College Football Week One: Thursday Night Recap
Last night (the first night of the college football season), we learned a couple of things.
First- South Carolina has enough talent and abiilty to win the SEC.
Since last season, I have been warning other analysts not to underestimate the Gamecocks this season. When voting in the media preseason poll, I picked them to finish 2nd in the SEC East ahead of Georgia and behind Florida. I was laughed at, but I’m not paid to be a fan of one team on Saturdays– I’m paid to know what is going on in this sport. The fact is that Stephen Garcia is a year older and has more experience in a Steve Spurrier offense, and possibly the best WR corps in the Eastern Division at his disposal.
Second- RB Marcus Lattimore lived up to the hype as the #1 ranked RB out of high school (by numerous publications).
The kid is for real and has the potential to be a really special player for Steve Spurrier. On top of that, when you read about all the drama that took place just hours before kickoff.
Personally, I think the Gamecocks could potentially beat the mighty Gators, but you don’t pick against Florida in a poll like that until it has been proven that they can be beaten, and they have won the east for consecutive years now.
Third- Monte Kiffin has a lot of work to do on defense.
Giving up 36 points to Hawaii is no way to start off the new regime. Overall, it was an unimpressive debut for the new regime at Southern Cal, and to be honest, they need to win big this season because it’s going to be a long couple of years in Los Angeles with all the sanctions put in place by the NCAA.
Fourth- Two Heisman Trophy candidates looked like… well… Heisman Trophy candidates…
The only slightly disappointing performance last night came from Pitt RB Dion Lewis (cough… yes, my top preseason candidate…). Utah was able to knock off the Pittsburgh Panthers at home, while Lewis failed to break 100 yards rushing. There were no letdowns from either Terrelle Pryor or Miami’s Jacory Harris though. Both threw the ball with poise and accuracy in their season debuts, putting up impressive numbers.