Winners and Losers of CFB Week One

With the first college football saturday officially in the books I decided to take a look at the biggest winners and losers from the opening weekend of the college football season. Now before I go any further, yes I know there are two more games left to play however neither of those games have any potential impact on my winners and losers from Thursday through Saturday. Of course, there are still 12 more weeks for some of these teams, players and conferences to change their trajectory after week one, but as it stands now here are your winners and losers from Week One.

Winner -- Ohio State Buckeyes

The Ohio State Buckeyes already faced a tough challenge in having to replace their starting QB from the past four seasons in JT Barrett but things only got tougher when Urban Meyer was suspended for the first three games of the season, causing him to miss the Buckeye’s season opener vs Oregon State. Neither interim Head Coach Ryan Day or new QB Dwayne Haskins seemed to be phased at all as they made their debuts, however. Haskins was phenomenal all game long as the Sophomore threw for 313 yards and 5 TDs on 22/30 passing. The Buckeye offense was seemingly unstoppable as Ohio State put up 77 points on the Beavers and 721 yards of total offense. While Oregon State is in no way a difficult opponent for the Buckeyes, the biggest questions surrounding Ohio State entering 2018 seem to have been answered.

Loser -- The Big 10 Conference

The Big 10 appeared to be one of the toughest conferences in the country as we entered week one, however by Saturday night we were left with more questions than answers regarding some of the perceived ‘contenders’ as both Penn State and Michigan State struggled at home against inferior opponents in their opening games. While both escaped with wins - Penn State over Appalachian State in overtime and Michigan State over Utah State thanks to a game winning interception - the Nittany Lions and Spartans did not look like Preseason Top 10 teams in the opening week of play. To make matters worse, a Michigan team that was viewed as a potential National Championship contender fell on the road to Notre Dame, removing them from the College Football Playoff discussion for the time being.

Winner -- Will Grier’s Heisman Campaign

Will Grier came into 2018 as my pick to win the Heisman trophy at season’s end, and his opening game against Tennessee cemented that prediction. Grier was fantastic all game long as the Mountaineers demolished the Volunteers 40-14. Grier was the main reason why the West Virginia was so prolific as the Senior threw for 429 yards to go along with 5 touchdowns. Grier picked up where he left off last season, connecting with David Sills 7 times for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns. If the Mountaineers can continue to build off their big opening win, not only could Grier walk away with the Heisman trophy, but the Mountaineers could be playing in January.

Loser -- The PAC-12 Conference

The PAC-12 Conference’s playoff hopes seem to be over already after the Washington Huskies fell to the Auburn Tigers in week one. The Huskies came into 2018 as the PAC-12’s best chance at earning a spot in the College Football Playoffs, however with a game in the loss column, it’s hard to imagine Washington getting into the playoffs over a one-loss ACC or SEC school. If the PAC-12 wants to get into the Playoffs, their best chance lies with the USC Trojans or Stanford Cardinal moving forward.

Winner -- Oklahoma

I’ll admit it, I was not very high on Oklahoma entering the 2018 season. I thought that the Sooners would take a step back following the loss of Heisman winner Baker Mayfield to the NFL and with their new starting QB committed to baseball long term. But boy, was I wrong. Lincoln Riley’s team was an unstoppable force Saturday morning as the Sooners steamrolled Lane Kiffin and the FAU Owls. Kyler Murray was terrific, throwing for 209 yards and 2 touchdowns without evening playing a full half of football. The Oklahoma offense didn’t seem to miss Mayfield whatsoever as they put up a whopping 63 points on the Owls and 650 yards of total offense on the defending Conference USA Champions.

Loser -- Texas / NCAA voters

Texas is a loser following opening weekend yet again. The Longhorns entered the season ranked in the Top 25 for the second straight season and for the second straight season the Longhorns fell in the season opener to the Maryland Terrapins. This year seems to be a worse loss than last year however, as the Longhorns were taking on a Maryland team that was dealing with a recent tragedy and a slew of outside distractions. To make matters worse, the Terps were without their Head Coach DJ Durkin and offensive coordinator / interim Head Coach Matt Canada was making his debut with the program. Some of the blame, however, should be put on the NCAA and the voters for the Preseason Top 25 Poll. Texas has not done anything to warrant a preseason ranking for the past several years, yet it seems that year after year the Longhorns are ranked in the preseason. And year after year Texas squanders that ranking. So for that reason, we have dual losers, the Longhorns and the NCAA voters.