The final lively school soccer coach aside from Clemson’s Dabo Swinney or Alabama’s Nick Saban to win the nationwide championship?
Before these two cut up the final 4 titles — and earlier than Ohio State’s Urban Meyer, presently (however in all probability not for lengthy) a Fox Sports studio analyst, gained the primary College Football Playoff in January of 2015 — Jimbo Fisher and Florida State claimed all of the marbles to cap the 2013 season.
Of course, a lot has modified since then. The Bowl Championship Series is a factor of the ever-more-distant previous. The mightiness of FSU’s program is, too. And some would say the identical about Fisher, a department on the Saban teaching tree whose personal power — almost two years since he departed FSU for Texas A&M as issues in Tallahassee started to rot — is unsure.
But Fisher has, in Year 2 of his follow-up act, a dangerously gifted staff on his arms. No. 12 Texas A&M (+18) at No. 1 Clemson (2:30 p.m., Ch. 7) is must-see TV on the second full Saturday of the season.
Is Fisher, 53, going to recreate the form of buzz in rich-in-resources College Station that surrounded him as he changed Bobby Bowden at FSU previous to the 2010 season? Will he raise the Aggies to the place the Seminoles had been after they gained 39 video games from 2012 to 2014? And can a coach who leaned on — and enabled — controversial quarterback Jameis Winston do all of it with out once more calling his personal strategies into query?
But first: an enormous check on the residence of the defending champs. The groups performed final 12 months on the Aggies’ turf, with the Tigers stopping a last-minute two-point conversion to hold on for a 28-26 victory.
Oh, and one other factor: Clemson had Kelly Bryant operating the offense that night time. Brilliant younger quarterback Trevor Lawrence had but to swipe Bryant’s job.
“Any time you win a national championship and are ranked No. 1, you’re good in all three phases,” mentioned Fisher, a man who would know.
Lawrence would be the greatest participant on the sphere. Unless it’s celebrity huge receiver Justyn Ross. Or celebrity operating again Travis Etienne. Have we talked about the Tigers’ hellacious protection?
But the Aggies have gamers to be reckoned with, too. Quarterback Kellen Mond threw for 430 yards towards the Tigers final 12 months. His receiving corps is bountiful. A&M’s protection? More of a query mark. Clemson, 31-24.
In different Week 2 motion:
Cincinnati (+16) at No. 5 Ohio State (11 a.m., Ch. 7): The Bearcats impressed, particularly on protection, in final week’s 24-14 victory over UCLA. Now comes an enormous second for his or her coach, Luke Fickell, who performed at OSU and was on the employees there for 15 years earlier than taking his first head job. Sorry, boss: Buckeyes by 20-plus.
No. 6 LSU (-6½) at No. 9 Texas (6:30 p.m., Ch. 7): No quarterback within the nation will hand over his physique extra willingly than the Tigers’ Joe Burrow — until it’s the Longhorns’ Sam Ehlinger. Watch the pads explode on this one. Hook ’Em in an upset.
Army (+22½) at No. 7 Michigan (11 a.m., Fox-32): How about just a little respect for the truth that the Black Knights are 24-5 over their final 29 video games? The self-discipline of Jeff Monken’s offense is one thing to behold. Finishing drives with touchdowns, although, is all the time an extra-tall process towards a top-tier opponent. Call it 35-14 for the Maize and Blue.
No. 23 Stanford (+1) at USC (9:30 p.m., ESPN): Who are you, Kedon Slovis? America should discover out when the little-known QB begins for the Trojans instead of JT Daniels, who’s misplaced for the season after an ACL tear suffered within the opener. Stanford’s QB image is muddled, too, however Davis Mills has an upside that makes the shaky standing of banged-up KJ Costello much less of an enormous deal. Take the Cardinal.
No. 25 Nebraska (-4) at Colorado (2:30 p.m., Fox-32): Buffs QB Steven Montez has NFL in his arm. His Huskers counterpart, Adrian Martinez, is an explosive playmaker. All the questions listed below are about the remainder of the groups’ rosters. Is Nebraska, a sizzling decide to win the Big Ten West, rebuilt sufficient…