College Football Playoff picks after Week 1
It’s just Week 1, but it’s never too early to start predicting who we’ll see in the College Football Playoff.
No team made a bigger statement in Week 1 than the Florida State Seminoles, who turned a halftime deficit against No. 5 LSU into a laugher. Quarterback Jordan Travis became the first FSU player to throw for four touchdowns and run for another since Jameis Winston in 2013. Travis’ three scoring connections with transfer wide receiver Keon Coleman have the eighth-ranked Seminoles looking like a serious playoff contender in the eyes of the ESPN voters.
Georgia started its run at the first college football three-peat since the 1930s by cruising past UT Martin 48-7. It was the Bulldogs’ 13th win by at least 30 points since the start of the 2021 season, the most in the FBS.
Michigan’s run-heavy offense has earned it two consecutive wins over Ohio State, two straight Big Ten titles and two straight trips to the CFP. The Wolverines opened the season throwing against East Carolina, however. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy passed for 280 yards and finished with an 86.7% completion rate, the highest in Michigan history (minimum 25 pass attempts).
Alabama is looking to return to the playoff after a rare absence last year, and the Crimson Tide got off to the right start. Jalen Milroe became the first quarterback in school history to throw for three touchdowns and rush for two more in a single game.
Ohio State’s offense got off to a bumpy start in the post-C.J. Stroud era. The Buckeyes, favored by 30 points at Indiana, managed just 23 total points, and quarterbacks Kyle McCord and Devin Brown did not throw a touchdown pass. The defense did not have any such problems, allowing only a second quarter field goal.
Here’s who ESPN’s college football writers would vote in if the four-team playoff were held today.
Andrea Adelson: Georgia, Florida State, Michigan, Alabama
Blake Baumgartner: Georgia, Florida State, Michigan, Alabama
Kyle Bonagura: Georgia, Florida State, Michigan, Alabama
Bill Connelly: Florida State, Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma
Heather Dinich: Georgia, Florida State, Michigan, Alabama
David Hale: Georgia, Florida State, Ohio State, Michigan
Chris Low: Georgia, Florida State, Michigan, Alabama
Harry Lyles Jr.: Georgia, Florida State, Michigan, Alabama
Ryan McGee: Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, Washington
Adam Rittenberg: Georgia, Michigan, Florida State, Alabama
Alex Scarborough: Georgia, Michigan, Florida State, Alabama
Mark Schlabach: Georgia, Michigan, Florida State, USC
Paolo Uggetti: Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, USC
Tom VanHaaren: Georgia, Michigan, Florida State, Alabama
Dave Wilson: Georgia, Michigan, USC, Florida State
LSU football has a high-profile coaching vacancy, and a familiar face has thrown his hat into the ring.
Ed Orgeron, who was ousted by LSU less than two years after coaching the Tigers to a national championship, said he “would love” to return to the school as Brian Kelly’s replacement.
LSU fired Kelly in stunning fashion Sunday, citing the “high hopes” that the program failed to reach under his leadership and announcing that a “national search” was underway for the Tigers’ new coach.
Three days later, during an interview Wednesday with ESPN’s “UnSportsmanLike,” Orgeron was asked whether he wanted his old job back.
“I’d love to,” Orgeron responded. “Are you kidding me? Hey, I’m one phone call away. I just gotta get in my truck; I could be there today.”
One of the top coaches currently linked to the LSU job is Ole Miss‘ Lane Kiffin, who also worked with Orgeron at USC.
Orgeron, who has been out of coaching since leaving LSU in 2021, was asked Wednesday if he would consider returning to the program as an assistant under Kiffin.
“Yeah, I’d consider it,” he said. “I love LSU. I still got my home in Baton Rouge. I loved when I was coaching for Coach Miles being the defensive line coach. I love the Tigers, and if I’m getting back into coaching, for sure I’d consider it. No doubt.”
Orgeron’s tenure as LSU’s head coach ended after the 2021 season in what he described as a mutual decision between himself and the school. He went 51-20 in his six years at LSU, highlighted by the Tigers’ 15-0 run in a 2019 season punctuated by an NCAA championship.
Orgeron, who grew up rooting for the Tigers in nearby Larose, Louisiana, said LSU’s next head coach must embrace being a part of the state’s culture — something he says Kelly never did.
“I think that’s one of the things — whether it’s true or not — the look from the outside, Brian Kelly never embraced the state of Louisiana,” he said. “When you get those guys on your side, it’s very powerful. I think getting everybody to pull in the same direction, like Pete Carroll did, like we did, one team, one heartbeat, is gonna be the key for the next coach.”
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024