Everything mostly went according to plan in Week 1. Except at Tennessee. Most decidedly not at Tennessee. Tennessee, what are you even doing?
Army’s touchdown drives in last week’s 14-7 win over Rice went for 95 and 96 yards. But take away those two scoring sojourns and the Black Knights mustered only 93 yards against one of the nation’s worst defenses in 2018. Michigan, Army’s opponent Saturday, is about 10 steps up in competition and will be getting defensive tackles Michael Dwumfour and Donovan Jeter back after both missed the opener against Middle Tennessee with injuries.
Midafternoon
If any team has earned the right to feel confident entering its game against Clemson, it’s Texas A&M. The Aggies were one of only two teams to finish within single digits of the national champions last season, falling by just two points in College Station. But there’s confidence, and then there’s this from Texas A&M offensive lineman Jared Hocker on Monday: “There will be an upset.” Aggies Coach Jimbo Fisher quickly tried to erase the bulletin-board material when asked about it later that day: “Jared better play well. It’s great to have confidence, but that doesn’t need to be said." …
Nebraska did little last weekend to dispel the skeptics who thought its preseason ranking was unwarranted: The Cornhuskers scored twice on defense and once on special teams, but their offense was dismal in a 14-point win over South Alabama, generating only 276 yards. Colorado, Nebraska’s former Big Eight and Big 12 rival, should present a more formidable challenge, though the Buffaloes gave up 505 yards in a win over Colorado State to open the season.
The late show
At this point in his coaching career, it’s weird not to mention how good Tom Herman’s teams have fared as underdogs: As head coach at Houston and now Texas, Herman is 13-2-1 against the spread when getting points, winning 10 of those games outright. And wouldn’t you know it, the Longhorns are underdogs at home against LSU, probably for good reason: Unleashing a new spread offense last weekend, Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow threw five touchdown passes before halftime of a 55-3 win over Georgia Southern. Sam Ehlinger almost matched him with touchdown passes on three of the Longhorns’ first four possessions and four scoring strikes total in a similarly easy 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech. But the Longhorns are still mighty green on defense: Just three starters returned from last year, three players made their first career starts against Louisiana Tech, and two were making just their third career starts.
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