OT: D1

[Chuck Norris]

I also saw plenty of reputable people saying that TCU looks atrociously bad though as well. I didn’t watch the game, so I can’t comment on anything specifically regarding how TCU looked on the other side. They did lose a ton off that team from last year.

It was a very entertaining game to watch. Deion’s kid at QB and the Hunter kid who played the whole game both ways are legit. They’ll kill Nebraska and Colorado State because those teams suck and then we’ll see what they they have on the 23rd when they head to Oregon. Deion’s going to win a lot. He’s hired a good staff and he’s a guy big time recruits will want to play for. His performance in the post game presser was certainly off putting though. It isn’t the job of reporters to be his cheerleaders.

[IUPNation]

They spent an entire offseason prepping for that opener. You think those guys wouldn’t be excited or ready to play that game? WVU has guys on scholarship who also want to win.

They were picked last or near last in the now weakest conference..14-7 halftime was not that great.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I also saw plenty of reputable people saying that TCU looks atrociously bad though as well. I didn’t watch the game, so I can’t comment on anything specifically regarding how TCU looked on the other side. They did lose a ton off that team from last year.

TCU may have looked bad but the opponent typically has a role in that.

Colorado was GOD AWFUL last year. A road win against a ranked team is impressive. I realize 90 percent of last year's team was dismissed but that's an incredible turnaround -- quickly.

If he goes 8-4 or so the question will be can they keep him in Boulder.

[IUP24]

TCU may have looked bad but the opponent typically has a role in that.

Colorado was GOD AWFUL last year. A road win against a ranked team is impressive. I realize 90 percent of last year's team was dismissed but that's an incredible turnaround -- quickly.

If he goes 8-4 or so the question will be can they keep him in Boulder.

I’m not ready to say that team goes 8-4. They could get a few more wins than many expected, but 8-4 is a big number. I’m not in the right age bracket to just be infatuated with Sanders. He seems like a blowhard in my opinion. But for people 15 years older than me, I understand the allure and interest.

My honest opinion is that I’m not sure he’s interested in the long term game of building a program or having a career in coaching. I think everything he’s done is calculated to promote his son in hopes of getting him to a huge stage and putting him in position to eventually be a high pick. And I think the time frame of this backs it up. Now, to be fair, his son was a 4-star QB recruit. So he had talent and pedigree. But most of those guys never start as a true freshman.

He takes a job at a lower level. Recruits his son and he starts at QB and has a decent year as a freshman. Moves to a job at a terrible P5 school and brings his son. Immediately announces him as the QB. Has his personal social media team constantly pushing his son’s brand. Now the on field performance has to be there for sure, but with the promotion, and if he and Colorado have a good year, you’re talking about his son being one of the MAJOR stars of CFB next year. That puts him into immediate Heisman talk for next year and in conversations to be a high pick after the 2024 season.

I think that’s the game that Prime is actually playing.

[Ship69]

That should have been the half time score.

LOL. Well, I'm sure a horde of whiny Penn State online "fans" will be in full voice today. Because, yeah, they should win every game 70-0.

[IUP24]

They were picked last or near last in the now weakest conference..14-7 halftime was not that great.

They won the game. By a pretty big number. WVU is playing for their head coach’s job. They were excited to play that football game. You’re talking about a bunch of 18-23 year olds. Don’t you think the guys for WVU were excited to play against a team who many are touting as “elite?” Wouldn’t you want to ruin someone season before it got started if you were in that spot?

Brother, they play 60 minutes. At the end of 60 minutes the cream rose to the top. Enjoy life more. WVU, against good teams on the road, RARELY ever loses big. They spent an entire offseason prepping for opening night.

The reality is that at that level the separation between most of those teams isn’t significant in the first part of the game. When it gets late, depth and talent simply outclass and outlast in most cases. The spread was 21 points. Penn State covered that. So what are you even talking about?

[ctrabs74]

TCU may have looked bad but the opponent typically has a role in that.

Colorado was GOD AWFUL last year. A road win against a ranked team is impressive. I realize 90 percent of last year's team was dismissed but that's an incredible turnaround -- quickly.

If he goes 8-4 or so the question will be can they keep him in Boulder.

Colorado is going to have to tighten their defense up a little bit if they want to hang with USC, Utah, etc. USC's defense isn't exactly anything to write home about so the Buffs might be able to steal a win in Boulder against USC. But, that Oregon game in Eugene is going to be the real barometer as to what Colorado's ceiling will be this season.

[ctrabs74]

They were picked last or near last in the now weakest conference..14-7 halftime was not that great.

Um, Hillbilly High plays in the Big 12, not the ACC. Big 12 = balanced; ACC = top heavy (basically Clemson/FSU and a bunch of spares). So I'd say the ACC is weaker than the Big 12.

[ctrabs74]

I’m not ready to say that team goes 8-4. They could get a few more wins than many expected, but 8-4 is a big number. I’m not in the right age bracket to just be infatuated with Sanders. He seems like a blowhard in my opinion. But for people 15 years older than me, I understand the allure and interest.

The players Sanders brought in have certainly bought in to the plan in Boulder. And I'm probably in that "older" bracket you're alluding to, but I've always thought that Deion Sanders was a loudmouth and annoying as a player and as an analyst, but it's hard to argue his record as a college coach so far.

Anyway, this is Colorado's remaining schedule (likely wins in bold):

vs Nebraska
vs Colorado State
at OREGON
vs USC
at ARIZONA STATE
vs STANFORD
(Off Week)
at UCLA
vs OREGON STATE
vs ARIZONA
at WASHINGTON STATE
at UTAH

Considering the Buffs are playing the two Arizona schools plus Leyland Stanford Junior University (yes, that's the official name of the snob factory in Palo Alto) which were three of the four PACifist 12 doormats last seasons (they don't draw California Comma Berkeley) and considering that I'm not totally sold on Washington State compared to other teams in the PACifist 12, I think 7-5 is viable in Boulder. I could be convinced to call an upset win over one of either UCLA (sorry, I'll never trust Potato Chip Kelly), USC and/or Oregon State to push the Buffs to eight wins, but, at a bare minimum, especially after what we saw in Fort Worth yesterday, this is a Colorado team who could realistically finish in the 6-to-8 win range.

[IUPNation]

They won the game. By a pretty big number. WVU is playing for their head coach’s job. They were excited to play that football game. You’re talking about a bunch of 18-23 year olds. Don’t you think the guys for WVU were excited to play against a team who many are touting as “elite?” Wouldn’t you want to ruin someone season before it got started if you were in that spot?

Brother, they play 60 minutes. At the end of 60 minutes the cream rose to the top. Enjoy life more. WVU, against good teams on the road, RARELY ever loses big. They spent an entire offseason prepping for opening night.

The reality is that at that level the separation between most of those teams isn’t significant in the first part of the game. When it gets late, depth and talent simply outclass and outlast in most cases. The spread was 21 points. Penn State covered that. So what are you even talking about?

That it should have been a bigger blowout. But most teams have bumps their first game..

[IUP24]

Um, Hillbilly High plays in the Big 12, not the ACC. Big 12 = balanced; ACC = top heavy (basically Clemson/FSU and a bunch of spares). So I'd say the ACC is weaker than the Big 12.

Does anybody commenting on this thread actually invest much time and energy to follow D1 football, or do you all just follow media talking points?

These leagues are all mostly identical. The SEC has stronger teams in the middle of the pack, but that’s it. The ACC, Big 12, PAC 12, and Big Ten all have 2-3 really, really good teams every year. A bunch of teams who you could pull out of a hat to pick the order in the middle of the league. And 2-3 really, really bad teams at the bottom.

You can’t honestly tell me that you think the crop of Texas Tech,
Baylor, TCU, and Iowa State is so much stronger than North Carolina, Pitt, or NC State. They’re all the same exact teams just playing in different conferences. Outside of 2-3 teams in every conference, the margin between the middle tier teams in each league is virtually non-existent.

[Ship69]

They won the game. By a pretty big number. WVU is playing for their head coach’s job. They were excited to play that football game. You’re talking about a bunch of 18-23 year olds. Don’t you think the guys for WVU were excited to play against a team who many are touting as “elite?” Wouldn’t you want to ruin someone season before it got started if you were in that spot?

Brother, they play 60 minutes. At the end of 60 minutes the cream rose to the top. Enjoy life more. WVU, against good teams on the road, RARELY ever loses big. They spent an entire offseason prepping for opening night.

The reality is that at that level the separation between most of those teams isn’t significant in the first part of the game. When it gets late, depth and talent simply outclass and outlast in most cases. The spread was 21 points. Penn State covered that. So what are you even talking about?

Yeah they could have been Baylor and lost to something called Texas State.

[IUP24]

The players Sanders brought in have certainly bought in to the plan in Boulder. And I'm probably in that "older" bracket you're alluding to, but I've always thought that Deion Sanders was a loudmouth and annoying as a player and as an analyst, but it's hard to argue his record as a college coach so far.

Anyway, this is Colorado's remaining schedule (likely wins in bold):

vs Nebraska
vs Colorado State
at OREGON
vs USC
at ARIZONA STATE
vs STANFORD
(Off Week)
at UCLA
vs OREGON STATE
vs ARIZONA
at WASHINGTON STATE
at UTAH

Considering the Buffs are playing the two Arizona schools plus Leyland Stanford Junior University (yes, that's the official name of the snob factory in Palo Alto) which were three of the four PACifist 12 doormats last seasons (they don't draw California Comma Berkeley) and considering that I'm not totally sold on Washington State compared to other teams in the PACifist 12, I think 7-5 is viable in Boulder. I could be convinced to call an upset win over one of either UCLA (sorry, I'll never trust Potato Chip Kelly), USC and/or Oregon State to push the Buffs to eight wins, but, at a bare minimum, especially after what we saw in Fort Worth yesterday, this is a Colorado team who could realistically finish in the 6-to-8 win range.

I’m not disagreeing with what you’re saying. But I don’t think they will be sneaking up on anyone anymore. His son is a good talent at QB. And Travis Hunter is a real player too. Outside of those two guys, I’m not quite sure how good anyone else is.

Matt Ruhle is a good coach. And his team is searching for something. For all the troubles Nebraska has had, he’ll have that team ready to play. He’s a good coach. I don’t think Prime is catching anyone snoozing anymore.

[IUP24]

Yeah they could have been Baylor and lost to something called Texas State.

Correct.

5% of FBS college teams are elite and operate in a different world. That’s it. A very, very small number.

About 10% are really, really, really bad.

The rest… They are all mostly the same. Margin of difference is slim. Put them in any conference and the record and performance is about the same. They’ll all drop one or two to someone they shouldn’t. At the same time, there’s a Saturday where they sneak up and beat someone they shouldn’t.

I’m a college football junkie. I watch far more D1 football than D2. The separation between the majority of FBS teams is small. Far too many people just read what they see on Twitter or repeat the narrative the front running media wants to push for the big programs/conferences. It’s an even game and most teams can beat anyone on any given Saturday outside of a small number of programs.

And when you evaluate the Penn State/WVU game. That happens every Saturday. Not like Bama or Georgia or Ohio State went out and scored a TD their first 8 possessions. WVU has coaches who are paid to coach. They have guys on scholarship. Those humans want to win. They want to keep their job. This is literally the lives of people in the sport/industry. You don’t just step on the field and win games because of who you are.

[Fightingscot82]

Yeah they could have been Baylor and lost to something called Texas State.

You've never heard of Texas State?