FOOTBALL 2021: COVID Version Week 1

Finally there's something happening that will take my mind off politics, the pandemic, and the weather. College football returns for its second season played under COVID circumstances. So far, the schedule is holding up at twelve games, including four non-conference matches. 

College Football News has analyzed every team and published a comforting forecast for Texas A&M's season. CFN believes A&M will finish the regular season at 10-2, with a 6-2 record in the SEC good for third place in the West division. The ten wins include a victory at home over Alabama (which will be Saban's only loss). On the downside, the Aggies are expected to stumble late in the season: at Ole Miss on 11/13, and again at LSU on 11/27. These losses will put A&M behind Alabama (11-1) and LSU (10-2) in the SEC West. Considering that Jimbo will be starting a previously untested quarterback, this projection seems satisfactory to me.

Things get started tomorrow at 7:00 PM on ESPNU, with A&M (6th ranked) hosting Kent State as a 28.5 point favorite. I don't know much about Kent State, but their offense is supposedly one of the best A&M will face this year, and their quarterback has NFL potential. Fortunately for the Aggies, Kent State's defense is as much a liability as the offense is an asset. CFN predicts that Kent State will score enough points early to keep things tense, but that A&M will start to roll through that soft defense and close with a 52-20 win.

The other SEC game that might be watchable: Georgia, a FG underdog against Clemson, wins a 26-23 slugfest. Alabama gets a respectable opponent in Miami, but covers a 19.5 point spread in a 41-17 stroll.

Updated 11:04 PM Saturday: The first half was a drag, ending with A&M nursing a 10-3 lead. In the second half, A&M had enough big plays on offense and defense to produce a 41-10 win. The new quarterback, King, looks promising. He was sensational on a few plays, and was another inexperienced first-year starter a few (mostly interceptions). The game could have been a blowout if A&M turnovers didn't hold down the scoring. The good news is that A&M stumbled through the opening game against Vanderbilt last year, and still finished as a top five team. 

In other games, Georgia slipped by Clemson (10-3), Alabama blasted Miami (44-13), and UCLA knocked off LSU (38-27).