After a long wait, Week 1 finally arrived and the college football schedule was excellent.
It was no surprise that the Alabama team, led by Nick Saban, dominated its opponent in the first week of the season. It was Miami, 44-13. Bryce Young proved that he is ready to step in to the shoes of the former great quarterbacks.
Clemson and Georgia lived up to their hype -- if defense is your passion -- and although the Tigers lost 10-3, coach Dabo Swinney was able to make a run for the team and still reach the playoffs.
Tulane gave Oklahoma a scare despite them leading 37-14 at halftime. The Sooners won the game by 40 to 35. Rattler looked like a Heisman frontrunner. Fans in Norman can breathe easy and continue on to Week 2.
CJ Stroud won the first Ohio State start on Thursday. Texas A&M continues to try and prove that it deserves the last spot in the College Football Playoff.
The highlights of Week 1 are over, but it's time for Week 2's power rankings to determine where each team ranks in the Power Rankings.
Just in: Alabama is very good. It doesn't seem that matters which Crimson Tide players lost last year, whether they were on the roster or in their coaching booth. Although the game was dominated by Bryce Young's record-setting debut, Nick Saban quickly reminded that the defense held Miami QB D’Eriq King to just 178 yards and one touchdown pass. He also had two INTs. To beat Mercer, they won't need any more of the above. The eyes of Alabama will be on Alabama's September 18 trip to the Swamp to face Florida. Florida is another team that has to reload a massive 2020 offense. -- Ryan McGee
Although the Bulldogs have much to improve on offense, their defense against Clemson was very similar to the one that helped them reach the CFP national title in Kirby Smart's second season. The Bulldogs pressed Tigers quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei. Georgia tackled him seven times, and rattled him right from the beginning. Clemson only had 180 yards of offense and 2 net yards of rushing. Georgia will continue to be the favorite in the SEC East, but it will likely need more offense at some point. -- Mark Schlabach
Play 2:33 Georgia's defense scores seven sacks against Clemson Georgia puts all the pressure on Clemson, scoring seven sacks during their 10-3 victory over the Tigers.
In the post-Justin Fields era, the Buckeyes' big play offense is still alive and well. Ryan Day, the coach, encouraged C.J. to keep swinging even after a slow start. Stroud told C.J. to keep swinging and called aggressive plays. Stroud was assisted by a talented group of backs and receivers. He threw four touchdown passes in the second half that were at least 38 yards long and averaged 47.2 yards per completion. Stroud has plenty of room for improvement, but his teammates will provide him with every opportunity to shine. -- Adam Rittenberg
The Sooners' victory over Tulane 40-35 was a worrying sign. They allowed 5.1 yards per play and Tulane scored 21-3. Heisman favorite Spencer Rattler threw two interceptions. Still, it's a win. The Sooners have improved tremendously since last season. To live up to their high expectations, they'll need to do that again. Dave Wilson
The Aggies offense began on shaky grounds with Haynes King, a freshman quarterback, throwing two picks in the first half and the new offensive line allowing too many tackles for losses. The second half was better as Texas A&M won the game with a 17-point victory. King and the line will take some time to gel but the Aggies should be fine with New Mexico and Colorado remaining before the start of SEC play. Alex Scarborough
This year has presented Cincinnati with an amazing opportunity. They started in the top 10, and have since returned most of 2020's stars. The Bearcats won the first game against Miami (Ohio) easily. Desmond Ridder completed 20 out of 25 passes for 295 yard and four scores. Jerome Ford ran 12 carries and gained 121 yards. They cruised to victory, 49-14. Miami averaged 3.8 yards per pass and didn't score until late garbage time. -- Bill Connelly
Trevor Lawrence, former quarterback for the Tigers, was a missed player. The Tigers were without Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 pick in April’s NFL draft. However, they could have used Travis Etienne as a running back in their loss against the Bulldogs. Georgia's defense was unable to stop D.J. Uiagalelei was blitzed early and often. Clemson's offensive team also did not fare well against the Bulldogs deep defensive line. Although the Tigers are expected to be the favorites in the next two games against FCS South Carolina State and Georgia Tech respectively, the initial results of the post Lawrence era were not very encouraging. Dabo Swinney and his team have a lot of work ahead. -- Schlabach
The Ducks won with a disappointing 31-24 victory against Fresno State thanks to Anthony Brown, the quarterback. After the game was over, however, the primary concern turned to Kayvon Thibodeaux's health. He spent the second half wearing street clothes and a walking stick. Mario Cristobal, Ducks coach, didn't seem to be too concerned after the game. However his condition will be a topic of major discussion this week. Kyle Bonagura
The Irish will open their season against Florida State on Sunday with Jack Coan as the starting quarterback and four new offensive line starters. The Irish will also need to replace Jeremiah Owusu–Koramoah, their starting quarterback, and must overcome an injury to Marist Liufau who was injured recently. The Irish have many players returning that could be game-changers on Sunday night, including Kyren Williams and Michael Mayer. The biggest thing to watch is how the new starters work together, particularly on offense. -- Andrea Adelson
Emory Jones' debut as the Gators' starting quarterback wasn’t a great experience. Sure, Florida beat FAU handily, 35-7 (check). Jones ran for 74 yards in 10 carries. That's not bad. Jones was not exactly a speedster when it came to throwing the ball. He completed 17 of 27 passes for 112 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Jones is not needed by the Gators to be Kyle Trask, as the Gators have a solid running game and a better defense. However, they need him to reduce turnovers and get more than 4 yards per pass attempt. Scarborough
Play 1:39 No. 13 Florida, Richardson Run to Win Over FAU Quarterback Anthony Richardson is on the field in relief, running for 160 yards and a TD with seven carries. The Gators defeat FAU 35-14.
We have learned one thing about Matt Campbell's Iowa State over the years: we won't learn much about the Cyclones' FCS opponents. In 2018, Drake beat the Cyclones by three and Northern Iowa by three respectively. They proudly play as vanilla as they can, which they did again on Saturday with a win of 16-10 over UNI. Brock Purdy completed 21 out of 26 passes, but only for 197 yards. The Cyclones were forced to punt six times and settle on field goals three times. They did enough, as they do in these games. Connelly
The defense provided some assistance to Kedon Slovis' offense, when Greg Johnson intercepted and returned a pass for a touchdown in quarter four. Slovis threw 2 touchdowns and Drake London had 137 receiving yards. Although it was a win for USC this was not a memorable game. San Jose State was within six point of USC when the Trojans scored 17 points in the fourth quarter. They won and the game was over. -- VanHaaren
The defense of the Nittany Lions was strong against Wisconsin, particularly Jaquan Brisker, who picked off Graham Mertz at fourth-and-goal in quarter four to secure Penn State's win. The Badgers were held to 10 points by Penn State thanks to blocked field goals, a fumble recover and an interception. The offense is still in need of improvement under Mike Yurcich, who is also the offensive coordinator. In the first half, Sean Clifford, Quarterback, had just 41 yards of passing. He started to gain some momentum in the second quarter, finishing with 247 yards. However, he wasn't able to run for much ground, as the backs had only 50 yards of rushing. -- VanHaaren
Phil Parker's Hawkeyes defense has been quite good for a while, but it doesn't always get the national recognition that it deserves. It could be a different story if the Hawkeyes have a dominant start against Indiana. Cornerback Riley Moss had two pick-sixes to his name against Michael Penix Jr. who had three interceptions. Iowa held Indiana out of the endzone and limited Indiana to 77 yards rushing. The Hawkeyes offense was limited to Tyler Goodson's touchdown run of 56 yards. They will need to be more sharp this week at Iowa State. -- Rittenberg
Chip Kelly finally has his vision for UCLA. Following a huge win over Hawaii in Week 0, the Bruins won a 38-27 victory over LSU Saturday at Rose Bowl. This was in typical Kelly fashion. Brittain and Zach Charbonnet combined to rush for 213 yards each and a touchdown, while Dorian Thompson-Robinson was able to throw for 260 yards with three touchdowns. Many believed this was Kelly's last season in Los Angeles. It seems he understood the message.
With a solid win over a very strong Louisiana team, the Steve Sarkisian era got to a good start. The Longhorns dominated the Ragin' Cajuns with a steady pace, and Hudson Card was an efficient starter (14-of-21 for 224 yard, 2 TDs). For Texas fans, Sarkisian demonstrated he can be creative and get the ball to Bijan. He had a career high of 24 touches with 20 carries and 103 yards, a TD, and 4 catches for 73 yard and another score. Wilson
After going 11-1 last year, the Chanticleers are back where they were. They took a 38-0 lead over the Citadel in the season-opener and then ran away to win 52-14. Grayson McCall, the Quarterback, was at his best. He completed 16 of 19 passes for 262 yard and a touchdown. The running game was most impressive with six balls carries totaling 266 yards and five touchdowns. Next up: Kansas on Friday evening. Scarborough
Fans will need to wait until Monday to catch Ole Miss. They'll also have to view it without Lane Kiffin as their coach. This week, the second-year coach was tested positive for COVID-19 and will not have to travel with his team to Louisville on Labor Day. The Rebels still have much to look forward to heading into their matchup against the Cardinals. On Monday night in Atlanta, quarterback Matt Corrall will be a must-see.
The Tigers' loss to UCLA 38-27 was not unexpected. LSU was outplayed almost in every phase of the match and showed no sign it's ready to rebound from last year’s 5-5 disappointing season. LSU's QB Max Johnson was able to throw for 330 yards, but he didn't look confident. Meanwhile, Brittain Brown and Zach Charbonnet (both UCLA running backs) struggled to stop LSU's defense (213 combined yards rushing). Bonagura
It was unclear whether we would see Graham Mertz from last year's season opener, when he threw five touchdowns, or the one who struggled to catch the ball later in the season. Mertz completed 22 of 36 passes for 185 yard, with no touchdowns or interceptions. Mertz had problems with the quarterback-running back swap, and he fumbled the ball multiple times. Although the defense was strong, the Wisconsin offense could not get enough momentum and scored only 10 points against Penn State. -- VanHaaren
In the season opener at Virginia Tech, the North Carolina offense was out of control from the beginning. Sam Howell finished the game with three interceptions and the result was a 17-10 loss to Blacksburg. After being shutout in the first two quarters, the Tar Heels were trailing by 14 at halftime. Howell threw a touchdown in third quarter but it was too late and a top-10 North Carolina team lost early in the season to an unranked ACC opponent.
Jayden Daniels completed 10 out of 12 passes for the 132 yard, and the Sun Devils beat Southern Utah 41-14. The Thunderbirds were held to a mere 224 yards by the Sun Devils, with 78 of those on the ground. ASU's promising start to the season was difficult to draw any meaningful conclusions given the disparity in talent. Bonagura
The Utes were playing before a record crowd at Rice-Eccles Stadium. This was their first home game since 2019. Although the score of 41-17 indicates that it was a close match, it was mostly sloppy. Tavion Thomas, running back (12 carries, 101 yards), and Charlie Brewer, quarterback (19-of-27, 233, yards, 2TD, 1 INT) made promising debuts. However, it was only until the third quarter that the Utes were able to beat FCS Weber State. Bonagura
With a capacity crowd, the first Lane Stadium game was a success. Virginia Tech beat No. Virginia Tech defeated No. 10 North Carolina on Friday and has not looked back. Virginia Tech took a 14 point lead in the first period thanks to the defense of the Hokies. Sam Howell and North Carolina's offense were kept off the scoreboard by the Hokies. Although the Tar Heels took a lead in the third quarter of the match, Virginia Tech held firm to win the game 17-10. The Hokies defeated Howell three times in the final game to win a top-10 victory in front of a large crowd in Blacksburg.
It is fair to compare the Canes with the Atlanta team. It's probably not. Coach Manny Diaz, it's the job. Diaz stated that college football is known for its overreactions following Week 1. This is not the team's purpose. After one game, you don't know what your story is. We are not there yet. The locker room will be closer to the guys if they can learn from today. The schedule will be the same, with four home games -- D’Eriq King’s first at Hard Rock Stadium -- and it starts with a tough game against Appalachian State. McGee
