College football’s Week 1 winners, losers: LSU fans souring on Brian Kelly?

Loser: Brian Kelly

First, it was his fake southern accent, then it was the cringe viral video where he danced with a recruit that ended up committing to Alabama, and now, after all of that, Brian Kelly did not win his season opener against an unranked Florida State team.

So many distractions and no results. Tough week for Brian Kelly and the scrutiny he’s likely to face from the LSU faithful all week long. Are LSU fans already souring on their new coach? What happens if he can’t get his team bowl eligible in year one? Grab your popcorn folks, it’s going to get a whole lot more interesting in Baton Rouge.

Loser: Group of Five teams

A handful of teams came so close to pulling off spectacular upsets in Week 1. Appalachian State lost to UNC by just two points despite scoring 40 points in the fourth quarter. UTSA pushed No. 24 Houston into triple overtime but failed to convert on their attempt to send it to a fourth overtime. And, East Carolina missed a game-winning field goal as time expired in their attempt to upset No. 13 NC State.

In general, it was a tough week for Group of Five teams playing teams from the Power Five.

(Houston might as well be included in the Power Five since they graduate to the Big 12 in July).

Loser: UCLA attendance

I know what you’re thinking: didn’t UCLA win in Week 1? You’re right, they did. However, the team was getting roasted online for their abysmal attendance for their matchup against Bowling Green.

Just over 27,000 tickets were sold for the game, the lowest number since 1992. And, as you can see from some photos, it appears even fewer people showed up to the game despite purchasing a ticket.

This was the first game since UCLA announced its intention to join the Big Ten Conference. As CBS Sports noted, the temperatures in Southern California were hovering around 100 degrees for kickoff, students have not reported to campus yet, and it’s about a 30-mile drive to the stadium from the campus.

Those are all certainly understandable factors for a low attendance against a Group of Five team, but still. It’s a rough look for a team that should have a ton of energy after making moves to join one of the most powerful conferences in all of college football.