Week 0 Recap

Good morning and welcome to 4th & Forever, Rand & Tate’s College Football Newsletter. You know as well as anyone, there’s nothing we enjoy talking about more than College Football, which is why we started this newsletter and want to share our thoughts and opinions with you. You can expect game previews & recaps, betting picks, updates on CFB current events, and other random stuff we find enjoyable. Below you will find Week 0 & betting recaps as well as a quick season primer since Week 1 starts in a mere 3 days. Without further ado, let's get to it!

Week 0 Recap

College Football was back in a big way in Week 0 with some ugly football, staggering talent differences, and both some exciting and dumbfounding plays. We saw a 0-yard punt, a comically shanked field goal, a QB throw a ball directly into a ref’s face, and another QB throw the ultimate no-look pass. We are so, so back.

Sam Hartman looked exactly as he did at Wake with a 19-23 for 251 yards & 4 score passing display in their shellacking of Navy. However, the national media and broadcasters will lead you to believe this performance never could’ve happened at Wake given the talent disparity between the programs. On aggregate, that is an accurate statement, but soulless redhead NBC commentator Jason Garrett said Hartman never had a running back like…Audric Estime? I guess he forgot about Kenneth Walker III.

Caleb Williams looked as elite as ever, but the real buzz out of USC’s opening game was true freshman Zachariah Branch, the #1 overall receiver in this past year’s recruiting class. Branch looked absolutely incredible all game, at times looking like literally the best player in college football. We haven’t seen a freshman’s debut look quite like this in years - sure, it was just San Jose State, but Branch’s shiftiness, speed, and explosion will certainly translate as the season goes on. Say what you will about USC’s dogsh*t defense, that offense is going to be must-watch TV this year. Tate is taking a little flier on Zachariah Branch for Heisman as soon as he can get his hands on it.

In the unranked world of Week 0, we found Vanderbilt to look a little disappointing, we were sad to see Ohio QB Kurtis Rourke get hurt after fighting back from an ACL injury, and we are incredibly happy for UMass who won their first season opener against an FBS program since 1984 (!!).

Holding Ourselves Accountable

Rand & Tate really went out on a limb last week by predicting all three favorites (Notre Dame -20.5, Vanderbilt -17.5, USC -31) to cover plus the ND-Navy under. We started the day off hot by nailing the Notre Dame -20.5 and U/49 duo, but things went downhill from there. We took a very tough L in managing to forget that USC head coach Lincoln Riley hates defense, giving up 28 to San Jose State including the final touchdown with 5 minutes to go to cut the deficit to 28. Then, we watched Vanderbilt take a 21-point lead in the 4th quarter, just to collapse over the last 10 minutes of the game and win by 7. Vandy…..what was THAT?!?

The 4th & Forever boys finished 2-2 on our official bets in Week 0. Frustrating considering we had good shots to finish 4-0 in the 4th quarter of each of the final two games, but that’s how it goes. We promise to never get another bet wrong again.

Where in the World Are We?

Tate spent Week 0 in Turks & Caicos to celebrate his lovely girlfriend Diva’s birthday. Unfortunately for Diva, she spent much of her Saturday night watching Ohio’s backup quarterback throw interception after interception. Rand spent his first and only weekend in Atlanta in the month of August but don’t expect it to last long as CFB travel starts on Wednesday.

Texts of the Week

“Did Vanderbilt just try a fake on their extra point attempt against Hawai’i? College Football is so f***ing back” - Alex Sztejenberg

“This is disgusting football” - Robbie Eisenman discussing Vandy/Hawai’i at 12:52am

5 Rapid Fire CFB Season Preview Questions

Which fanbase is most likely to melt down by midseason?

RF: Texas A&M - after a brutally underwhelming 5-7 showing last year which included losses to App State and Auburn with an interim coach but an inspiring 20-3 win over…UMass, head coach Jimbo Fisher finally decided to give up play-calling duties and brought in Harley Davidson enthusiast Bobby Petrino to run the offense. Texas A&M went all in with Jimbo Fisher by signing him to a $94.5 million deal a few years back that’s also fully guaranteed. They need to show they can consistently compete with the big boys in the SEC or else they’re on the hook for a mere $77 million if they fire Jimbo at the end of this year. Toss-up games @ Miami, vs Auburn, and vs Arkansas in JerryWorld precede Bama’s trip to College Station before they go to Tennessee in mid-October. I hope oil prices remain high because their boosters might have to pull the trigger on Jimbo.

TS: Alabama - With no quarterback in place and games against #11 Texas, #22 Ole Miss, and @ #23 Texas A&M in the first half of the season, the Tide may be looking at games against Tennessee and LSU as absolute must-wins, which is not really the situation you want to be in with two new coordinators and the aforementioned questions at quarterback. Alabama hasn’t won a national championship since their Mickey Mouse COVID title in 2020, and before that 2017. Alabama’s fanbase has been on edge watching Georgia establish itself as the premier program in the country, watching Tennessee become dangerous and actually beat them for the first time in 15 years, and watching LSU hire a coach who will raise the floor on that program to a significant degree. Time may be running out on ol’ Nicky to grab another title, and with this schedule, there may be some panic going on in Tuscaloosa in October. Hide your trees.

Which head coach will get fired first?

RF: 5-7, 6-4, 6-7, 5-7 are the Win/Loss records of Neal Brown at West Virginia. Go ahead and write the obituary because he might not make it through September with games @ Penn State, vs Pitt, vs Texas Tech, and @ TCU. There’s also a new Athletic Director who didn’t hire him and minimal signs of life with this program. They would’ve fired him this last offseason but breaking news, West Virginia has no money as the school just cut all foreign language programs and 9% of its majors.

TS: Neal Brown - West Virginia. Yeah, I really don’t have much to add to what Rand said. This is a dead man walking, and I think this one may be done by the early part of October. WVU has fallen into aggressively-mediocre territory since Brown arrived, recruiting has fallen off the face of the earth, and this is going to be a bottom tier Big 12 team once again this year. The financial problems that Rand mentioned are very real, but they did get to fire their drunk maniac of a basketball coach for free, which is always nice. I think WVU will fork up the buyout money to try to adjust to life in the new Big 12 with a new staff. It’s time to start over.

Is the hype legit for Penn State?

RF: This team has the pieces and talent to make the playoff. The problem is Michigan and Ohio State do too, both of whom they play. Anything less than a playoff appearance will probably be considered a failure in Happy Valley. Unfair? Perhaps, but when you’re paying head coach James Franklin $7.5mil/year you don’t settle for 3rd best in your conference.

TS: I’ll say yes. Experience, talent on the line of scrimmage, some elite defensive players, and the possibility for a massive upgrade at QB with 5-star Drew Allar, Penn State has the chance to take the step that we’ve been waiting for them to take for years. The round-robin of games between Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State will have massive effects on the playoff race this year. I expect Penn State to be ready and knock off at least one of the other two.

What to make of Colorado?

RF: Colorado will be the most covered and analyzed 3-9 team in the history of CFB. Everyone is anxious to see how Deion handles failure because unless he’s the second coming of Bear Bryant, it’s inevitable. He waltzed into Boulder, told everyone on the team they suck (which is true given they went 1-11 last year), and flipped a staggering 75% of his roster via the transfer portal. Former 5-star defensive backs Travis Hunter & Cormani McClain are going to be really fun to watch, but Deion’s son QB Shedeur Sanders is likely getting murdered this year with their high school level offensive line.

TS: They are gonna be really bad. Like, really bad. Hopefully Deion can make Travis Hunter fun to watch, but they are going to get lit up by the offenses in that league. As Rand mentioned, this has the potential to be one of the worst offensive lines in the Power 5, which may not only completely limit Colorado’s ability to score points, but may also entirely demoralize the team as the season goes on. We have seen some teams that have been built largely out of the transfer portal just give up once it’s clear that they won’t meet their goals, and boy oh boy was this team built out of the transfer portal. Regardless of the Win/Loss record at the end of the year, this season will go a long way in telling us about Deion’s ability to establish and maintain a culture at this level.

Who’s challenging Georgia?

RF: Disclaimer to all Georgia Fans: You will sleepwalk your way into the playoff. Georgia’s schedule is an absolute joke, which is great if you’re Georgia, but bad if you pay for season tickets. Georgia’s season doesn’t start until November 18th when they go into Neyland Stadium and play Tennessee. The question is, can anyone stop them from making it three national championships in a row? I’m taking the field until I see new QB Carson Beck and new offensive coordinator Mike Bobo prove they can field an offense at least comparable to last year's. If it’s on the same level, if not better, you’ll win the natty again. Georgia’s defense will still be better than some NFL teams, but I’m hedging (lol) until I see what Carson Beck is made of.

TS: NOBODY. But in all seriousness, it’s fair to question if the offense will skip a beat with a new QB and a new OC. Even if Beck looks to be the real deal throughout the first half of the season, it will still be fair to question if he’ll have the clutch factor that Stetson Bennett had in abundance. While I obviously won’t be rooting for any close games for the Dawgs this season once we kickoff, it may be in UGA’s best interest to get challenged by a Kentucky, an Ole Miss, or even a Tennessee late in the year, to get that backs-against-the-wall factor tested before the SEC Championship and Playoff games against solid teams. Alabama, LSU, and even Texas A&M have the top-level talent in the SEC to compete with the Dawgs. Michigan and possibly Ohio State are the other two nationally that could hang. But this Dawgs defense is going to be #sicknasty once again, and there is a reason we’re the favorites to win it all again. It’s time to 3peat folks.

Have a great day and talk to you again on Thursday.

Thanks for reading 4th & Forever. Feel free to forward this to friends & family and if you have comments or suggestions on the newsletter, please let us know. We really appreciate any and all feedback on this project.

Did this get forwarded to you and think we are hilarious geniuses? Fill out the Google Form below to get added to the distribution list. If you hate us and/or this and don’t want to subscribe anymore, well that’s awkward because one of us sees you at least once a year, but just report us as spam or something…or click the link below.

4th & Forever Subscription Settings

Rand Fisher & Tate Smillie met a few years ago through our good buddy Dave Peljovich who went to college with Rand and high school with Tate. Tate went to Georgia and has spent the last two years collecting championship rings while traveling to watch the Dawgs. Rand went to known CFB powerhouse Wake Forest and currently pays rent in Atlanta but is rarely found there with all the work & CFB travel he does.