Unfiltered Takes after Week 1: Julian Sayin, Arch Manning, Alabama & much more

A lot that happens on college football Saturdays. It’s hard to keep up with everything.

So this season, in an attempt to bring everybody up to speed — while taking a chance to provide you with some takes in the process — I’m going to rattle off over-arching thoughts from the previous weekend. I’ll also do my best to spring thoughts forward, not just tell you what already happened.

Let’s give it a shot.

1. Julian Sayin: We came into the Ohio State-Texas game amped for Arch Manning-mania, and because he didn’t live up to the hype in his first game, that was the prevailing storyline from the Buckeyes’ 14-7 win. Lost in the Manning tornado was how Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin performed. Though his numbers — 126 passing yards and a touchdown — won’t jump off the page, it was a highly-impressive first start. Can you think of a single mistake Sayin made in that game? Missing that receiver Jeremiah Smith was open downfield at the beginning of the game? Even on that play, he made an accurate and catchable throw past the marker to tight end Max Klare. It was dropped. He showed incredible poise, a big arm and didn’t have any turnovers. This seems like the beginning of the career of the next great Buckeyes quarterback.

2. Ryan Day: Ohio State‘s last five games were wins over Texas, Notre Dame in the national title game, Texas in the CFP semifinal, Oregon in the Rose Bowl and Tennessee in the opening round of the Playoff. Has any coach’s reputation had a more extreme makeover in a five-game stretch than Ryan Day‘s? In the middle of last year, we were discussing how he couldn’t win the big game. Sure, he still has to prove he can beat Michigan, but Ohio State is one of the favorites to win the national title again. It’s truly unbelievable what he has done in such a short amount of time.

Bonus Ohio State take: Many questioned whether Day made the right move hiring Matt Patricia as defensive coordinator, but the Buckeyes defense played masterfully. Manning looked confused throughout the entire game. Also, Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese is a star in the making. You could feel his presence in the game, even more so than Texas defensive stars Colin Simmons and Anthony Hill.

3. Arch Manning: The amount of victory laps people were taking on social media on Saturday celebrating Manning’s downfall was insane. I understand people are tired of hearing about hype and this is the reaction, but Manning did absolutely nothing to perpetuate that hype leading into his first start. Nothing. Though I do think his game against Ohio State was highly unimpressive — he just didn’t look smooth — I think the notion that he isn’t going to be good is premature. We saw flashes in the 4th quarter of what’s coming. Every game Texas will play this year, maybe even against Georgia, is going to be easier than what it just faced. Manning will be good. Texas will be dropping 40 in no time. Remember, it’s Week 1.

4. Alabama Crimson Tide: Holy crap, Alabama. That was a train wreck. I’ve spent the last day trying to find a nice way to talk about the Crimson Tide, but there isn’t one. It was just terrible. I’d understand if they went on the road and lost a flukey game, but Alabama just got straight beaten. Florida State was the physically superior team. Even when it seemed like Alabama had a shot to win the game in the fourth quarter, Florida State punched the Tide in the face again. Florida State was better. Period.

5. Kalen DeBoer: On Saturday night, the buyout for Kalen DeBoer was trending. And it should. I’m sorry, but when you leave Washington to replace Nick Saban at Alabama, you know what you’re signing up for. This is so below Alabama’s standard it’s insane. It’s one thing to win national titles far less infrequently than Saban, but DeBoer has dropped four games against unranked opponents in 14 games as Alabama’s head coach. Firing him isn’t a discussion right now. If Alabama goes 8-4, will they start trying to come up with the money? And if you’re rolling your eyes about the 8-4 thought, let me ask you: What has Alabama done under his leadership that makes you think it won’t lose more games like that?

6. Playoff Debates: Last year is last year, but I resent that we’ve been waterboarded by SEC talking points about the College Football Playoff and strength of schedule because of that Alabama team. This is a different team than last year, but we should all be done giving Alabama the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the Crimson Tide lost to Vanderbilt and Oklahoma for a reason. Maybe this year’s team lost to Florida State for a reason. I will not allow Alabama, even if it manages to go 9-3, to win any hypothetical matchups in any CFP discourse this year. Think about all of the conversations we’ve had to have about whether the CFP Committee does things the right way. It’s all because of Alabama. No more. We’re done with nonsense you’ll hear on the Paul Finebaum show.

7. Florida State Seminoles: Nobody knew what Florida State was going to be heading into the season. I think we’d all be lying to you if we know what Florida State is going to be moving forward. The most significant thing from that win over Alabama, though, was that the Seminoles will not be defined by last season. So many times we’ve seen coaches have a terrible year and that becomes what they’re known for. No, Mike Norvell picked himself and his program off the ground and put together a team — with 23 incoming transfers — that played together and played hard. They weren’t scared of Alabama (nobody is anymore). They beat them into the ground and now Florida State is an exciting team to track in the ACC.

8. LSU Tigers: Hey, did you guys hear LSU had lost five-straight season-openers? The streak is broken. Brian Kelly did it. LSU knocked off Clemson on Saturday night, putting an end to one of the most shocking trends you’ll see in this sport. The significance of the win, though, isn’t ending the streak. It’s that in his fourth season, Kelly has a team that seems completely up to the task of making the College Football Playoff. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier had one of his best games of his career and how about that nasty Tigers defense? On a day where two of the three SEC favorites lost their openers — Alabama and Texas — the Tigers are sitting pretty heading into the season. The vibes are completely different.

9. Clemson Tigers: We spent the entire offseason talking about the notion Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was going to prove doing things the old-fashioned way was still good enough to win a national title. And while we may later find LSU is one of the three best teams in college football, you can’t help but be a little disappointed by Clemson’s lack of offensive production. Clemson isn’t cooked, but I expected the Tigers to be downright awesome this season. I thought Cade Klubnik was a solid bet to be a Heisman Trophy finalist. We didn’t see any of that Saturday.

10. Miami Hurricanes: Don’t be a prisoner of the moment. Don’t be a prisoner of the moment. Don’t be a prisoner of the moment. I can’t help it anymore — is Miami better than they were last year? That felt good. Honestly, though, I think so. The defense was so terrible last year it just can’t be forgotten. And what we saw in the impressive win over Notre Dame on Sunday night? That looked like a complete, physical team. Miami bullied Notre Dame, doing to the Irish what the Irish are supposed to do to their opponents. Carson Beck, in his first game back from injury, looked poised, confident, accurate and in control. Miami is going to be a problem this year.

11. CJ Carr: Gusty. In his first start as Notre Dame’s quarterback, CJ Carr played very well. It was abundantly clear he’s going to be very good, especially during that awesome comeback attempt in which he brought Notre Dame back from a 10-point deficit late to tie the game. Carr certainly has to make strides, but he looked comfortable out there. Notre Dame fans have a lot to unpack from that game — like why didn’t Jeremiyah Love touch the ball more? — but if the Irish beat Texas A&M in two weeks, they have a clear path into the CFP discussion. Carr will be a different player at the end of the year. Notre Dame is far from finished.

12. Tulane Green Wave: Boise State isn’t going to the CFP. Most college football analysts penciled the Broncos into their offseason playoff projections, but that was short-sighted and lazy. They have a lot of issues that all came crashing down in a Thursday night blowout loss to South Florida, who, by the way, has a heck of a quarterback in Byrum Brown. That said, Tulane — with surprise transfer quarterback Jake Retzlaff — should be viewed as the Group of 5 favorite to make the CFP. In fact, you could make the case Retzlaff has a more advantageous path to the CFP in New Orleans than he did at BYU.

13. Nyck Harbor: Did South Carolina wide receiver Nyck Harbor learn how to play football? All indications from South Carolina’s win over Virginia Tech is yes, which is a scary proposition. South Carolina has three aliens: quarterback LaNorris Sellers, edge rusher Dylan Stewart and Harbor. How many other teams have three aliens? Perhaps it’s a longer list than it used to be in this new era of college football, but South Carolina should be in every game it plays this year due to that.

14. Michigan vs. Oklahoma: Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer completed 30 passes for 397 yards and three touchdowns in the Sooners’ blowout of Illinois State. In his first collegiate start, Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood threw for 251 yards and a score as the Wolverines beat New Mexico. Both of those games are hard to analyze given they featured powerhouses vs. overmatched opponents. If you look at next week’s slate, Oklahoma-Michigan is the only premier matchup. It’s a night game. That is going to be such a fun outing, especially as we get our first good looks at Mateer and Underwood against top competition.

15. Oklahoma Sooners: One of my bold offseason predictions was Oklahoma could make the College Football Playoff, but the thing that makes me nervous about that is the Sooners’ roster from top to bottom. They have a lot of players to get excited about, but I’m still not convinced they don’t have holes on their roster, particularly on the offensive line. Michigan’s strength is always the defensive line. If Oklahoma actually has the juice to make the CFP, it will win this game. We’re going to find out Saturday if my bold prediction has a shot in hell of being correct.

16. Jackson Arnold: That was a highly-productive first start at Auburn for quarterback Jackson Arnold, but does he have to be better through the air once he gets to SEC play? Arnold, who was prone to turnovers at Oklahoma, didn’t turn the ball over, which was probably the best possible outcome for scarred coach Hugh Freeze. But when Auburn faces opponents that won’t let the Tigers roll all over them on the ground, will Arnold make plays with his arm? The good news is Auburn has Cam Coleman and Eric Singleton Jr. — who combined for less than 50 yards in the Baylor win — so there is untapped potential. But Arnold still has to show he can throw it — and maintain poise under pressure — before Auburn truly arrives.

17. Nico Iamaleava: It’s no fun piling on players. It just isn’t. But there’s no way to properly articulate how much of a dumpster fire the Nico Iamaleava situation turned into for him. We all had a pretty good idea he hurt himself when he left Tennessee and wound up at UCLA, but watching the Bruins get their heads beat in late Saturday night was a tough watch. So let’s get this straight: Iamaleava is making way less at UCLA, has less talent around him and is playing in time slots nobody is going to watch? Say what you want about the system at Tennessee — which has been a hot-button topic the past two weeks — Iamaleava’s situation got demonstrably worse in every single way. And on top of that, you have a bunch of NIL-resenting college football fans hate watching you. Yikes.

18. Tennessee Volunteers: Meanwhile at Tennessee, Joey Aguilar — the other quarterback in the infamous UCLA-Tennessee trade — had a productive opener in the Volunteers’ 45-26 win over Syracuse. Aguilar, a gun-slinger at Appalachian State a year ago, threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns. You don’t want to overreact to a season-opening win, but Syracuse, we think, is going to be a functional team in the ACC. Sometimes in college football, we get too bogged down on the need for a quarterback to be a high-level NFL prospect for a team to be successful. That’s not true. You need a dog of a college quarterback. What if Aguilar is a better fit than Iamaleava for Tennessee’s offense? What if he is exactly what Tennessee needs and the Volunteers are much better than we gave them credit for in the offseason? I’ll tell one thing: Tennessee fans almost passed out when they saw Aguilars’s 73-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Staley. Moon shot.

19. California Golden Bears: Is California a team who could sneak into College Football Playoff discourse? You may have lost track during an exciting Saturday, but Golden Bears true freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was absolutely sensational. In Cal’s 34-15 win over Oregon State, Sagapolutele completed 20 of his 30 passing attempts for 234 yards and three touchdowns. The stats don’t do it justice. The man has a rocket of an arm and was just dotting receivers downfield, including a few perfectly-placed balls that were dropped. And now, CFP discussions? Sounds crazy. Maybe it is. But before you dismiss the notion the Golden Bears could be this year’s Cinderella, please go look at Cal’s schedule. Cal could really be this year’s Indiana.

20. Transfer Portal: I don’t mean to rain on any Cal parade after that last bullet point. But I can’t help but wonder what team Sagapolutele is playing for next year when someone backs up a Brinks truck on his front porch this offseason.