which was practically unblockable. Carl Lawson, returning from a season-ending knee injury, had 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss—in the first 20 minutes of play. He looked bigger and better than ever.
It wasn't just Lawson, however. Montravius Adams and Cassanova McKinzy were studs as well. This looks like a much-improved defensive front seven from a year ago.
With Auburn's offense slow to get going, it has to be comforting to know the defense can be relied upon to win games.
Winner/Loser: BYU
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What a bittersweet win for BYU over Nebraska. On one hand, the Cougars had easily the most exciting finish of Week 1 with a Hail Mary that gave them a 33-28 victory. On the other hand, it wasn’t starting quarterback Taysom Hill throwing that game-winning pass.
That’s because Hill, just returning from a season-ending leg injury, sustained a foot injury on Saturday that ultimately sidelined him for the rest of the game. That paved the way for Tanner Mangum to come in and eventually throw the Hail Mary.
After the game, BYU head coach Bronco Mendehall confirmed that Hill would miss the remainder of the season (h/t Darnell Dickson of the Daily Herald). It’s the second year in a row, and third in the last four years, that Hill’s season has been cut short.
It’s just an awful situation for Hill, who is one of the more entertaining quarterbacks in the country when he’s healthy. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to stay upright much as of late. BYU may have been on the right end of a dramatic win in Week 1, but how Hill’s injury affects the team going forward will be something to watch.
Winner: Maryland Returner William Likely
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Want some ridiculous return stats for your Week 1 college football Saturday? Maryland's William Likely has some ridiculous return stats for your Week 1 college football Saturday.
In the Terps' 50-21 win over Richmond, Likely returned eight punts for, wait for it, 233 yards and a touchdown. He also returned two kickoffs for 63 yards, bringing his total on the day to nearly 300 yards.
You'd think, just common sense, that Richmond would, you know, stop kicking to Likely after the, say, fourth or fifth time. You'd think the Spiders would wise up, deliberately kick the ball out of bounds and cut their losses.
You'd think that. But, as it turned out, that wasn't...
[Puts on sunglasses]
Likely.
Loser: Texas' Offense
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Remember when Texas put up a whopping 59 yards in its 31-7 bowl game loss to Arkansas? Well, the Longhorns didn’t exactly improve upon that outing in their season opener against Notre Dame. In a 38-3 loss, Texas mustered just 163 yards.
We could break down all the things wrong with the Horns. The quarterback situation is still rough, but in part because the offensive line is even worse. The utter lack of playmakers, combined with youth in some key spots, is a bad mix. And, to be fair, Notre Dame looks legit.
Texas, however, still looks a lot like it did last season.
Texas’ defense is young and it will only be able to hang on for so long. The Longhorns had the same problem last year with a far more experienced defense. What can Texas realistically expect with a two-deep squad full of freshmen and sophomores who are still learning how to be college football players?
In time, head coach Charlie Strong can get this ship turned around. But there will be some lean days ahead before that happens.
Winner: Texas Tech Quarterback Patrick Mahomes
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Say this for Texas Tech: It would seem the Red Raiders have found their quarterback, and his name is Patrick Mahomes. In a 59-45 win over Sam Houston State, the sophomore threw for 425 yards and four touchdowns. He had some gorgeous tosses and looks like he’ll thrive in head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s offense.
The other side of this is Texas Tech needed 59 points to win comfortably. The defensive problems that have plagued the Red Raiders over the past few years don’t look like they’ve been fixed. In short, Mahomes might need to throw for 400 yards week in and week out to get Texas Tech back to a bowl game.
Loser: The Pac-12
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Heading into the year, the Pac-12 was getting consideration as the deepest conference in college football. Yes, even deeper than the SEC.
But after a poor Week 1 showing, it’s hard to get much traction on that narrative. As a whole, the conference went 2-2 against Power 5 opponents, with the best win being Utah’s Thursday night victory over Michigan. Both losses against power conference opponents came against unranked teams. Additionally, Washington lost to Boise State and Washington State fell to FCS Portland State.
Oregon, which took care of Eastern Washington on Saturday, can reverse the trend with a win against Michigan State next. This is not the start the Pac-12 wanted to have, though—not when its reputation has been rising over the past couple of years.
Winner: Notre Dame Quarterback Malik Zaire
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You don’t ever want to put too much stock into a quarterback’s play. Far too often, the quarterback gets more blame and praise than he deserves. However, it really did feel like Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire was the key component to the Irish’s playoff hopes. Mostly because he was such an unknown.
For one game at least, Zaire answered a lot of questions. The first-year starter showed tremendous improvement as a passer, going 19-of-22 for 313 yards and three touchdowns against Texas.
Heading into the season, Zaire was known as more of a rushing threat, and he still is, but that’s not what he had to display on Saturday. The Irish offense certainly has more of a run-based feel to it with Zaire contributing. However, the passing game was there, and Zaire’s scrambling ability oftentimes helped open up receivers. If Zaire can keep this up, Notre Dame will be an incredibly tough team to beat.
Winner: Texas A&M's Defense
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The biggest story in the Arizona State-Texas A&M game was defense. Just like everyone thought would happen, right? To be sure, there were solid defensive moments for both teams, but since the Aggies got the 38-17 win, we’ll focus explicitly on them.
And how could you not? New A&M defensive coordinator John Chavis did an absolutely masterful job against the Sun Devils. A&M was in quarterback Mike Bercovici’s face all night. Sophomore defensive end Myles Garrett was unblockable with a lightning-quick first step and incredible speed. Fellow defensive end Daeshon Hall was equally as impressive. There’s still room to grow, as B/R colleague Michael Felder opined on Twitter, but giving up just 291 yards to the Sun Devils is a great place to start.
If this is the kind of defense we can expect from A&M this year, it could cement the Aggies as a legit SEC West contender.
Loser: Wisconsin's Rushing Offense
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The most important matchup between Wisconsin and Alabama was going to be in the trenches. Specifically, how would the Badgers’ new-look offensive line fare against the Tide’s stout defensive front?
We got our answer, and it wasn’t great.
Wisconsin’s run-first offense tallied just 40 total yards on the ground at under two yards per carry in a 35-17 loss. Specifically, running back Corey Clement had just 16 yards on eight carries. Granted, falling behind meant Wisconsin all but officially had to abandon the run, but the ground game was never there to begin with.
It’s probably not a huge surprise that Wisconsin struggled to establish the run against Alabama. The question going forward is whether it can get back on track, or if Saturday was the start of a trend.
Winner: Alabama Running Back Derrick Henry
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On paper, Alabama running back Derrick Henry had an outstanding night. He only carried the ball 13 times in a 35-17 win over Wisconsin, but he averaged 11.3 yards per carry and rushed for three touchdowns.
Henry’s most impressive runs on the night came on 1) a fourth-down conversion in which he broke tackles up the middle and bolted for a 37-yard score and 2) a 56-yard touchdown run to put Alabama up 21-7.
Tackling Henry seems like the least amount of fun anyone can have playing college football. At 6'3" and 242 pounds, he's a small army tank whose brakes have been disabled. We know the Tide have excellent running backs, so for all the chatter about Nick Chubb (Georgia) and Leonard Fournette (LSU), Henry should be in that conversation as well.
Winner: West Virginia Safety Karl Joseph
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For the first time since 2011, West Virginia will be known for its defense, and not in a bad way. The Mountaineers posted a 44-0 shutout against Georgia Southern, no easy task considering the Eagles averaged 39 points per game in 2014.
Safety Karl Joseph led all defenders with three interceptions…in one quarter. No, Georgia Southern isn’t a passing team, but that’s a ridiculous box score all the same.
Joseph has a reputation for being one the hardest hitters in all of college football. But he showed some ball skills on Saturday as well. Joseph is a longtime starter who has been there when West Virginia was miserably bad on defense. Now, he’s one of the top safeties in the Big 12, if not the country.
Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All stats courtesy of ESPN.com box scores. All quotes cited unless obtained firsthand.
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