After months of waiting, college football finally returned. Fans were treated to various games featuring a mixture of surprising decisions, dominant performances, and thrilling finishes. With the return of the sport that so many love, we will break down our 10 biggest takeaways from an exciting week 1.
10 Reactions from Week 1 in College Football
1. Miami Had the Best Week Of Any Program
Miami traveled to Gainesville with a showdown against the in-state rival Florida Gators. Most predicted a close game, but the Hurricanes thoroughly dominated Florida 41-17 and handed the Gators one of the worst home-opening losses in program history. Transfer quarterback Cameron Ward put up an impressive stat line, going 26 of 35 passing (74.3 percent), with 385 yards and three touchdowns with only one interception. Along with its impressive performance, Miami received help from other teams. Florida State suffered a week zero loss to Georgia Tech in Ireland, Virginia Tech lost to Vanderbilt in overtime, and Clemson was routed by top-ranked Georgia (more on that later). Those are three teams projected to be near the top of the conference that already have losses. Miami’s path to the playoffs is wide open.
2. Billy Napier Has the Hottest Seat in the Country
Florida head coach Billy Napier entered the season on the hot seat. After last week’s loss to Miami, it is the hottest seat in America. His program is trending in the wrong direction, having lost seven straight games dating back to last season. During this time his 2024 recruiting class lost six top-200 commitments and numerous players transferred out. The defense has given up 30 points or more in seven of their last nine games. Napier needs to find a way to stop the bleeding because the upcoming schedule does not get easier. If he is unable to reverse the course, it is reasonable to question if he makes it through the season.
3. Big 10 Freshmen Deliver
Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola and Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith both impressed in their collegiate debuts. Raiola was 19 of 27 for 238 yards and two touchdowns as the Cornhuskers defeated UTEP 40-7. Most importantly he had zero turnovers, an issue that plagued Nebraska a season ago. During his recruitment, Raiola at one time was committed to Ohio State and then flipped to Georgia, but opted to go to school where his father Dominic was an All-American. It was a recruiting boost for second-year coach Matt Rhule. In Columbus, Smith caught six passes for 92 yards and had two touchdowns as Ohio State thrashed Akron 52-6. He also made a spectacular one-handed grab that put Ohio State inside the five-yard line. Smith was the top-rated recruit of the 2024 class, viewed by many as a generational prospect, and programs tried to get him to flip from his Ohio State commitment down to the very last moment on signing day. Securing Smith was a huge win for head coach Ryan Day as the Buckeyes look to end a three-season losing streak to rival Michigan and compete for a national championship. The stats will not show Raiola’s poise or Smith’s freakish body control, but both players showed they are ready to take on the competition at this level.
4. Penn State Looked Good, But We Have Seen This Before
Many people were high on West Virginia coming into the season. The Mountaineers possess significant returning production and a dynamic quarterback in Garrett Greene. It did not matter. The Nittany Lions throttled the Mountaineers 34-12. New offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki was hired to unlock the potential of junior quarterback Drew Allar, and after one game the future looks bright. Last year, Penn State averaged 5.5 yards per play, good for 64th in the country, and Allar averaged 6.8 yards per attempt passing. On Saturday against the Mountaineers, Penn’s States offense exploded for 7.8 yards per play, helped by Allar’s 12.7 yards per attempt. It is a small sample size, only 17 attempts, but Penn State displayed a more efficient offense. That being said, as much as people picked West Virginia as a dark horse Big 12 contender, they are still an unranked opponent. We have seen Penn State win these games before. The opportunity for the big game win that has recently eluded the program likely will not arrive until October 12th when Penn State travels to USC. If they can top the Trojans, then we can debate if Penn State has truly turned a new leaf.
5. Clemson Is a Second-Tier Program
This was probably a valid point before the season, but it is now clear that Clemson is not a national title contender. The Tigers faced top-ranked Georgia and put up little resistance in a 34-3 drubbing. The Tiger’s defense kept the score close for a while. It was 6-0 at halftime, but Georgia finally broke through scoring two touchdowns in both the third and fourth quarters to pull away. Even though the halftime score looked close, watching the game made it evident that Clemson was not capable of generating anything offensively. Quarterback Cade Klubnik was 18 of 29 for 142 yards with one interception. The Tigers only managed 3.6 yards per play which led to just 188 yards of total offense. Much has been made of head coach Dabo Swinney‘s reluctance to use the transfer portal. While it is admirable that he wants to do right by his recruits and build his program organically, the reality is the sport has changed since Clemson won two national championships. Only four FBS schools did not take a transfer player this offseason: Army, Navy, Air Force, and Clemson. The other three are military service academies and cannot take transfers. Clemson acquires enough talent to avoid bottoming out. They could still win 10 games, and even compete in the ACC. However, when it comes time to go toe to toe with other playoff teams, Clemson’s roster will be outmatched.
6. Iowa Can Score?
In the last three seasons, Iowa has scored 34 points or more only three times. In comparison, they have scored less than 10 points nine times in the same time frame including being shut out three times. In 2022 and 2023 combined, Iowa wide receivers only caught four touchdown passes. In week one against Illinois State the Hawkeyes scored 34 points in the second half alone, securing a 40-0 opening win. Quarterback Cade McNamara was 21-31 for 251 yards and three touchdowns. All three touchdowns came in the second half and were caught by wide receivers, including two by freshman wideout Reece Vander Zee. Illinois State is an FCS team, so it is hard to say how well this will translate going forward. However, given the program’s recent offensive struggles, this is a success to build on. Just the use of motion and a more aggressive passing game have shown a change in philosophy that proves this team can be different than the last few years.
7. Michigan Is In Trouble
The Wolverines are the defending national champions, and they did beat Fresno State 30-10 in their opener, but the reality is the way they beat Fresno State will not hold up against higher-quality opponents. If you do not believe me, a higher-quality opponent comes to Ann Arbor next week in the form of fourth-ranked Texas. I recently wrote about five things Michigan needs to do to maintain its recent success: Get productive quarterback play, get productive offensive line play, have an adaptable defensive scheme, elevate recruiting, and get a handle on off-field issues. Four of these five goals are bigger question marks than they were one week ago. Michigan began the week receiving a formal notice of allegations from the NCAA related to recruiting violation and former staffer Connor Stallion’s in-person scouting scheme. On game day, starting quarterback Davis Warren went 15 of 25 for just 118 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The Bulldogs scored their lone touchdown with Michigan in cover zero. To top it all off, starting running back Donovan Edwards only averaged 2.6 yards per carry on 11 attempts indicating some run game struggles. Michigan looked every bit like a team that endured significant turnover in the offseason. Now there were some good signs: Tight End Colston Loveland had eight catches for 87 yards and a touchdown, Will Johnson returned an interception 86 yards for a touchdown late in the game to seal the victory, backup running back Kalel Mullings averaged 6.1 yards per carry on 15 attempts. and defensive end Josaiah Stewart had two sacks. However, Michigan as a whole looked beatable. The score was only 16-10 with 10 minutes remaining before the Wolverines pulled away. If Michigan wants to be a factor in the Big 10 and nationally this year, they have a lot to fix.
8. The SEC Powers Deliver
There were nine teams from the SEC ranked in the top 20 in the preseason poll. LSU (13th) and Texas A&M (20th) were the only two that lost. LSU lost to 23rd-ranked USC 27-20 and Texas A&M lost to seventh-ranked Notre Dame 23-13. The other seven teams dominated. As mentioned earlier, top-ranked Georgia handled Clemson 34-3. Fourth-ranked Texas beat Colorado State 52-0. Fifth-ranked Alabama defeated Western Kentucky 63-0 in head coach Kalen DeBoer’s debut. Sixth-ranked Ole Miss made easy work of Furman, 76-0. Eleventh-ranked Missouri took care of business against Murray State 51-0. Fifteenth-ranked Tennessee crushed Chattanooga 69-3. Sixteenth-ranked Oklahoma throttled Temple 51-3. It is worth noting those games were against either group of five or FCS opponents, but those are eye-opening scores. The top half of the conference produced seven blowouts while only being dealt two respectable losses. It is going to be interesting later in the season once these teams start playing higher competition to see who elevates, but at this pace, the SEC could secure four of the seven at-large bids in the playoff, if not more.
9. Utah is the favorite to win the Big 12
The Big 12 is viewed as one of the more wide-open conferences going into this year. The conference is deep with solid teams but lacks the top-tier programs that other conferences claim. Many view the race as wide open, but Utah is the clear favorite. Quarterback Cameron Rising returned after an almost two-year layoff from a knee injury and went 10-15 for 254 yards and five touchdowns. Before his injury, Utah won back-to-back Pac-12 conference championships in 2021 and 2022. The Utes dealt with an above-average rate of injuries last season and still managed to go 8-5. This year, the return of Rising and other key players will elevate them to the top of the Big 12. Oklahoma State, Arizona, and UCF are the toughest games on Utah’s schedule and all three are winnable. I do not expect Utah to go undefeated, but I expect them to be the best team in the conference at the end of the season.
10. Group of Five
The race between the group of five playoff contenders is wide open and will be for much of the season. In week one Appalachian State beat Eastern Tennessee State 38-10. Liberty won against Campbell 41-24. Memphis beat North Alabama 40-0. Tulsa beat Northwestern State 62-28. Tulane beat Southeast Louisiana 52-0. Boise State hung on against Georgia Southern 56-45. Fresno State lost to Michigan 30-10. Boise State was the only winner to play another FBS team, with all the other wins coming against FCS competition. The Broncos will play Oregon next week and a strong showing could elevate them to the front of the pack. Fresno State’s loss to Michigan should not prevent them from making the playoff, but they will likely need to win out to be considered depending on how the other group of five teams fare. If I had to venture a guess right now, I think this is Tulane’s spot to lose. However, I anticipate this race to be one of the most contested in the country and there is a chance a team I failed to list today makes some noise.
Main Image: Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
