Searching For That Fast Start In College Football

all right sports fans how's everybody out there doing William Martin coming at you one more time here on YouTube with another edition of the 300 pounds of sports knowledge podcast college football is back and it is in full swing and of course we saw a slew of games uh last weekend and now we are really starting to get in the thick of things for the 2024 season there's games on tonight as well as Friday and of course Saturday Sunday and Labor Day night and I'm gonna take this time out right now to talk about some of the key games for this weekend in the world of college football now want to get things started on Saturday in Atlanta you're gonna have the 14th ranked Tigers out of Clemson taking on the top ranked team to begin this season the Georgia Bulldogs out of the SEC uh you look at this game and of course you've got two teams that might be at the Crossroad you know for some time we saw Clemson in that National Championship picture they've taken a step back which included them losing four games last year for the first time since 2011 the Georgia Bulldogs were so close to winning uh a third consecutive National Championship they were the number one team in the land last year until they lost Alabama in the SEC Championship Game got bumped down of course at that time it was a 14 college football playoff of course looking forward to this season that would not have been the case but nonetheless both teams want to get started on the right foot uh all the questions for Clemson and Davos Sweeny uh center around their offense it's one of those where you know the Tigers were 61st in the nation in passing a year ago how is this offense going to look with Kade clubm back there at quarterback uh running back Phil mafa he's once again going to be important uh to this Clemson offense but they've got to find a way Tigers to try to stretch that field and keep this Georgia defense honest you look at all of that Talent uh that Georgia has over there and of course Kirby Smart is no stranger to having first round Talent on his defense you just look at the likes of SM mundon at linebacker and the course Malachi Starks back in that secondary uh offensively for Georgia they've got to go out there and they've got to replace wide receiver lad Maki and of course the all World tight end Brock Bowers you bring in former Florida running back Trevor eten what is he GNA do against this Clemson defense and think I'll tell you like this Clemson you know can rub elbows with just about anybody in the nation uh the way that they play defense you look at senior linebacker Barrett Carter really thought he was going to going to go to the NFL last year he's coming back for his final campaign with Clemson keep an eye on him uh for uh in this game and then can this Clemson defense get to quarterback Carson Beck uh Carson Beck for the most part last year was calm cool and collected in that pocket for Georgia there are some people who think that he's going to be a first round pick this year or next year rather uh in the top 10 of the draft potentially so let's see if he can get his season started on the right foot for Georgia I'll tell you like this we know that the dogs are heavily favored in this game Georgia comes in they're favored by 11 and a half uh Atlanta is a stone throw away from Athens so you know there's going to be plenty of red and black in the uh stands there at the mercedesbenz stadium cheering on Georgia nonetheless for Clemson what they've got to do they've got to try to find a way to start fast when I say start fast they have to start fast on offense I think Clemson needs to go out there and score a touchdown early not only that Clemson needs to find a way to consistently move the change keep their defense off the field keep georg's defense on the field and try to wear them down and most importantly try to get that crowd out of the game easier said than done Georgia begins this season ranked as a top team in the country they're ranked number one for a reason I'm gonna take Georgia in this one by the score of 31-20 now in Morgan Town you've got a big 12 battle or Big 12 team rather hosting a big 10 team and I'm talking about the Mountaineers of West Virginia hosting the eighth ranked Penn State nitty Lions the nitty lions come into this contest favored by eight points and they're hopeful that this will be their year that they get to the college football playoff on the flip side this is an opportunity for the Mountaineers to go out there and make a statement we saw West Virginia win nine games last year but they lost at Penn State by the score of 38-5 so just like it is for Clemson I think that the Mountaineers need to come out here and start strong especially on offense with senior quarterback Garett green and then sophomore running back Jahim white last year is a freshman he average more than seven yards uh per carry for the Mountaineers on the flip side for Penn State this is year number two for Drew Aller at quarterback and it's one of those can he take his game to the next level he had solid campaign last year in 2023 for the nitty Lions but can he turn it up to another level make no mistake about it when you think about James Franklin's teams in Happy Valley they run the football Penn State has two Dynamic Playmakers in their backfield and KRON Allen and Nicholas Singleton and I expect both of them to have an impact on Saturday former Ohio Statewide receiver Julian Fleming how will he fit in to this Penn State offense especially after they lost wide receiver Keandre Lambert Smith in a transfer portal to Auburn now for Penn State they were second in the nation in defense last year but they lost their defensive coordinator Manny Diaz who is now the head coach of Duke You Still Got Talent on that side of the football for Penn State led by Abdul Carter at defensive end will they be able to pin their ears back and come after West Virginia it's one of those situations uh I think the fans in Morgantown are going to be electric they're going to try to egg West Virginia on to get the upset and I think Penn State has to find a way to survive that initial blow okay and then let their talent uh take over it's one of those uh Penn State comes into this contest favored by eight points uh I think Penn State covers on that because of that I'm going to take the NY lions by 10 34- 24 now you got a battle in the sunshine stages you got the 19th Miami Hurricanes out of the Atlantic Coast Conference clashing with the Florida Gators out of the SEC you got a battle right here of two programs that really need to get off to fast starts both of these coaches respectively are in their third Seasons at their respective programs and they really want to try to find a way to get their programs back to what they were uh you think about Billy Napier at Florida he has not had a winning season yet uh and he's 11 and 14 so far at Florida and of course there are some Rumblings that if he doesn't get this turned around in Gainesville this could be his last year there and you look uh in Miami uh for what they're trying to do Under head coach Mario christall he's returned to his Alma ma this is his third season there Miami has shown signs but can they break through uh for me like I said before the pressure is definitely on Billy Napier at Florida he does have an experienced quarterback that he is leaning on in won Graham Merz now you lost running back Trevor ATN to Georgia but you still got Montell Johnson in that backfield and I think the Gators are going to lean on him heavily in this contest defensively for Florida what are they going to do uh you look at the likes of free safety Jordan Castell what can he do and then also keep an eye out for middle linebacker Shamar James but for mariio christop Ball's Miami team they went West okay to get some talent to try to make an impact on this defense for the or this offense rather for this year uh you got former Washington State quarterback cam Ward running things for Miami and then you have former Oregon State running back Damen Martinez coming out of that backfield I like the talent that Miami has a wide receiver with a pair of seniors and Xavier rreo and jacobe George and then then this Hurricane's defense led by middle linebacker Francisco Maui Goa as well as defensive end Ruben Bane Jr uh for me this contest right here is not going to be pretty it's one of those where Miami is favorite by two and a half points on the road I think the first team that scores 20 will win this game uh the Florida fans are going to Ed EG egg this team on to try to go out there and get a win I think this game comes down to who is more desperate now on paper you look at it and you simply say take Miami but for me I think Florida fly finds a way to get it done at home and I think Miami finds a way to lose it on the road I'm gonna take Florida by the score of 24-23 now on Saturday night in College Station you've got the seventh ranked Fighting Irish out of Notre Dame traveling to take on the 20th ranked Texas and M agies and of course these are the new look agies under Mike Elko and of course Once Upon a Time Mike Elko was an assistant at A&M left had success as the head coach of Duke and now he is back to try to get A&M back among the top programs in the nation uh you look at quarterback Conor Wegman for the aies what is he going to be able to do against this Notre Dame defense and then you've also got a keep an eye out for Texas A&M defensive tackle Shamar Turner now for the Fighting Irish will Marcus Freeman's Club be able to start strong as they're looking to get to the playoff and if you're Notre Dame all of the non-conference wins clearly against ranked teams are really going to matter because you're still an independent no Conference Championship game and you're looking to try to find a way to get to that playoff so you went to the ACC last year if you're Notre Dame to get yourselves a starting quarterback and you had Success With Sam Harton now you went back there once again and you have Riley Leonard from duke this is very interesting right here Riley Leonard making his debut at Notre Dame or for Notre Dame against his former head coach at Duke and Mike Elco that should be very interesting right there uh the talent at Notre Dame keep an eye out for running back Jeremiah Love and then free safety Xavier Watts now A&M comes into this contest favorite by three points at home you know it's going to be loud on Saturday night in Kyle Field I know that Notre Dame is ranked higher but for me when you've got a head coach going up against his former quarterback I guarantee you there's nothing that he being Mike ELO is going to see from Riley Leonard that he has not seen previously and I guarantee you he is going to implore his defense uh to try to stop Mr Leonard I think that is a difference in this game and I'm going to take Texas A&M at home by the score of 24-23 now on Sunday Night in Vegas you have a match up between a big 10 Squad gota get accustom to saying that now and an SEC team as you have the 23rd ranked USC Trojans taking on the 13th ranked LSU Tigers when you think about these teams both are National Brands both are looking to make a statement out of conference to begin their respective years and both are looking to get to that coveted college football playoff off so now you've got the men of Troy who are transitioning to the Big 10 and of course they've got a Tango in their first game with the Bayou Bengals in LSU so this is Lincoln Riley's thirdd year at USC he's had people buzzing about the Trojans uh they they made a new year six bowl game two years ago last year was not pretty and a lot of it came down to their struggles on defense we saw SC finish 119th in the nation last year and defense which resulted in them uh bringing in former UCLA defensive coordinator Dean Lyn uh to try to fix things you do have some Talent on that side of the football for the Trojans with outside linebacker Mason Cobb as well as Edge rusher Jamal Muhammad but they've got to try to go out there and slow down this LSU offense very interesting right here because both of these coaches uh Lincoln Riley for USC and of course Brian Kelly for LSU they've got to replace quarterbacks that were taken in the first round as a matter of fact their respective quarterbacks are taken first and second in the NFL draft uh from last year Caleb Williams of USC and then of course Jaden Daniels of LSU uh we've talked about USC struggles on defense last year LSU has a lot of Talent on defense but the Bayou Bengals were not that much better than USC was on defense you've got Harold Perkins you've got Greg Penn you've got major Burns will these guys go out there and step up and make some plays getting back to the quarterbacks that you're breaking in uh Garrett nus me for LSU and I guarantee you that Brian Kelly has peppered him over the summer and then you have Miller Moss for USC and of course Miller Moss you know made his debut in a big way last year in that Holiday Bowl win for USC and I guarantee you that young man has a lot of confidence uh for that the LSU fans will definitely travel they will be in Vegas on Sunday night and the USC fans coming from LA to Vegas you know what that's a hop skip and a jump uh I expect an electric crowd on Sunday night I expect two electric teams that want to get things kicked off on the right foot and I'm going to take the men of Troy to beat LSU by the score of 31-27 and finally on Labor Day night you've got an A an ACC battle down in Tallahassee as you've got Boston College traveling to take on 10th ranked Florida State and of course if you're the nolles this is your second straight game against the conference opponent right out of the shoot and I'm very interested to see how the Noles will bounce back after they were upset in Dublin last Saturday courtesy of Georgia Tech for me I'm putting the onus on dju and the seminal offense it's one of those where they lacked explosion last week against a good Georgia Tech team will they be able to make some improvements uh heading into this game we've got to wait and see uh for me the biggest thing with Florida State's offense I think they have to run the football better and then this seminal defense led by outside linebacker DJ Lundy will they be able to go out there and make the big play last week against Georgia Tech they had their opportunities to get those turnovers slip through their hands literally and of course the rest is history now on the flip side for Boston College their head coach Bill O'Brien is returning to the college game and of course we saw him have success previously when he was a head coach of Penn State and of course that was when Penn State was on sanctions now Bill O'Brien does inherit one of the better dual threat quarterbacks in the ACC in Thomas castanos and if you remember this game last year at Chestnut Hill Boston College gave Florida State all that they could handle I know uh that the simos did had some injuries in that game most notably quarterback Jordan Travis but nonetheless if they if you're fla State you cannot Overlook the Eagles in this one also keep an eye out for senior running back Kyle roasa for Boston College in that back field with castanos as they are definitely going to put Florida State on upset alert the seminal come into this contest favored by 16 and a half I don't think they cover that I think they're G to have to work for this win but I'm going to take Florida State by the score of 31-20 so folks those are my key games for the first full weekend of this 2024 college football season and as always I want to take this time out to thank all of you for tuning into the 300 pounds of sports knowledge podcast here on YouTube I want to take this time out to thank all of you fine folks out there for tuning in and if you haven't already please feel free to subscribe to this channel now if you're on the X formerly known as Twitter please feel free to follow me at 300 pounds of sports and like I always say if you follow me it will be my pleasure to follow you right back there's also the sports discussion group on Facebook at the sports Depot 365 now you can check it out drop a line and be a part of one of the better Sports debating sites going on social media so once again fine folks my name is William Martin and I am signing off and I'm saying take care and have yourselves a wonderful day