It isn’t quite the football we’ve all been looking forward to for the past seven months, but at least some college football was back in action on Saturday. While none of the teams who played this weekend are true contenders, there were still some performances worthy of discussion. Let’s break it down.
Nebraska (0-0) at Illinois (0-0)
Result: Illinois 30 – Nebraska 22
Nebraska was the betting favorite in this one with a 6.5 point spread, but the Cornhuskers squad came out and proved why Frost’s seat as head coach is flaming hot. Seriously, I would be stunned if Frost coached all 12 games for the Huskers this year. He’s hitched his wagon to former 4-star QB Adrian Martinez, and while Martinez has some serious athletic capabilities, his quarterbacking skills as a whole are severely lacking. Martinez finished the game 16/32 for 232 yards and 1 TD alongside 17 rushes for 111 yards (most of which coming off a single 75-yard rushing TD). As for the rest of the Huskers offense, the WRs flashed occasionally when Martinez was able to get the ball to them, with junior WR Oliver Martin putting up better stats in this game than he had in all of 2020. Opposite Martin, a lot of expectations have been placed on Montana transfer Samori Toure, and for good reason. Toure caught 87 balls for 1,495 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Grizzlies last year. While his Nebraska career isn’t on quite the same pace after one game, he still turned in a decent performance, catching 3 passes for 37 yards. In the rushing attack, the Huskers have seemingly had quite the battle for the number 1 RB spot throughout practice this year, but freshman Gabe Ervin came out with 8 more carries than any other running back with 12. Ervin only capitalized with 33 yards, but the rushing attack struggled with every back that Frost tried behind an awful offensive line. As a possible three or four-year starter, Ervin absolutely needs to be on devy and C2C players’ radars.
On the other side of the field, Bret Bielema’s squad surprised some people in this one. The Illini lost journeyman QB Brandon Peters with a shoulder injury very early in the game, but backup Artur Sitkowski turned in a solid performance going 12/15 for 124 yards and 2 TDs. However, it was the running game that pushed Illinois towards the endzone time and time again, as senior Mike Epstein rushed 16 times for 75 yards and a score. Reggie Love III also contributed 45 yards on 12 carries, but the main storyline in the backfield was Chase Brown. Many expected Brown to be the leader of the RB corps this season, but the sophomore saw just 5 carries and turned in a 24-yard performance. Meanwhile, in the receiving game, it was Isaiah Williams who led the team. Williams caught 6 passes for 41 yards and a score.
Connecticut (0-0) at Fresno St (0-0)
Result: Connecticut 0 – Fresno St 45
This is pretty much the performance that everybody expected in this game, as the Bulldogs were 27.5 point betting favorites against a Connecticut team that never even graced the field during the 2020 season. On offense, Fresno has a fantastic trio of players that are solid devy assets, and they all put in performances that many would expect against such a poor defense. Former Washington QB Jake Haener is one of the better group-of-5 QBs in the country and turned in a 20/26 performance, gaining 331 yards thru the air, and tossing three TDs. Meanwhile, his star WR, Jalen Cropper, has had a solid career to date and turned in another strong performance. Cropper caught three passes for 87 yards and this beautiful TD:
Absolutely ridiculous 86 yard touchdown reception for Fresno State’s Jalen Cropper pic.twitter.com/MreONcWm57
— Matt Hicks (@TheFF_Educator) August 28, 2021
In the backfield with Haener, 5th-year senior RB Ronnie Rivers put together another solid performance at RB, rushing 13 times for 58 yards and catching 2 balls for 66 yards and a score. Overall, Fresno State has a really good squad this year, and they’re likely a name you’ll see hovering in the 20s and the teens in the top 25 rankings throughout the season.
On the Connecticut side, there really isn’t much to talk about. Quarterback Jack Zergiotis really struggled, completing 12 of 24 attempts for just 61 yards. Meanwhile, running back Kevin Mensah, who had a strong season in 2019 for the Huskies, only gained 31 yards on 11 carries. The lone bright spot, in my opinion, was sophomore WR Cameron Ross. Ross was the Huskies’ leading receiver as a Freshman in 2020, and he looked very solid on the eye test on Saturday. Unfortunately, Zergiotis couldn’t deliver the ball to him very well and Ross finished with 5 catches for just 37 yards.
Hawai’i (0-0) at UCLA (0-0)
Result: Hawai’i 10 – UCLA 44
The Rainbow Warriors took their licks early on in this one, as UCLA secured a 24-3 lead in the first quarter alone. However, UCLA’s 4th-year starter at QB, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, turned in an incredibly poor performance through the air. Thompson-Robinson missed a lot of receivers high and completed just 10 of his 20 attempts for 130 yards and a score. However, what the Bruins lacked in the passing game, they more than made up for on the ground. Former 4-star, Michigan RB Zach Charbonnet and 5th-year senior Brittain Brown formed a strong duo, with Charbonnet rushing for 106 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 6 attempts while Brown tacked on another 78 yards and a score on 13 attempts.
Former @UMichFootball Wolverine Zach Charbonnet is going BEAST MODE for @UCLAFootball 😤
(🎥 @espn) pic.twitter.com/Co7Cl2wMJc
— 247Sports (@247Sports) August 28, 2021
The WR position has been a bit of unknown for UCLA throughout the offseason, as the Bruins didn’t really return any strong receivers outside of tight end Greg Dulcich. However, it seems the Bruins’ pass catchers are going to stay an enigma after this week. With Thompson-Robinson’s poor showing combined with the run game showing out, it was difficult for any receiver to excel. Looking forward, somebody will have to show up for them next week, as they’ll likely be forced to turn to the passing game in what should be a higher scoring affair against LSU next week.
For Hawai’i, this was a concerning performance for a team that returned a ton of starters from last year. However, with this being a 3:30 ET kickoff, it was basically a 9:30 AM kickoff in Hawai’i time. Suffering from the morning blues, the Rainbow Warriors couldn’t get anything going early on and star QB Chevan Cordeiro completed just 25 of his 47 attempts for 220 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions. Meanwhile, the strongest performances came from the RB position. RB/WR combo Calvin Turner Jr caught 5 passes for 50 yards and RB Dae Dae Hunter caught 7 passes for 19 yards and ran 7 times for 20 yards. It’s an encouraging amount of opportunities for both players, but the Hawai’i offensive line couldn’t open anything up in the rushing game or the screen game against their opponents. Both Hunter and Turner will likely have some much stronger performances later in the season once Hawai’i is facing teams of their own caliber.
Texas-El Paso (0-0) at New Mexico St (0-0)
Result: UTEP 30 – New Mexico St 3
In a battle of two incredibly poor teams, experience shined through as New Mexico State, who played no FBS games and went 1-1 against FCS opponents in 2020, got blown out by a UTEP team that went 0-5 in 2020. I have to be honest, there’s nothing worth talking about for New Mexico State. They have a football team that exists to give other football teams free wins.
Meanwhile, UTEP will likely be in the same boat against tougher opponents, but there are a couple of bright spots on the Miners’ offense. The first of which is QB Gavin Hardison. Hardison turned in a 11/16 performance, in which he passed for 249 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. Hardison extended plays well with his legs and was able to find his receivers, but he’s probably a ways away from even being a UDFA at the next level. However, the real story of this game is his star wideout, Jacob Cowing. Cowing caught 5 passes for 158 yards and a score, and turned in a dazzling performance in the advanced statistics. As Anthony Treash (@PFF_Anthony) pointed out, Cowing generated 9.88 yards per route run in this game. Last season, no WR across the entire NCAA saw a performance that high in that statistic. Cowing will likely be a small-school analytical darling when he comes out of college, possibly as early as this April.
Southern Utah (0-0) at San Jose St (0-0)
Result: Southern Utah 14 – San Jose St 45
The Thunderbirds of Southern Utah are an FCS team, and an average one at best, so they’re going to get the same treatment as New Mexico St received above. San Jose State, on the other hand, went 7-1 last season and stunned many en route to a Mountain West conference championship. Former Texas A&M and Arkansas quarterback Nick Starkel struggled at the SEC level, but he’s been a standout in the Mountain West. He threw for 2,174 yards and 17 touchdowns in just eight games last season and turned in another strong performance for the Spartans on Saturday. In the opener, Starkel completed 16 of 27 attempts and gained 394 yards and 4 scores through the air with just one interception. Alongside that strong passing performance, the Spartans also put in work on the ground. Leading the way, 5th-year senior Tyler Nevens carried the ball 12 times for 91 yards and a score. Overall, San Jose State likely has a roster that should challenge for another Mountain West championship in 2021 and Starkel should provide plenty of fireworks.
