SPORTS

College football kicks off

Kate Verity Contributing Writer

College football is back. Over Labor Day weekend, one of Amer-

ica’s favorite sports returned to television. In-

terceptions were thrown, punts were returned, and touchdowns were

celebrated across the

country this weekend. Popular teams that GC students support are currently the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs, the No. 3 Alabama Crim-

son Tide and the un-

ranked LSU Tigers, but some students cheer

for other teams as well.

Caroline Brow, a ju-

nior nursing major, spent the weekend watching football in Boone, NC.

“I root for Appalachian State,” Brown said.

“I just went over Labor Day. They played UNC and almost won. It was

a really good game.” Although UNC squeaked by Appalachian State in a 63-61

shootout, Brown is still

excited to watch the

rest of their season.

The Georgia Bulldogs came out with perhaps the best performance of the week, defending their national title and domi-

nating over the Oregon Ducks with a final score

of 49-3. With no points on the board except a second-quarter 35-yard field goal, the Ducks left Mercedes-Benz

Stadium in Atlanta with a humiliating first loss of the season.

If their previous season is any indication, the Dawgs left Atlanta on Saturday with the first of many wins this season. Patrick Morris, a

junior MIS major, hopes to see big things from the UGA foot-

ball program this year. “I was kind of an Ore-

gon fan when I was little, but then I grew up and I am definitely more of a Dawgs fan now,” Morris said. “I’m also look-

ing forward to Georgia vs. Auburn because I

hate Auburn, and I love

when Georgia beats the crap out of them.” Some students did

not get to watch their teams walk away with a win this weekend. Kait-

lyn Hall, an LSU Tigers fan, says she did not even watch their entire game. “I stopped watching after the second half,

I’m not even going to lie,” Hall said. “It was

not our best performance. I feel like every first game we have really tells how we’re going to do that year. So, it’s not looking bright this year.” LSU lost on a game ending blocked extra-point to Florida State last weekend. The

Tigers scored nearly all their points in the second half, almost pulling off a crazy comeback to send it to overtime. The

final score was 24-23.

Even though she may not have high hopes for a Tigers win, Hall is still eager to watch LSU take on other SEC teams this year. “Alabama vs. LSU is

always a rival football game for us, but the past couple of years has not been good,” Hall said. “That’s the one we most

anticipate every year.” The SEC has already announced that the con-

ference championship game will be played in Mercedes-Benz Stadi-

um in Atlanta on Satur-

day, Dec. 3. Although GC students may root for different teams,

there does not seem to

be much disagreement over what teams will

be playing in the SEC championship game. “Either Georgia or Alabama,” Kaitlyn Hall said. “I honestly think UGA is going to win,” Caroline Brown said.

Patrick Morris

has the SEC championship affecting the national championship game as well. “I think it’s going to be Georgia and Alabama,” Morris predicts. “And then whoever wins that

game is going to lose the national championship to whoever lost the SEC championship.” Although half of the teams who went home

last weekend did so

without victory, everyone is still thankful that

football season is back.

Recap of week two in college football

Opinion

Hayden Flinn Head Sports Editor

After a wild week 2 in college football, there has been a major shakeup in the national rankings. The Georgia Bulldogs have overtaken first place after a 33-0 victory over Samford. The Alabama Crimson Tide fell one spot from No. 1 to No. 2, after a nail-biting road victory over an unranked Texas which they should have won by a larger margin than 20-19. I believe Alabama should have dropped to No. 3, but the Ohio State Buckeyes remain at No. 3 after starting their season 2-0, with an important win over Notre Dame Not only did the top two undergo a change, but No. 12 Florida fell to No. 20 Kentucky 26-16, causing Florida to drop to 18 while Kentucky jumped up 11 spots to 9. Perhaps the biggest upset of this past weekend was unranked Appalachian State over No .6 Texas A&M. The Mountaineers stole a victory from the Aggies in a defensive 17-14 game. Following the disappointing loss, the Aggies dropped 18 spots to 24 in the national rankings, ending many possibilities of the memorable season they were hyped up to having. The Tennessee Volunteers jumped up nine spots from No. 24 to No. 15 after a tough road win over 16-ranked Pittsburgh 34-27. The Panthers dropped seven spots to 23 in the nation. Additionally, BYU moved up nine spots to No. 12 after a 2620 victory over ninthranked Baylor, dropping Baylor to No. 17. Many of the top teams seemed to struggle at times, even during their easy wins. The Georgia Bulldogs, as of now, feel like the clear-cut number one. They had a statement victory in week one over the 11-ranked Oregon Ducks 49-3, truly dominating the entire game. Then in week two, the Bulldogs shut out Samford proving their defensive dominance once again, despite the offense struggling to finish drives with a touchdown. Georgia QB Stetson Bennett continues to put up good numbers as he completed 24 of 35 attempts for 300 yards and a touchdown. He ran for a touchdown as well. Bennett has now had back-to-back games with 300 or more passing yards, something Georgia hasn’t done since the 2020 season. The Dawgs look to be the most complete team in college football through two weeks as they con-

Courtesy of ESPN The updated AP Poll after week 2 of college football, published Sept. 11

tinue to defend their National Championship. For Alabama, a onepoint victory over an unranked Texas team is not very “Bama-like.” The Crimson Tide struggled to move the ball against the Texas defense after many thought this offense would be one of the best in college football. Alabama QB and former Heisman Trophy Winner, Bryce Young, struggled completing 27 of 39 passes for 213 yards and a TD. Young had a QBR of 79, a little low for his standards. The Tide recorded 15 penalties for 100 yards and starting Texas QB Quinn Ewers had to exit the game in the first half due to injury after putting together some impressive drives. Alabama’s inconsistencies are why I believe they should drop to third instead of second. I believe Ohio State has been a more consistent team over the last two games, and they have a quality win over a tough opponent in week one, where Bama does not. Week 3 will be here soon with more exciting games. The biggest matchup this coming weekend is between the No. 13 Miami Hurricanes and No. 24 Texas A&M. The Aggies will be looking to have a bounce back week after that terrible loss.