While most college football teams will get their start this upcoming week, there were a handful of games this last weekend including a 30-22 Illinois victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Technically, the Fighting Illini scored the first points of the college season with a safety in the first quarter.
Now 12-21 since taking over as head coach, Scott Frost is certainly on the hot seat for the Cornhuskers, and this is certainly not the start that he or the university wanted.
On the flip side, Bret Bielema got off to an encouraging start winning his first game as Illinois’ head coach.
While the opening games certainly brought about intrigue, the majority of teams continue their preparation for the season ahead. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories around college football.
Teams Displaced Due To Hurricane Ida
While most of the attention surrounding Hurricane Ida has rightfully been of concern for the residents of the impacted areas, the hurricane has had some implications on the sports world as well.
A couple of colleges have found themselves relocating as a result of the hurricane ahead of their Week 1 matchups.
The highest-profile team is LSU, which has moved to Houston and is using the Houston Texans’ facilities in order to prepare for their first game. The plan is for them to use them through midweek before heading to Southern California, where they will take on UCLA Saturday.
UCLA actually picked up their first win this last weekend with a 44-10 drubbing of Hawaii. In the win, running back Zach Charbonnet had 106 yards rushing and three touchdowns for the Bruins.
Tulane has also moved practice venues as they are in Birmingham, Alabama to continue preparing for their upcoming game with Oklahoma.
While sports are secondary to the safety of all affected by the hurricane, it is nice to see that the schools were proactive in getting their athletes to safety while continuing to give them the opportunity to prepare for their seasons.
A Couple Programs Make Quarterback Decisions
It is this time of year that many programs around the country make decisions on position battles, and a couple of teams have done just that in regards to quarterback battles.
According to Bruce Feldman of FOX Sports, the Texas Longhorns have decided to go with sophomore Hudson Card in the race to replace Sam Ehlinger under center. This decision basically gives the youngster Card the reins to the offense instead of longtime backup Casey Thompson.
Card was a four-star recruit out of Lake Travis High School in Austin and was signed under Tom Herman’s regime.
Barrett Sallee of CBS Sports reports the Oregon Ducks also named their starter this week as they are going with Anthony Brown as their starting quarterback. Last season, Brown played in just two games for the Ducks and had 15 completions, 164 yards, and two touchdowns.
Brown transferred after his junior year from Boston College. In his last season there, he played in six games, throwing for 1,250 yards, nine touchdowns, and just two interceptions.
Alabama Defender Arrested Saturday Night
According to AL.com’s Michael Casagrande, Alabama Crimson Tide outside linebacker Quandarrius Robinson got in a car accident Saturday evening and was subsequently arrested for a DUI.
Robinson was a redshirt freshman last season after being signed in 2020 as the sixth-best outside linebacker.
Robinson was already going to have a tough time cracking a loaded Alabama defense, but this is obviously a major red flag for the young defender.
