LOOKING BACK AT COLLEGE FOOTBALL': WEEK 1 (AND WEEK 0)

   Who said … and why??

"I knew you guys were waiting for me to say something 

crazy.”

(See below)

........ The 2024 season is little more than a week old … 

and already it’s become fashionable to trash Clemson coach

 DABO SWINNEY for refusing to spend ridiculous 

amounts of money in the transfer portal … Losing 34-3

 to 

everyone’s No. 1 Georgia only magnified the criticism … 

that is, despite a first half where the Tigers had a couple of 

key penalties against the same wide receiver plus a pass 

interference call against the Bulldogs that was withdrawn 

when the official who threw the flag apparently was talked 

out of it by the referee … By then Swinney, an emotional 

type anyway, was going bonkers … and you have to believe 

he said some stuff to his players at halftime that probably 

didn’t go over very well … From there Georgia, holding a 

precarious 6-0 lead, dominated. Boo Dabo? Come on! … 

Better the critics should follow the lead of a syndicated 

commentator – sorry, we missed the name -- who did what 

hardly anyone else in the media (including ESPN’s crack 

No. 2 announce team of SEAN McDONOUGH and GREG 

McELROY) has the courage to do … and that’s belabor the 

fact that Georgia gives new meaning to the old description 

of Miami, Fla., in its “convicts vs Catholics” rivalry with 

Notre Dame … It’s been well-documented that, since 

January, 2023, more than 24 Bulldogs have been arrested 

primarily for driving offenses (DUI, speeding, etc.) and most 

remain players in good standing … That doesn’t include

 RODARIUS THOMAS, charged July 26 with a felony for 

false imprisonment and cruelty to children and battery, or 

running back TREVON ETIENNE, a transfer from Florida 

who was suspended for violations of school policy regarding 

alcohol and driving under the influence … or the Jan. 15, 

2023 car accident that killed a player as well the school’s 

recruiting officer ... Thomas is a wideout transfer from 

Mississippi State … and this was the second time he had 

been arrested in 18 months … the first a misdemeanor 

charge for family violence and battery ... which was dropped 

when he entered a pretrial diversion program … Neither 

Thomas nor Etienne dressed for the Clemson game, and 

coach KIRBY SMART, asked repeatedly by reporters when 

Etienne, in particular, would suit up, would only say the 

decision wasn’t his but the school’s. At the SEC’s media 

day, Smart said, “It’s not right to publicly shame kids … our 

job is to educate and continue to grow these young men.” 

Wonderful!

........ Inquiring minds want to know … How in the name of

 CHARLIE WARD did Florida State put its season in the 

hands of DJ UIAGALELEI … the four star quarterback 

who couldn’t make it at Clemson or Oregon State? When he 

wasn’t misfiring Monday night against 16.5-point dog 

Boston College, his receivers were having a bad case of 

dropsy … Two terrible tosses, one an overthrow of a wide-

open target in the end zone; the other an off-balance heave to 

wide-open defensive back MAX TUCKER who missed a 

pick six by seven yards, were absolute killers. OK, so coach 

MIKE NORVELL had to take some of the blame for the 

INT … going for it on fourth-and-five from midfield trailing 

by one score early in the second half. The visiting Eagles 

needed two snaps to take advantage, taking a 21-6 lead … 

At that point most any coach would opt for QB No. 2 … 

except Norvell apparently doesn’t have confidence in

 backup BROCK GLENN so he stayed with Uiagalelei who 

temporarily gave the Seminoles some hope … when he got 

the ball to KENTRON POITIER for a 29-yard touchdown 

made possible by a missed tackle for another one-possession 

game … that was quickly negated by a BC drive that began 

with a personal foul, included darting between the tackles by 

smurfs TRESHAUN WARD, honorable mention all-

conference RB at Florida State (ACC) in 2022 and Kansas 

State (Big 12) in 2023, and QB THOMAS 

CASTELLANOS … and ended with a short run by Ward 

into the end zone despite FSU having 12 players on the field 

… Norvell had the Seminoles go for it again on fourth and 

16 from the BC 49 (after intentional grounding that just as 

easily could have been called a fumble). This time 

Uiagalelei threw into quadruple coverage ... with predictable  

results ... while, in the ESPN booth, BOB WISCHASUN 

and analyst LOUIS RIDDICK kept promoting the 

possibility of  a FSU comeback and maybe force overtime 

… Even  Riddick recognized (at last) who was kidding 

whom? “If they don’t get their head right here in 

Tallahassee, this could wind up being an ugly season. These 

two losses can shake the core of the foundation in the locker 

room,” he said. 

……. Watching Georgia Tech miss tackles on Georgia State’s 

game-opening drive Saturday night … you had to wonder 

what happened to the sure-handed Yellow Jackets who upset 

10th-ranked Florida State in Game 1 … sorry, Week 0 

(whatever that means) … Overconfidence? Georgia Tech 

football? Get serious … And the Jackets did – get serious, 

that is – when the NIL-packed Panthers had a first-and-goal 

inside the five. Four downs and no score later, Tech finally 

looked the part of a 20.5 -point favorite … and won 35-12 

… A year ago linebacker KYLE EFFORD led Tech with 81 

tackles, 12 more than anyone else (despite not becoming a 

starter until Game 7), yet was overlooked in a 7-6 campaign 

that wound up in a tie for fourth (5-3) in the ACC with 

disappointing Virginia Tech. It will be difficult to ignore him 

this time around. A 6-2, 240-pound redshirt sophomore

Efford set  tone of things to come Saturday night in Atlanta 

by throwing a State runner for a loss to start the early goal-

line stand.

…….. How good was it to hear WES DURHAM /State game 

on the ACC Network … especially afterhaving to endure

 CHRIS CARLIN on the ACC’s coverage 

of UR/UVA, seen locally on ESPN-plus. At first we thought 

they were having technical difficulty … what with heavy-

duty thunderstorms in the area … Carlin’s voice was 

scratchy, high-pitched and barely understandable. It didn’t 

get any better after the long delay … and we finally had 

enough when the score was 34-7 with lots of time remaining 

… Making things worse for Carlin, 52, and sidekick

 FORREST CONOLY, an ex-FSU lineman, was how out-

of-touch they were. Prior to UR getting the opening kickoff, 

Carlin “informed” listeners ... “We still don’t know who will 

be Richmond quarterback … Everyone will be surprised 

who it is, including us.” … All he had to do was listen to the 

Spiders’ pregame show when host BOB BLACK and coach

 RUSS HUESMAN casually talked about redshirt junior

 KYLE WICKERSHAM getting the nod … as though that 

was old news … From New Jersey, Carlin has been voice of 

Rutgers football since 2004.

…….. First-year Indiana U., coach – from James Madison U. 

– CURT CIGNETTI assumed his new position in 

Bloomington with (cliché alert) a chip on his shoulder. Some 

might say it’s more like a boulder … Prior to his first game, 

a 41-7 rout of underdog FIU, Cignetti noted that his friends 

(?) in the media didn’t expect IU to be very good. 

“Normally, we’re picked to win. Now I’m 17^th in an 18-

team league … and I just want to warn you … twice I’ve 

been picked last. The first time we won the conference 

championship … the second time we played for the 

[championship].” … Then he paused briefly … to allow his 

listeners time to recognize what he meant before adding, “ I 

knew you guys were waiting for me to say something 

crazy.” 

Actually, nothing the former Alabama assistant (and 2009 

national champion) says should surprise the Indiana faithful 

any more. On arrival he told a packed house “Purdue sucks 

… and so does Michigan and Ohio State.” Now all Cignetti 

must do is (cliché alerts II & III) put his money where his 

mouth is … and, walk the walk … They love his brashness. 

As long as he wins … The Hoosiers could/should be no 

worse than 4-2 (although 5-1 even 6-0 is realistic) before the 

meat of the schedule … that begins with Nebraska, ends 

with and has Washington, Purdue, Michigan and Ohio State 

in the middle. 

…….. Then there was lovable BRIAN KELLY, who ran his 

perfect season-opening record at LSU to 0-3 with a 27-20 

loss to Southern California … As it was at his previous 

coaching gig in South Bend, Ind., he’s long-since lost his fan 

base … for such things as poor time management (which, in 

the end, cost No. 13 LSU against 23d-ranked Southern Cal) 

and pointing fingers at his players … The chat rooms were 

ripe with anti-Kelly comments … even after, in the post-

game press conference,