College Football Week 1: 3 Things I Noticed

Since there is so much that goes on during a weekend of college football, I'm going to try to narrow it down and pick (at least) three things that stood out to me during the weekend. One of them will always be about Rutgers unless they don't play. I may add more if I think it's important. On that note...

1. Rutgers is going to have an interesting year.

Our first game versus Fresno State was a wild one for sure. With a 52-51 final score in overtime, how could it not be? I've told a bunch of people this, but this is the first time in YEARS that I felt good after a loss by one of my teams. I'm extremely happy at the fact that we were able to hang with one of the best offenses in the country! Last year, I think we may have put up 30+ points twice.

(Photo credit: Google Images)

Rutgers couldn't move the ball to save their lives last year. Now, it looks like we're going to be able to put some points on the board if the defense is slumping. Speaking of, that's one thing I'm going to keep my eye on. Our defense did give up 52 points, very un-Rutgers of us. Hopefully, it was just first game rust coupled with the fact that we were missing some key guys. Our high number of penalties was very disappointing. If we took even half of the penalties we did, we win the game. However, not all of the penalties were warranted. The refs were ATROCIOUS in that game. Phantom unsportsmanlike conduct calls and missed holding calls all over the place. I can see Rutgers having an interesting year. I hope the fans are ready for it.

2. Johnny Manziel is an ornery son of a gun.

When someone described Johnny Manziel as "that girl on a reality show that is not there to make friends," I laughed pretty hard. The game against Rice proves that. When Manziel finally got into the game, he showed off why this is his Heisman to lose this year. However, his attitude is going to turn off a lot of people. There were two instances that stood out to me. One was when he was taken down while scrambling on a broken down play. The Rice defender chirped at him a bit and as they went back to their huddles, Johnny Football made a gesture as to say, "I wouldn't sign an autograph for you."

"Umm, scoreboard." (Photo credit: SB Nation)

Now he's mocking the NCAA allegations. But wait, there's more! I don't really like that first one, but I wish more players did this taunt. On a play later in the game, two more Rice players got in Manziel's face. Johnny then directed their attention to the scoreboard, essentially telling them, "Keep talking. It's not going to change the score." I LOVE that, and I wish it happened way more often, penalties/fouls/violations be damned. No offense to Rice, but it will be interesting to see how Manziel acts on a bigger stage against a more worthy opponent. One false move and someone could take him right out.

3. Clemson is serious.

Dabo Swinney is one of my favorite coaches in college football, and he's got himself a quality squad this year. You don't accidentally beat a top-5 team from the SEC; you have to be a great team. No one is worried about Clemson's offense. We all know they can pretty much score at will. Tajh Boyd had five touchdowns against an SEC defense. God help the ACC...

(Photo credit: USA Today)

However, their defense did give up 545 to the Bulldogs. Good thing their offense can score a ton of points because there will be some games where they're going to need 35+ points to win. If Clemson can tighten up their defense, I can see them being a serious contender for the National Championship. Looking at their schedule, I see only two games that could give them trouble. The first game is the October 19th match-up with Florida State. I think Clemson has the upper hand in this one because the game is a home game for the Tigers and Death Valley can be a harrowing place for an opponent. The other game is on November 30th. It's the Battle of the Palmetto State against South Carolina. It's always a huge game for both schools. This year, the Gamecocks are home. If Clemson rolls into that game undefeated, all eyes will be on Williams-Brice Stadium because that game will have National Championship implications.

Bonus: FCS teams came to play.

Towson, North Dakota State, Eastern Washington, McNeese State, Eastern Illinois, and Northern Iowa, all beat their FBS opponents last week. Remember when these games weren't worth the price of admission? You can thank Appalachian State for this. If not for them going into the Big House and upsetting Michigan back in 2007, you probably don't see this happen. Now, you've got six FBS schools with egg on their face because they lost to an FCS school. These games aren't to be take lightly any more, and I hope Rutgers realizes that this Saturday when Norfolk State comes to town.