Week 2 - Vegas Baby!

THE SPORTS POTATO

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Well week 1 is in the books. Not a ton of drama except for the Prime's first game at Colorado which was the game of the week, clearly. While a totally impressive victory after how bad Colorado was last year, I'm not jumping on that train just yet.

I think that was a bad TCU team, and let's be honest, TCU was a 7-5 football team last year that got super lucky to do what they did - all earned of course - but in another year they simply don't get the breaks – or at least all in one season. Did TCU need to be a story in week 1 again - anyone but them…or Appalachian St.!

And, this TCU team lost basically everyone key from that heroic team... so, let's hold on the Colorado train just yet (just watch their defense).

As for Michigan - some positives and negatives no doubt. I loved that we're starting to air the ball out a lot more. You just can't have a first-round pick handing the ball off all game in 8-man boxes. We need to throw and throw more and that will make it way easier for Corum and Edwards.

Balance is key, and keeping teams off balance - especially on first down.

Normally a stickler for play-calling, there were two series in a row that I couldn't believe the coordinators were actually calling my plays. Play-action on first down (old school play-action) - something we need to do way more of - we actually did at least once during the game.

I'd still like to see some basic screens and a trick play - but I sound like a broken record every week on that - waiting for Ohio State to do trick plays won't cut it against the PSU's of the world - we might need one when the offense is lagging. Last year we didn’t, but this year we just might.

Defensively - not much needs to be said other than they were pretty stellar. Solid performance all around and pleasantly surprised there.

But my big concern was the kicking game going into the season and losing Moody might just cost us a game. Missing an extra point is never a good a sign, but then making that 50 yarder made me feel better.

But, right back on the stress-meter when he shanked the next one bad... the thing about Moody was that even when he missed it came off his foot well.

I'm not sure about this guy but comparing him to Moody is unfair too - we shall see.

The other concern is at backup quarterback. If Warren's our guy - he doesn't look comfortable in there yet, and the next few weeks we need to get him more playing time airing balls out - I gotta feeling we'll need him so we better get him ready.

That being said, even with the risk of injury the other key play if we want to WIN THE TITLE - is McCarthy RPO runs that he can break off a few times a game. He should be running 3-5 times a game and between the new play-action early and the RPO with McCarthy the space will finally be there for the beasts of Corum and Edwards. McCarthy just has to go down at the first glimpse of getting hit – getting the extra yard or two just isn’t worth it.

BAD BEAT OF THE WEEK: There were a few this week from Ball St getting scored on the last play of the game on a meaningless 30-yard touchdown, but my favorite was Penn St. covering on purpose against West Virginia.

I guess Franklin from Penn State follows point spreads and wanted to make the boosters happy (and keep his job). Knowing he needed a touchdown late to cover, he stayed super aggressive to score on the basic last play of the game and his fans went nuts for it... so when a coach says he doesn't know what the spread is of their games they are full of $@%$.

QUICK TAKES:

• Never seen Ohio State look so vanilla. They always seem to start slow, but something seemed off in this game. Take Notre Dame in a few weeks.

• Caleb Williams – not to state the obvious – but this guy is unreal. He’s worth the price of admission on his own. Enjoy it while we can.

• LSU getting crushed in the second half was pretty shocking – they could have been up by two touchdowns in the first half. Gotta take advantage of your chances and then things flipped quickly in the second. Half time matters in football.

• Watch out for Notre Dame. Hate saying it but this might be their playoff year and maybe a title. I think they are a very complete team.

• Iowa should never be a 24-point favorite when they can’t score 24 points typically!

FANTASY FOOTBALL QUICK TAKES (brought to you by Dave Z.)

Fantasy Fodder

It’s finally time to set those draft day line-ups for real! Now we realize Week #1 isn’t typically the time to tinker. However, there are a few names that should be on your radar to make sure you’re primed to bring home that crucial first win!

Jahmyr Gibbs: (this was written prior to the game and was pretty accurate so staying in!) Dan Campbell has shown that he’s perfectly content with letting his young talent ride the pine in place of a trusted vet. (Just ask D’Andre Swift.) And it doesn’t feel like a primetime spot against the reigning Super Bowl champs is going to be the spot for him to change his ways. Keep Gibbs on the bench. You’ll feel better about watching David Montgomery feast this way.

Chris Godwin: First off, Baker isn’t as bad as you think. Last year with the Rams he had a 63.6 CMP% along with 850 yards in just 5 games played. And if Godwin can ball out with Pray & Spray Jameis Winston, he can ball out with anyone. Especially facing the 28^th rank secondary of the Vikings who are trotting out Akayleb Evans and Andrew Booth Jr this weekend. If you were on the fence about Godwin this week, start him!

Flex Consideration

Miles Sanders RB, CAR: Miles Sanders is going to be fine. And, with a rookie QB looking “shaky” at best, look for him to carry the load. Especially against the 24^th ranked Defense of the Dirty Birds. Ranked outside the top 20 by consensus rankings this week, look for a ridiculous ROI from Sanders.

Michael Pittman WR, IND: Pittman might have left a sour taste in your mouth after last season. But the Matt Ryan days are over and there’s a new gunslinger in town. Look for Richardson to continue the rookie trend of peppering his number one target. As long as Richardson isn’t sprinting 30 yards down the field, you best believe he’ll be watching Pittman like a hawk!

MICHIGAN PREVIEW - The Quick Version

While I was right that we wouldn't cover in week 1 barely, I was wrong on the high scoring affair... this week we got UNLV. UNLV has a new coach under the helm so it's hard to totally know here. I think it will be a similar game to ECU but a tad higher scoring on both sides...

But 38.5 again its seems really high to me, so I will again take the dog here and see if they can hold on like ECU did. But, I’d like to see a Michigan blow out - crushing teams does mean something.

MICHIGAN 45 - UNLV 10

Michigan Prediction Spread Record: 1-0

Mortal Lock Record: 1-0 (Rutgers last week). This week Liberty.