College football is officially back. While Week 1 may have been what we’re accustomed to in the sport, we got College GameDay in the morning, and there were games running from 1 p.m. ET until after midnight.
Now, we haven’t had a Power Five game yet. That comes in just a few days. We did get some fun, interesting games and good moments.
After a pair of Thursday night games—UAB’s win over FCS Central Arkansas and South Alabama’s win over Southern Miss—six games took place today. Three pit two FBS programs against one another. Some of the more interesting Group of Five teams in the country, like AAC power Memphis and Army were in action.
The first game today was an FBS vs. FCS rout. The Marshall Thundering Herd, a consistent winner in Conference USA almost every year, smacked the Eastern Kentucky Colonels 59-0. Marshall outgained EKU 627-166 on the afternoon.
Army had a perfectly Army afternoon against Middle Tennessee, typically a competitive Conference USA squad. The Black Knights ran the Triple Option to perfection, rolling for 368 yards on the ground and gobbling up over 35 minutes of the clock. Some dreadful MTSU clock management didn’t help the Blue Raiders.
SMU has been a pretty good story over the last few years, competing in the rough AAC after a very lean few years. Texas State, which has struggled to gain a foothold in the Sun Belt, gave them everything they could handle today, falling 31-24. The Bobcats had an incredible touchdown catch in the process.
The North Texas Mean Green have been very explosive under Seth Littrell. They scored 57 points against Houston Baptist, though giving up 31 is a concern.
Memphis-Arkansas State was probably the game of the night, in one that was admittedly short on close matchups. The Red Wolves hung in early, but the Tigers’ talent pulled away with a 27-3 edge in the second and third quarterbacks, handing new head coach Ryan Silverfield his first career win, 37-24.
Finally, we got something that has been pretty rare in college football in recent years. UTEP won its season opener, knocking off Stephen F. Austin 24-14. Dana Dimel has won just one game each of the last two years with the Miners, in one of the sport’s toughest jobs. He got that first win right off the bat this season.
One of the most fun games of the week is just a few days away. BYU plays at Navy in a rare Monday night game. On Thursday, Miami opens Power Five play, hosting UAB, before a pretty full slate of games including ACC and Big 12 teams. The SEC gets underway on Sept. 26.