As long as the calendar still says it’s summer there are few places on Earth that I have found more lovely and appealing than upstate New York. And since technically that’s indeed still the case on paper, it made the coronation of New Highmark Stadium in suburban Buffalo–sightline issues and all–all the more of an event worthy of global exposure as the kickoff to Amazon Prime Videos’ Thursday Night Football. It was already going to be a historic night in any event. But then the actual game unfolded, and HITC’s Aryan Chadha provided at least five more great reasons why historic would prove to be an understated adjective:
Josh Allen delivered a five-touchdown performance as the Buffalo Bills opened their new stadium with a 41-31 victory over the Detroit Lions, prompting fans to hail their quarterback as the “GOAT”.
Allen threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more as Buffalo raced into a 27-7 half-time lead before holding off a second-half Lions comeback. The performance marked the fourth five-touchdown outing of Allen’s career, coming just one week after he accounted for four touchdowns in Buffalo’s 36-31 win over the Houston Texans. He finished Thursday night with 248 passing yards and 72 rushing yards.
Allen scored the first regular-season touchdown in the new Highmark Stadium with a one-yard rushing score before finding Josh Palmer for a 43-yard touchdown pass. Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox also found the end zone in the first half, while Allen added another rushing touchdown after the break. James Cook then put the game away with a late one-yard score.
Fans were quick to celebrate Allen’s performance, with one writing: “Allen is the GOAT man, no doubts about that” . Another supporter added: “allen really turned opening night into his highlight reel”.
The performance cemented the relegation of the area’s premier college team to afterthought status, as in a remarkable example of unfortunate scheduling the Syracuse Orange were slated to go head-to-head in a crucial conference battle with a longtime rival even going back to their Big East roots that unlike what transpired in Buffalo wound up as one-sided on the board as it did on the field. Per PITTSBURGH SPORTS NOW’s Brendan Howe:
Stick with what works. Pitt did just that on its first offensive series out of halftime on Thursday night, making use of four rushing plays to climb ahead by two possessions in what wound up a 27-13 win.
True freshman running back Damon Ferguson Jr. — who made his second start in a row for the injured Ja’Kyrian “Boosie” Turner — took a carry 18 yards, then another 33 before being subbed out for senior La’Vell Wright, who gashed the Orange (1-2) for 16 yards. Quarterback Mason Heintschel kept it on a read option, scoring from nine yards out to punctuate the four-play, 76-yard, ground-exclusive march.
From the SU perspective, their best news may have been landing upon a potential replacement for an underperforming leader, as SYRACUSE ORANGE ON SI’s Andrew Barth reported this morning:
Steve Angeli once again struggled, throwing for two interceptions in the fourth quarter…After going 3-1 last season in games he started, Angeli continues to struggle and appears to potentially be losing his starting role to Amari Odom…Angeli’s second interception set Pitt up for a field goal that would extend the lead to three scores and cause Fran Brown to pull Angeli for Odom..
Angeli finished 13-25 with a QBR of 34.5. Angeli did show leadership by taking the podium after the game, but this may be Angeli’s last start…Odom took over for Angeli and marched the team down the field for a field goal. Syracuse head coach Fran Brown showed his support for Angeli, but also did not rule out Amari Odom overtaking him in the depth chart, saying that there would be a competition for the job.
With a full 16 days before their next tilt, Angeli, Odom et al can put their feet up and join the rest of the world in focusing on what will undoubtedly be considered The Game Of The Year tomorrow night. As he so often does, THE ATHLETIC’s Chris Branch did a great job filling his subscribers’ inboxes with a handy recap/preview:
It is hard to remember a college football game more anticipated than tomorrow’s LSU-Ole Miss matchup, with most of that hype focused on everything not associated with the on-field contest itself. To properly contextualize such a moment, let’s just go through some broad facts:
- LSU and Ole Miss are historic rivals. The Tigers have the edge in the series, which dates back to 1894, by a margin of 64-43-4. There are deep roots and feelings here.
- Lane Kiffin spent the previous six years as head coach at Ole Miss and helped build its best team in history, last year’s Playoff semifinalist that finished 13-2. He had become a hero. Before that Playoff run ended, Kiffin left the Rebels to take the vacant LSU job. Calling it messy is an understatement.
- Kiffin’s former defensive coordinator, Pete Golding, assumed the interim role for that Playoff run last year and is now the permanent head coach (he has an interesting story, too). Kiffin helped recruit much of Ole Miss’ roster, taking a few players — defensive end Princewill Umanmielen and linebacker TJ Dottery — with him to Baton Rouge. Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacey spurned Kiffin to remain with the Rebels. Again, the ties and feelings run deep here.
- There will be an increased security presence in Oxford for the game. And on Wednesday, Ole Miss served Umanmielen with legal papers from its breach-of-contract suit against the player. He was served in the parking lot of LSU’s facility. The script for this week is incredible.
Kiffin alone makes for a fascinating set of supplemental storylines, as Branch expoundedL
Has there ever been a coach, in any sport, like Lane Kiffin? Consider his … let’s call it a resume:
- Premier college football head-coaching jobs: four. Tennessee, USC, Ole Miss and LSU. Was also an NFL head coach with the Raiders at just 31. He served as offensive coordinator for two national title teams (USC in 2004, Alabama in 2015). He has true coaching bona fides.
- Number of premier jobs left normally: zero. He bolted Tennessee for USC after a season, prompting riots in Knoxville. The Trojans fired him on the tarmac after a bad loss. Alabama coach Nick Saban gave him the boot before the Playoff began in 2017. We know the Ole Miss story. I assume his tenure in Baton Rouge ends oddly, too, whether that’s in two years or 20. He’s only 51! And what makes him a good coach, anyway?
- Number of haters: many. Sure, he’s left behind bad/jilted feelings in places like Knoxville and Oxford. But there is a truly villainous way he’s operated, too, which at best can be chalked up to theater and at worst considered devious. Will Leitch wrote a great column on it this week, which is worth a read.
The atmosphere tomorrow, for better or worse, will be intoxicating.
A good night as any to sip a cider (ahem) and find a watering hole with an outdoor patio for anyone in Upstate New York to simply hang and savor. As for SU, there’s hopefully better days ahead. They do play in a dome, ya know.
Courage…