After a nearly eight month hiatus, college football returned this weekend and it did not disappoint. Although several high-ranked teams had slight scares (see: Florida State, Alabama, and UCLA victories), no major upsets occurred across the country and that included in the Big Ten.

For the weekend, the conference as a whole went 12-2 with both losses coming to teams from other power conferences, including three wins for teams playing away from their home stadium.

Minnesota 42, Eastern Illinois 20

Buoyed by the defense and special teams, the Golden Gophers ran away with this one that could have looked much worse if not for two touchdowns by the Panthers in the last 30 seconds, including one as time expired. Up just 14 points at halftime, Minnesota blocked a punt that was scooped up by Logan Hutton, a senior wide receiver, and ran in for his first career touchdown.

The defense was the star for Minnesota as the unit forced three turnovers (two fumbles and one interception) while holding Eastern Illinois to just 2.5 yards per carry on 39 attempts. Sophomore quarterback Mitch Leidner ran in two scores and threw for another as Minnesota easily dispatched the FCS side. Next up for the Gophers is a visit from Middle Tennessee State.

Rutgers 41, Washington State 38

In their first game as an official member of the Big Ten, Rutgers showed that maybe they’re not just here for their market size. And they showed that right from their first play from scrimmage, which was a 78-yard touchdown pass from Gary Nova to Leonte Carroo. Nova finished with 278 yards passing and two touchdowns as Rutgers went west and won in Seattle, but running back Paul James led the attack with 173 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner with just over three minutes left.

In Mike Leach’s famed Air Raid system, Washington State threw the ball all over the field. Connor Halliday ended the day with 532 yards and five touchdowns but it wasn’t enough after River Cracraft fumbled a punt that gave the ball back to the Scarlet Knights for their game-winning drive. Rutgers comes back east this week as they host Howard.

Michigan State 45, Jacksonville State 7

As expected, Sparty rolled over Jacksonville State with no problem as they sprinted out to a 21-0 lead after the first quarter and 38-0 at half. Connor Cook went down early with an apparent leg injury on Michigan State’s first score but Cook came back to throw two more touchdowns before his day was done.

The defending Big Ten champs dominated the entire game, outgaining their opponent by more than 300 yards and holding the Gamecocks to just 22 yards rushing. The Spartans have a huge test next week as they travel to the Autzen Zoo to take on the Oregon Ducks in one of the top nonconference matchups of the season.

Penn State 26, Central Florida 24

Penn State went east, way east, to take on Central Florida and they needed a last-second field goal from Sam Ficken to take the victory in front of 55,000 in Dublin, Ireland. The Knights looked poised to take this one from James Franklin in his first game in charge, going up 24-23 with just over a minute to go. That was before Christian Hackenberg came on and led the Nittany Lions down the field for the victory.

Hackenberg put in a historic performance, becoming the first Penn State quarterback to throw for 400 yards as he ended up with 454 yards to go with one touchdown toss. The Nittany Lions come back to the States and host Akron next week.

Illinois 28, Youngstown State 17

It wasn’t pretty, but then again, it hasn’t been very pretty in recent times for the Fighting Illini. Illinois needed 21 4th quarter points to stave off the upset-minded Penguins. Wes Lunt, the transfer in from Oklahoma State, had a slow start to his Big Ten career but finished strong with three touchdown passes in the final period for four total touchdowns on the day.

The Illini were outgained 380-363 by their FCS opponent, including 203-78 on the ground, and will look to improve on their performance next weekend when they play host to the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky.

Indiana 28, Indiana State 10

In their season opener in Bloomington, the Hoosiers ran, ran, and ran the ball some more as they pounded the rock 69 times for 455 yards in the victory over the Sycamores. Tevin Coleman put up 245 yards and two touchdowns on just 23 carries and D’Angelo Roberts also topped the century mark with 129 yards and a score on 24 carries.

Nate Sudfeld did not have much to do, as he ended up 11-18 for 111 yards, and Indiana easily dispatched their in-state rivals. The Hoosiers travel to Bowling Green next Saturday.

Iowa 31, Northern Iowa 23

Up by as little as a single point in the 4th quarter, Iowa held off their in-state FCS opponent as well. The Panthers shot themselves in the foot over the course of the game with 16 penalties in a game hardly anyone thought would be this close. Sawyer Kollmorgen finished with 380 yards passing and two scores for Northern Iowa, while his counterpart Jake Rudock threw for 250 and two touchdowns.

A big difference was in the run game. The Hawkeyes ran the ball for 151 yards while holding the Panthers to just 25 yards on the ground. Iowa welcomes Ball State to Kinnick next weekend.

Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32

Just kidding. There was no way the Wolverines were going to lose this game, and that was apparent right out of the gate. Devin Gardner threw three touchdown passes to Devin Funchess in the first half as the Wolverines easily put the Mountaineers away 52-14. One would have thought that would have been the scoreline when the Wolverines were ranked in the top five in the country the last time these two met.

The Wolverines ended up with 350 yards rushing, including 170 from Derrick Green. Next up for the Wolverines is Notre Dame in South Bend.

Purdue 43, Western Michigan 34

Danny Etling got his first career win as Purdue’s starting quarterback as the Boilermakers held off their MAC foe. Etling was winless in seven starts as a freshman, but played well enough to get the win this weekend as he threw for two touchdowns and ran in another score.

The Broncos were within three points in the final quarter before Akeem Hunt scored a 38-yard touchdown rush to put it away. Purdue gets another one of the directional Michigan schools next week, as Central Michigan comes in to Ross-Ade for their shot at the Boilermakers.

Nebraska 55, Florida Atlantic 7

In a game they were supposed to dominate, Nebraska did just that. The Cornhuskers rolled over FAU to the tune of 784 yards of offense, their most since putting up 787 against Utah State in 1991. Tommy Armstrong Jr. threw for 271 yards and two scores while Ameer Abdullah ran for 232 and a TD.

Of their 784 yards of offense, 498 came on the ground as Terrell Newby also topped 100 yards and added two touchdowns of his own in the rout. Things don’t get much more difficult for Nebraska next week as McNeese State comes to Lincoln for their payday.

California 31, Northwestern 24

Turns out losing two of your biggest offensive weapons can be a bit of a problem as Northwestern found out as they fell at home to Cal. Without Venric Marc and Christian Jones, the Wildcats started extremely slow, falling behind 31-7 before cutting the lead to the final tally of 31-24.

Trevor Siemian threw for 229 yards and a touchdown but also got picked off twice in the loss. The Wildcats will look to get their first win of the season next week against Northern Illinois.

Maryland 52, James Madison 7

Also in their first official game as a member of the Big Ten Conference, Maryland found things a little easier than Rutgers. The Terrapins were up 45-0 into the 4th quarter before the Dukes found the end zone for the first and only time of the game. Senior quarterback C.J. Brown led the way with 61 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns to go with 111 yards passing and a score through the air.

Former Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Everett Withers is now in charge at James Madison, but he saw his offense get into Maryland territory just once in the first half. Maryland takes a trip to Tampa next weekend to take on South Florida.

LSU 28, Wisconsin 24

In a potential statement game for the conference and the Badgers themselves, Wisconsin went full Sparty, and you never want to go full Sparty. Up 24-7 after their opening drive of the second half, the wheels promptly fell off for Bucky. Melvin Gordon and the running backs did as much as they could for Wisconsin, rushing for 268 yards as a team and Gordon had 140 yards and a TD himself.

The real problem for the Badgers came in the passing game. Tanner McEvoy was nowhere near where he needed to be for Wisconsin, completing just 8-of-24 passes for only 50 yards while being intercepted twice. The loss meant starting 0-1 for the first time in 17 years. Wisconsin should have no trouble evening their record next week as they welcome Western Illinois into Camp Randall.

What were your thoughts on the B1G’s opening weekend? Let us know in the comments what you thought of the opening slate of games.

It’s finally here — college football season. The first season of the playoff system for which so many of have been waiting. Everyone knows that the 13-person selection committee will select the four teams that will compete for the championship, but what is less commonly known is that the committee will also select the teams that will compete in a total of six bowls: Peach, Cotton, Fiesta, Rose, Orange, and Sugar. Under the BCS model, every bowl matchup, except the championship game, was determined by the bowls themselves. There will also be three new bowls this season, bringing the total number of bowls to a whopping 38. The Bahamas Bowl (Nassau, Bahamas), the Boca Raton Bowl (Boca Raton, FL), and the Miami Bowl (Miami, FL) will each make their debuts this season. No team from the Power 5 will participate in any of those new bowls, however, as they are each designated to Group of Five teams and/or Independents.

I am not a fan of preseason polls, so I don’t care about where teams are ranked in the Coaches or AP poll right now (however, the AP rankings will be listed below for those who do care) and those rankings will have no bearing on who I pick, or the strength or weakness of a win (or loss) in the next few weeks. I hope, too, that the selection committee doesn’t allow preseason rankings to be too big of an impact on their team assessments.

Alright, let’s dive in!

1. #21 Texas A&M at #9 South Carolina (8/28/14, 6pm EST, SEC Network): Both of these teams were charged with the task of replacing a dynamic player at quarterback as both Johnny Manziel and Connor Shaw have moved on to the NFL (and both to the Cleveland Browns). The Aggies are turning to sophomore Kenny Hill for now. I’m convinced freshman Kyle Allen will take over this job soon, but Hill has the job at the moment. He only has 22 pass attempts (16 completions) under his belt. However, behind him are a stable of running backs that not many teams can rival (perhaps Alabama, Oregon, and Georgia). He also has two receivers in redshirt freshman Ricky Seals-Jones and true freshman Speedy Noil and a tight end (Cam Clear) that are all big and fast on whom he can lean. Their defense, that started up to 7 freshmen at a time last season, is the biggest question. Surely a whole season and offseason will lead to improvement, but we’ll just have to see how much of an improvement that will be. The Ol’ Ball Coach will start senior Dylan Thompson. Thompson already has some game experience (Connor Shaw was injury prone) and even threw a game-winning touchdown in a bowl game. That particular bowl game is typically remembered more for a certain JaDeveon Clowney hit though. Clowney, fellow defensive lineman Kelcy Quarles, and leading receiver Bruce Ellington have left for the NFL (Texans, Giants, and 49ers respectively). However, an early Heisman candidate is in the backfield to carry the load in running back Mike Davis. Most spreads I’ve seen for this game have the Gamecocks favored by 10.5 points. It’s hard to predict games this early in the season because we don’t have on-the-field data to which we can refer, but I just don’t see South Carolina covering that spread. I think TAMU has a chance in this game but South Carolina will pull a win out. After all, the Gamecocks haven’t lost at home since 2011.

2. #5 Ohio State at Navy (8/30/14, 12pm EST, CBS Sports Network): Starting at quarterback for The Ohio State University, out of Wichita Falls, Texas, and wearing number 16: scarletshirt freshman J.T. Barrett! Many pundits flushed any chance of the Buckeyes being one of the last four teams standing down the toilet when Braxton Miller went down for the season. Let’s see what Barrett can do before we push down on the handle, shall we? There have been a few second-year freshmen over the past few years who have done pretty well for themselves and their teams. The Buckeyes do only return 1 starter on the offensive line (however, senior Chad Lindsey transferred over from Alabama), but Meyer has seemed optimistic even after Miller’s injury. He wants to play even faster now and has labeled Barrett a “distributor” early on; get the ball in the hands of all the speed the offense can put on the field and let them run. Navy is no pushover, however. Quarterback Keenan Reynolds tied for the most rushing touchdowns last season with an unbelievable 31 of them (six players had more carries than him). Navy runs a triple option and as we all know, that is a bit difficult to prepare for because it’s hard to duplicate in practice. The Midshipmen do pass it a little more than in years past (they actually had 6 games in which they had double digit pass attempts in 2013), and Reynolds has a pretty good arm. The last time these two teams played (2009), it was also to open the season and the Buckeyes were saved by intercepted (and returned) two-point conversion to hold on to a 31-27 win. I’ve seen spreads for this game favoring the Buckeyes by 16 or 17 points. However, given Navy’s time possession dominating style of play, I don’t know if there will be enough scoring opportunities in a 60-minute period to win by that many points. My Buckeyes win, but I think it’ll be closer to a 10 or 13-point margin.

3. West Virginia vs. #2 Alabama in the Georgia Dome (8/30/14, 3:30pm EST ESPN): I wasn’t going to choose this game in Week 1, but there’s something about it that intrigues me. It’s not because we’ll see two former Florida State quarterbacks (both of whom left because they weren’t going to beat out Jameis Winston) in Clint Trickett and Jacob Coker. It isn’t because Clint Trickett announced that Nick Saban’s daughter was his first kiss (via al.com); that wasn’t that big of a deal given the kiss happened as six-year-olds and both his dad and his brother have been on Saban’s staff — but it was funny that he mentioned it. This game shouldn’t interest me at all given Alabama is favored by 26 in most of the spreads I’ve seen. Vegas seems to think it doesn’t matter who plays quarterback for the Crimson Tide or that the defensive backfield is young and relatively inexperienced (except Landon Collins who is a beast). However, quarterback, for both teams, is actually one of three main reasons this game catches my attention. Like many, I want to know who stands out between Coker and Sims on the Alabama side, because whoever does will dictate the direction the passing game will go this season. Sims is not a great passer and it would be a shame to waste receiving threats Amari Cooper, Chris Black, Robert Foster, and O.J. Howard, but then it would mean there’d be more reason for T.J. Yeldon, Derrick Henry, and Kenyon Drake to get touches. Coker, it seems, would be able to use more of these weapons. I want to know how Clint Trickett will do in his second year in Dana Holgorsen’s up tempo, no huddle, offense and of course I want to see how Nick Saban will defend it given his seeming disdain for that style of offense. That dynamic is very intriguing to me after the offseason debate about these fast-paced offenses. Lastly, I want to see how Lane Kiffin will use the collection of four and five-star recruits at his disposal — yet within Saban’s naturally conservative scheme. I realize they won’t show a whole lot in the first game, particularly if the game goes the way Vegas thinks it will, but if Trickett and WVU can possibly put up some points, we may get a better show than even the “city that never sleeps” is ready for. Alabama wins, but doesn’t cover the 26.

4. #16 Clemson at #12 Georgia (8/30/14, 5:30pm EST ESPN): We have another matchup of two teams who lost their quarterbacks to the NFL. This one is a little different in that both Tajh Boyd (Jets) and Aaron Murray (Chiefs) were seniors and are now being replaced by seniors Cole Stoudt and Hutson Mason. The Tigers not only lost their star quarterback, but their top two rushers (one of which was Boyd) and their top two receivers from a year ago. On top of that, two offensive linemen who many thought would start (David Beasley and Isaiah Battle) are sitting out of this game due to the ever-popular “violation of team rules”. Defensively, I still can’t believe Vic Beasley forewent the NFL Draft and returned for his senior season as I think he’d have been a top ten pick. The defensive line is where Clemson will be strong this year and they’ll play hockey-style line changes much like Chip Kelly did at Oregon. Hutson Mason is a fifth-year senior who was able to get into five games last season due to Murray’s injuries. He started in the Bulldogs’ bowl game loss to Nebraska, but he played pretty well (21 for 39, 320 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT). That shows he can perform on a fairly big stage. Where Georgia is among the nation’s best this season is depth at the running back position. It starts with Heisman candidate Todd Gurley, who some think is the best back in the country. Keith Marshall (who teamed up with Gurley two seasons ago to make up one of the best tandems in the country) is back from injury. As if that weren’t enough, freshmen Sony Michel and Nick Chubb are good enough that Mark Richt will surely want to get them on the field somehow. I think Clemson is going to bring the house and make Mason prove he can beat them with a less-than-stellar group of receivers. Clemson will put up points (after all, it’s a Chad Morris offense), but I don’t know if they’ll be able to stop Georgia’s running attack. Clemson wins by a touchdown.

5. #14 Wisconsin vs. #13 LSU in NRG Stadium in Houston, TX (8/30/14, 9pm EST, ESPN): LSU may be playing the youngest roster in the country this year. Les Miles is playing two quarterbacks (sophomore Anthony Jennings and true freshman Brandon Harris) on Saturday, but I don’t expect that to be the situation for long as I expect Harris to win the job. If that is the case, we could soon see a true freshman at quarterback, a true freshman at running back (#1 overall recruit Leonard Fournette), and a true freshman at wide receiver (#1 wide receiver Malachi Dupre). Some people think Fournette could be the best freshman running back since Adrian Peterson burst onto the scene for Oklahoma in 2004. He appears to be a beast and he may well be the next big name and given the doors opened by Manziel and Winston, it’s quite possible he could make a run to be the first true freshman to win the Heisman (I think Peterson should have won it over Matt Leinart, but don’t get me started). Wisconsin is not starting the year as many people thought they would. Last week Coach Anderson named Tanner McEvoy the starting quarterback over Joel Stave (who started all 13 games last season). McEvoy played some safety for the Badgers last season. He was a third-string quarterback at South Carolina in 2011, transferred to a community college in Arizona, and ended up in Madison last year. He’s a better athlete that Stave and should add the mobility factor at quarterback Anderson was used to with Chuckie Keeton at Utah State. That may help keep defenses honest instead of stacking the box to stop running back Melvin Gordon (a Heisman candidate in his own right). The Badgers don’t have a corner who can match Dupre’s speed, but I’m sure they plan on putting as much pressure on Jennings/Harris as they can and make the Tigers beat them with their arm. The problem with that is the Badgers had to replace every starter on the defensive line and at linebacker from a year ago. This is a toss-up, which is why the lines seem to be settling around 5 in favor of Wisconsin. Vegas seems to be giving in to the idea that it’s a bit too early for LSU’s talent to overcome its youth. I tend to agree. Wisconsin wins a close one.

FCS over FBS pick: Bethune Cookman over Florida International. Bethune-Cookman won ten games (one of which was against FIU) last season and made the playoffs. FIU would have been winless last season if it hadn’t tipped a game-winning field goal attempt by Southern Miss at the line (and that gave Southern Miss THEIR 17th loss in a row).

So we here at MotSaG have traditionally done our usual Top 25 poll every week and while those are fun to discuss and do, we have come to the conclusion that really no one cares about teams 11-25. If they are good enough they will move in the Top 10 eventually and if they aren’t they didn’t deserve the time we put into them anyhow.

How did I come up with my Top 10 you might be asking? Well I based it on how teams finished last year first and foremost. I then considered returning players and ease of schedule. I tried to not just blindly put in the usual teams unless they truly deserved it. Name alone wont get you on my list. I did not consider hypothetical situations of who could beat who and all that. Not that those aren’t valid ways of doing this it is just that it makes it way to difficult and these should not be difficult to do. So lets get to it shall we.

Top 10

1.) Florida State- This is a no brainer they won the NC and bring back a ton of talent and have an easy schedule with only 2 ranked teams #16 Clemson and #17 Notre Dame both of which are home games.

2.) Oklahoma- Oklahoma finished the season by absolutely destroying Alabama who was a freak play away from going to the NCG. They return a lot of players and have an easy schedule as well with 2 ranked opponents #10 Baylor and #20 Kansas State both of which are at home.

3.) Michigan State- MSU would have surely been in the playoff last year if their was one. They may have even won the whole thing. They have a tougher schedule having to play #3 Oregon, #5 OSU, and #22 Nebraska with only 2 of the 3 at home. They may have been #2 if not for losing some great players from last years team.

4.) Oregon- Oregon is coming off an 11-2 season with a bowl dominating win over Texas. They return most of that team. They host #8 MSU, #11 Stanford, #25 Washington, and on the road @ #7 UCLA. So their schedule as you can see is brutal. If they win 3 of 4 they are probably in the 4 team playoff.

5.) UCLA- UCLA is coming off a season where they won some great games and lost some bad ones. They have the talent and coaching to prosper. Their schedule is brutal though hosting #3 Oregon, #11 Stanford, #15 USC, and on the road against #19 Arizona St, and #25 Washington. Thats a gauntlet.

6.) South Carolina- They won 11 games last season including a bowl win over Wisconsin. They return a lot of players. They have a brutal schedule as well. Hosting #12 Georgia, #21 Texas A&M, #24 Mizzou, and on the road against #6 Auburn and #16 Clemson.

7.) Baylor- Yes Baylor lost to UCF. But they return a lot of talented players and have an easy schedule. They play @ #4 Oklahoma and host #20 Kansas State. If they can beat OU in Norman they have a great shot to go undefeated.

8.) Stanford- Stanford managed to win the PAC 12 and barely lost to a dominant MSU team in the Rose Bowl. They have a system that works extremely well in the PAC 12 against teams not use to 3 yards and a cloud of dust offense and attacking defense. Stanford’s schedule is INSANE… Hosting #15 USC. Away games @ #3 Oregon, #7 UCLA, #17 Notre Dame, #19 ASU, and #25 Washington. Not much chance for them to go unscathed.

9.) Auburn- Auburn was a couple of plays away from being a 4 or 5 loss team or the National Champs last year. They return nearly everyone and have the talent to win it all. Their schedule is brutal though. Home games against #9 South Carolina, #13 LSU, #21 Texas A&M, and away games at #2 Bama, #12 Georgia, #18 Ole Miss, and #20 Kansas State.

10.) Southern Cal- Coming off a 10 win season and a bowl win. USC has a plethora of 4 and 5 star players and the momentum to sneak up and win the PAC 12. A tough schedule will prepare them or could derail them we shall see. Home games against #17 ND and #19 ASU. Away games at #7 UCLA and #11 Stanford. Not to bad of a schedule considering some of the others in the PAC 12.

Just missed the cut

This was hard to do but I didn’t put Ohio State or Alabama in this weeks polls for the same reasons. They both lost their last 2 games last season. They both lost their starting All-Everything QBs. They both lost a lot of talent to the NFL draft.

They also though have the same positives in easy schedule and lots of talent on the team still. I imagine it won’t take long for both of these teams to move up into the top 10.