Questions surrounded the Texas A&M football team as it entered its first season after the Johnny Manziel era. Would they have the same punch? Would Johnny Football's successor at quarterback, Kenny Hill, be up to par? Would they be able to hang with the SEC's toughest teams?
The answers, it appears, are yes, yes and yes. The 21st-ranked Aggies shocked ninth-ranked host South Carolina with a 52-28 whupping on Thursday, the new college football season's first big day of games. Hill finished 44-of-60 for 511 yards and three touchdowns.
[seealso url = "http://sale-online.click/2014/08/08/facebook-harrison-barnes-nba/"]
But the game's sweetest moment may have come after the final whistle in the A&M locker room, when coach Kevin Sumlin entered for a joyous -- and water-drenched -- celebration with his players, officially ending an off-season of doubts and belittling from national pundits. The YouTube video embedded above is short, but it captures the moment perfectly.
Concerns about head injuries, and whether players should be paid, are real in college football. But it's vignettes like this that get to the essence of why fans won't stop watching anytime soon.
Happy 2014 college football season.
BONUS: 25 of YouTube's Funniest Sports Fails
[nggallery id=7157]
BONUS: The Rookie's Guide to Fantasy Football