Welcome back college football. Oh how we missed you.
You know the drill. Holidays and vacations - and this was a little of both as we file this morning's installment from the shores of Lake Martin in Alabama - we do a mini-5-at-10.
Today, we're going to have five items - loads of college football takeaways and today's question - and be in and out. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezey.
From the satellite offices of the "Talk too much" studios, let's do this.
Alabama is really good
OK, the man has created a machine and the machine is unbelievably impressive.
Nick Saban and the Tide lost seven defensive starters to the first four rounds of the NFL draft and did that to an FSU team that most people believed before the season would be a college football playoff team. Egad.
There were a lot of folks saying the SEC is Alabama and everyone else before the season. They are right.
But we'll ask this right now, "Is Alabama and everyone else across college football?" considering what they did to FSU on Saturday night. (Side question: It has to be pretty boring and magnificent to be an Alabama fan right now, no?)
FILE - In this Jan. 5, 2017, file photo, Texas coach Tom Herman speaks during a news conference in Austin, Texas. The Longhorns are coming off three straight losing seasons under Charlie Strong, but there is no talk of rebuilding in Austin. The narrative at Texas is Strong recruited well enough that his successor is taking over a team with enough talent to make a quick turnaround. (Ricardo Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman via AP, File) Texas-sized nightmares
OK, the Harvey thing was bad and awful and destructive.
But the opening weekend of college football was downright awful for the Lone Star State. Baylor lost to Liberty, which would have celebrated with a drink but that would have led to explosion because Liberty is Liberty. Texas allowed 51 points to Maryland, which has the ugliest helmets in any level of football.
And as bad as that was Saturday, it paled in comparison to what Texas A&M did Sunday night.
The Aggies pulled the ultimate John Chavis' prevent defense that Tennessee fans remember all to well in surrendering a lead that made even the Atlanta Falcons say "No way they lose this game."
With 18 minutes to play, Texas A&M led 44-10 over UCLA before snatching defeat from the jaws of victory 45-44.
Imagine the emotional roller coaster of each head coach, each of whom enter the game knowing this was a win-or-pink-slip season. UCLA's Jim Mora and his bunch are down by 34 points with four minutes left in the third quarter. At home. With a quarterback who many think will be a top-five pick next spring. He has to be wondering if he'll make it to Tuesday's news conference with a job, right?
Then Chavis happens. And Josh Rosen throws four fourth-quarter TDs and leads UCLA on five touchdown drives in the final 19 minutes - none of the drives last longer than 125 seconds by the way - and bang.
Kevin Sumlin goes from having a monster statement win on national TV to an impossible loss that has to make the Aggies brass wonder if they should fire him today. (Know that Sumlin's buyout is in excess of $11 million, due within 60 days of his termination. Not that it matters to a school with unlimited funds like A&M, but still.)
Tennessee wide receiver Jauan Jennings jumps a tackle attempt by Nebraska's Joshua Kalu during the Music City Bowl last December. The Vols start a new season tonight when they take on Georgia Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.UT takes center stage
The Vols kick it off tonight, and like a lot of things UT-related we believe our old buddy Wes Rucker may have put it best on the Twitter this weekend:
#Vols football season kicks off today, and I don't think anyone - not even Tennessee's coaches - knows what it's gonna look like. So yeah.
And in a lot of ways that is the purest prediction for tonight's opener, too.
If tomorrow we read that Tennessee won by two TDs, we would not be shocked. If we read the Vols lost by two TDs, I would not be shocked. If they win/lose by a field goal in the final minute, I would not be shocked. (Considering the Vols are without their most important defensive player against an offense that demands quality plays from its middle linebacker, well, that may swing the range of tonight's score even greater.)
The range of this UT team could be six wins to 10 wins, right? But, while you ponder that question, could you imagine the blowback from Johnny Vols Fans everywhere if what happened to Sumlin and the Aggies happened to Butch Jones?
Oh Sweet Odin's Raven.
That said, and this is not a Fab 4 pick for entertainment purposes per se but a guess because a lot of you knuckleheads are asking about it after the torrid start to the season we had, we'd take the Vols and lay the 3 tonight. But we're not feeling really good about it either way.
This and that
- Speaking of the Fab 4 picks, how about that start? Yes, we missed Texas-Maryland (by four TDs, by the way) but we hit Alabama (-7), Vandy (-3), Boston College (-3, but we advised to buy the half) and Cal (+11 and the Bears won outright vs. UNC). A 4-1 start against the number is very entertaining indeed.
- There was too much to get to in the college football world. How about Georgia and its quarterback deal? How about Florida still not having an offense at all? How about Auburn suspending three players and the best kicker in the country missing two field goals and it still not mattering at all? How about Howard - a 45-point underdog - winning out right at UNLV?
- And that was the game action. How about the Michigan State corner getting a pick six a year after having a near-fatal stroke? How about the UAB player getting out of his wheelchair to walk the game ball to midfield as the Blazers returned to the college football landscape? How about the blind USC long snapper getting into the game and leading the band after the Trojans' win? College football oh how we love you.
-In other stuff, local golfer Keith Mitchell, who has been riding an emotional roller coaster all his own, got off to a strong start in his four-tournament postseason march toward a PGA Tour card with a tie for sixth this weekend at the Web.com event at THE Ohio State Golf Club. Mitchell made $34,750 for his effort. The top 25 money winners in this four-tournament deal will get Tour cards. Last year, the final spot in the postseason top 25 made the PGA Tour with $27,425, but that was after three tournaments rather than four because of weather-related cancellation. One more strong finish for Mitchell - this is his third straight top-six finish and fourth in a row in the top 12 - should be enough to get to the show.
- The cost of the season-opener for Alabama and FSU is great. The Tide reportedly will be without linebackers Christian Miller and Terrell Lewis for the rest of the season due to injury. For the Seminoles, starting quarterback Deondre Francois will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.
- Loads of NFL news. Too much to cover, in truth. Go here for a bunch of info on the monster cuts this weekend. (Of note, record-setting UTC quarterback Jacob Huesman did not make the New York Giants roster as a fullback.)
Today's question
Happy Labor Day friends. Enjoy the day.
Beyonce is 36 today. Paul Harvey would have been 99 and told us the rest of the story. Tom Watson is 68.
On this day in 1682 Edmond Halley saw a comet and named it after himself. On this day 22 years ago Monday night Nitro made its WCW debut. On this day in 1888, George Eastman rented the first roll-film camera and trademarked the name Kodak.
Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick are celebrating their 29th wedding anniversary today. Steve Irwin, aka The Crocodile Hunter, died on this day in 2006. Joan Rivers died on this day in 2014.
As for a Rushmore, my dad turned 76 on Sunday. He is known by everyone as Pop.
Rushmore of Pop(s)? Whatcha got?