J. Harris, Boston Mountain Publishing
Tuesday, September 6, 2022, 10:48 AM
Week 1 - Game Reviews
NC State 21 - Eastern Carolina 20
A great game to kick off this past Saturday was this thriller between North Carolina State and East Carolina. What did we learn again this early in the season, Kicker's matter! East Carolina had the stadium packed and rowdy and they didn't make anything easy on the highly rated NC State program. When it came down to a game tying extra point, East Carolina was unable to succeed and shanked it wide-right. The Pirates gave themselves a last chance to win the game with a 40-yard field goal opportunity but missed. A great effort by the Pirates, but not enough, falling short because of simple chip shots by the Kicker.
Florida State 24 - LSU 23
A lot of questions were to be answered about both of these programs heading into this past weekend. With the eyes of the college football world upon them, this showcase game was played on Sunday night in the Superdome. LSU started off the game with loads of momentum, but that quickly shifted to the Seminoles side for most of the game. As the game continued, LSU fought to give themselves a shot to stay in contention. When LSU muffed their punt in the final minutes of the game and Florida State recovered, all they needed to do was protect the ball. But wait, a bonehead decision was made by FSU which chose to run a toss play that they fumbled at the one-yard line with a minute left in the game offering some hope to the Tigers with under a minute remaining. LSU then marched 99 yards down the field to score a touchdown putting the score at 24-23. Brian Kelly decided to go for the extra point kick and tie the game which would have sent the game to overtime. Well, the extra point was blocked by the Seminoles and Florida State ran out of New Orleans with the early season win over the Tigers.
Florida 29 - Utah 26
The home field edge, and how much of an impact does it create on the away team? It matters, and some experts say 3 points is the advantage for the home team in some venues. Florida fans were all in, all night, in their win over Utah. A very even game was taken over by a few amazing plays from Florida that seemed to keep the momentum on their side most night. The Gainsville faithful made this a very difficult game on Utah, and the home team comes out with the first victory of the Billy Napier era.
Ohio State 21 - Notre Dame 10
This game surprised a lot of people and may have left more questions about the two teams than before the game. The expectation was Ohio State should roll over Notre Dame pretty easily, but that was not the case. Notre Dame proved to everyone that they were not going to go down easy and were still in it late in the game under first year coach Marcus Freeman. Ohio State did prove that they are a good team, but they definitely have some things to work on if they want to compete with the top dogs this season.
Houston 37 - UTSA 35
This game featured two top-tier group of 5 teams that are trying to prove legitimacy to make a run in this year's postseason. UTSA had the Cougars number early on, but Houston recovered very nicely and took all momentum and forced Overtime. It took three overtimes to decide a winner for this nail-biter. Keep an eye on both of these teams to have a great year this season.
Week 1 Top Performances
Bryce Young
Last year's Heisman trophy winner had another great night for the Tide throwing for 195 yds with 5 passing touchdowns. He also added on to that total with 5 carries for 100 yds and another touchdown to lead Alabama against Utah State in their opener.
Anthony Richardson
Anthony Richardson was just unstoppable against the Utes Saturday night. He went 17 for 24 passing with a total of 168 yards for the Gators through the air, while running all over the Utah defense with 106 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns to cap the victory in The Swamp.
Stetson Bennett
What a season opener for the Quarterback for the defending National Champions. Bennett gets questioned all the time on how good he really is, but he put all that talk to rest against Oregon as he went 25 for 31 with an explosive 368 yards, along with 2 passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown to lead the Bulldogs in the much-anticipated matchup with the Ducks.
Drake Maye
With one of the most electric performances of the weekend, North Carolina QB Drake Maye was in an offensive battle vs Appalachian State this past weekend throughout the entire game. Maye had a total of 5 touchdowns. 4 through the air, and one on the ground which was just enough to take the Tar Heels to 1-0 heading into Week 2.
Braelon Allen
The first running back on this list is Braelon Allen, RB for the Wisconsin Badgers. He had a great outing with 148 yards on only 14 carries and 2 touchdowns to solidify the victory for the Badgers.
Top Atmospheres From Week 1
Florida
Ohio State
UTSA
Pittsburgh
Arkansas
East Carolina
Appalachian State
Wisconsin
Purdue
Old Dominion
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