This weekend marked the first taste of football for fans across America. It was loaded with big-time plays and heart-breaking losses. In other words … college football is back! There were upsets, injuries, blowouts and last-second victories, and some teams won bigger than others.
Here are the winners and losers of college football’s opening weekend.
Alabama Crimson Tide
“College Game Day” traveled down to Arlington, Texas for the only matchup of the weekend between ranked opponents. Jerry World was the venue for the highlight of football’s opening weekend, or at least what was supposed to be a good game. The No. 3 Crimson Tide started 2015 firing on all cylinders, defeating the No. 20 Wisconsin Badgers 35-17. As if being defeated weren’t already hard enough, the Badgers suffered a huge loss early in the first half when safety Michael Caputo suffered a head injury. The poor DB was so confused from the hit that he tried to line up in the Alabama offensive backfield before being escorted off the field.
Wisconsin safety Michael Caputo has no idea what side of the field he's on after hit to head. Scary. https://t.co/IMiwvofOER
— Avery Stone (@AveryWStone) September 6, 2015
BYU Cougars
BYU could not seem to get anything going for most of their opening game against Nebraska, but when the time came, they delivered in a big way. With one second remaining, backup quarterback Tanner Mangum dropped back and launched a 42-yard bomb that was hauled in by Mitch Mathews for a game-winning score. The Cougars defeated Nebraska 33-28.
Northwestern Wildcats
Pat Fitzgerald’s Wildcats came to play on Saturday. They hosted No. 21 Stanford at Ryan Field in Evanston. The Cardinal were looked at by many as one of the favorites to win the Pac-12 this season, but they did not look like a top-25 team Saturday afternoon as they failed to get into the end zone. Northwestern executed their game plan to perfection as they defeated Stanford 16-6. They would like to improve upon the 330 yards of total offense, but holding Stanford to just 240 total yards and a pathetic 3-for-15 on third-down conversions was impressive. If all goes right over the next few weeks, the Wildcats could be 4-0 before their conference opener against Minnesota.
Portland State Vikings
The FCS Vikings scored all of their points in the second half as they went on to defeat Washington State 24-17. It was only Portland State’s third win in 35 games against FBS opponents. They’re probably not going to win many more games being outgained by over 100 yards, but then again, they won’t be facing any more Pac-12 opponents against whom they were previously 0-14.
Temple Owls
Temple went in as the underdog against James Franklin’s Nittany Lions, but they looked like the Power-5 team when the clock struck zero. The Owls scored 27 unanswered points and went on to defeat Penn State 27-10. Junior Jahad Thomas put together a big game gaining 135 yards and two touchdowns. The defense also deserves plenty of credit for holding Christian Hackenberg to a meager 103 yards on 11/25 passing, including an interception. This was the first win for Temple against Penn State since 1941. If that’s not reason to celebrate, we don’t know what is.
Arizona State Sun Devils
Another Pac-12 favorite entering the 2015 season was Arizona State, but they did not show up in their opener on Saturday. Texas A&M utilized two Arizona natives, Kyle Allen and Christian Kirk, to upset the No. 15 Sun Devils. The Aggies won 38-17, and Arizona State was exposed as overrated. Senior Mike Bercovici failed to impress as he didn’t even crack 200 passing yards, which is much less than what we’ve come to expect from an explosive passing offense under Todd Graham. The Sun Devils also might want to get the ball in playmaker D.J. Foster’s hands more as a rusher; he saw just three carries, though he did catch six passes in his newer roll as a wide receiver. The defense will need to shore up its run stopping too as it allowed 178 yards on the ground.
BYU Cougars
Yes, BYU makes it onto both lists after opening weekend. They did come away with an amazing win on a last second Hail Mary, however, the Cougars lost their Heisman hopeful quarterback Taysom Hill for the season with a fractured foot, one year after he suffered a season-ending injury in 2014. Now it will be up to true freshman Tanner Mangum to see what he can do. He already is off to a great start.
Texas Longhorns
One year after a disappointing inaugural season for Charlie Strong, Texas was set up to make a big splash in 2015 as they opened up against No. 11 Notre Dame. That didn’t exactly happen as the Fighting Irish throttled the Longhorns 38-3. The offense was nothing short of pathetic as Tyrone Swoopes didn’t even pass for 100 yards. He was just 7/22 for 93 yards, while the running game only managed 60 yards. But that was only part of their problems:
Texas coach Charlie Strong says nothing wrong with Heard. And he didn't watch Swoopes much "because I was so pissed off with the defense."
— Brian Davis (@BDavisAAS) September 6, 2015
Malik Zaire threw for 313 yards and three touchdowns and looked like a Heisman Trophy contender, while the Irish racked up 527 yards in the game. This was the sort of performance reminiscent of what got Manny Diaz fired as defensive coordinator in 2013, and what also led to Mack Brown’s dismissal that season. Strong better turn it around — and fast — before the boosters and fans revolt. If they’re not careful, they could begin the season 1-5 with their tough schedule.
Washington Huskies
Chris Petersen was set to return to the blue turf in Boise, Idaho for the first time since departing to take the head coaching position at the University of Washington. Peterson left Boise State with a record of 92-12, however, his return did not end in victory as the Huskies missed a tying field goal at the end of regulation and lost to the Broncos 16-13. Washington was lucky to keep the score that close as they were dominated in time of possession and outgained by nearly twice as many yards. On the bright side, this was a tough assignment for true freshman Jake Browning in his college debut, and better games should lie ahead.
Kansas Jayhawks
Perhaps the biggest loser of the weekend, Kansas hosted FCS South Dakota State on Saturday. The Jayhawks lost 41-38. Although they were not the only FBS team to fall at the hands of an FCS school, the manner in which they were defeated was embarrassing to say the least. In a desperate attempt at a comeback, Kansas quarterback Montell Cozart rushed to the line of scrimmage at the SDS 33-yard line to spike the ball with three seconds left. Cozart fumbled the snap and was forced to fall on the ball, allowing those precious seconds to run off the clock with no attempt at a game-tying field goal or BYU-esque Hail Mary attempt. The good news is Kansas gained 576 yards in the game. The bad news is stopping opponents might be a challenge, as they surrendered 463 yards to the Jackrabbits.
