It’s back, baby.

College football was once again on our television sets, giving us reason for hope and optimism in 2021. Stadiums had fans in attendance, Lee Corso returned to the College GameDay set and there were no issues with COVID-19-related cancellations.

Saturday was about as triumphant a day in sports as we’ve seen in quite some time. Well, maybe not for the teams that lost…but you get the picture.

Week 0 serves as the appetizer to the college football buffet. So, too, do my 5 overreactions from the first weekend of the year. Every week moving forward, I’ll double this total. But just like the sport, I need a bit of a warmup.

Let’s see how this goes now that college football is back!

The day started off with a weird pick on College GameDay…

We all should’ve expected something strange was going to happen on Saturday just a few minutes into the Selection Saturday portion of the pregame show. Guest picker Eddie George picked UConn to beat Fresno State “just because.”

I’m really concerned about the Ohio State great. Was he aware the Huskies didn’t play football at all during the 2020 season? And, quite honestly, it’s hard to say what they were doing before last year was actually related to football, but that’s just one man’s opinion.

The only time UConn should be picked to do anything is if Yukon Cornelius is fighting a Yeti standing in the way of silver and gold.

Appropriately, Fresno State slammed UConn 45-0 and the Huskies finished the game with just 107 total yards. Like, does George even watch college football? Or does he just coach it?

Hashtag Bielevema

Why did anyone ever doubt this hire? Yes, I was one of the individuals who was less-than-impressed when Illinois named Bielema the head coach, but it only took a few weeks for me to jump on board. Still, I feel really dumb about not buying into “Bert’s” return to the B1G.

Illinois was outgained offensively by Nebraska, saw starting quarterback Brandon Peters leave the game in the first quarter and got behind 9-2 with all the momentum in the Huskers’ favor. It didn’t deter the Fighting Illini at all.

Sports Betting in Big Ten Country

There is big news coming to the upcoming 2022-23 Big Ten football season (and NFL season). Ohio online sports betting and Maryland sports betting are on the way.

21+ and present in OH. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

That’s the value of good coaching.

Illinois closed out Saturday’s game with a 30-22 victory, leading by as many as 21 points in the game. Bielema’s last two games in the B1G have both been wins against Nebraska. I’m not sure whether that says more about Bret or the coaching on the opposite sideline.

Before Saturday’s game, I was a believer in Illinois’ potential under Bielema. Now, I’m hopeful to see the three letters “ILL” pop up on the Nasdaq because I’m eager to buy stock. That’s how stocks work, right?

Either way, Bret has certainly made a Bielevemer out of this guy. Let’s get the hashtag #Bielevema trending.

“It looked like the same movie”

Yes, Scott, it did. Nebraska’s loss on Saturday looked eerily similar to the 20 losses in the previous three seasons. Mental mistakes, dumb penalties at unfortunate times and a critical turnover before halftime. It’s almost like the Huskers need to work on fixing the “little things,” or something.

Isn’t that what we heard all offseason?

At this point, I’m out of questions for Nebraska in terms of the play on the field. But I would like to ask Frost which movie he had in mind when he made that comment on Saturday after the game. The film that popped into my head — and one I’ve seen probably 21 times — is A Christmas Story.

Mostly that scene where Ralphie unleashes hell on Scut Farkus (he kind of looks like a young Scott Frost, no?). Final question: Why are holiday films stuck in my head right now? It’s August!

 

UCLA has uncorked the Charbonnet

Los Angeles is still more than a 6-hour drive to Napa Valley, but Zach Charbonnet looks pretty darn good now that he’s playing a little closer to wine country. Michigan fans were probably equal parts excited for the running back’s big day and disgusted that Jim Harbaugh let him leave Ann Arbor.

In his debut with the Bruins, Charbonnet rushed for 106 yards and 3 touchdowns on 6 (!) carries in a 44-10 win over Hawai’i. He also hauled in a catch for 14 yards.

Charbonnet was a solid running back at Michigan and could’ve been part of an explosive three-headed rushing attack this fall with Hassan Haskins and Donovan Edwards. Instead he decided to play a little closer to home.

Chip Kelly uncorked him Saturday. Now we’re getting a taste of what he can really do.

I’m not sorry for any of the puns. Not one of them.

Week 0 official appreciation section

As much as we liked to complain about officiating in college football, it’s a really tough job to perfect. Plus, as we saw on Saturday in Champaign, it can be really dangerous. Two officials from the Nebraska-Illinois game took vicious hits and had to be helped to the sideline.

You never really have much appreciation for these officials until you see something like that. If I had to officiate on the field, I’d resemble Tad from The Little Giants running in a circle for minutes just trying to avoid getting hit.

Nothing would get called.

So, here’s an appreciation section to all the Week 0 officials and everyone in the zebra uniform for the rest of the season. We already know we’re going to turn on you after a terrible targeting penalty, so we need to show our love now.

Also, the head official from Saturday’s Alcorn State-North Carolina Central game absolutely needs to be leading the offseason workout program for individuals in his field. There isn’t a player around messing with that guy, regardless of what he calls.

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