College Football is here!!
We love many sports, but there’s something about College Football that just gets us excited — the passion of the game, the uncertainty of the outcomes, and the banter it creates. It’s all stuff we love!
With that, we introduce our Game of the Week Series where we either preview or review upcoming games. For this post it is both a preview and a review. The preview was posted before the week and the review–after the week. We are doing this for College Football and the NFL. And if it goes well, we may do it for other sports as well (think week 1 of the NBA – Boston Celtics at Cleveland Cavaliers). We want to stir up conversations at the office or wherever you may be. Talk sports and business! It’s what we do at SportsEpreneur.
In this Game of the Week Series we will feature different teams every week. If you want your team featured, let us know! We want this to be either your primer and recap for the game (or both), but not in the way ESPN or CBS Sports or Bleacher Report would do it. We want to give you storylines, unique perspectives on the game, and links to the different previews or recaps from the major sources. And then we want your opinions, your predictions, and your rants. Send us a message anywhere—on our website, on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
UPDATE — The below portion of the article was updated on Labor Day, Monday, September 4th, 2017. It is the REVIEW section of this article.
Best Game of the Week: UCLA 45, Texas A&M 44 / This was an epic comeback. Led by phenom quarterback, Josh Rosen, the UCLA Bruins came back from being down 44-10 and won! UCLA was down by 34 points with under 3 minutes to play in the 3rd quarter! This comeback had us so excited, we wrote an unedited and unfiltered post on Instagram you can find Here. Be on the lookout for the edited version to land on SportsEpreneur’s Blog this week. Need some motivation to never give up? This article is for you. And want to watch the comeback? You can do so on YouTube, thanks to Frankie.Vision. This game will go down as one of the best of the 2017 season and we are only one week in.
Disappointment of the Week: Our pick of Florida State to beat Alabama comes to mind (we were way off!). While Florida State was hanging tough, a late no-call in the first half may have swung the momentum to Alabama. Alabama ended up coasting in the second half in what turned out to be an over hyped game. Worse for FSU was their star quarterback Francois is now out for the season with a knee injury.
Our Teams: How did our teams do? The Ohio State Buckeyes, who played Big 10 opponent Indiana in a week 1 road game (you don’t see that often), struggled early before going on a 29 point run to end the game. They won 49-21. Michigan took advantage of a poor Florida Gator offensive performance and showed they are a team to contend with. The South Carolina Gamecocks held on to beat the NC State Wolfpack at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC.
What Did We Learn in Week 1 (after all, this is what SportsEpreneur is about): You cannot end your season in one week. Yes, Florida State, you lost the game and your quarterback, but remember, Ohio State in 2014. They lost their quarterback in the pre-season, lost week 2 of the season and later lost their backup quarterback in the final regular season game. And they still won the National Championship. So there’s hope. And if you don’t believe me, just ask UCLA as they are still basking in the glory of an improbable comeback.
Below is the Preview for Week 1–This was published on August 31, 2017.
Game of the Week:
It’s the number 1 and 3 ranked teams in the country facing off! Talk about not wasting any time! It’s the Alabama Crimson Tide vs the Florida State Seminoles. And this game is the first regular season sporting event ever to be played at the newest billion-dollar stadium: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
Alabama is coming off a loss in last years National Championship game to the Clemson Tigers. And while they are replacing 10 key players taken in the 2017 NFL Draft, Alabama comes back loaded, as usual. They will be lead by stud quarterback, Jalen Hurts.
If we were to ask Head Coach, Nick Saban of his prediction, we don’t think it would go so well, as proven by this video.
And then there is Florida State. Another loaded team ready to make a run to this year’s College Football Playoff. Deondre Francois will be the feature of the Noles attack.
The winner of Alabama vs Florida State will absolutely lead the way as a frontrunner for the Playoff.
Not hyped yet? How about a Hype Video for the game! In 2017, hype videos for college football games are the norm. If you haven’t watched, start now! They are awesome. In fact, at the end of this article, we will include other hype videos from across the country!
Our Rooting Interest?
None! If they could both lose, that would be okay with us! We will take an entertaining game and be grateful for that. But we aren’t jumping up and down for either team.
Must Read Preview Articles
Going to Atlanta for the Game?
Get seats: StubHub
Bama Travel Guide to Atlanta
More Story Lines:
Chicago Tribune Article: Is Nick Saban still hated even after losing to Clemson last year? It would seem Florida State will be the team most unaffiliated fans will be rooting for:
Alabama.com Article: Why didn’t Jameis Winston, one of the best quarterbacks in College Football who was from Alabama not go to Alabama? And instead go to Florida State?
Prediction:
Who is going to win the game, Alabama vs Florida State?
We are going with Florida State by 8. Come next week, Florida State will be the #1 Team in the Nation. But Alabama won’t fall far and will be in the thick of the College Football Playoff race for many weeks.
Other Games and Their Hype Videos!
Ohio State Buckeyes at Indiana Hoosiers
Go Bucks! Take notice of the voice over in this video. It is Jocko Willink, U.S. Navy Seal and Co-Author of the book, “Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win“. I highly recommend this book for so many reasons including leadership ideas, incredible insight into the life of a Navy Seal, and captivating stories.
Hype video:
North Carolina State Wolfpack vs South Carolina Gamecocks
Mark Heath of KazSource is a diehard Gamecock’ fan.
Hype video:
Florida Gators vs Michigan Wolverines
Rudy Redmond of KazCM is a former track star at Michigan, but you know what—BOO BLUE!
Hype video: