Ask Jesse: Impact of Maason Smith suspension, Big Ten West QB rankings, best games in Week 1

Congratulations, people. We made it. After the longest offseason in recent memory, college football is back. Week 0 was fun, but now we get the whole hog. 

The 2023 season is finally here. 

Also back? My mailbag. Each Wednesday, there will be a new Ask Jesse (think Ask Jeeves, but for college football) where I answer your favorite CFB questions. 

Be sure to fill up my internet mailbox via DM or Twitter reply @JesseReSimonton or by email at [email protected]. 

Onto your questions…

What impact will Maason Smith’s suspension have on LSU-Florida State? — Sam

From a narrative perspective, it’s huge. A former 5-star and potential 1st-round pick out in a Top 10 matchup! But in reality, the loss of Smith is probably being a bit overblown. 

For those who might’ve missed it, the Tigers’ defensive lineman is suspended by the NCAA for the opener against the Seminoles for selling autographs way back in 2021. 

In a galaxy-brain decision, Smith, unlike others punished for the same “violation” including his former teammate wideout Kayshon Boutte, isn’t allowed to choose which game he must sit out because he was injured for nearly the entirety of the 2022 season. 

Oh, and it’s now 2023, and selling your autographs is completely “legal” in today’s NIL world. 

Alas. 

As for his impact, Smith is a freak and has “best player in the SEC” upside, but he’s coming off an ACL injury, has been dinged up throughout LSU’s fall camp and probably wasn’t going to play 40-50 snaps. The line didn’t budge after the news dropped last week. LSU remains a 2.5-point favorite. 

If this were Harold Perkins Jr. or Malik Nabers, it would be a much bigger deal. If this were later in the season, Smith’s impact (or lack thereof) would likely be felt more, too. So the Seminoles are catching a small break, but considering Smith’s current health and previous production (13 career tackles), let’s not make this a bigger deal than it really is.

Hey Jesse. Big Illinois fan here. Did you know that every team in the Big Ten West has a different starting quarterback from last season? I’m excited about Luke Altmeyer but how would you rank this group? — Richard

At some point this offseason I did know that factoid, Richard, but now that it’s Week 1, my brain is running out of bandwidth to remember as much. 

You’re right, though. Mostly. Every team in the Big Ten West has a new starting quarterback in Week 1. Athan Kaliakmanis did start the month of November for Minnesota in 2022 after taking over for Tanner Morgan.

Your Fighting Illini (Luke Altmyer), Iowa (Cade McNamara), Nebraska (Jeff Sims), Purdue (Hudson Card), Northwestern (Ben Bryant) and Wisconsin (Tanner Mordecai) will all start transfers in Week 1.

Ex-SMU gunslinger Mordecai has the most experience and gaudy career stats, but I give the nod to McNamara as the best of the bunch, which is one of the reasons why I picked Iowa to win the division in 2023. 

So I’ll go:

1. McNamara
2. Mordecai
3. Sims (high upside, low floor)
4. Card
5. Altmyer
6. Bryant
7. Kaliakmanis

Give me a sleeper team from each conference. I live in Columbia and think South Carolina beats Tennessee and finishes No. 2 in the SEC East — Chris 

I could take this in a number of directions depending on what your definition of “sleeper team” is. Earlier this offseason, I wrote a piece detailing 2023 dark horse conference champions. 

Think Louisville in the ACC. Texas Tech in the Big 12. Texas A&M in the SEC, etc. 

But if we’re looking for deeper cuts — like your Gamecocks finishing No. 2 in the SEC East, I’ll go…

ACC — Pittsburgh. Pat Narduzzi has won 20 games the last two seasons, and now the Panthers are going to finish in the bottom half of the ACC? No. 

Big Ten — Illinois. I don’t think the Illini will quite be able to win the West after so many significant losses to the NFL, but with a great front-seven and an upgrade at QB, Bret Bielema will finish better than the predicted No. 4 in the division.

Big 12 — UCF. Quarterback John Rhys Plumlee gives the Knights on almost any given Saturday. 

Pac-12 — UCLA. I’ve pounded the table for Chip Kelly and the Bruins all offseason. They’re perhaps a bit overqualified as a “sleeper” with a 8.5 win total, but they were also picked to finish sixth in the conference. They’ll be better than that. 

SEC — Kentucky. I wrote about the Wildcats’ chances of exceeding their preseason pick of No. 4 in the East in a piece earlier this week.

Am I crazy or can Notre Dame make the playoff this year? Sam Hartman is our best quarterback since Brady Quinn. Elite offensive line. Great d. Where’s our weakness? — Patrick

I get the excitement Irish fans, y’all looked damn good in Week 0. Sam Hartman is legit. The OL was punishing, and most notably, Notre Dame finally looks like it has some speed and playmaking ability at receiver. Also impressive: Gerad Parker’s debut as OC and first-time play-caller.

So the optimism is warranted. Playoff expectations are not. Hopes, maybe, but don’t get too over your skis here. 

Notre Dame mollywhopped a bad Navy team with a first-year head coach running a slightly new offense. 

Let’s see what happens at NC State next weekend. Or against Ohio State at the end of September. The Irish still have three Top 10 matchups on the schedule. 

A 10-2 season in Year 2 under Marcus Freeman looks very realistic and will have Notre Dame eyeing a playoff berth … in 2024.

Rank the best games in Week 1 — Gerry

Well, yes sir. 

Admittedly, Week 2 features a far more tasty menu of games, but we can’t complain after nine months of no football. 

LSU-Florida State is the lone matchup featuring two ranked teams, and we’ll see what sort of impact Hurricane Idalia has on the weekend.

I can’t wait to see what Sheduer Sanders and Colorado looks like against TCU. The Battle for the Carolinas will set the tone for two programs looking to break through. Can Penn State get off to a fast start against West Virginia? 

There are also sneaky good games like UTSA at Houston — just a one-point spread and a chance for my “Jeff Traylor takes over the Cougars’ program in 2024” prediction to look really good with an early upset — and Boise State at Washington. Looking for a @SickosCommittee deep cut? Old Dominion vs. Va. Tech is a Battle of Ex-James Franklin Assistants.

Lest we forget, Thursday night features a “Who knows what’s going to happen?” Big Ten affair between Nebraska-Minnesota, as well as Florida at Utah — plus or minus star quarterback Cam Rising?

So while it’s not the greatest opening weekend slate, there are still plenty of appetizing options.

My five favorite games in Week 1:

1. LSU vs. Florida State (Orlando)
2. Colorado at TCU
3. South Carolina vs. North Carolina (Charlotte)
4. Florida at Utah 
5. West Virginia at Penn State

What does adding Stanford and Cal do for the ACC? Why would that convince Florida State to stay? Would that really save the conference? — Ben

Don’t forget about SMU! The Mustangs — and their “we’re willing to give up seven years of TV rights revenue just to become a Power 5 program” — are part of this equation, too, but obviously Stanford and Cal are the headliners here. 

The simplest answer is the additions of the two West Coast schools — and yes, I’ll acknowledge the obvious irony here of them joining the Atlantic Coast Conference — would provide the ACC reportedly an additional $50-60 million annually to divide among the rest of the schools. The Athletic reported the figure could be as high as $74 million.

FSU, Clemson, North Carolina and NC State are all reported to object to the additions, but according to ESPN, one or more (likely NC State and UNC) are expected to flip their vote to allow the latest conference expansion. 

It’s a bandaid move for the ACC, and while it might stop the bleeding in the short term, even a performance-based distribution model annually isn’t going to stop Florida State’s hell-raising long-term. 

Still, the reason conference commissioner Jim Phillips is being proactive is because both parties are desperate here. Locked in a bad TV rights deal, the ACC wants more revenue streams. The league also wants a bit of insurance before schools like FSU, Clemson or others jump ship. Meanwhile, Cal and Stanford simply want a home in a Power 5 league, and they’re willing to take a reported 30% share for a while to avoid falling into the abyss as an Independent — or worse — having to join the Mountain West of AAC.