College football fans have a lot to be excited about, as Week 1 of the season is finally here.
From hyped debuts of new coaches to highly-touted transfer students, quarterback controversies to coaches in the hot seat, there is a ton of ground to cover.
The following are the biggest storylines for the opening week of the 2015 NCAA football season.
Jim Harbaugh’s debut for Michigan
It doesn’t matter that Michigan is unranked or that the Wolverines haven’t been a national powerhouse for the past decade. Harbaugh’s arrival at Michigan signals an immediate expectation of success, as everywhere he’s gone he has ushered in a culture of winning.
The unranked Wolverines have a lot of work to do this season to meet those expectations, and the test begins in earnest on Thursday night when Michigan takes on Utah in Salt Lake City.
As usual, success has a lot to do with whether or not teams have a reliable quarterback. To this point, Michigan’s quarterback competition between Jake Rudock and Shane Morris remains a mystery. Harbaugh named both players No. 1 on the depth chart Monday and won’t reveal a starter until game time.
“I want both to prepare like they’re going to be the starter. I don’t know how to make it any clearer than that,” Harbaugh said when pressed about not revealing the starter even though the quarterbacks know who it is (h/t AP).
If Harbaugh’s opener with his old alma mater is to be a success, then he’ll need to defy the expectations of Las Vegas, which has the Wolverines as three-point underdogs (OddsShark.com). Utah is not a pushover, and it may take a bit of Harbaugh’s magical “enthusiasm unknown to mankind” to inspire his team to victory.
Can Minnesota possibly hang with Trevone Boykin and TCU?
Minnesota’s defense is fast, strong and better than many people realize, and the Golden Gophers will be playing in front of their home crowd. Featuring two defensive backs named to the preseason 2015 Chuck Bednarik Award watch list, this defense has the potential to shut down opposing passing attacks with the best of them.
However, it’s probably too much of a stretch to think this team will be able to keep Trevone Boykin and the dynamic TCU offense from going ham on Thursday night.
Boykin is the quarterback with the best chance in the nation to win the Heisman Trophy this season. His dual-threat capabilities, along with an offense that returns 10 starters from last year’s No. 2 scoring offense in the nation, should terrify opposing defenses all season long.
It’s for this reason the Horned Frogs are 15.5-point favorites, despite playing on the road against a tough defense. TCU is just too explosive on offense, and Boykin is too determined this season, to get off to a flat start against Minnesota in Week 1.
Chris Petersen’s return to Boise State as Washington’s head coach
Petersen returns this weekend to the place that made him famous. He took over for Dan Hawkins in 2005 and turned Boise State into a program that even the big schools were afraid to play during his eight-year stint with the Broncos, and now he brings the Washington Huskies into Broncos Stadium for a not-so-friendly reunion.
It’s going to be somewhat of an emotional game for both sides, as current Broncos head coach—Petersen’s former understudy—Bryan Harsin points out:
“It obviously adds some more drama to the opening game for both of us. … We won a lot of football games together and we had a great experience,” Harsin said (h/t Foxsports.com). He’s done a lot for Boise State, we know that. Now he’s doing his deal at Washington and getting that program going.”
For his part, Petersen expects an awkward return and understands the home crowd will probably not receive him back with open arms. He isn’t focused on that aspect, however, and would rather think about all the good relationships he cultivated over the years.
“I have so many good friends and there’s so many awesome people over there, and I know that,” Petersen said, via the News Tribune “and so the others that would be saying (negative things) — there are a lot of things I think about, but that is not one thing I think about.”
It’s likely Petersen’s Huskies will struggle to stay in this game. No. 23-ranked Boise State is expected to win handily, led by a ferocious defense that returns most of its top playmakers from a year ago, while Washington is still trying to find its way.
Can Greyson Lambert really get the job done for Georgia?
We all know Heisman Trophy favorite Nick Chubb is going to be the catalyst for Georgia’s offense, but quarterback Greyson Lambert will determine whether or not the Bulldogs can stay relevant in 2015 as a true National Championship contender.
To this point in his career, Lambert has shown himself to be inaccurate and prone to poor decisions, with a career 55.7 percent completion rate and 11 touchdowns compared to 13 interceptions during his tenure at Virginia.
Perhaps this is why head coach Mark Richt didn’t exactly give his starter a ringing endorsement heading into Week 1, saying, “There may be others that get in the game, but he’s the starter.”
Thankfuly for Lambert, his first action of the year should help to ease him into the flow of things. Louisiana Monroe isn’t going to offer much resistance, based on its 31-point underdog status.
Can Louisville hang with Auburn?
This is a huge game for both programs that will air nationally Saturday on CBS at 3:30 p.m. ET. Louisville heads into the contest as double-digit underdogs and faces a stiff mental test playing in the Georgia Dome, where friendly faces will be hard to find.
Making matters worse, Louisville heads into the game with a completely retooled secondary that will have its hands full trying to keep Auburn’s dynamic passing attack—led by Heisman hopeful Jeremy Johnson—in check after losing All-American safety Gerod Holliman and James Sample to the NFL.
For his part, Johnson is tired of all the Heisman speculation and hype and is eager to get back to doing what he loves best.
“It’s all about being focused,” Johnson said (h/t ESPN.com). “I’m in a great position. I know that I have a lot of high expectations, but I don’t really feed too much into it. All I can do is just take one game at a time, one play at a time, and just lead my team.
“I’m just ready to play Saturday and give everybody what they’ve been waiting on.”
On the other side, Louisville hasn’t yet revealed who will start behind center. The offense could feature dual-threat quarterback Reggie Bonnafon, whose big-play abilities could keep the Cardinals in this game.
Nobody outside the locker room knows whether Bonnafon, Will Gardner or Kyle Bolin will be the trigger man for Louisville’s offense, however. This uncertainty has forced Auburn to prepare for all three, which could also benefit the Cardinals.
Will Everett Golson continue what Jameis Winston started?
Golson has a chance at a fresh start after being named the starting quarterback for No. 10-ranked Florida State this year, just four months after transferring from Notre Dame. He replaces Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston at quarterback after beating out teammate Sean McGuire for the honor this past summer.
In order to continue the winning trend set into motion by Winston—who helped the team win a national championship in 2013—Golson will have to overcome another trend. Schools that have featured a Heisman-winning quarterback have not fared well the following season, as detailed by Bryan Fischer of Bleacher Report.
Golson also has his own personal challenges standing in his way this year. During his two seasons as the quarterback at Notre Dame, he displayed spotty accuracy (59.5 percent completion rate) and poor decision-making (20 interceptions).
The Seminoles shouldn’t have any issues taking down Texas State on Saturday night, and Golson shouldn’t have any issues getting his game sharpened up in this contest. If he does struggle against the lowly Bobcats, however, then Jimbo Fisher will be forced to re-evaluate his quarterback situation.
Vernon Adams starts for Oregon against his former team, Eastern Washington
This is a crazy story. Adams needed just two weeks to convince Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich that he was the man for the job recently vacated by Heisman-winning quarterback and current starting quarterback for the Tennessee Titans, Marcus Mariota.
Adams transferred from Eastern Washington after graduating and just joined the Ducks’ football program two weeks ago. In three seasons as a starter for the Eagles, he threw for 10,438 yards and 110 touchdowns. He went through a crash course to learn the playbook these past two weeks before being named the starter.
It’s almost Russell Wilson-esque.
Now, ironically, Adams and the No. 7-ranked Ducks will host his former team on Saturday night. There is almost no doubt about which team will win, but the nation is eager to see how the phenomenal quarterback adjusts to his new surroundings.
Chances are, he’ll do just fine.
Can Wisconsin upset Alabama?
Alabama (No. 3) used to bring an air of invincibility into every contest, but after losing bowl games two years in a row Nick Saban’s program doesn’t put the fear of God into opponents like it used to.
Wisconsin comes into Week 1 ranked No. 20 in the nation and has a real chance to stake its claim as a legitimate national power with an upset victory on the road over the Crimson Tide Saturday night on prime-time television (ABC). Alabama is favored to win by 10 points, but nobody should be surprised if the Badgers make things much more interesting than that.
Corey Clement is the battering ram who could make life hell for Alabama’s defense. The junior running back replaces Melvin Gordon, who is now playing in San Diego with the Chargers, and he looks like another winner in a long line of amazing Wisconsin running backs.
If Wisconsin’s defense can stand up to the challenge of keeping Alabama’s offense in check, then not only can the Badgers cover the spread on Saturday in front of a national audience, but they can pull off a huge upset.
Will USC fall apart or come together in wake of Steve Sarkisian’s off-field issues?
One has to wonder at the wisdom of USC’s decision to not discipline Sarkisian for his recent off-field disaster.
The quick story goes like this: Sarkisian got drunk while on medication at a donor event a couple of weekends ago and went on a rant while speaking at the event. He apologized the next day but the damage had been done. Interestingly enough, in the wake of the faux pas, USC banned alcohol from the locker room (wait, it was not banned beforehand?).
The Trojans have been picked as a team that could potentially challenge Oregon in the Pac-12 this year and as a sleeper for a playoff spot. With quarterback Cody Kessler running the offense and a strong defense, this is a program that could certainly make a huge impact on the college football landscape.
However, we’ve seen many other programs fall apart because of bad leadership. It’s going to be interesting to see how USC responds to Sarkisian’s embarrassing mishap this Saturday when the No. 8-ranked Trojans host the Arkansas State Red Wolves—a team that should have no business hanging with USC under normal circumstances.
Ohio State’s quarterback situation: Who will play more, and does it matter?
Head coach Urban Meyer plans on using both J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones throughout the season. It’s quite possible they could even switch from one offensive possession to another as the starting quarterback, which will keep defenses off-balance.
It’s going to be fascinating to watch this unfold, as there are arguments for both men as the “leader in mind,” as Meyer said. However, the coach’s plan could be a problem in the long term as it relates to attitude problems. Both quarterbacks stated recently that they’d rather Meyer not utilize a two-quarterback system.
“I don’t think it would be as efficient,” Barrett said, per ESPN. “I did that in high school and switched every series … and that’s kind of tough to do being that you can’t get into a rhythm, get a real vibe off the defense. I don’t think it would be the best idea.”
Whether or not it turns out to be a good idea remains to be seen for the No. 1-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.
We’ll all find out soon enough, and in a very public way. The Buckeyes will hit the road in Week 1 for a prime-time matchup against the Virginia Tech Hokies on Monday night which will be televised by ESPN.
More than likely, Jones and Barrett will quickly realize that pouting isn’t in their best interest. And, once they do fully embrace Meyer’s vision for the team’s offense, Ohio State will be a buzzsaw to opposing defenses throughout the 2015 season.