College Football Arrives: Wisconsin, Mississippi State Enjoy Opening Night Feasts

It happens every year. We all get excited for the first wave of college football games on Thursday night, and we all forget how bad the games usually are. This is the first week, and cupcakes are the rule, not the exception, here. As a result, blowouts are always on the menu and, if we’re lucky, a close game falls into our laps.

That’s exactly how it played out on Thursday night. The two ranked teams easily took care of business, with Wisconsin handing UNLV a 51-17 loss and Mississippi State cruising past Memphis, 59-14. Those games stuck to the script and all went according to plan.

Western Kentucky linebacker Andrew Jackson thinks Kentucky is in the SEC. You might think Kentucky is in the SEC, too. After all, if one were to look up the current college football conferences, the Wildcats would be listed right there in the SEC. But you would be wrong.

A hearty thank you to Sports Grid for the season’s first meme.

Mississippi State opened the season convincingly, swatting away Memphis like a harmless fly in a 59-14 win. The Bulldogs put the first 24 points on the board and headed into the half with a 31-7 lead before cruising to the 45-point win on Thursday night.

For more, visit Mississippi State blog For Whom The Cowbell Tolls.

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Though that momentum began to shift midway through the third quarter when Bailey jumpstarted the Orange offense with a one-yard touchdown, narrowing the gap to a one-possession game. Wake Forest responded quickly with a Tanner Price 22-yard touchdown to Chris Givens, but Newman missed the ensuing extra point to give Syracuse the opening they needed.

To revel in the gleeful antics of the comeback, head to Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician. To join in the tearful circle of defeat, check out Blogger So Dear.

The game was never in doubt, as Wisconsin jumped out to a furious 27-0 lead in the opening seconds of the second quarter. By the time the two teams entered halftime the gap had widened to an insurmountable 37-3 advantage, capped by a spectacular 46-yard touchdown scramble by Wilson with a minute left in second quarter.

The Rebels eventually mounted what little fight they had left, scoring the final 14 points of the game against a second-string Badger defense. Though, in all reality, the last-second mini-rally only hurt one particular sect of society. Never gamble on the first week of college football, folks.

Price had played very well on the night, throwing for 297 yards and two touchdowns on 32 attempts as Wake rolled to a likely road upset victory.

Price was tended to on the field by medical personnel, then was able to walk off the field with assistance. Can’t speculate on his injury at this point, but it looked like a defender rolled up on his leg.

Wilson has been as advertised thus far, completing 10 of 13 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns. For good measure, Wilson added another two carries for 62 yards and a touchdown, by way of a 48 yard scamper.

And when you add Wilson’s performance to that of the Wisconsin running backs, a deadly offense emerges. James White and Montee Ball have already combined for four touchdowns, three of which belong to Ball, in the route. The two are neck-and-neck in the yardage category, with White picking up 64 yards on 11 carries and Ball adding 63 yards on 10 carries. Ball added a touchdown catch, as well, and leads all receivers with two catches for 67 yards.

This game is the best, and I can’t imagine why anybody would be watching anything else right now.

Commiserate with Kentucky blog A Sea Of Blue.

Since I can’t see this, I have no idea how it happened.

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Since touting Wake Forest-Syracuse, the mighty Demon Deacons have bolted to a 20-7 lead, and Twitter has devolved into a slapfight between ACC and Big East fans. Shaking the rust off, you guys.

For lamentations, head to Kentucky blog A Sea Of Blue.

A six-foot-one, 196 pound receiver out Frankfurt, Kentucky, Fields is fresh off a season in which he saw significant action for the first time in his Wildcat career. As a sophomore he played in 11 games, developing a niche as one of the team’s chief contributors on special teams. In that time Fields collected eight tackles while covering kicks.

Fields missed the entirety of his redshirt freshman season due to a foot injury suffered before Kentucky’s opening game. He is not expected to miss more than the Wildcats’ first game and joins a bevy of other players around the college football world beginning their season fashionably late.

Otherwise, this is a 42-21 game against a Division I-AA opponent.

No idea what would cause Craig James to sweat so profusely that his shirt would be visibly soaked on the broadcast. It couldn’t be that Bruce Feldman was freed and is dropping nukes. It couldn’t be that the whole world has turned against him and wants him out of a job. He’s just as cool as the other side of the pillow, man.

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Wisconsin, Mississippi State, Louisville, Georgia Tech, FIU, Rutgers, Central Michigan, Toledo and Utah are all winning in blowouts.

This leaves us with Wake Forest vs. Syracuse, which boasts a mere six-point point differential in the second quarter.

For more, visit Mississippi State blog For Whom The Cowbell Tolls.

Chuck Cecil was never one for tact. Back in his playing days the safety was affectionately dubbed “Scud” for his helmet-first, feet-in-the-air, missile-like approach to tackling. Hell, Sports Illustrated even cover-paged him in 1993 with the friendly headline “Is Chuck Cecil Too Vicious for the NFL?”

HT: Sportsgrid

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Russ has a posse now, y’all.

For more, head to Wisconsin Badgers blog Bucky’s 5th Quarter. For more college football, stay tuned to SB Nation’s NCAA football hub.

Thursday night, May said Nutt’s seat as Arkansas coach is starting to warm up. If Nutt were still employed by Arkansas, his seat would be scalding, smoking and so bright it’s impossible to look at, like the mercy seat in that one song. He said this during a pre-recorded segment, which means they could’ve tried again if somebody had noticed it.

Freedom of Information Act requests all around!

Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano is just like the rest of us when it comes to the first college football games of the year. He’s just hungry for action.

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There are two kinds of sports towns. Well, there are probably hundreds, but stay with us. There are great college sports towns, like Atlanta. And there are great pro sports towns, like Philadelphia. Sometimes Atlanta sucks at supporting its pro sports teams, and sometimes Philly ... wow, Philly:

OK, here’s a fairer shot, via @KevinOnCFB (but still, guys):

I can live with blue turf. As a Washington resident, I’ve even adjusted to red turf. But this, Central Arkansas, is going too far.

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Before being granted a seat with a 21-0 lead over Murray State, Stein put together a 142-yard, two-touchdown outing on only 15 attempts. “Only 15? 142 yards on 15 attempts isn’t that amazing,” you say, and I urge you to present a Division I-A quarterback who’s looked better this year.

For more on Sunny Will, head to Louisville blog Card Chronicle.