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Stock Report: College Football Week 1
Find out who’s stock is up and down after the first week of the college football season.
It took forever to get here, but the first week of college football has come and gone. Over the first week of competition, there were several aspects that surprised fans and also confirmed offseason views. Some teams played up to their potential and others came up very short.
Not only did some teams live up to their billing, but individual players also showcased their immense talent. These are the types of players who will be playing on Sundays in the near future, but first they will be leading their college teams to victory on Saturdays.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the stock report for the first week of the college football season.
Stock Up: Josh Rosen, UCLA Bruins
The freshman phenom, Josh Rosen, put on a dazzling display for the UCLA Bruins against the Virginia Cavaliers. Rosen ended up with 351 passing yards with 28 completions on 35 attempts and three touchdowns. It isn’t very often that you see any college quarterback play with the poise and confidence that Rosen play with, much less a freshman.
Rosen was fantastic in the area that most quarterback’s struggle with. He was calm and cool under pressure and he understood the tenants of his offense and how to deal with situations under duress. He managed the pocket extremely well as he made accurate passes throughout the entire game.
Going into this season, UCLA was seen as a fringe playoff contender, but with the emergence of Rosen, UCLA has to be considered a legitimate threat to make into the final four of college football.
Stock Down: Christian Hackenberg
Going into this season Christain Hackenberg was billed as a top-five pick in next year’s NFL draft; however, Hackenberg looked more like an undrafted free agent, rather than a highly sought after commodity. At lot of it wasn’t his fault as Hackenberg received almost no help from his offensive line, but Hackenberg didn’t show many traits that should translate well to the NFL.
Hackenberg finished with 11 completions on 25 passes for 103 yards and one interception, which is not what you expect from a highly touted quarterback against Temple. Hackenberg failed to recognize the pressure that Temple was bringing and he could never adjust. He failed to manage the pocket well, which led to many inaccuracies throughout the game.
Hackenberg needs to learn how to deal with pressure better or his NFL dreams are going to go quietly into the night.
Stock Up: Texas A&M’s Pass Rush
Texas A&M’s Achilles heel the last few years has been their defense; however, that appears to be all over behind defensive coordinator John Chavis and the Aggies’ tremendous pass-rush. Against Arizona State, Texas A&M finished with nine sacks, five four fumbles and 14 tackles for loss, which are staggering numbers.
They were led by defensive ends Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall against the Sun Devils. Hall finished the game with four sacks while Garrett had two. Garrett may be the best defensive player in all of college football with his dizzying combination of speed, quickness and length. Garrett will most likely be a top-10 pick when he leaves the Aggies, so his performance was expected.
What wasn’t expected was Hall being as dominant as he was versus the Sun Devils’ veteran offensive line. Hall benefited from all the attention Garrett was receiving as he beat one-on-one blocks throughout the entire game. Nobody thought Texas A&M would have much of a shot in the stacked SEC, but the Aggies defense may be able to carry them through the scary path that lies ahead.
Stock Down: Stanford Cardinals
The Stanford Cardinals were a lot of analysts pick to win the Pac 12; however, that took a huge hit as the Cardinals were upset by Northwestern 16-6. The story of the day was Stanford’s inability to get anything going offensively. Their starting quarterback, Kevin Hogan, proved that he isn’t much more than an inept quarterback with great measurables.
Furthermore, Stanford’s defense was gashed on the ground as Northwestern ended the game with an astronomical 225 rushing yards. Stanford has always had their running game and run defense as their calling cards, which makes it troubling that they struggled mightily in both areas.
Luckily for the Cardinals, this wasn’t a conference game so it won’t hurt their standings in the Pac 12; however, they have a ton that they need to figure out if they want to vie for anything this year.
Stock Up: Malik Zaire
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish haven’t had a quarterback who could help them realize their potential in many years, but Malik Zaire could be the one who takes them to the promise land. Zaire finished with 19 completions on 22 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns.
Zaire has the athleticism to make plays with his legs, but he does a great job of keeping his eyes up and making throws from the pocket before he attempts to run. As a passer, Zaire was accurate and composed under pressure and he showed how good Notre Dame can be with a playmaker at quarterback.
Of course this was just the first game and Notre Dame’s quarterbacks have been known to be teases in the past (remember Everett Golson?), but Zaire looks to have the passing talent to be a legitimate Heisman candidate when the season is over.
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