B1G bowl projections, Week 1: Nothing to see here

As much as college football fans love overreacting to preseason polls, they really, truly adore overreacting to whatever happens in Week 1 of the season.

All of those months of pent-up excitement, or dread, all come pouring out after one game.

We will try very hard not to do that here. We try to keep things in perspective after that first wave of scores rolls in, and remember that it’s a long season.

So when we see those updates, we try to see the bigger picture, not micromanage, and … Dear God, Appalachian State is leading Penn State deep in the fourth quarter. And I had Penn State going to the College Football Playoff in my first set of projections, and OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, WHAT IN THE BLUE HELL WAS I THINKING?

OK. Relax. Breathe. Whewwwwwwwwwww.

Yes, the Nittany Lions prevailed in overtime. But holy cow, does that defense have some explaining to do. I wrote that the defense, only returning two starters, was a big concern. PSU allowed 451 yards and the special teams gave up a 100-yard kickoff return for a score, so those units really have not answered any questions.

So Big Ten fans can be forgiven for trying to ignore that game, and Michigan State’s close call against Utah State.

If B1G fans needed a tonic, Maryland provided it.

On Saturday, the Terrapins knocked off Texas for the second year in a row. This time they did it at home in College Park and with emotions on full display, as it was the program’s first game since the tragic offseason death of offensive lineman Jordan McNair.

Moving up Maryland a couple of spots in the bowl pecking order as a result of that victory is pretty much the only major change to our preseason projections.

Yes, that means we are keeping Penn State in the CFP for now. See, we’re calm.

Jim Tomlin

Longtime newspaper veteran Jim Tomlin is a writer and editor for saturdaytradition.com and saturdaydownsouth.com.