How was the first football Saturday?

The first game of a football season can be high stakes: a win gets fans excited for the season but a loss can set the bar low for a good year. The first games for Alabama and Auburn had rough beginnings, but ultimately fans are still excited about the 2016 year.

Alabama fans were mostly hesitant about their new quarterback, a true freshman Jalen Hurts. Hurts had a rough start in the first quarter, but managed to recover quickly and finish the game strong with a win over the University of Southern California, 52-6. His ability to bounce back quickly made fans hopeful that he could lead the Tide to victory.

“Jalen Hurts really surprised me, he’s a young quarterback but I think he’s going to be the answer to our problems this year,” said Bama fan Matthew Luster. “We tried the past two season openers on the rotating quarterbacks. It just doesn’t work, that’s not how Saban’s system, and it’s never gonna work, so I think Jalen Hurts will be good for us.”

“Came out a little rough, you could tell that he was nervous,” said Tide supporter Keith McCabe. “You could tell the jitters, he fumbled the ball, and you could tell after that he got his stamina back and did really well the second half.”

And a young fan, nine-year-old Amos Brock, had his own opinions on how the game turned out. “I’m just glad Alabama won because, it was a very hard game at the beginning of the game,” he said. “And we really didn’t have much time at the beginning to get a touchdown because we had to almost go into halftime before we could get the first touchdown but we ended up beating them 52-6 and I’m very happy about that.”

On the other hand, Auburn had a rough beginning to their game that kept on going. They faced off against the Clemson Tigers, who are ranked number two in the nation. Though both teams fought hard until the end, the Auburn Tigers ended up losing 13-19. Though it was a loss, fans are still excited abou twhat the close game means for the season.

“Best part is because we took the number two team to the wire,” said Tigers fan Alan Clemons. “Threw two hail mary passes into the end zone for at least a chance at a touchdown that could’ve won the game.”

“We did not win, but it was against a number two team and they played good,” said Auburn fan Christine Hitson. “We didn’t lose by much, and we will come back and we will beat the next team next weekend.”

Let’s hope they’re right, as Auburn plays Arkansas State next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The Crimson Tide faces off against Western Kentucky at 3:30 p.m. Both games will be at home.