A Recap of the First Week of the College Football Season
College Football is back with a loaded week one slate. Week one saw the revival of the Backyard Brawl rivalry between West Virginia and Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh was a big question mark coming into 2022 after losing their stud quarterback Kenny (two gloves) Pickett to the draft and Biletnikoff winning wide receiver Jordan Addison to the transfer portal, nonetheless a West Virginia JT Daniels pick six late carries Pitt to a Win. Saturday afternoon was marked by three ranked showdowns, # 23 Cincinnati vs. #19 Arkansas, #3 Georgia vs #11 Oregon, and #5 Notre Dame vs #2 Ohio State. First we go to Razorback Stadium where Junior Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson dazzled. He made it happen through the air with 223 yards passing and 3 touchdowns, and on the ground running for another 60 yards and a score, exactly what Razorback nation was expecting coming into this year. Cincinnati looked strong at points in their first game without Desmond Ridder, but ultimately turnovers down the stretch cost them: Razorbacks 31, Bearcats 24. The Oregon Ducks started their 2021 season with a massive win over Ohio sSate, but in 2022 the 11th ranked team coming into the season got their doors blown off by the defending champions. The Dawgs came out firing, touchdowns on their first seven drives, Stetson Bennett threw for 368 yards. Questions about Georgia’s ability to repeat as national champions stemmed from Georgia losing 15 players to the NFL draft. Ultimately, the Dawgs hung 49 on the ducks. Oregon’s transfer quarterback Bo Nix struggled, tossing two bad first half interceptions, the ducks managed to put up a field goal in the second half: Georgia 49, Oregon 3. #5 Norte Dame traveled to Ohio to take on the #2 Buckeyes. The primetime matchup was closer than many around CFB expected. The start of the Marcus Freeman era in south bend had bright spots, the fighting Irish’s Defense was a headache for Ohio States Heisman favorite quarterback CJ Stroud, who struggled to get things going down the field. The Irish won the time of possession with their gritty playstyle running the ball 40 times. In the end, Ohio States playmakers made plays while Notre Dame’s offense lacked flash: Notre Dame 10 – Ohio State 21. Turning to one of the most interesting storylines in CFB, Michigan’s quarterback competition between 5th year senior Cade McNamara and sophomore JJ McCarthy, has boiled over into the regular season. The #8 Wolverines rolled over Colorado State 51-7 on Saturday, but the bigger story was McNamara’s play which didn’t exactly set the big house on fire. Coach Jim Harbaugh is giving each quarterback their week with JJ McCarthy starting next week against Hawaii, the sophomore’s potential is something the Wolverines have not seen at quarterback in a while, but the Senior has taken the Maize and Blue to College Football Playoff just last year. McCarthy’s start next week will draw many eyes to the big house and Wolverines nation awaits their Prince that was promised in his 5-star recruitment: JJ McCarthy