College football is finally upon us.
We got a few Week Zero games the other weekend, which I’d normally partake in but on this occasion forgot about and had to catch (a little) on rewind. USC stood out with their potent offense and still shaping up defense, Notre Dame looked like a team adding a veteran quarterback to a mauling run game playing Navy in Ireland. I didn’t glean a ton from either outcome save for the emergence of Zechariah Brown for the Trojans.
Week 1 has a number of compelling matchups.
Technically, you can’t really make too much of Week 1. It’s a time honored tradition. Squads with legit Week 2 opponents are often just tuning up and largely looking ahead. Everyone tends to use Week 1 as their final test for the season, the moment where you learn who your team really is when they’re not just scrimmaging against themselves. Stuff gets cleaned up, gameplans and strategies tighten up, etc.
You don’t know who’s who for sure before Week 1, so you don’t necessarily have the control groups you need to discern truths from the outcomes. That said, there are a few standout games which have or will set the tone for this coming season I’d like to discuss.
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