ZWF: The best of College Football Week One
Zander's Weekend Facts #82: Sunday, September 3, 2023
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, the beginning of a new college football season, and a look at what Zander’s been reading this past week. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines you need to know about from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast! Episode 116 previews the College Football season that kicked off in earnest this weekend. Zander breaks down the teams you need to know, the players who will shine, and the facts that’ll have you feeling like a pro! Download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, September 3, 2023:
Kicking off the College Football season
The 2023-2024 College Football season kicked off in earnest yesterday with the first full Saturday slate of the season. There were upsets, dominant performances, and some extracurricular activities that highlighted the day.
Here’s all the top stuff from yesterday’s action:
Colorado had only won one game last season, but in comes Deion Sanders (“Coach Prime”) and suddenly the Buffaloes took down last year’s national runner-ups on the road, winning 45-42. Here are the highlights from 21-point underdog Colorado’s massive victory over #17 TCU:
#21 North Carolina’s defense was the highlight in their 31-17 victory over South Carolina in the battle of the Carolinas. UNC had nine sacks, the most in a game for the Tar Heels. And the post-game handshake for the head coaches was a lot more cordial than this screengrab would indicate:
#25 Iowa scored a touchdown on their first drive of the season for the first time since 1991. They ended up beating Utah State 24-14:
The Oregon Duck was exhausted after executing 546 pushups for #15 Oregon’s 81-point barrage over Portland State:
The Michigan offense decided to give a tribute to their very-much-alive head coach Jim Harbaugh (who is currently suspended three games by the university.) Michigan ended up beating East Carolina 30-3:
And it all kicked off NBC’s brand new B1G TURD coverage:
Robert Griffin III’s pants split open during his attempt to jump into Lake Washington before the Boise State-#10 Washington game:
And the return of everyone’s favorite mascot: 😄
Also, you should be following @nocontextcfb to get your Saturday fix:
For more information on this week’s top story, here’s an article from ESPN - College football Week 1 highlights: Top plays, games, takeaways
What Zander’s been reading
For global trade, the Panama Canal is an almost required artery. But recent log jams have put the pressure on a potential rival that has been discussed for decades to be built to the north in Nicaragua.
Check out this week’s featured article at BBC Future - The rival to the Panama Canal that was never built - (Apple News link)
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the Sporting Club:
NFL Week 1: The NFL regular season is set to begin on Thursday, with the defending Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Detroit Lions at 8:20 pm et on NBC. The full slate kicks off on Sunday, highlighted in the 1:00 pm et by the 49ers versus the Steelers, the Bengals taking on the Browns, and the Colts hosting the Jaguars. At 4:25 pm et, the Packers take on the Bears, the Chargers host the Dolphins, and the Eagles play the Patriots. At 8:20 pm et, the Cowboys face the Giants in an NFC East matchup on NBC. On Monday, the Bills take on the Jets at 8:15 pm et on ABC and ESPN.
ACC Expansion: The Atlantic Coast Conference became the latest collegiate athletic conference to expand, announcing the addition of three new schools. The ACC is adding the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, and Southern Methodist University beginning next summer. The league will have 17 football-playing schools beginning next season, with Notre Dame in the league for all other sports. The move leaves the Pac-12 with just two remaining schools for next season: Oregon State and Washington State. Both schools are reportedly in negotiations with the Mountain West Conference about potentially joining the conference next year.
Soccer Transfer Window: The summer transfer window in European soccer concluded on Friday, with record spending taking place in England. The 20 clubs in the English Premier League spent a combined $2.97 billion during the window, which was 48% of the total among the top five leagues in Europe. Since the group led by American Todd Bohley took over ownership of Chelsea FC in May 2022, the club has spent over $1 billion in transfer fees. However, the Blues have lost two of their first four matches in the EPL season, currently sitting 11th on the table.
FIBA World Cup: The 2023 FIBA World Cup continues to roll on into the 2nd Round. After the 2nd Round wraps up on Sunday, the top two teams in each group will advance to the Quarterfinals. The U.S. are one of four nations who already clinched their spot in the next round as of Saturday night, along with Germany, Lithuania, and Slovenia. The U.S. play Lithuania to wrap up the 2nd Round at 8:40 am et this morning. The Quarterfinals take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the Semifinal games being played on Friday. The final two teams standing will advance to Sunday’s Final, set for 8:40 am et and airing on ESPN2.
Julie Ertz: U.S. Women’s National Team star Julie Ertz announced her retirement from soccer on Thursday. The 31-year-old won two World Cups with the U.S. Women in 2015 and 2019 since her making her international debut in 2013, while also playing for the U.S. in this year’s Women’s World Cup. Ertz had played for Angel City SC in the NWSL, signing with them earlier this year. Ertz also gave birth to her son, Madden, last August. Ertz scored 20 goals for the U.S. and won U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year in 2017 and 2019.
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
Supreme Court Disclosures: Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas released their new financial disclosure forms on Thursday. Both Justices have previously been scrutinized for failing to report items on their disclosures, including luxury trips paid for by real estate billionaire Harlan Crow in the case of Thomas. Thomas’ report included several instances of having accommodations paid for over the last several years that had previously been unreported by Thomas but had been unveiled by ProPublica reporting earlier this year.
Hurricane Idalia: Hurricane Idalia struck Florida on Wednesday morning as a powerful Category 3 hurricane. Idalia made landfall at Keaton Beach in the Big Bend region of the state, with maximum sustained winds of up to 125 mph. Extreme winds along with flooding caused massive problems not just in Florida, but as the state turned to the northeast into Georgia later on Wednesday and Thursday. Early estimates from investment bank UBS show about $9 billion of damage due to the storm.
UNC Shooting: One University of North Carolina professor was killed after a shooting took place on the Chapel Hill campus on Monday. Tailei Qi, a UNC graduate student, was charged with first-degree murder and having a gun on educational property after shooting and killing Zijie Yan. According to the school’s website, Yan was an advisor for Qi. Wednesday’s edition of the UNC student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, drew widespread acclaim after printing messages sent from the UNC community during Monday’s lockdown.
Medicare Price Negotiations: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced last week the first 10 drugs that will be subject to price negotiations. Under the Inflation Reduction Act, the federal government will be able to negotiate the price of prescription drugs for the estimated 65 million people insured on Medicare. While the negotiated prices won’t go into effect until 2026, 10 drugs have already been named, including blood-thinners Eliquis and Xarelto, along with diabetes drug Jardiance.
Gabon Coup: A military coup is underway in the central African country of Gabon. On Wednesday, military leaders forced President Ali Bongo into house arrest and seized power. Bongo has led Gabon since 2009 and claims to have won reelection in the country’s recent election. However, army officers claim that there was widespread fraud in the election, saying that opposition candidate Albert Ondo Ossa was the rightful winner. Gabon is one of several former French colonies in Africa to have experienced a coup recently, joining Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, and Niger.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All Zander’s Facts podcast episodes are now available on zandersfacts.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment! That includes the next episode of the Zander’s Facts Podcast, which comes out this Wednesday!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The facts in print return next Sunday, September 10, 2023.
