Alabama Takes Down Florida State in 1-3 Matchup
It was the first time in College Football history that the No. 1 team battled a top-3 opponent in the season opener, but that did not slow down the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday night. Bama used their dominating defense to begin their quest back to the College Football Playoffs with a 24-7 win over the third-ranked Florida State Semioles. Damien Harris had a touchdown and a key blocked punt, while Jalen Hurts added a scoring pass to hold down the Seminoles, who are coming off back-to-back 10-3 seasons. The Tide only finished with 269 total yards of offense, including just 96 passing yards from Hurts. That wasn't an issue though, due to their defense holding FSU to 250 total yards, including 65 in the second half. The defensive effort for the Tide helped keep the game at their slow, low-scoring pace in front of a crowd of 76,330 at the new Mercedes Benz Stadium, as they held a 10-7 lead at the half. Another downside for Florida State was the loss of quarterback Deondre Francois to an apparent leg injury. He was carried off in the second half and finished with 210 passing yards in the loss. There is not yet word on the severity of the injury. Both teams can relax heading in to Week 2 of the season, as the Tide will play host to Fresno State, while the 'Noles will battle Louisiana-Monroe.
Michigan Tops Florida in Opener
The Michigan Wolverines did not look like the 11th-ranked team in the country during the first half of Saturday's opener, but that soon changed for Jim Harbaugh's squad. Michigan's misfortune switched over to the 17th-ranked Florida Gators, who fumbled the ball three times in the second half, as the Wolverines rallied to a 33-17 win at AT&T Stadium. Of the three fumbles, Noah Furbush was able to recover the last one in the end zone late, sealing the win for Michigan, and handing Florida their first season-opening loss since 1989. The SEC team had won 27 consecutive openers and last lost one at home to Ole Miss. The other notable spot was Quin Nordin becoming the first player in Michigan history to make two 50+-yard field goals in one game, and did so in his team debut. The Gators had to switch between quarterbacks, as Malik Zaire replaced struggling starter Feleipe Franks and finished with 106 yards in relief. Duke Dawson's and CJ Henderson's pick-sixes were the only time the Gators found the end zone. The Wolverines also played two quarterbacks, although that was by design, but Wilton Speight led the way with 181 yards and a scoring pass. Backup John O'Korn completed the only pass he threw on the night. The Wolverines will have their first home game next week against Cincinnati, while Florida will look for their first win of the season against Northern Colorado.
Indians, Diamondbacks Keep on Streaking
Two teams who fully intend on being legitimate threats in the postseason are making serious statements heading in to the final month of the regular season. First, the Cleveland Indians remained comfortably atop the AL Central Division, as they took down the Detroit Tigers, 5-2, on Saturday for their 10th consecutive win. Corey Kluber led the way with eighth dominant innings in his 14th win of the year, as the Indians are currently on their longest win streak since winning a franchise-record 14 in a row in July of 2016. Kluber allowed one run and struck out seven, as Alex Presley was the only one to figure him out with the first four-hit game against the Tribe's ace. Jordan Zimmerman allowed five runs on 12 hits over five innings for the Tigers, who surrendered a four-run first inning to fall behind early. The Indians have outscored the Tigers 18-4 in the first three games of the series, including a sweep of the doubleheader on Friday. They will look for the series sweep on Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile in the National League, the Arizona Diamondbacks are looking like the scariest Wild Card team since the Wild Card was created. The D-backs got six impressive innings from Patrick Corbin, as they defeated the Colorado Rockies, 6-2, on Saturday night. The win was their season-high ninth in a row, as they extended their lead to 5.5 games over their division rival from the Mile-High City. J.D. Martinez hit his 30th home run, which was the game-changer, as Arizona scored in the first inning for a fifth straight game, one shy of their season-high. That means they have led in 52 straight innings, which is the longest such streak since 1963. The Rockies' struggles continued, as they have dropped three in a row, and four of five, as their lead remains at 1.5 games over the Milwaukee Brewers, who also lost on Saturday. They will look to avoid the sweep on Sunday's matinee finale.
It was the first time in College Football history that the No. 1 team battled a top-3 opponent in the season opener, but that did not slow down the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday night. Bama used their dominating defense to begin their quest back to the College Football Playoffs with a 24-7 win over the third-ranked Florida State Semioles. Damien Harris had a touchdown and a key blocked punt, while Jalen Hurts added a scoring pass to hold down the Seminoles, who are coming off back-to-back 10-3 seasons. The Tide only finished with 269 total yards of offense, including just 96 passing yards from Hurts. That wasn't an issue though, due to their defense holding FSU to 250 total yards, including 65 in the second half. The defensive effort for the Tide helped keep the game at their slow, low-scoring pace in front of a crowd of 76,330 at the new Mercedes Benz Stadium, as they held a 10-7 lead at the half. Another downside for Florida State was the loss of quarterback Deondre Francois to an apparent leg injury. He was carried off in the second half and finished with 210 passing yards in the loss. There is not yet word on the severity of the injury. Both teams can relax heading in to Week 2 of the season, as the Tide will play host to Fresno State, while the 'Noles will battle Louisiana-Monroe.
Michigan Tops Florida in Opener
The Michigan Wolverines did not look like the 11th-ranked team in the country during the first half of Saturday's opener, but that soon changed for Jim Harbaugh's squad. Michigan's misfortune switched over to the 17th-ranked Florida Gators, who fumbled the ball three times in the second half, as the Wolverines rallied to a 33-17 win at AT&T Stadium. Of the three fumbles, Noah Furbush was able to recover the last one in the end zone late, sealing the win for Michigan, and handing Florida their first season-opening loss since 1989. The SEC team had won 27 consecutive openers and last lost one at home to Ole Miss. The other notable spot was Quin Nordin becoming the first player in Michigan history to make two 50+-yard field goals in one game, and did so in his team debut. The Gators had to switch between quarterbacks, as Malik Zaire replaced struggling starter Feleipe Franks and finished with 106 yards in relief. Duke Dawson's and CJ Henderson's pick-sixes were the only time the Gators found the end zone. The Wolverines also played two quarterbacks, although that was by design, but Wilton Speight led the way with 181 yards and a scoring pass. Backup John O'Korn completed the only pass he threw on the night. The Wolverines will have their first home game next week against Cincinnati, while Florida will look for their first win of the season against Northern Colorado.
Indians, Diamondbacks Keep on Streaking
Two teams who fully intend on being legitimate threats in the postseason are making serious statements heading in to the final month of the regular season. First, the Cleveland Indians remained comfortably atop the AL Central Division, as they took down the Detroit Tigers, 5-2, on Saturday for their 10th consecutive win. Corey Kluber led the way with eighth dominant innings in his 14th win of the year, as the Indians are currently on their longest win streak since winning a franchise-record 14 in a row in July of 2016. Kluber allowed one run and struck out seven, as Alex Presley was the only one to figure him out with the first four-hit game against the Tribe's ace. Jordan Zimmerman allowed five runs on 12 hits over five innings for the Tigers, who surrendered a four-run first inning to fall behind early. The Indians have outscored the Tigers 18-4 in the first three games of the series, including a sweep of the doubleheader on Friday. They will look for the series sweep on Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile in the National League, the Arizona Diamondbacks are looking like the scariest Wild Card team since the Wild Card was created. The D-backs got six impressive innings from Patrick Corbin, as they defeated the Colorado Rockies, 6-2, on Saturday night. The win was their season-high ninth in a row, as they extended their lead to 5.5 games over their division rival from the Mile-High City. J.D. Martinez hit his 30th home run, which was the game-changer, as Arizona scored in the first inning for a fifth straight game, one shy of their season-high. That means they have led in 52 straight innings, which is the longest such streak since 1963. The Rockies' struggles continued, as they have dropped three in a row, and four of five, as their lead remains at 1.5 games over the Milwaukee Brewers, who also lost on Saturday. They will look to avoid the sweep on Sunday's matinee finale.
