2. The Most Underrated Thing Was …
The American Athletic Conference pushed back.
USF might have been blasted by Notre Dame 52-0, but Tulsa have Oklahoma State in deep, deep trouble late in the 16-7 loss, and Cincinnati roared with 55 points in the win over Austin Peay.
SMU had a rocky first game against Texas State – only slipping by 31-24 – but QB Shane Buechele came back roaring in the 65-35 win over North Texas. It wasn’t a perfect performance – the D gave up over 500 yards – but the Mustangs ripped off 710 yards of total O.
It might have been AAC-on-AAC action, but Navy’s comeback to beat Tulane was among the most interesting things of the weekend, and the star of stars came through in an uggo.
UCF and Georgia Tech played a fun-bad game.
It was entertaining, but Georgia Tech turned it over five times, and UCF gave it up twice. The two teams combined for 15 penalties, were way too off for long stretches, and …
UCF rolled up 660 yards for the game and scored 21 fourth quarter points for a 49-21 win over a team that went to Tallahassee the week before and beat Florida State.
Beating Georgia Tech isn’t like taking down Miami, Virginia Tech, or North Carolina this year in the ACC – much less Notre Dame or Clemson – but it was still a restaurant-quality road win with a big overall offensive game.
More than that, though, was how UCF wasn’t good, it didn’t play its best, it was missing a slew of players who opted out, and it still beat a Power Five program by 28.
It’s okay to be ragged in the first game of the season, especially because …