Football is back.
After a long spring and summer, both college and pro football are quickly ramping up.
Here’s a look at a few of the memorable matchups from the weekend.
College
Last season ended in the most dramatic way possible.
Alabama and Georgia are likely headed for another collision course in the SEC Championship.
But there’s a lot of football between now and then.
KENTUCKY 27 FLORIDA 16
The 32nd time’s the charm.
That’s how the Wildcats felt after their upside victory over the Florida Gators.
Kentucky’s 31-game losing streak to Florida was the longest in the NCAA.
But that all changed in “The Swamp,” where Kentucky hadn’t won since the late 1970s.
Over the years, Kentucky suffered terrible loss after terrible loss to the Gators.
For a while, it looked like they might’ve been at it again.
Kentucky sat on a 21-10, but Florida drove over 90 yards to score a touchdown.
Florida got the ball back down 5 late in the game but fumbled. Kentucky scooped it up and scored a touchdown to ice the game.
CLEMSON 28 TEXAS A&M 26
The #2 ranked Clemson Tigers marched into College Station with high hopes.
Clemson made the playoffs three straight years. And they won the title two years ago.
But they got all they could handle against an unranked Aggies team.
Texas A&M is rebuilding after the firing of head coach Kevin Sumlin.
New coach Jimbo Fisher came over from Florida State.
It’s early, but Fisher appears to be on the right track.
His Aggies battled tooth and nail and suffered due to one terrible call inside the 5-yard line.
Texas A&M still had a chance to win, but a failed 2-point conversion sealed their fate.
NFL
The Philadelphia Eagles are still flying high after last season.
And their title defense started off on the good foot.
But some other Super Bowl contenders played compelling games.
MINNESOTA 24 SAN FRANCISCO 16
The battle of the big-money quarterback signees turned into a good matchup.
The Vikings came into the game with Super Bowl aspirations.
Minnesota had arguably the best defense in the league.
They added more pieces and signed free-agent quarterback Kirk Cousins.
The Vikings gave Cousins the first fully guaranteed contract in history at $84 million.
For their sake, he delivered.
Cousins threw two touchdown passes and managed the game.
The defense did the rest.
Conversely, the 49ers’ big-money quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo struggled.
He was harassed by the league’s top defense playing at home and threw three picks.
The 49ers had a chance to tie at the end, but Garoppolo’s third pick dashed that.
GREEN BAY 24 CHICAGO 23
The legend of Aaron Rodgers grows.
Rodgers is arguably the greatest quarterback of all-time.
For those who agree, the argument just got stronger.
After a terrible start, the upstart Bears jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead.
To make matters worse, Rodgers went down in a heap of pain with a knee injury.
All hope seemed lost for the Packers. But Rodgers returned in the second half.
Trailing 20-3 in the 4th quarter, Rodgers pulled off the biggest comeback in Packers’ history.
And he did it on one leg.
The Bears and rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky blew a chance to grab a statement win.
But it wasn’t meant to be. Not on Rodgers’s watch.