Bulldogs Bathing in Mayonnaise
No. 5 Georgia upsets No. 3 Clemson in Charlotte highlights an impressive and captivating CFB opening weekend
The ultimate College Football battle played out under the lights at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the No. 3 Clemson Tigers have won five of their six straight ACC championships (the 2016 ACC title game was hosted in Orlando).
But Dabo Swinney’s team looked lost on offense and only mustered two total rushing yards and three points in a 10-3 loss to the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs. Quite different than the 43.83 points the Tigers have averaged in their six ACC championship games.
Maybe it was all the mayonnaise that slowed the Tigers down? Mayonnaise is not an instrument and not good on food of any kind, but as a college football sponsor, the content is incredible.
Clemson may have lost, however, they still made Georgia look inept on offense. Not a single offensive point was scored by the Bulldogs; in fact, there were no offensive touchdowns on the night. The only touchdown of the game was a 74-yard interception return for a touchdown when Christopher Smith read D.J. Uiagalelei’ s eyes and jumped the route for a pick-six three minutes before halftime.
CFB Playoff implications
As far as Playoff qualification goes for this season, well, the secret lied in Charlotte. The result of Clemson-Georgia will play a huge role late in the year, especially if both teams have a shot to win their conference title games.
The good news for Georgia is the Bulldogs have a huge quality win in what was basically a road game. The bad news? The offense did not look great against a quality opponent, and they will likely matchup against Alabama in the SEC title game. If they lose that game to the Tide, and it’s their only loss though? They still might make it.
The good news for Clemson is the Tigers have a championship caliber defense. The bad news is that they do not have another ranked team on their schedule as it stands today, and the ACC imploded this weekend. So even if the Tigers win a seventh straight ACC title, they might be left on the outside looking in.
ACC Implosion
No. 10 UNC lost to VT 10-17
Duke lost to Charlotte 28-31
No. 14 Miami lost to No. 1 Alabama 13-44
Georgia Tech lost to Northern Illinois 21-22
Pac-12 Relevance
UCLA beating No. 16 LSU 38-27 at the Rose Bowl behind another Zach Charbonnet 100 yard rushing performance provides further legitimacy to Chip Kelly’s Bruins. The Pac-12 South looks very solid as there as three ranked teams to compete with the Bruins for the division.
On the other hand, No. 11 Oregon survived Fresno State 31-24 to be the only team from the North to win their opener. That includes No. 20 Washington stubbing their toe against Montana 7-13.
The Big 12 Strikes Back
In addition to looking to add BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston to the conference as early as this week, the Big 12 also proved themselves on the field with a 9-1 record. Even Kansas won!
Most impressive was No. 21 Texas who handled No. 21 Louisiana 38-18. It has been awhile since we have seen the Longhorns confidently handle their business on opening day like that—against a team that beat Iowa State last year to boot.
Perhaps they can threaten the Cyclones (who beat Northern Iowa by six) or the Sooners (who beat Tulane by five) for the conference crown.
The Big 10 East, and Iowa, Impress
The question is who challenges Ohio State this year? Well, maybe you don’t have to look further than their own East division. No. 19 Penn State gritted out a victory at Camp Randall (so great to have fans back, which we wrote about here) over No. 12 Wisconsin 16-10; Michigan blew out Western Michigan; Maryland beat the Big 12’s West Virginia; Michigan State looked near unstoppable against Northwestern; and even Rutgers scored 61 points on Temple.
And if none of those teams can compete with the Buckeyes, then maybe it’s the Hawkeyes. No. 18 Iowa beat the No. 17 Indiana Hoosiers 34-6 and have the opportunity to face rival No. 7 Iowa State next Saturday. We were excited for Iowa as a dark horse this year, and they seem more than capable of winning the West and going beyond.
SEC’s Haves and Have Nots
The rich get richer in the SEC with impressive performances from Alabama and Georgia, albeit in different styles. Nobody else truly impressed, and No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 13 Florida should be the top challenges in the West and East respectively.
The bottom of the conference is still bad though. And Vanderbilt was able to illustrate that perfectly in the 23-3 loss to FCS East Tennessee State.
Group of 5
The two schools to keep an eye on are basically No. 8 Cincinnati and No. 22 Coastal Carolina to see if they can replicate what they pulled off in 2020. So far they have not missed a beat with opening blowout victories. UCF and Appalachian State/Louisiana would be good to keep an eye on to see if they can challenge the Bearcats and Chanticleers respectively.
UTSA and Charlotte of C-USA both got impressive victories over Power 5 schools. The 49ers beat their first major opponent ever with a go ahead touchdown in the final minute versus Duke, while the Roadrunners outscored Illinois 37-30. Bailey Zappe threw for over 400 yards and seven TDs for Western Kentucky.
It will also be intriguing to see how the Big 12 expansion creates any domino effect with this grouping of schools.
Heisman Performances
The top Heisman like performances of the week:
Michigan State RB Kenneth Walker: 23 carries, 264 yards, 4 TDs
Presbyterian QB Ren Hefley: 38-of-50 for 538 yards, 10 TDs
Alabama QB Bryce Young: 27-of-38 for 344 yards, 4 TDs
UCF RB Isaiah Bowser: 32 carries, 170 yards, TD
Western Kentucky QB Bailey Zappe: 28-of-35 for 424 yards, 7 TDs, INT
Iowa CB Riley Moss: 2 INTs, 85 return yards, 2 TDs
Still a few games left this weekend; enjoy them.