David Zalubowski/AP

The Deion Sanders Effect

The University of Colorado Boulder’s football program ended last season with a 1-11 record. Colorado hired Deion Sanders, known as Coach Prime, to try to turn the program around, and it seems he did. According to the Associated Press, Sanders used the transfer portal like no coach had before, having the most transfers out of Colorado and some of the most into Colorado out of any other university. As noted by ESPN, there was a lot of anticipation coming into the season and their first game against #17 TCU. TCU played in the national championship last year and was favored by 21 points going into the game. Colorado shocked college football, beating TCU 45-42. Deion Sanders’ son, Shedeur Sanders, threw for a school record of 510 yards. Boulder’s new two-way star, Travis Hunter, played over 120 snaps. He had 11 receptions for 119 yards as a wide receiver and caught an interception as a defensive back. At their first home game against Nebraska, they won 36-14, sending Colorado fans running onto the field to celebrate the first time the program had gone 2-0 in recent memory. In week three, Colorado hosted rival Colorado State University, where tempers flared. There were 27 penalties for 269 yards, and many scuffles ensued before and during the game. After a rough first half for the buffs, they came out on top in a dramatic 43-35 in double OT. Colorado has a tough two weeks ahead, where they visit #10 Oregon and host #5 USC. 

Florida State Makes a Bold Statement

Florida State has had a rough few years recently, but they showed promise at the end of last season. This year, they were ranked in the top ten by ESPN to start the season. They started the season playing #5 LSU, and LSU had control of the game for much of the first half. However, after halftime, Florida State took over, beating LSU in a commanding 45-24 victory. However, after their performance at Boston College, people wonder if they are overrated. Florida State was up 31-10 in the third quarter, but a late game surge from Boston College got within two points of Florida State. Boston College was riddled with mistakes with 18 penalties, missed extra points, and two-point conversions and still came within three points of beating Florida State. Florida State visits Clemson this week and will need to fix their mistakes to ensure they return home unscathed.

Alabama Can’t Decide on a QB

As a born and raised Alabama fan, this one hurts. Coming into the season, there was a huge question mark over the quarterback position. Jalen Milroe, the redshirt sophomore, won the job over Tyler Buchner, the transfer from Notre Dame, and Ty Simpson, the redshirt freshman. Milroe had accuracy issues last season, but the opener showed that with better footwork, he could be a threat down the field and a running threat. However, the game against #11 Texas was a disaster. Alabama’s massive offensive line was not giving Milroe time to stay in the pocket and make plays downfield. Milroe also made some crucial errors, resulting in two interceptions. There were also many penalties and two touchdowns that would have won Alabama the game called back for holding. ESPN reported that Alabama changed its starting quarterback to Tyler Buchner for its week three game against the University of Southern Florida. However, Buchner seriously struggled. He could not get the ball down the field or even enough for first downs. Buchner wasn’t making as many crucial mistakes as Milroe but was ineffective, only completing five of 14 passes for 34 yards in one half. At half, instead of putting in more experienced Milroe back in the game, the redshirt freshman Ty Simpson was put in at quarterback and played the rest of the game. And as with Buchner, it becomes clear that Simpson is also not at all the answer to Alabama’s problems after being sacked five times in one half. Simpson completed five of nine passes for 73 yards and a one-yard touchdown run. Neither quarterback had any passing touchdowns or interceptions. Alabama ended up winning the game 17-3. Jalen Milroe has been named the starter for the foreseeable future, according to ESPN. Alabama’s problems are fixable; they need to start winning the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and figure out how to use Jalen Milroe best. Alabama hosts Ole Miss this weekend.

Clemson Internally Combusts

At the start of the season, Clemson hoped they would return to the college football playoffs this year. Between the years of 2015-2020, Clemson never missed the playoffs. However, since quarterback Trevor Lawrence has been drafted, they haven’t been back since. After three disappointing years, they were hoping this year they would make their return with sophomore quarterback Cade Klubnik. Their first game was at unranked Duke. It was a disaster for Clemson, losing 28-7. Clemson beat Duke in nearly every category, yet lost the game by double digits. Their loss was entirely due to mistakes. Clemson had multiple trips to the red zone and only one, resulting in points because of turnovers and bad snaps. Clemson fumbled the ball twice in the red zone and had two field goals blocked. Duke played a great game, but Clemson lost mainly because they repeatedly shot themselves in the foot. Clemson plays Florida State at home this Saturday.

Looking to Week Four

#15 Ole Miss at #13 Alabama: If Alabama wants to have any hope for making the playoffs, they need a good win against Ole Miss. Ole Miss will also be looking to beat Alabama to have a shot at the SEC championship.

#4 Florida State at Clemson: Florida State barely squeaked out a win versus unranked Boston College last week, so it will be interesting to see how they handle Clemson. Clemson will be looking to redeem themselves after a rough loss to Duke.

#19 Colorado at #10 Oregon: Colorado is currently a 21 point underdog going into this game. They were able to overcome this against TCU, but Oregon seems to be a much more complete team and will be a big challenge for Deion Sanders and the Buffs to overcome. 

#6 Ohio State at #9 Notre Dame: Top ten match ups are always interesting. Ohio State is still undefeated but haven’t won their games in as convincing of a fashion as they would like. They will be looking to have a statement win while Notre Dame is in a position to beat Ohio State and maybe become a real playoff contender with a win.