Staff Writer: Kev’s Weekly S...

College Football What a Start it Was

It’s been a crazy start to the 2024-2025 college football season. Big upsets, shocking melt downs and amazing performances have become the norm and it’s still just the beginning. If this past week is any indication of what the rest of the season is gonna be like I may need to seek therapy, drink more or at the very least do more research in my predictions ! Let’s hope that niether will be nesessary. 

Before everyone starts panicking and jumping off tall buildings I want to remind you all that’s it’s only week number 1 in college football. Why is ev freaking out? Exceptions to this of course are anyone who is a fan of Florida State who have the dubious distinction of being 0-2 after ten days into the season. May the pain pass quickly in Tallahassee. There is always next year because I’m pretty sure they’re out of the picture for this year. 

I think that everyone will agree that the big guns in the college game pretty much did what everyone thought they were gonna do which is kick the pants off of their opponents. For the unfortunate teams that played Alabama, Ohio State, Texas. Mississippi and Miami you have my sympathy. The guys that went up against Georgia have my thoughts and prayers. Getting embarrassed on national television is never a fun time, just ask the Florida Gators. Getting humiliated on your home field is even worse but being smoked on two different continents like Florida State must be the cruelest cut of all. Maybe the Luck of The Irish isn’t lucky after all. Go figure.

Speaking of The Irish, how about the Notre Dame football squad marching into college station and leaving with a win over Texas A&M? Yes, it may have ruined my week one win total but you have to admit it was a great game. I absolutely love Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard. The kid has got a recoiless rifle for an arm, tremendous poise and the rock solid confidence of his teammates and coaches. You can see it in his eyes. Plus he’s not driving around campus in a silver Bentley like that Sanders kid out in Boulder, he’s lifting weights, studying film and getting faster and smarter by the day. He’s got what it takes to win the Heisman just wait and see. I think the spirit of Rudy has been rekindled. 

I watched a lot of football this past week. I saw a lot of great plays by some tremendously gifted players. One thing I noticed, and I discovered this early on, was that just about every quality play by a skill position player was made by a transfer portal player. The announcers made a point of stating where they had transferred from just about each and every time. It’s pretty much a manifestation of what I have predicted now for some time and that is the transfer portal is changing the game in ways we could not have foreseen. We can’t go back now. 

College football is no longer a game of amateurs. It’s a game of professionals who happen to be going to class (I think) as well. The money is huge. The players are paid. The schools invest hundreds of millions of dollars in facilities, equipment, tracing staff and most importantly NIL funds. The fans demand a winning team and want a bowl game and a shot at a national title every year, even more so now then before. Simply put, the transfer portal is just a slick phrase for a college free agency system where anyone can end up anywhere to the highest bidder. Do you actually think that Riley Leonard transferred to Notre Dame from Duke because he’s Catholic? Nope. Do you think that Dillion Gabriel, now playing for his third college team at Oregon, thinks the lineman are better out west? Not happening. They do it for the money, the fame and the attention it will garner from NFL scouts. Ask yourself this; how many division one football players are in dental school? Except for the guys at the service academies everyone is looking for that golden egg, that special ring on the merry go round, an NFL contract. Like most things in life, you just need to follow the money. Last time I checked there weren’t a lot of dentists running around with 100 million dollar contracts. 

Now that my weekly rant is over, I’m looking forward to another weekend of great games. I’ve already mentioned in my weekly pod cast that I’m gonna go with Texas giving 7.5 to Michigan. Sorry Big Blue fans but your defense looked pourous last week and I think that this may be a break out year for Arch Manning. Plus, with the game in Ann Arbor starting at noon instead of 8 PM I know my tired old body won’t need a two hour nap half way thru the 3rd quarter. It should be a great game. I may or may not watch the Colorado game at Nebraska. I haven’t bitten into the hype yet. I’m not a big believer in the Prime Time circus but if I check the score and The Huskers are rolling I might check into it, if Colorado is up I’ll take a pass. I can only take so much of the Dione Danders love fest every week. Call me a hater, but I got 20 bucks that says the Buffaloes won’t win five games this year. Anyone want a piece of that action?

In the end I don’t see anyone beating Georgia. Playing The Bulldogs is punishment pure and simple. Not only do they have players that look like they were born out of science fiction movie (they’re huge) they also have one of the top rated quarterbacks in college football. Georgia doesn’t just beat you, they crush you. They break you physically and emotionally. Just ask Clemson University. The game this past weekend was a bloodbath. 

With all this in mind let’s all get together this week and watch the kids go at it again. At this point I’ll take college football, the bands, the cheerleaders and the fans over the election, the price of eggs and milk and being yelled at by my boss. Play on I Say!!

Kev

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