College Football Is Already Drunk: Michigan’s Extra Second, LSU’s Statement & NFL Week 1

We waited eight months.

Eight months without meaningful football, only for the football gods to apparently decide that one ending wasn’t enough for Michigan and Western Michigan.

Why end the game once when you can end it twice?

Episode 289 of The Far End of the Bench officially brings us into the best stretch of the sports calendar. College football is already drunk, the NFL is back, fantasy managers are checking their phones every 14 seconds, Pick’Em has returned, and somehow we’re already arguing about whether a football game actually ended when the clock hit zero.

Football is so back.

Michigan Found the Most Valuable Second in College Football

There are controversial endings, and then there is whatever the hell happened between Michigan and Western Michigan.

Western Michigan had done almost everything necessary to walk into the Big House and pull off the upset. Michigan struggled to consistently move the football. The Broncos didn’t even need a touchdown to put themselves in position to win. Four field goals had them sitting there with what appeared to be a 12-7 victory.

The clock hit zero.

Game over.

Except it wasn’t.

After review, officials found one more second. Michigan received another opportunity, Bryce Underwood launched the football downfield, and suddenly a game Western Michigan thought it had won became a 13-12 Michigan victory.

My biggest problem isn’t even that officials reviewed it. Replay exists for a reason.

It is that millions of people watching the game saw zeroes. The players saw zeroes. Western Michigan celebrated a win. Then we discovered there was apparently another clock involved that could find time nobody else could see.

We have technology capable of putting virtual first-down markers on a football field. We can track player speed, ball location and seemingly every other piece of information imaginable.

But we can’t make sure everybody is looking at the same damn clock?

And Niko brought up the question that probably matters most: if the jerseys were reversed, does Western Michigan get that same search for one final second?

I have a hard time believing they do.

Michigan officially gets the win, and nothing is going to rewrite the record book. But Western Michigan has every reason to leave Ann Arbor feeling like something was taken from them.

More importantly for Michigan, the controversy almost hides the bigger problem: they were pushed to the absolute edge by a team that never scored a touchdown.

Whatever happened with the clock, Michigan has a lot to fix.

And there isn't exactly much time to do it.

Texas and Ohio State Get the First True Heavyweight Fight

Now we move from the weirdest result of Week 1 to the game everybody circled when the schedule came out.

Texas. Ohio State.

This is the measuring-stick game.

Both teams got the opportunity to flex against overmatched opponents to open the season. Now the training wheels come off.

The most interesting part is that both quarterbacks have been here before. Last season, you could see the stage hit Arch Manning differently. Now he has another year of football under his belt, Steve Sarkisian has his program established, and Texas has built the roster to play games exactly like this.

On the other side, Julian Sayin has grown too, and Jeremiah Smith remains the kind of receiver who can change the entire complexion of a game in three snaps.

For me, there’s also a different level of pressure on the two programs.

Ohio State can lose this game and recover. Ryan Day’s program has reached the point where we know the Buckeyes are going to remain in the playoff conversation as long as they handle the rest of their schedule.

Texas is trying to prove something different.

A win over Ohio State doesn’t mean “Texas is back.” I know better than to say that around Texas fans.

But it does establish the Longhorns as one of the teams everyone else has to chase.

My lean? Ohio State in something around a 27-24 type of game. One possession, late kick, and everybody spends the next four months arguing about what it means.

Exactly how college football should be.

Lane Kiffin Didn’t Beat Clemson. LSU Pantsed Them.

And then there’s LSU.

There are wins. There are statement wins.

Then there is walking into your first game with a new program and beating Clemson 51-10.

Lane Kiffin could not have scripted a better LSU debut.

By halftime it was already 31-3, and the part I love about Kiffin is that there was absolutely no interest in treating the second half like a celebration lap. The mentality was essentially: keep going.

That is why Kiffin is so good for college football.

He talks. He pokes people. He embraces the villain role. And when his team gets a chance to step on somebody’s throat, he doesn’t suddenly become interested in making everybody feel comfortable.

Sam Leavitt also immediately gave us another quarterback to watch in the Heisman conversation. LSU has produced quarterbacks who exploded inside the right offensive environment before, and if this is what Leavitt looks like operating Kiffin's system, that conversation is going to get loud quickly.

The other side of this is Clemson.

At some point, the résumé stops protecting you.

Dabo Swinney built one of the defining programs of the previous era of college football. Nobody can take away the championships or the playoff appearances.

But those banners aren't playing on Saturdays in 2026.

LSU didn't edge Clemson.

They embarrassed them.

Which is why Lane Kiffin became an extremely easy choice for my Player of the Week.

The NFL Has Gone Global — Maybe Too Global

While we were recording Episode 289, NFL football was literally happening in the background.

That alone changes the energy.

Every injury suddenly matters to somebody’s fantasy roster. Every score sends somebody diving toward their phone. And before we've even settled into Week 1, the league is sending two division rivals roughly 8,000 miles away to play in Australia.

San Francisco and Los Angeles aren't flying across the planet for an exhibition.

This counts.

That is what makes the travel strategy so fascinating.

One philosophy says to get there early, adjust your body, practice in the environment and try to normalize the experience.

The other essentially says: we're creatures of habit, so screw it. Treat this as closely to a normal road trip as humanly possible.

I understand both.

What worries me isn't necessarily how these teams perform in Australia. Adrenaline can get you through one football game.

I want to know what they look like after Australia.

Anybody who has dealt with real jet lag understands that sometimes it doesn't destroy you when you land. It catches you later, when your body finally decides it has absolutely no idea what day it is.

Doing that to two teams with legitimate postseason expectations—and making it a divisional game—is wild.

Welcome to the modern NFL.

The Broncos Aren’t Sleepers Anymore

This one is going to take some adjustment around Denver.

There is nowhere to hide anymore.

The Broncos aren't the fun sleeper pick. They aren't the scrappy young team that can surprise somebody.

Expectations have changed.

When you've already shown you can compete near the top of the conference, the next step isn't “maybe make the playoffs.”

It's competing for the Super Bowl.

That sounds aggressive because it is aggressive.

But Bo Nix is still in the affordable portion of his career. The defense has established itself. The roster has been built to compete now. Windows in the NFL do not stay open forever.

So embrace it.

There will be rough stretches. Sean Payton's teams here haven't exactly made a habit of making September relaxing. But we're past the stage where a successful Broncos season means being happy just to be invited to the party.

Now you're supposed to matter.

Pick’Em Is Back

And after all that waiting, FeOTB Pick’Em is officially back.

Same format as last season: four games each, straight-up winners, and Jimmy and Niko enter Week 1 tied at the beautiful record of 0-0.

Niko:
Bears over Panthers
Jaguars over Browns
Lions over Saints
Ravens over Colts

Jimmy:
Chargers over Cardinals
Eagles over Commanders
Titans over Jets
Vikings over Packers

There are some safe picks in there.

And then there is me voluntarily putting my name next to Titans over Jets.

Football is about courage.

Niko's Jaguars pick is almost as much about the Browns as it is Jacksonville. My Chargers pick comes from believing Los Angeles has far more stability than Arizona. The Eagles remain one of the teams I trust to score enough points to survive Week 1 weirdness.

And Minnesota-Green Bay might be the most fascinating pick of the entire group.

Kyler Murray in Kevin O'Connell's offense is one of those combinations where I need to see it before I completely buy it—but I'm fascinated by the ceiling.

Which leads directly into our newest weekly segment.

Fantasy Start ’Em or Sit ’Em: Rule No. 1 — Don’t Get Cute

Fantasy football is back, which means millions of otherwise reasonable adults are about to destroy their Sundays because somebody scored a meaningless six-yard touchdown.

Welcome home.

Our biggest Week 1 message is simple:

Don't get cute.

You drafted guys for a reason.

Unless an injury changes the equation, Week 1 probably isn't the time to convince yourself that the random player you took in Round 13 needs to start over the guy you spent real draft capital on because you read three matchup articles Tuesday night.

That doesn't mean we don't have decisions.

Kyler Murray is fascinating against Green Bay. Tony Pollard versus DeAndre Swift gives you a legitimate RB conversation. Pollard's explosiveness and clearer role in Tennessee make him the guy we'd lean toward there.

Then we get to the spicy one:

Patrick Mahomes against Denver.

The idea of sitting Patrick Mahomes feels ridiculous when you first say it out loud.

But fantasy football and real football aren't the same thing. If you're holding another top-level option, Mahomes returning from injury against a defense you expect to be among the NFL's best at least deserves consideration.

That's what this segment will be every week.

Not “start your obvious superstar.”

Actual decisions.

The ones you're staring at Sunday morning thinking, I am absolutely going to hate myself if I get this wrong.

The Weekly Awards

Niko’s Awards

Player of the Week: Kyle Lewis

One of my favorite parts of the award segment is getting outside football when somebody earns it.

Kyle Lewis did.

An undrafted player out of Division II Adelphi, Lewis worked his way into professional lacrosse and then delivered three goals in his PLL playoff debut for the Waterdogs.

That's exactly the kind of story this award is built for.

Benchwarmer of the Week: Clock Operators

Nobody knows who you are when the clock works.

Everybody knows who you are when one mysterious second changes an entire football game.

After Michigan-Western Michigan, there really couldn't be another choice.

Jimmy’s Awards

Player of the Week: Lane Kiffin

There are not many easier decisions.

First game at LSU. Clemson on the other sideline. 51-10.

And he somehow looked like he wanted LSU to score another 50.

Give him the award.

Benchwarmer of the Week: Brent Key

Georgia Tech's loss to Colorado was a coaching loss.

You're trying to close out a football game and snapping the ball with meaningful time still sitting on the play clock?

As somebody who grew up around offensive line football, that physically hurts me.

Use the clock.

Make Colorado spend every possible second.

Instead, CU remained alive, got the opportunity it needed, and escaped 14-13.

You can respect a coach taking accountability afterward while still saying the management during the game wasn't good enough.

That is what the Benchwarmer was invented for.

Colorado Football Suddenly Has Some Juice

That CU win also opened another interesting conversation.

Julian Lewis wasn't good for most of the game. We said it on the show: for about 58 minutes, he looked rough.

Then when Colorado absolutely needed him, he made enough plays.

Meanwhile, Colorado State has its own energy building under Jim Mora Jr. There is belief in Fort Collins again, and that matters. Air Force handled its business too.

For one weekend at least, Colorado college football gave everybody something to feel good about.

Considering where some of these programs have been, we'll take it.

One Last Thing: Barry Melrose

We couldn't end Episode 289 without acknowledging some sad news from the hockey world.

Barry Melrose was one of those sports personalities who didn't need to be playing the game to make you want to watch it.

The hair. The suits. The energy. The sound bites.

For a generation of fans, he was simply what hockey on ESPN looked and sounded like.

Niko talked about how much Melrose contributed to his love of the sport, and that is probably the best legacy a broadcaster can leave behind. You made somebody care. You made somebody stop flipping channels. You helped create another fan.

Rest in peace, Barry.

Hockey season will feel a little different without him.

Football Is Back — And We’re Just Getting Started

That's Episode 289.

Michigan won a football game that somehow ended twice.

Lane Kiffin arrived at LSU like somebody handed him a flamethrower.

Texas and Ohio State are about to give us our first heavyweight collision.

The NFL is playing on the other side of the planet.

Pick’Em is back.

Fantasy advice is officially part of the show.

And we've still got months of this insanity ahead of us.

We waited eight months for football.

It took one week to remind us why we missed it so damn much.

Same Game. Bigger Convos.
Good People. Better Football.