Certain events herald in the different season for some of us. Regardless of the actual start date, the last day of school always told me that summer was here. In the same way the first college football Saturday let me know that fall was here.

These are my thoughts on the beginning of the College Football season.

My day started in Dublin with the Croke Park Classic between Penn State and UCF. There is nothing so special as getting to watch Football before I head into my day job. As far as the game itself by the fourth quarter we really had a game. Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg looked good, he is one of the more promising young quarterbacks in the game today. On the UCF side on the other hand, they still need to find the replacement for Blake Bortles. Starter Pete DiNovo looked lost, in his first start he played timid as if he was afraid to make a mistake. Justin Holman performed much better giving the Knights a spark and nearly leading them to a comeback victory, just coming up a little short. Honestly I do not believe either player will be the long-term starter for UCF. Whether that player is on campus or not remains to be seen.

As I watched the games throughout this first weekend I could not help but think: College Football really could use a preseason. Not a full multi-game preseason, just one game. Let the players hit someone in a different uniform just a little before the games really count. As it is now we had some sloppy games along with horrible mismatches. Teams could schedule the cupcakes for the preseason game and actually strengthen the regular season schedules. Just a thought.

Now is the time when I piss off Florida State fans…

I do not know that Jameis Winston is that great a quarterback. It is not that he is a bad quarterback, he is very good. I simply think that he is, how do I put this. I think Winston is Chad Pennington. Good, solid, efficient. That is all. He has been blessed with an incredible supporting cast. Rashad Greene is a perfect example of this. Greene can turn a two-yard pass into a fifty yard touchdown with ease, as he did last night. When judging Winston consider is he making the plays or is it what he has to work with. While he has an embarrassment of riches right now when he moves onto the NFL things may be a little different.

I know it is ridiculously early but I have chosen my front-runner the Heisman race already. Todd Gurley of the Georgia Bulldogs ran for 198 yards and 3 touchdowns on only fifteen carries. Add to that his 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and he had a very nice night. Yes it was one game, but it was one very impressive game. Gurley is not a flash in the pan either. He has shown this kind of ability before for Georgia. If he can remain healthy he may break the streak of no running backs going in the first round of the NFL draft.

It was a great first Saturday. Let us hope it is just the appetizer for a fantastic season of football for all of us.