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Week 1 college football around the country recap

Week 1 college football around the country recap
Former Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin got off to a slow start with his new team in Arizona. Bob Levey/Getty Images

The Games have Begun

Football coaches generally like to fall back on the 24/48 hour rule when talking about moving on after a big victory or a bad loss. That rule doesn’t apply to fans. Winning a big game will get you through the work week, while losing that game makes you want to hide from the sports world until your team takes the field again. In my case, using Netflix to hide from the college football world was the play this weekend. Nothing like watching your favorite team who was ranked in the top 10 be taken behind the woodshed by a “lesser opponent” It can change your whole perspective on the season. Enough about me or this will turn into a therapy session.

The Edwards and Sumlin tenures begin Arizona

Maybe Herm Edwards won’t be the disaster we all thought he would be on the college level. A comfortable 49-7 win over UTSA by his Arizona State team doesn’t change the potential trajectory of Edwards’ tenure but the Roadrunners weren’t terrible last year and the Sun Devils handled them with ease. That result by itself isn’t a national story but it is interesting that on the same night Kevin Sumlin’s tenure at Arizona got off to a very different start. The long time college head coach saw his Wildcats lose at home to BYU. Traditionally, BYU would be considered a tougher opponent than UTSA but BYU struggled quite a bit last year. BYU was 4-9 in 2017 and going into the game Arizona had a dark horse Heisman candidate in quarterback Khalil Tate. None of that mattered on Saturday as Tate and Arizona’s offense never got going and Sumlin’s Arizona tenure began with a 28-23 loss in Tucson.

The Four Playoff Teams from 2017 all roll

Alabama: They were the only one of the four to face a Power 5 school but they made Louisville look like Florida Atlantic. The Age of Tua has begun as Alabama went up and down the field with Tagovailoa leading the offense. Nick Saban decided to finally do what everyone had been predicting since last January. He named Tua Tagovailoa the starter.

Clemson: Kelly Bryant started for Clemson and he looked like the Kelly Bryant we saw last year. At least the Kelly Bryant that didn’t have to play Alabama. He was effective and efficient. Clemson’s phenom freshman quarterback Tyler Lawrence played in the first half with the first team offense and played well also. The opponent for the Tigers was Furman and the level of competition provided really did nothing to answer the quarterback questions at Clemson. With the Clemson quarterback drama all set to continue you can catch the next episode in College Station when the Tigers take on Texas A&M.

Georgia: They played Austin Peay. That’s all the space I’ll use on them.

Oklahoma: Kyler Murray took over for Baker Mayfield and the Sooners offense didn’t seem to notice while Lane Kiffin’s second season at FAU started much like his first. The Owls were blown out in the season opener last year by Navy. The beating they took from Oklahoma in Norman on Saturday had a different feel to it because of how well FAU finished last season. A 63-14 final was a bit surprising considering Lane Kiffin’s team won their final 10 games to close out the 2017 season. The Sooners weren’t impressed and Kyler Murray looked like a video game create-a-player in his first start. He reminded me of the early iterations of football games on game consoles against Florida Atlantic. In those games you could put a really fast player at quarterback and he would completely dominate the game with his athletic ability.  It didn’t hurt that Murray had Rodney Anderson to hand the ball of to either. Anderson may be the best back in the Big 12 and the one hundred yards he put up on just five carries was impressive.

Hate Watch Game of the Week: Florida vs Kentucky

Florida currently owns a 31-game winning streak over the Wildcats. If you’re an unbiased observer or just a fan of ending prolonged misery you should be rooting for Kentucky to go into The Swamp and the get the job done. If you’re like me and can’t stand the Gators, watching the Florida faithful freak out over their new coach losing at home to Kentucky is reason enough to hope the streak ends.

Current Hate Watch record: 1-0

Thanks to Virginia Tech’s defense and five turnovers by Florida State,  HWGOTW got off to a great start. Final Score: 24-3 Hokies over the Noles.

 

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Joe Esapda is hoping Framber Valdez can secure a series win for Houston. Composite Getty Image.

The Houston Astros (37-30) aim to close out their series against the Chicago White Sox (23-45) on a high note Thursday night at Daikin Park. The three-game set is currently tied 1-1, and with a chance to secure their 11th series win at home, the Astros will send left-hander Framber Valdez to the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET.

Valdez (6-4, 3.07 ERA) has quietly been one of the most consistent arms in the American League. Known for his heavy sinker and ground-ball inducing style, he enters the night with a stellar 1.06 WHIP and 84 strikeouts. With the Astros bullpen having absorbed some heavy usage earlier this week, Valdez will be counted on to give Houston quality length.

Opposing him will be right-hander Davis Martin (2-6, 3.62 ERA), who has pitched better than his win-loss record suggests. Martin has maintained a 1.21 WHIP and will try to quiet an Astros lineup that broke out for 10 runs in Wednesday’s win.

Houston’s offense has been led lately by Jeremy Peña, who is batting .439 over his last 10 games with five doubles, two homers, and six RBIs. Isaac Paredes continues to be a steady power threat, leading the team with 14 home runs and a .468 slugging percentage. José Altuve, fresh off his 2,300th career hit, adds veteran stability to the top of the order.

The Astros are 23-13 at home this season and have gone 6-4 over their last 10 games. When they avoid giving up home runs, they win — as shown by their 20-4 record in games where they keep the ball in the yard. That will be a key Thursday against a White Sox team that’s light on power but capable of grinding out runs when they out-hit opponents (16-9 when doing so).

Chicago, meanwhile, has struggled mightily on the road, going just 7-27 away from Guaranteed Rate Field. Still, they’ve had unexpected success against the Astros this season, winning three of the first five matchups. Andrew Benintendi and Mike Tauchman have been among the few bright spots in a lineup that’s hit just .227 over its last 10 games and been outscored by six runs.

With the series on the line and the division-leading Astros looking to stay hot, Thursday night offers a chance to assert their edge with a trusted ace on the hill and momentum building in the lineup.

Here's a preview of the Astros lineup for the finale!

Christian Walker remains in the five spot after his big night in Game 2. Victor Caratini will be the DH hitting seventh behind Jake Meyers. Jose Altuve is shifting back to left field, with Jacob Melton getting the night off. And Brendan Rodgers will hit last and play second base.


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