Good morning, GBCF Faithful! I hope you’re soaking in the last few days of summer before we dive headfirst into full-blown season mode. As I mentioned last week, we got a little appetizer over the weekend with Week 0. It wasn’t a full slate, but it was enough live football to whet the appetite and get us ready for the real thing in Week 1. Here’s a quick look at what went down (FBS teams only):
Mucc’s Week 0 Card Recap
Record: 1-1 (-1U)
Kansas State -3 vs. Iowa State - Loss: This was a 2-unit loss for the Card, but it’s not a bet I regret. Kansas State was the better team for most of the day, and the proof is in the pudding: the turnover battle was even as both teams struggled to hang on to the ball in the Irish slop, but K-State averaged 6.6 yards per play compared to Iowa State’s paltry 4.0. The Cyclones’ win came down almost entirely to Kansas State’s inability to convert on 4th down. The Wildcats went just 1-for-4, including two backbreaking stops deep in ISU territory (one at the 16-yard line!) and the killer, a failed attempt from their own 30 midway through the 4th quarter in a 17-14 game. Chris Klieman is a good coach, but that call was a disaster. Iowa State had shown zero offensive juice outside of a couple of go-balls, and the Wildcats had momentum. Punt it away, trust your defense, and you probably get the ball back. Instead, K-State went full tilt and paid the price. As messy as the conditions were (a foreign field, driving rain, awful turf, QB’s dad fighting the QB’s brother), there were a few positives for KSU: Avery Johnson looked comfortable, and while the run game wasn’t as explosive once Dylan Edwards went out, the passing attack showed flashes. I was also impressed with K-State’s d-line, particularly Tobi Osunsanmi (#44), who was wreaking havoc all day. KSU needs to clean up the cornerback play and get Edwards back, but they could be in for a better season than the Cyclones even despite the loss.
Hawaii -2.5 vs. Stanford - Win: I will be honest, I was at a wedding Saturday night so I only caught the final drive of the game, but how about the Mountain West Conference?! It was always going to be tough for this make-shift Stanford squad to go to the Island and get a W but they didn’t do themselves any favors by throwing the ball 30 times. The Cardinal were in control for much of this contest due to their superior defensive and offensive line play, and with Hawaii’s QB hobbled in the second half they should’ve leaned on their run game to salt this one away. Instead, they let a dude named Ben Gulberson make a mockery of the throw game and gave Hawaii life until the bitter end.
I mean seriously, every time the Cardinal dropped back to pass they were actively reducing their chance to win! Oh well, I will let Film Room Brad cry about that because overall this was a net benefit for the Card and a benefit for my Hawaii over 6.5 wins bet. Go ‘Bows!
Mucc’s Other Thoughts from Week 0
It was nice to see Kansas put a beatdown on a decent Fresno State team (sorry EJ Warner) after the ups-and-downs of last season. The Jayhawks piled up over 200 yards on the ground and got a near perfect outing throwing the football from Jalon Daniels in the 31-7 win. Daniels is an experienced and exciting player who is in his 6th year, but he has had a career marred by injuries. I hope he’s finally fully healthy and stays healthy. If he does, the Jayhawks can certainly surprise some folks in the Big 12.
I did not exactly have Idaho State vs. UNLV circled as a must-watch game on my bingo card, but wow did it deliver some chaos. The two teams combined for over 1,000 yards of offense and traded scores all night in what nearly became an FCS-over-FBS upset. In the end, UNLV did just enough to survive, as they should, but it was really entertaining. I said coming into the year that the pairing of Dan Mullen calling plays with Alex Orji and Anthony Collandrea splitting time at quarterback would be worth the price of admission, and Saturday proved me right. What I didn’t say was that the defense might be so porous that it actually heightens the entertainment value. The Rebels might lose some games 58–42 this season, but one thing’s for sure: they’ll be a fun watch.
That’s all I got on Week 0 fam, it was a fun tasting of football but now it’s game week and we all need to gear up for Week 1.
Love and Overs,
Mucc