Home School Fans Episode 2: Week 1 in 2022 - Utah, BYU and the Others

    Only one more game to go in week one of the college football season to be played. That will be later on Labor Day today: high powered Clemson versus struggling Georgia Tech. Expect Georgia Tech to fold early, and the Tigers will be better than last season. We already covered Fresno State and Indiana prior to the slate of games Saturday. Yesterday there was a crazy game between LSU and Florida State. The 'Noles won by a blocked PAT (point after Touch Down kick). Prior turnovers helped FSU. CBSSports.com had LSU ranked at 31 and FSU at 50. Upset in Tallahassee. A lot of people for both teams were holding their heads there were so many crazy turnovers. Enough about that, I need to write about my five: Utah, Texas A&M, BYU, UVA, and JMU.

    I will use CBSSports.com rankings in this post but will reference Lindy's and Athlon's original ranks throughout the season. CBS updates all 131 FBS (Football Bowl Series) teams every week, which I like. My magazines were printed over the summer of '22, which I also like.

    Utah Goes Down

    A last-minute interception in the end zone by the Gators secured the 29-26 upset victory over #4 ranked Utah. Florida impressed many with their toughness and resiliency. There went my undefeated prediction for the Utes! Leave it to this team to disappoint me. They could still run the rest of the schedule and make it to the CFP, but now they need others to lose. I expect for Utah to fall to around 10, and Florida to move from #30 into the teens. The Utes play Southern Utah, the Thunderbirds, next Saturday. Should be a killing.

    Texas A&M Cruises Slowly

    The Aggies faced some tough resistance from both the lower tier Sam Houston State...Bearkats, and the weather. At the half the highly ranked (and what I believe to be a really good team, hopefully undefeated) were up only 17-0, and then the weather delayed them for many hours. Final score 31-0. The Bearkats managed a few interceptions to slow down the bigger Texas brothers. Part of the reason that I think that the boys in College Station will be so good this season is because Coach Fisher has recruited such good talent. We shall see. I may have jinxed them, like I did Utah. Up next: hosting the Appalachian State... Mountaineers? Hmmmm. Yes, like West Virginia, who blew it to ranked Pitt earlier last week.

    BYU Does It in Florida. Finally

    The 26th ranked Brigham Young Cougars got up on the USF Bulls 38-0 before more or less coasting to a 50-21 blow out win. I think that the U of South Florida is much better than 110th. Their defense was suspect, but got better in later quarters. As did the offense. Their kickoff return team is potent, fun to see. Scored a 90 yard return on the Cougs, opening of the second half.

    Puka Nacua got dinged on the ankle and left the game, sitting with a boot to stabilize it. They think that he will be okay. He was huge early, with an opening 75-yard TD on a sweep, and other sweet plays. QB Jaren Hall was good, the defense was overall solid; they need to get tighter in order to host the number 10 Baylor Bears this Saturday night. It will be a late game; I want to stay up late. And see BYU get some payback from last year.

    Oh yeah, BYU had never won in about nine tries in the state of Florida, including a bowl or two. This goes back at least to the 1980s with the legendary Lavell Edwards and some powerhouse teams. A close loss to Ohio State, a disappointing loss to USF in 2019, when Jaren Hall was knocked out of the game with a concussion. This is progress.

    

Cavaliers Handle the Spiders in Char-ville

The Wahoos proved too much to the FCS team of nearby Richmond. The Spiders showed some pluck in the first quarter but UVA was comfortable at the half. I questioned the new coach not using his 3 time outs at the end of the first half, with time to potentially get a field goal attempt. But the final count was a comfy 34-17. Good enough. CBSSports.com has them at 59. I hope that they are better. What is former BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall up to now? He cashed out smartly. Huge pay in the ACC, he is preparing for the next big thing. I hope he and his wife serve a mission. Or he returns to BYU to coach defense. Maybe a hungry college will tab him? Seems like too much work, really. He has proved himself.

    The Cavs travel to Champaign-Urbana next, to face the 82nd ranked Illini. I think Illinois is much better that. I watched them barely lose to my IU Hoosiers, which I have already written about. CBSSports.com had my hometown alma mater at 88. That should be wrong, for sure. IU has some ballers. They proved clutch against a decent Illini squad, in my opinion. Should be a tough game, but I expect the U of I to overcome the UVA Cavaliers. #59 versus #88? No, I do not think that either program are that bad this year, or that there are that many teams better than they are.

    James Madison an Emphatic 1-0 in the FBS. Congrats.
    

    The Dukes started late afternoon; I did not see any of the coverage but the #118th (?) smothered/crushed/ran over the Middle Tennessee State Raiders, ranked as #112. At least those numbers should switch. I have a feeling that JMU is better than 100th. They might be gearing for a big season, we shall see. I mean, I think they are decent already in their first year at this level. Could they be better than Virginia Tech of the ACC, down the road?

    The Sun Belt has a musical commercial a bit like the Big Ten showing all the school campuses across the states. 14 universities in 10 states. They seem to be up and coming, getting better than the American Athletic, or a couple other smaller conferences. Interesting.

    Next up for the newboy newby Dukes: Nortfolk St. of the FCS. I expect a crushing. Of note, the Spartans of the Tidewater region are a HBCU. Virginia has six; I can almost name them all. Hampton and Virginia State are in there, too.

    Last Random Miscellany Notes:

    Navy lost to FCS opponent Delaware at home. Niumatalolo might be on the hot seat, hotter than before. Not looking good. The Fightn' Hens looked good. Those FCS teams get their top tiered victims every year.

    Air Force crushed. Army... lost to Coastal Carolina by ten points. AFA was picked #58 and Army #65. Anything else? Nah, maybe a couple more notes on week one later, for now I need some family time.

Peace.