stormstopper

I was definitely hoping to see more on offense. But very encouraged that we were able to keep pressure up on defense, cause chaos, force turnovers and TFLs, and do it against both the pass and the run. We're gonna need every bit of that coming up...

Pittsburgh is 2-1 all-time against Kansas City. The Steelers won in a blowout in KC in 2017, lost in a blowout in KC in 2019, and won on Sunday Night Football 26-20 in KC in 2020. As you can see, this is the first time that the Chiefs have ever made the trip to Pittsburgh. The Steelers are also 2-1 on Monday Night Football; Kansas City is 0-1. I think Pittsburgh has to be the heavy favorite here. The KC defense couldn't handle AJ Jefferson, and the Steelers are showing a willingness and ability to let Norris Brooksheer cut loose. More importantly, though, Pittsburgh has Carlos Washington, Kansas City has a rookie quarterback, and again Pittsburgh has Carlos frickin' Washington. I can't imagine KC's gonna try to throw Harris 45 times in those circumstances, especially when they're so effective running the ball and no longer have Rodney Montgomery. That's a recipe for 1 TD, 3 INT, 1/1 F/L. But who knows?

This is the fifteenth meeting between these two division opponents; Atlanta holds an 8-6 series lead but Tampa Bay has outscored Atlanta 20.6-18.7 per game. (More than 100% of Tampa's advantage in point differential came from a 52-17 win in AJ Jefferson's rookie year.) They split last year, but the Falcons have won 4 of the last 6. Atlanta is 0-1 all-time on Sunday Night Football; Tampa is 2-3. If you're Atlanta, I think you're taking a look at what J.B. Blacknall did to the Tampa Bay defense and licking your lips. Denver's offense wasn't spectacular last year and it's possible that it turned a corner--or it's possible that Akili (and Cooley) can gash the Bucs D in the same way that Blacknall did, which opens the way for the False Prophet to turn in a repeat performance from this week. Tampa's offense is better than what they showed against Denver--on paper--but if they don't get stops then it's not gonna matter.

This is the third meeting between these two teams, which has happened like clockwork once every four years. The Vikings are 2-0 in the series, with a 31-9 home win in 2014 and a 34-16 win in Foxborough in 2018. The timing of that means New England has never actually used the same quarterback against Minnesota twice, whereas Brian Vardell will be making his third start against the Pats. Minnesota hasn't really been much of a running team since they traded Chester Henson, hence the Evan Grant selection. He had a bad debut, but sometimes it takes a bit to get into the swing of things. Minnow's had a lot of experience coaching up RBs, so he's in good hands. It's unfortunate for the sake of irony that Shawn Cole isn't playing for NE. But now their best option is Michael Duckworth, who I didn't realize still had a job playing professional football. It's gonna be an air war. I like New England's secondary better. I like Watkins, even if I think Trickett eventually starting is a "when" and not an "if." I like New England's offensive line to hold up against a young Minnesota DL. I'm taking the Pats.

Jake Davis just put the world on notice. (Inb4 Darman says "Who?") What a rally. Not much to say about the Oklahoma State game other than the fact that Amral Brown is going to be really hard to tackle.

Corey Easley is the fifth WVU player with 100+ yards and 2+ TD in a single game (Sykes, Langston, Weldon, Dupree). Martin Lake really leaned heavily on him: 45% of the receptions and ~57% of the receiving yardage that the Mountaineers put up belonged to Easley.

Tight end Jaime Bautista: http://cfbhc.com/wiki/index.php?title=Jaime_Bautista Cheyenne-Eagle Butte High School: http://cfbhc.com/wiki/index.php?title=Cheyenne-Eagle_Butte_High_School

Iowa State is now 0-2 all-time when leading by 14+ at the half against teams whose colors are red and white or near-white. They are 19-0 when leading by 14+ at the half against all other opponents.

Roscoe Bishop 17 259 3 0 0/0 WR Roscoe Bishop 6-6 191 (Sr) Marshall (Marshall, AR) 4.5 of 4.5 [Target] There's gotta be something in the water in that state.

Demetrius Clay with a receiving touchdown on one end and a sack on the other for Iowa State. Despite the loss, he's gonna be a player to watch.

The Raiders really came together to win this one for Malcolm. Other than that, a lot of good, aggressive defense in this game--6 sacks, 3 turnovers, and an additional forced fumble between the two teams combined--but even better offense.

It feels crazy that I don't disagree with the Jets as low as 12, but I don't think there's any team they should unequivocally be over. I think you could argue for Tampa Bay or Carolina, but it's not clear-cut in either direction. There are a lot of teams that should have reason for optimism this season. Of these teams, I think the Lions, Bucs, Panthers, and Jets have the highest gap between ceiling and floor barring injury--where all four have Super Bowl ceilings, but clear points of stress that could grow critical. I agree that the Rams should be feeling the heat a little bit in the long run, but at the same time they might still be the heaviest division favorite in football even if they drop off a noticeable amount because the Niners () and Cards have serious obstacles in front of them and I have no idea what to think about Seattle. But even in the scenario where they drop off and still win the division, the playoffs have a way of erasing the teams that don't belong. Also, Malcolm Davis is a good, conscientious person who deserves his stardom and I'm sure our mutual friend Eric Jennings would agree. Lastly, this is great work as usual, I'm glad that your power rankings are back, and I look forward to parts 2 and 3!

The rolling opening of Big XII play continues this weekend, and it's a history-maker. Saturday will feature three neutral-site games, which is the most in a single regular-season week of Big XII play since the opening week of the 2016 season (4). It's also the first regular-season week ever in which zero Big XII teams play a home game. Playing on neutral and unfriendly ground adds to the challenge that the four teams active this week will face, but all of them have a path to victory. How will they get there? What stands in their way? We'll find out. Let's talk about the games. Thursday Night Iowa State (0-0) (+4) at NC State (0-0) It's about to get young, scrappy, and hungry in Raleigh. Both of these teams last made a bowl game in 2019, followed it up with a major backslide and double-digit losses in 2020, and rebounded a bit to 3 wins last season. The winner of this game will be in a pretty good position for a bowl game (this is especially true for the Wolfpack), and both teams' youth movements have them believing that they should be able to seize the upper hand. When Iowa State has the ball, the goal will be to get outside and turn the corner; for NC State, the counter-strategy will be to get pressure and stay in hot pursuit. Iowa State's strongest point on offense is stud tailback Kofi McCullough, who rushed for 1548 yards and 15 touchdowns on just under 5.2 yards per carry as a redshirt freshman last year. He's got breakaway speed, and giving him a path up the sideline is the surest way to give up a long touchdown run. His performance was often at the mercy of his offensive line, though, which is why the Cyclones now feature redshirt freshman tight end Demetrius Clay. (They intend to play him at both tight end and defensive end.) For the Wolfpack, their defensive strength is straight up the middle. Emmanuel McDermott is a man-eater at defensive tackle, having come up with 4 sacks and 3 rushing tackles for loss last season while finishing second on the team with 27 tackles. The only other surer tackler was redshirt sophomore linebacker Solomon Mahan, who had 40 tackles and 4 passes defended. Combine them with safety duo Jabari Scott and Jake Leyva, and you can see what the Wolfpack are building. If Iowa State can get anything from Vaughn Sheppard and a set of receivers who are a year older if nothing else, that would go a long way toward keeping NC State off-balance. The Wolfpack offense, for its part, returns all but two starters. Senior quarterback Jacob Eubanks completed over 60% of his passes for 2,602 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions; fast-twitch beanpole Felix Browning and tight end Dwayne Lawton were his top two targets, and big Jasiah Raji and normal-sized Cameron Shipp were complementary. That likely won't change this year. The Iowa State defense is going to be...interesting. As mentioned before, tight end Demetrius Clay is a starting defensive end. The linebacker corps is solid thanks to Paul "Baby Bear" Bryant and fellow outside 'backer Omar Vernon, but any pressure the defensive line can generate to make their job easier would be appreciated. Their safety duo is on paper the strength of the defense with Mark Barbour joining Laurent Daniel, but even that's soured by a cornerback set desperately missing David Tolliver. The Wolfpack are talented enough to take advantage and certainly well-coached, and I think they're going to take care of business at home. NC State 33, Iowa State 20 Saturday Morning #9 Missouri (0-0) vs. West Virginia (0-0) (+29) (Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC) If any team knows how quickly things can turn on a dime when a bevy of offensive playmakers all leave at once, it's West Virginia. To open their season, though, the Mountaineers square off on neutral ground in Charlotte with a team going through the exact same thing a year later. Good-bye Tucker Dowden, good-bye Nathan Coleman, good-bye Tevin Lattimore and Daniel Hobbs, and good-bye top lineman Josh Jones. Unlike West Virginia, Missouri's recruiting was strong enough to withstand these losses, even if they do go through some growing pains on the way. For example, new starting quarterback Travis Ricketts is expected to be the real deal and commands a lot of hype coming into his redshirt freshman season, and he's one of 10 freshmen or sophomores listed on the offensive two-deep alone. There are no true stars on this Tiger offense, but there aren't truly any holes either. For West Virginia, that's probably a good thing. They don't want to go up against a team that's going to test their safeties over and over, and they don't want to go up against a team that they can't pressure. With Aaron Pagan coming back along with two other starting defensive linemen, the Mountaineers should be able to make the not-so-mobile Ricketts use his feet in the pocket. Whether Lamont Carson and company can cover long enough to force a sack, a throwaway, or a cleanup operation by linebacker Nathan Wilks is the essential question. West Virginia actually comes into this game more confident in its quarterback situation thanks to Martin Lake's arrival. The junior college transfer from Florida is going to be asked to do a lot; he has talent around him, but his offensive teammates are even younger than the guys surrounding Travis Ricketts. Runningback Bryce Madison, top receiver trio Corey Easley, Christian Nash, and Etena Catingub, left guard Derrick Sanders, and right tackle Julien Vincent? Every single one of them is a freshman, and both of the linemen are true freshmen. It's tough to predict just how this team will perform since so much of it just plain has not been seen on a field at the FBS level before. And against a Missouri defense that projects to improve significantly over its 25.7 points allowed per game? With freshman studs like DeMarcus Cannon, Amral Waters, and Erick Babcock? With no holes anywhere? This is going to be one heck of a welcome to the league, but once West Virginia's seen this then they're not going to have anything left to fear. #9 Missouri 24, West Virginia 14 Saturday Evening #6 Oklahoma State (0-0) (-10.5) vs. UCLA (0-0) (AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX) Last week was TCU's turn to take its measure as a contender. This week, 6th-ranked Oklahoma State gets to introduce its 2022 squad to the world against an offensively retooled and defensively balanced UCLA. Stand-and-deliver quarterback Steven Gore is gone, and run-and-gun redshirt freshman Aaron Harden replaces him. (In other words, the exact opposite of what happened at Missouri.) Runningback Frederick Girard returns, but considering that he only ran for 404 yards last year it probably isn't reasonable to expect him to suddenly shoulder a huge load. With Jay Arreola gone but fellow receivers Noah Tumaalii (890 yards, 11 TD) and Ronan Humphreys (1066 yards, 11 TD) coming back, finding an offense that uses Harden's arm while still taking advantage of his mobility looks like it will be priority #1 for UCLA. Likewise, defending against both threats simultaneously is Oklahoma State's big task. They did that extremely well last year, allowing just 6.3 yards per pass attempt and 4.1 yards per carry and finishing 4th in the nation with 15.1 points allowed per game. Even without Trevor Orlando, Oklahoma State should be able to disrupt up front thanks to Brian Suarez and defensive tackle Amir Pryor. If I were Harden, I would also be wary about throwing anywhere near reigning Big XII Defensive Player of the Year Sebastian Byrd. If the Cowboy corners win that matchup, there's not going to be much room for UCLA to breathe. If not? Well, then Oklahoma State can still run up the score with their offense. They return Ian Baldwin, who threw for 30 touchdowns and nearly 3500 yards on 65.2% passing. It would be greedy to ask for a receiving duo better than Jeremy Bridges and Samuel Barfield, who stand out against UCLA's secondary. The Bruins appear to have benched Cameron Crosby, whose 6 interceptions and 3 passes broken up led the team last year. What will matter is the protection the offensive line can provide against a blitz-happy and blitz-successful UCLA front. Keeping Blake Tipton (10.5 sacks, 6 TFL) out of the backfield is paramount. And lastly, establishing the run with Amral Brown will be important--not just for this game, but to put future opponents on notice that this bowling ball sees every defense as a set of pins to knock down. I expect Oklahoma State to overwhelm UCLA, win the game, and cover the spread. #6 Oklahoma State 31, UCLA 10 Saturday Night BYU (0-0) vs. Kansas State (0-0) (+18.5) (Mile High Stadium, Denver, CO) Kansas State has had its struggles, but in recent times it's been able to do one thing consistently well: win the first game of the season. The Wildcats have won each of their last three openers, and the after-dark hours on Saturday give them a real chance to make it four. If they do it, it'll be because their defense was able to frustrate an uninspiring BYU offense that has to replace star runningback Joseph Saunders. It's not easy to replace 140 rushing yards per game and 28 regular-season rushing touchdowns, after all, and in his time at Boise State and now BYU we haven't seen much evidence that Jabari Sneed can shoulder the primary load of a productive offense. He did complete 67.5% of his passes last year with 13 touchdowns to 2 interceptions, but he also only threw 17.4 times per game. If redshirt freshman runningback Adarius Galloway needs time to adapt to the college level, Kansas State will need to take advantage. That starts by securing the middle with defensive tackle Jonah Caruso. The bulk of the plan really involves star linebacker Brendan Scherer being a bull in a china shop and laying waste to whichever BYU ballcarrier occupies the same ZIP code as he does. And on the back end, it involves Sammy Schuler and the secondary being in position to break up a pass or snag an interception to try and turn Sneed from a nonfactor into a negative factor. On offense, Kansas State is working more uphill. Julius Minnow returns to the starting lineup after throwing 8 touchdowns to 12 interceptions in 2019, and the fifth-year senior is going to look for Jhonny Palacios and tight end P.K. Lovelace over all. Expect Jaiden Givens to play a complementary role at best--he didn't display much last year and will need to show improvement before he earns a larger role. The biggest vulnerability on this Kansas State offense is its protection. Can this offensive line, particularly the right side of the line, hold up against big nose tackle Jeremy Minor and a pretty solid defensive line? And if that defensive line can get pressure, can Minnow avoid throwing it to M.K. Sharpe and the rest of the sharks in this secondary? I'm skeptical. I think this has the potential to be a grind-it-out type of game between two defensively oriented teams. The Wildcats are going to put up a fight, but I think the Cougars will get out of Denver with a win. BYU 17, Kansas State 13 Byes: Kansas (0-1), #5 Oklahoma (0-0), Baylor (0-0), #4 TCU (0-1), #24 Texas (1-0), Texas Tech (0-0)

The opening act is in the books, and the first two games of the nation's most exciting conference have slid from unknown into known. TCU fought hard against Auburn but couldn't quite pull off the rally, and Texas's strong defensive effort was just enough to subdue Kansas's strong defensive effort. We've learned a little bit, though given that the greatest tradition of an opening week is overreaction we should be careful not to assume we know too much. What we can say for sure: nobody came out looking perfect, but everybody came out showing something that will give them an edge going forward. So without further ado, let's talk about the games. Thursday Night #1 Auburn 31, #2 TCU 24 Black Is The New Orange: Marcus Black put his stamp on the game from the get-go. The preseason Heisman contender completed 23 of his 33 passes on the day for 301 yards and 3 touchdowns, doing virtually all of his damage with his arm and not his legs while spreading the wealth up and down his receiver corps. Jariel Martinez led the way with 6 catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. Complementing Black was Sean Meade, who ran for 104 yards and a 31-yard touchdown carry. TCU was able to get pressure in the backfield, racking up a sack and three tackles for loss--but the explosive plays the dynamic duo put together more than made up for it for the Tigers. Not His Lucky Day: Felix Luck found himself playing from behind for virtually the entire game. The Horned Frogs never led, trailing by as much as 24-10 at the end of the third quarter. TCU found themselves calling Luck's number most of the day, and the redshirt junior turned in a 305-yard, 2-score performance on 27-of-41 passing. It would have been a tough ask to expect him to single-handedly lift TCU back into this one, and it's ultimately tough to put too much of this on Luck's shoulders when he's asked essentially to outduel Marcus Black. However... Turnover Chained: ...one of the key differences in this game was TCU's turnovers to Auburn freshmen. Throwing over the middle was trouble due to true freshman linebacker Francesco Tidwell, who batted down one pass and intercepted another. True freshman defensive end Myles Wallace got home on a blitz and forced a fumble from Felix Luck, though the Horned Frogs were able to fall on top of it. They wouldn't be so fortunate on one of Miguel Aguilera's six receptions, which quickly turned into disaster when redshirt freshman linebacker Brett Combs striped the ball from him and recovered it. Throw in a pair of sacks allowed, and big plays by the Auburn defense proved decisive. Slotted In: Both teams can be happy with what they got from their freshman slot receivers. Auburn's Benjamin Hurd won his matchup against TCU freshman Patrick Ross, catching 4 passes for 85 yards (the second-most on the team) and a touchdown. For his part, TCU's F.T. Grady established himself as a red zone threat with 5 catches for 50 yards and both of TCU's touchdown receptions for the day. Next Up: TCU gets this next week off, but they'll face another high-powered offense when Eric McLean and the Rice Owls come into town. They likely won't lose a lot of ground having lost by one score to the #1 team in the country, but they'll need to be at their best going forward to avoid an early knockout blow. Friday Night Texas 13, Kansas 10 No Quarter: As the scoreline makes plain as day, neither team was willing to give an inch of ground on Friday night. Texas gained a total of 313 yards; Kansas collected a mere 159. At halftime, the score was 3-2. After three quarters, it stood at 6-2. Both of the game's touchdowns were scored in a legitimately thrilling fourth quarter, as Texas was able to stop Kansas's rally on fourth down at midfield to preserve a 13-10 lead. Quarterback "Duel": Neither Lucas Beckwith nor Christian Graham had a day to write home about through the air. Graham finished the day just 17-of-34 for 150 yards, throwing a late touchdown pass and turning in a pick to Devon Braxton as well. Lucas Beckwith's passing stats were fairly similar: 14-of-27 for 146 yards and an interception, but his 38 rushing yards and score on the ground proved to be crucial. That staked Texas to a 13-2 lead that would be just enough to get out of Lawrence with a win. Turf War: Overall, the game was decided on the ground. The Longhorns had more rushing yards than Kansas had total yards, and Simeon Wells's 129 yards on 23 carries put them in better positions to score throughout the game. He was held out of the endzone, but he was a steady rushing threat and a good counterbalance to Beckwith's passing struggles. Compare that to Andre Black, who in his debut finished with 7 carries for a grand total of 9 yards. That meant Kansas was behind the sticks far too often, and they relied on Graham having to throw on first down otherwise. Given his 50% completion rate for the day, that was not a winning formula--and the Jayhawks are in trouble if they can't get anything going on the ground. Big Play Defense: Let's give these defenses some credit, though: much of the offenses' struggles can be attributed to great plays made by great players. Texas kept the pressure up on Graham: Tristan Priest had a sack and a half, with Zion Gaines getting credit for the other half-sack. The pressure was what forced a throw from Graham early before his receiver was ready for it, allowing Braxton to make the break on his pick. The Kansas defense gave as good as it got, too. Javier Blount recorded an interception, freshman Evander Lawton stripped Simeon Wells for Abdoul Mayo to recover, and Jamari Callahan sacked Lucas Beckwith in the endzone for his second career safety (tying a Big XII career record). Next Up: Both teams have week 1 off, but face entirely different challenges in week 2. Texas gets UTSA at home, which should allow them to fine-tune their offense and get things back on track. Kansas hits the road and heads across the border to take on last year's runner-up Missouri, who we'll first see next week against West Virginia in Charlotte.

Bears are down to 53.