Opening Weekend of College Football puts Spotlight Back on the Field
College football’s kickoff weekend is never without its surprises on the field, but this season most of the opening day mischief came from the clouds above. Michigan and West Virginia had their victories cut short in the rain, while games at Notre Dame, Iowa and Tennessee all had serious delays due to severe weather near the stadiums.
And a media storm has begun to surface over Oklahoma and Texas as rumors place both programs looking at a move to the infant Pac-12.
Two of the weekend’s biggest surprises, however, came from the north Texas region. In a Friday night opening battle, defending Rose Bowl Champ TCU scored 25 points in the fourth quarter, but that wasn’t enough to keep Baylor from their first win over a ranked opponent since 2004, as kicker Aaron Jones booted a 37-yard field goal with 1:04 left to give BU a 50-48 edge over the #14 Horned Frogs. Bears’ quarterback Robert Griffin III threw for a career-high five TD passes.
From the new Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, a game that many thought would go down to the wire, turned into a rout. Turnovers and inexperience at several positions put third-ranked Oregon in the hole as fourth-ranked LSU kept the pressure coming to catch the Ducks’ off-guard 40-27. It was the first season opening game of two top-five teams on a neutral field since 1984 and the 34th consecutive nonconference game won by the Tigers — the longest nonconference-winning streak in the nation.