Tater Rater College Football Review: Weeks 0 & 1

If you read the inaugural Tater Rater college football article, then you knew this was coming. This is the post-week version of that article, with the difference being that I will be rating the games after they’ve been played. The rating will be 1-5 Taters instead of the potato variation tiers. Now that we have the housekeeping out of the way, let’s get to the five best (and the single worst) games from Weeks 0 and 1.

Tater Rater College Football Review: Weeks 0 & 1

The Cold Fry – Clemson at LSU

Final Score: 10-51

The final score should be enough to show that this was the most disappointing game of the week. If it’s not, here are some more numbers that further show how much of a letdown this game was.

Clemson had eight first downs, which is only one more than the number of touchdowns LSU had. Clemson had the same number of third down conversions as they had turnovers. LSU had three different players who had more rushing or receiving yards than Clemson had passing yards. LSU averaged more yards per rush (5.3) than Clemson averaged yards per pass attempt (4.8). They also had more possessions that ended with points (7) than they had possessions that didn’t end with points (5, including the game-ending possession which only ended because they ran out of time).

Clemson scored on their first possession. It was a field goal after a first-play interception by Sam Leavitt gave them the ball on the LSU 33-yard line. They then went 11 consecutive drives without scoring points, finally breaking the drought against LSU’s backup defense. During those 11 drives, they gained just 82 yards and eight of the possessions went for less than 10 yards.

It was Clemson’s worst loss under Dabo Swinney, and it couldn’t has come at much worse of a time. This is a huge make or break season for the program as a whole, after falling short of expectations the past couple years. I couldn’t imagine a worse start that they could have had in such an important season. Much like cold french fries, this game was hard to swallow.

Baylor at Auburn

Final Score: 16-17

This matchup was about three minutes away from being a 1.5 Tater game, having just 17 points scored in the first 52 minutes. Then, it had arguably the best closing moments of any game all week.

In the final seven minutes, they nearly doubled the total score and gave us one of the best finishes you could ask for. Auburn took the lead with just over three minutes to play, then DJ Lagway had what appeared to be his moment. The Florida transfer drove the Bears 75 yards down the field, finding Gavin Freeman for his 12th reception, this one being in the endzone.

Knowing he might need to prove something to keep his job, Dave Aranda decided to keep the offense on the field. Lagway rolled to his right and found what appeared to be a wide open receiver. However, the pass was behind his target, causing him to turn back to the ball and lose all momentum. The Tigers capitalized by stopping the would be game-winning conversion in its tracks. They recovered the onside kick and took a knee to end the game.

In a contest that had a ton of storylines heading into it (Aranda’s hot seat, Lagway’s redemption arc, Alex Golesh and Byrum Brown’s first games as power conference members), the ending saved what was headed towards a complete dud.

Rating: 3.0 Taters

SMU at Florida State

Final Score: 27-24

In terms of competitive football, it doesn’t get much more so than this game. Neither teams had consecutive scores, meaning the margin was never more than a single touchdown. Florida State trailed by seven at four different points in the game, but responded on their subsequent possession on three of the four occasions.

What makes that game script hard to believe is the fact that the Seminoles were outgained by 261 yards, throwing for just 125 compared t0 430 for SMU. What kept them in the game was the turnover battle, which they won 4-1, including two in less than 3:30 of game time.

The Mustangs managed to survive the quartet of turnover, kicking a game-winning field goal with 21 seconds left before thwarting a last ditch handful of plays from Florida State. It wasn’t a shootout like a couple of the games that will follow this one, but a single-score game from start to finish makes for some pretty good football.

Rating: 3.5 Taters

Boise State at Oregon

Final Score: 27-34

A lot of people thought that this Boise State team couldn’t test Oregon like the Ashton Jeanty-led Broncos did a couple years ago. However, they quieted that talk almost immediately.

Boise State jumped out to a lead about halfway through the the first quarter and led by 10 with just a couple minutes left in the first half.

The Ducks, however, answered in a major way. They rattled off 17 straight points to take the lead late in the third quarter. A few scores later the game was knotted at 27, until Dante Moore found Dakorien Moore for a 62-yard touchdown that would prove to be the knockout blow.

Oregon outgained Boise State by more than 200 yards (497 to 274), but the Broncos held tough and showed that they are once again poised to make a run at a College Football Playoff bid. It wasn’t the flashiest game. There weren’t any mind-blowing plays. What it was, however, was two of the winningest programs of the 21st century doing battle for 60 minutes.

Rating: 3.5 Taters

Louisville at Ole Miss

Final Score: 38-41

The second half of this game was an absolute firework show. The teams combined for 63 second half points, 17 of which came in the final five minutes of the game. Ole Miss led by 14 points following a Trinidad Chambliss touchdown run. The Cardinals responded with back-t0-back scores in just 3:14 of game time. Chambliss and company had an answer of their own, going 40 yards in just 1:28, setting up a game-winning 48-yard field goal as time expired.

Lincoln Keinholz put on a show for Louisville, collecting 373 yards and a trio of touchdowns. Chambliss, however, got the last laugh, with 396 total yards, four touchdowns, and the win. The only thing holding this game back from being a 4.5 or even 5 Tater game was the first half, which was a bit of a snoozer with only 16 points scored.

Rating: 4.0 Taters

The Citadel at Charlotte

Final Score: 43-41

Speaking of games with a slow first half that picked up in the second half, a potential game of the week was one that most of the country probably didn’t even know was being played. Now, I totally understand if you put the Louisville versus Ole Miss game above this given the importance of the two games. However, from a pure entertainment standpoint, it’s hard to argue with triple overtime.

The end of regulation alone was worth watching. Charlotte took a seven-point lead about midway through the third quarter, only to watch the Bulldogs score on their next two possessions to take the lead. The 49ers responded, drawing even with just over three minutes left in regulation. The Citadel got to around midfield on the next drive, but would settle for a 30-yard scramble to end the quarter.

It took just 13 total plays for the two teams to swap touchdowns in the first two overtimes, with both teams also failing on their two-point conversions. The Citadel finally broke through, converting on their two-point try and stopping Charlotte in triple overtime.

In total, there were 938 yards of offense. The teams combined for a ridiculous 5.8 yards per carry, with the time of possession separated by just 30 seconds. Both teams had a largest lead of just seven, which even further proves just how tightly contested this game was from start to finish. Personally, I can’t give a 5 Tater rating to a game with zero playoff implications, but it’s certainly one of the frontrunners for game of the week.

Rating: 4.0 Taters

Final Thoughts

Well, there you have it. You’ve now seen both editions of the Tater Rater, pre and post-week. That’s basically how this will work. Like I said in the inaugural edition, there will be an offseason series as well, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Once again, thanks for reading through this ridiculous thing I’m calling a series. Be on the look out for the Week 2 Tater Rater Preview.

See ya later, tater.