College Football is Back

Football is back and it has not disappointed

Will Outten, Reporter|September 21, 2021

College Football has come back! This season has just begun and it looks as unpredictable as any. Credit: Will Outten

The Tide look Strong as ever. They are by far and away the number one team in the country and no squad appears to be able to knock them off.

College Football is back and better than ever.

#1 Alabama looks as strong as ever after annihilating #14 Miami 44-13 in the Chick-Fil-A kickoff game. QB Bryce Young went 27-38 for 344 yards and 4 TDs on the day with a 94.2 rating. Young looked like a seasoned veteran in his first collegiate start, showing why he should be in consideration for a first-round pick. The Tide showed some weakness while taking down Mercer 48-14. Starting off slow they were forced to punt on their first two drives. On the following Mercer drive, Chris Braswell blocked the punt and Jase McClellan returned it 33 yards for the first score of the game.

Following Hurricane Ida, the Tulane Green Wave were left without a home. Set to host #2 Oklahoma, The Green Wave were looking for a place to play the game. The location was set as Norman, Oklahoma, home of the Sooners. The crowd cheered for Tulane as they came out of the tunnel and the grounds crew painted their logo on both 25-yardlines. The Sooners, however, nearly took their hospitality too far. The #2 team in the country was victorious, but only by a score of 40-35. QB Spencer Rattler looked strong, but as Oklahoma looks to move to the SEC their defense is showing some major flaws. After dropping to #4 in the rankings, The Sooners bounced back with a 76-0 (yes, seventy-six points in a Division I game) victory over Western Carolina the following week.

The Tribe were welcomed back home this past Saturday. I was able to watch them score their first points of the season in a game against Lafayette. They return to Zable on October 9th.

#3 Clemson. #5 Georgia. 13 combined points. No offensive touchdowns. No one scored for the first 27 minutes of the game. Georgia finally opened up the scoring with a 74 yd Pick-Six by Christopher Smith late in the second. Late in the third, Georgia once again scored, this time with a field goal. Clemson scored in the middle of the fourth with a field goal after being shut out for over the first three quarters. A defensive thrashing by Georgia kept Clemson to under 200 yards for the first time in over two years. The Bulldogs jumped to #2 in the rankings and Clemson fell to #6. Both teams would come out victorious in grand fashion the following week.

The AP top 25 poll following the action from this past weekend is here. Unfortunately we will have to wait for the SEC Championship to see #1 vs #2.
THE Ohio State University is struggling this season. They knocked of Minnesota 45-31 in the first week in a game that was much closer then the score suggests. Week two, however, was a different story. The game started off in shocking fashion with the drum major face planting during the ramp entrance. The Buckeyes looked flat all game. After watching the game, Lafayette Senior Joey Sims said, “the defense looked terrible and our freshman QB looked like a freshman QB.” The Bucks fell all the way to #9 after losing that game 35-28 to the now #4 Oregon Ducks.

Locally, William and Mary opened their season against UVA last Saturday. That is the only highlight from that game for the Tribe as they were shut out 43-0 at Scott Stadium. Punter Will Michael – yes we are using a punter for stats in an article—made his way on the field for 7 punts throughout the night, averaging 38 yards a punt with a long of 45.

Both teams started slow, with a touchdown taking 21 minutes to be scored. The Tribe kept it competitive, only being down 10-0, until QB Brennan Armstrong threw his first touchdown of the game with 0:32 left in the half. The Tribe were finally able to score and took advantage of their home field in a  24-3 beatdown of Lafayette. The game was a defensive battle, and Sam Boyer, student here at LHS and my fellow game attendee said, “Their defense is immaculate but their offense starts off very slow.” The tribe look to continue to ride this wins momentum next week against Colgate.

Shenandoah has been off to a strong start to their season. They look to ride that momentum into making their first playoff appearance since 2004.

In Division III, The ODAC saw their conference get off to a strong start with 5 of the 7 teams coming out victorious last Saturday. Shenandoah opened their season with a 28-23 win over Methodist. Randolph-Macon took down Dickinson on the road 31-21. Bridgewater handled Gettysburg with a 31-7 victory. Washington and Lee fell to CNU 28-24 as the captains scored the dagger with under a minute to play. Ferrum opened up their campaign with a 31-24 victory over in state foe Averett. Hampden-Sydney took a loss in their opener to Baldwin Wallace 45-24. Lastly, Guilford picked up their first win over Greensboro in the Gate City Soup Bowl 21-7.

What lies ahead this season is unknown, but one thing that is certain is Football is back and we couldn’t be happier.