Michigan Cheats Again, Dabo's Getting Fired, Incredible Show in Nashville
Dawgbone Jr's Weekend Observations: Born barkin', raised on Kirby's domination of rivals, and fueled by SEC and National championships - Dawgbone Jr recaps the weekend's biggest games all season long.
Michigan Cheats Again, Dabo's Getting Fired, Incredible Show in Nashville
Colorado 14 - Georgia Tech 13
Bobby Dodd was sold out for a season opener for the first time in 20 years, and it was a sloppy game. It was the first start for transfer QB Alberto Mendoza, brother of last year's Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, and he got no help from his offensive line. The line of scrimmage decided the game because Georgia Tech was terrible up front, which is shocking from a Brent Key led football team. Tech ran for just 51 yards on 30 attempts. Colorado, on the other hand, ran for 183. Plenty of people questioned the strength of Colorado's team coming into the year, but they absolutely manhandled the Yellow Jackets on Thursday night. Colorado QB Julian Lewis struggled in his third career start, but strung together an incredible drive late that resulted in the game winning touchdown. The Buffs' defense looked like it might give the game away after letting Tech into field goal range, but former Tennessee DB Boo Carter blocked the kick and sealed the win for Colorado. Tech fans also have a right to be pissed off: they should have had a scoop and score in the first quarter, but the refs blew the whistle way too early on forward progress. That call probably cost the Yellow Jackets the game, but they still played poorly overall.
Boise State 27 - #2 Oregon 34
During the offseason, Oregon was a popular pick to win the national title. They didn't look like a title contender on Saturday. It's not that Boise played lights out; it was more that Oregon made mistakes in the first half. Oregon turned the ball over on downs twice and muffed a punt that led to a Boise State touchdown. The Ducks ended the half hot with a four play touchdown drive and played better ball throughout the second half en route to the win. Oregon QB Dante Moore was great on Saturday, throwing for 378 yards and three touchdowns. WR Jeremiah McClellan went berserk with 150 yards and a touchdown, and WR Dakorien Moore looks like a top five receiver in college football. Oregon struggled to run the ball early, but RB Jordan Davison got going at times. It wasn't the Ducks' best performance, but they'll be fine as the season goes on.
Baylor 16 - Auburn 17
Just like the Tech-Colorado game, this one was a slop fest. The game was played in Atlanta, which is absurd considering these two teams played last year at Baylor. The quarterback play was piss poor. DJ Lagway struggled like usual and played with a cast on his ankle. Even with a hurt ankle, he threw the ball 54 times, which is a recipe for disaster. Auburn QB Byrum Brown didn't look anything like the guy who lit it up last year at USF. He threw three interceptions and didn't live up to the offseason hype. Even though the game itself was a hard watch, the ending was exciting. Both teams traded touchdowns on their final two drives, but Baylor decided to go for two to win it, and Lagway completely blew the attempt. He had his tight end open on the conversion but threw it slightly behind him, and Auburn S Eric Winters made the game winning tackle. Auburn is lucky to escape with a win here and will once again be fighting for bowl eligibility.
Clemson 10 - #11 LSU 51
All the talk heading into this highly anticipated game was how LSU would look in its first game under Lane Kiffin, and they boat raced Clemson under the lights. This was the worst loss of Dabo Swinney's career and might be the biggest ass whooping Clemson has ever taken. At one point in the third quarter, Clemson had just two first downs. Dabo got himself fired with this performance, while Kiffin looks like a top five head coach in college football. Kiffin was the talk of the offseason after his dramatic departure from Ole Miss, and there was plenty of pressure on him to succeed in year one. This opener in Baton Rouge couldn't have gone any better for him. QB Sam Leavitt looked like the guy who led Arizona State to the playoff in 2024. He threw the ball well but did most of his damage on the ground, carrying 12 times for 113 yards and two touchdowns. The biggest surprise for LSU was RB Dillin Jones. Jones transferred in from Wisconsin, where he didn't see much playing time, but on Saturday night he looked like one of the best backs in the SEC, rushing for 113 yards and two touchdowns. There were plenty of questions about LSU heading into the season, but they look like a top five team after that massacre.
Western Michigan 12 - #16 Michigan 13
The biggest robbery in college football history happened in Ann Arbor on Saturday. The Wolverines looked terrible under new head coach Kyle Whittingham. They scored on the opening drive, then got boxed up by Western Michigan for the rest of the game. QB Bryce Underwood is officially a bust. Michigan paid way too much for this guy just for him to struggle. He was bad as a freshman last year and looked even worse to start this season. Michigan did technically "win" the game, but only because the Big Ten refs gifted it to them. There was no legitimate reason to put one second back on the clock, other than wanting to give Michigan one more play at a win. That said, the Hail Mary itself was insane. JJ Buchanan made an incredible catch at the front of the end zone, though it was poorly defended by the Broncos. The saddest part of it all is Michigan fans rushing the field. Rushing the field against an unranked group of six team is ridiculous, and honestly just hilarious. Michigan hosts Oklahoma in Week 2, and they'll get crushed by the Sooners.
#24 Louisville 38 - #6 Ole Miss 41
Like Lane Kiffin and LSU, Pete Golding and Ole Miss carried plenty of pressure into the season, and they delivered the best game of the weekend. The first half was slow, but the second half produced a combined 63 points. Louisville QB Lincoln Kienholz looked shaky in the first-half of his first start but played incredibly well after the break. Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss also lit it up in the second half, looking just like he did all of last season. The game came down to Louisville's mistakes. First, Cardinals coach Jeff Brohm burned all three of his second half timeouts before the fourth quarter even started, timeouts Louisville could have used on Ole Miss's game winning field goal drive to save time for its own offense. Second, Louisville committed a roughing the kicker penalty that turned into an Ole Miss touchdown late in the game. The call was questionable, but it was still foolish to get anywhere near the kicker after he missed the attempt. Louisville can be a real problem in the ACC if it can clean up mistakes like these. Ole Miss nearly gave this one away with poor defensive play, but escaped thanks to a great kick from veteran kicker Lucas Carneiro. Even with LSU looking dominant and Ole Miss showing some cracks, the Rebels will still get their revenge against Lane Kiffin in a couple of weeks.
Dawgs Dominate
Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs opened the year with an expected dominant win over Tennessee State on a hot day in Athens. Both the offense and defense were clicking. Gunner Stockton threw just one incompletion all game and looked calm and confident in the pocket. Nate Frazier ran for three touchdowns on just four carries. Fifteen different guys caught a pass on Saturday, which is promising for a young receiver room. The tight end room looks great too, especially Jaden Redell, who made Brock Bowers type plays. The offensive line simply bullied Tennessee State's defense. On defense, nothing in particular stood out; the whole unit just played well together. True freshman PJ Dean had 1.5 sacks, a nice sign from a young player in his first game. The most encouraging part of the day was how many players Kirby got on the field. Any time four different quarterbacks play in one game, that's a great thing. Despite how great the Dawgs looked, Tennessee State is probably the worst team to ever play in Sanford Stadium, so take the praise with a grain of salt.
Dawgbone Jr (aka Bennett Wiggins)