2016-09-06 07:19

There do my predictions go.

The weekend was full with some unexpected win and losses and some of my predictions are already irrelevant.

And that's good, because it means the season will be interesting, not predictable.

For some teams those wins or losses do mean already a great or bad start into the season and especially the teams which lost a game might have to adjust their season goals.

Let's have a look at the BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 1

Sat. Sept. 3 - 12:00 pm ET
#3 Oklahoma vs #15 Houston
That was a great game.
Both teams did perform on a high level and were quite even.
Oklahoma took an early lead, but Houston did never let them extent that lead too much and in the second quarter did Houston took the lead away and went ahead.
The Sooners scored as response and Houston kicked a field goal to get into the half with a 2-point-lead.
Then the game went into overdrive.
In the 3rd quarter did Oklahoma try a field goal from 53 yards out and then this happened:



The short kick was catched more or less a few inch before the end of the endzone and returned for 109+ yard to the house. (Officially a 100 yards return)
That play did put a hit on Oklahoma from which they never recovered.
Houston did pull away, lead 17-33 for most of the second half and Oklahoma was only able to score with 2 minutes to go and failed a 2-point-conversion to make it a 1-possession game.
So instead 23-33 from Oklahomas view.
The onside kick was not successful and Houston ran out the clock to win this game.

A big statement from Houston for their playoff campaign and their Join-the-Big12-Campaign.
Oklahoma has basically not lost anything beside their pride, but needs to get better if they want to win the Big12 and make it to the playoffs.
Oklahoma 23 - Houston 33 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 0-1

Sat. Sept. 3 - 3:30 pm ET
#5 LSU vs Wisconsin
That game also went a bit different than expected.
It was a clear defense driven match, with not so many scoring highlights.
The teams did split to the half with Wisconsin leading 6-0, based on 2 field goals.
A major surprise was, that Leonard Fournette was held in check in a very good way by the Badgers and LSUs offense became harmless that way. Their passing game was harmless.
If they continue playing like that, the SEC West or the SEC as conference can't be won.
The second half feature at first Wisconsin extending their lead, until LSU was able to make some plays.
An interception return did put LSU on the board and a Wisconsin fumble on the next drive gave the Tigers good field position.
Two plays later did LSU punch the ball in for a 14-13 lead.
Over?
Not so fast.
Wisconsin had one good drive left in the tank and sealed it with a field goal from 47 yards out, less than 4 minutes to go.
Now the LSU offense had to deliver and they failed.
Under a minute to go did the LSU QB throw an interception inside Wisconsins territory and the game was over.
I'm not sure what to make out of this game.
Either Wisconsin will challenge Iowa very hard for the Big10 division, or LSU will need to grow up fast to stay in the SEC West hunt.
So far the Badgers can party while LSU has to swallow another hit.
LSU 14 - Wisconsin 16 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 0-2

Sat. Sept. 3 - 5:30 pm ET
#18 Georgia vs #22 North Carolina
This was very entertaining and it went back and forth.
Georgia had some trouble with turnovers, but compensated that with good drives.
The teams went to the locker room with Georgia leading 14-10 at the half.
The 2nd half had nice scoring drives on both sides and at the end did UNC suffer on their offense or Georgias defense.
UGA scored for the lead 26-24 lead with a field goal and UNC had to punt a bit later.
UGA had ONE play after that and scored a 55 yard TD on a run, leading now 33-24 and UNC had to try everything to come back into the game.
On 4th and 5 on UGA 29 yard line did the Tar Heels throw an incomplete pass and the game was basically over.
Georgia had a great start into the season under a new coach and UNC got a major setback.
If they really win the division or even the ACC, that loss might haunt them for a playoff spot.
Georgia 33 - North Carolina 24 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 0-3

Sat. Sept. 3 - 8:00 pm ET
#20 USC vs #1 Alabama
This went as expected and then some.
USC was unable to score over most of the game, unable to get things done, most of the time, while Alabama did look sharp and was able to do whatever they liked to do.
To make this short, USC got a big 50-burger as appetizer at the start of the season served and they will hopefully not swallow to long on that.
Alabama on the other side did look in Championship form, made USC look like a second tier team.
In this form, they are bound to win the SEC, again.
USC 6 - Alabama 52 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 1-3

Mon. Sept. 5 - 8:00 pm ET
#11 Ole Miss vs #4 Florida State
Well, nobody can foresee a meltdown.
Ole Miss did lead at the half 28-13.
But then came the 2nd half and Florida State scored 26 unanswered points and Ole Miss was neither able to stop FSU nor able to move the ball on their own.
With the final whistle the score was 45-34 for the Seminoles and Ole Miss had a major dent in their season plan.
Lessons learned so far are that Florida State will not bow down before Clemson, that they have found a nice QB and that Ole Miss looked shaky and will need more consistency if they want to win the SEC West.
Ole Miss 34 - Florida State 45 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 1-4

Other interesting games:
Fri. Sept. 2 - 8:05 pm ET
Colorado State vs Colorado
The Buffalos win against the Rams 44-7, which is a huge win.
Jacks interesting games Score: 0-1

Fri. Sept. 2 - 9:00 pm ET
Kansas State @ #8 Stanford
Stanford win 26-13, which is a smaller margin than I expected.
Jacks interesting games Score: 1-1

Sat. Sept. 3 - 3:30 pm ET
#16 UCLA @ Texas A&M
A&M was leading for long time until UCLA was able to tie the game in the 4th quarter. In OT was A&M able to score the 31-24 lead, UCLA was unable to answer and lost by that score.
Jacks interesting games Score: 1-2

Sat. Sept. 3 - 9:00 pm ET
#2 Clemson @ Auburn
That was a great game with a nice comeback try of Auburn. A Hail Mary into Clemsons endzone was not answered and Clemson won 19-13.
Jacks interesting games Score: 2-2

Sun. Sept. 4 - 7:30 pm ET
#10 Notre Dame @ Texas
That went almost as expected but with a different winner in OT. Quite strange way to tie a game.
Texas was down 31-35 and score a TD. 37-35.
The PAT was blocked and returned by Notre Dame for a defense PAT. 37-37.



At the end did Texas win in double OT 50-47.
Jacks interesting games Score: 2-3

And some other results which might be interesting:
Tennessee had their hands full against Appalachian State, winning only 20-13 in OT.
South Carolina did win their first game under a new coach 13-10 against Vanderbilt.
Surprisingly did Eastern Michigan destroy Mississippi Valley State 61-14. The win is not surprising, the margin by one of the worst teams in FBS is.
Albany did defeat Buffalo 22-16. Great upset by the FCS team.
Army did beat Temple 28-13. Huge win for Army.
Nevada almost lost to FCS team Cal Poly. They won in OT 30-27.
Georgia Tech did beat Boston College 17-14. One of the few conference games of the day.
Western Michigan won against Northwestern. The Broncos won the game by 1 point, 22-21. Big win for the Broncos.
The biggest upset of the day belongs to South Alabama, winning against Mississippi State 21-20. An SEC team losing against a Sun Belt team ...
West Virginia did beat Missouri 26-11. Good start for the Mountaineers.
Richmond, a FCS team, won against Virginia, 37-20. The Cavaliers do have a new HC, but losing that way against the Spiders is a no-go in anyones book.
Texas State wins an OT battle against Ohio, 56-54 (OT).
Arkansas did almost drop the game against Louisiana Tech, winning 21-20. The Razorbacks better play for real soon.
Southern Miss did beat Kentucky 44-35. For Kentucky and their coach it's a shame.
Northern Iowa (FCS) won against new coached Iowa State 25-20.
Eastern Washington, a quite good FCS team, did beat Washington State 45-42. It will be interesting to see, whether the Cougars can rebound from that.
Wyoming won in OT against Northern Illinois 40-34 (OT). Bug win for Wyoming, NIU might have to settle for a bad season.
BYU won against Arizona 18-16. Nice win for the new HC of the Cougars.

Tags: Block of Granite