Despite being on a bachelor trip this Labor Day Weekend, I was able to soak up a good bit of college football. I missed a few games here and there, but a few of my friends and I found a TV to hunker down in front of when the Dawgs came on, which is all that matters to me.

It’s never easy to open the season on the road, much less against another SEC team. Vanderbilt may not be the cream of the crop in the grand scheme of college football, but coach Derek Mason does a great job of getting his players to play up to their potential. Georgia hit a bump or two along the way to its 30-6 win, but I’m proud of the job they did and look forward to the next game.

You know who is probably not looking forward to their next game? Tennessee fans! Yowza, Rocky Top just became Rocky Bottom. Georgia State beat the Vols in Neyland Stadium, and I don’t think it gets much worse than that. Tennessee’s schedule doesn’t get any easier from here on out, so Vol Nation has to be pulling its hair out right about now. Most teams get better as the season goes on, though, so maybe we’ll see an improved team by the time they meet Florida, Georgia or Alabama. Eh…maybe.

Auburn pulled off an unbelievable miracle to beat Oregon on Saturday. What an incredible play from the freshman quarterback Bo Nix! It’s hard not to get excited for a kid who spent his entire life dreaming of playing for the Tigers, and then starts his career off like that.

I caught bits of pieces of the Florida State-Boise State game as my crew and I bumped around the Ashville, North Carolina, brewery scene. It looked like Willie Taggart had this team in the right places physically, mentally and strategically.

Then the second half happened. Boise State has a history of shocking teams in season openers (they did it to Georgia in 2011), but I thought the Noles had that one in the bag. They looked tired and disorganized in the fourth quarter. Coach Taggart went on record after the game saying he probably should have started hydrating his players earlier in the week. That’s concerning to hear, seeing as how Boise State’s players practiced all week in high humidity environments to emulate Tallahassee’s weather and handled it better than the home team.

Justin Fields and Jacob Eason, both former Georgia quarterbacks who transferred to Ohio State and Washington, respectively, had great games. Big numbers, great throws and many, many touchdowns. It was a blast watching Eason sling that ball up and down the field, and Fields is a beast with his legs.

One last thought: Notre Dame might have had a slow start against Louisville Monday night, but it’s clear they aren’t going away anytime soon after a 35-17 win. The Irish are on a collision course for Athens in a few weeks. That is going to be an exciting game.