Breaking Down the Biggest Overreactions in College Football in Week 1

Be overjoyed. Be devastated. Be over the top in some shape or form.

No week in college football produces more outlandish, baseless claims than Week 1. It’s a ritual, you see.

We do this yearly. We see, we react and we overreact. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Things happen, and the sky falls on a fanbase or program. The season ends now. Heismans are handed out like candy on Halloween. National championships are won and lost in 60 minutes.

The whole process is both ridiculous and familiar. For that reason, there’s comfort in tossing around far-reaching statements after such a minute sample size. Despite knowing these thoughts will almost certainly come crashing down in a blaze of glory, they keep coming.   

Instead of running from these overreactions this year, however, let’s embrace the madness. Let’s tackle the conclusions that will come after a sensational, upset-driven first Saturday of college football.

Here is what will be said about Week 1 for those unwilling to wait to see the bigger picture come together. And here is how each of these overreactions should be perceived.

'The Title Runs Through Tuscaloosa, Again'

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Here is what Alabama head coach Nick Saban told a smattering of reporters following his team’s 52-6 clobbering of USC, a program ranked in the Top 25 to start the season and one of the most celebrated football brands of all time.

"We need to get more players that can play winning football,” Saban said, which somehow becomes more incredible each time you read it. 

Don’t let Saban's amazing, unsurprising reaction sway you from this overreaction, though.

Alabama will win it all again…right?

This is one of the smarter dumb things one can say after the first week. Recent history says you probably won’t be wrong.

Outside of the first quarter, Alabama was brilliant against the Trojans. The defense limited USC to 194 total yards. The running game averaged 5.4 yards per carry. And true freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts was electric at times.

That’s an interesting piece Alabama might have. Yes, Hurts is a freshman. He’ll make mistakes and answer to an angry Saban on the sideline. But if this is any sign of what is to come, this offense has a chance to be better than it’s been in some time.

The schedule is still taxing, with a game at Ole Miss coming up in just two weeks, but the sport’s most terrifying skull collectors look to have the goods yet again.

If you want to say Alabama will win the title again, go ahead. Of all the things that will be said heading into Week 2, this is the least likely to get you kicked out of a local establishment.

'Houston Will Make the College Football Playoff'

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Ambitious! After one performance, you’re gliding right by an entire schedule, one that includes Connecticut, Navy and Louisville, and you’re throwing college football’s lovely new darling in a postseason that is stacked against teams outside of the Power Five conferences.

Good for you, buddy.

Houston’s 33-23 victory over No. 3 Oklahoma is a colossal development. This wasn’t just a win over a really good team with a really good coach with a really good quarterback and really good running backs. This was a statement to the sport (and to the Big 12, which it is a candidate to join sometime soon).

If you’re Houston, you need a win of this magnitude. That’s a baseline for making the playoff. This had to happen, and it did. 

But the calendar still says early September. It is still far too warm outside in most places. Summer is still sort of lingering. Give it time.

If this holds, Houston’s playoff resume will be one of the more fascinating storylines this year. Still, going undefeated in any conference is extremely difficult.

Better wait on this one and not purchase the plane tickets or hotel rooms just yet.

'Lamar Jackson Will Win the Heisman'

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These are the greatest, most consistent overreactions of all overreactions. Yearly, we hand out giant bronze trophies to players like Geno Smith and Kenny Hill who post enormous numbers early on.

We then awkwardly rescind the award weeks later and forget the whole thing happened.

That’s a seamless transition to Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, who accounted for eight touchdowns—not a typo, eight touchdowns—in Louisville’s opener Thursday night. 

It’s worth noting that the Cardinals played Charlotte. It’s also worth highlighting that Jackson did this in one half, which is rather impressive. He could play against air, and his eight touchdowns would still be a story.

Now, Jackson is an incredible talent. He’s one of the most explosive, watchable players in college football. Please continue to enjoy. Or start if you haven't.

He could easily be a Heisman finalist at season’s end. He plays the right position in an offense that will give him ample opportunities and plays for a team that should win a lot of games. That’s the formula.

But let’s hold off on handing out any Heismans, please. We know better. Scoring eight touchdowns is a wonderful thing to do in real life or a video game.

This year and every year moving forward, however, let’s not have adult conversations about the Heisman until November.

Deal? Deal.

'Les Miles Will Be Fired Before the End of the Year'

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Things are taking an abrupt, dark turn. But let’s dive into this rabbit hole and explore something that had plenty of steam last fall.

As a 9.5-point favorite, No. 5 LSU lost to unranked Wisconsin, 16-14. The Tigers passed for only 131 yards. The offense, outside of a healthy dosage of Leonard Fournette, never established a rhythm. 

None of this, quite honestly, was shocking.

But we don’t bury coaches after Week 1. That’s a rule. Not even when that coach, Les Miles, was almost buried last season by an administration that clearly wants more.

That being said, this defeat will not help Miles’ cause.

However, there’s still time to salvage things. That’s why his impending sacking is an overreaction. Ole Miss and Alabama and many other quality SEC schools are still on the schedule. There is still a chance to make a good impression and erase a loss to quality Big Ten team playing down the road from its campus.

It’s the optics of the loss that were so concerning. It was the same supremely gifted, capable LSU losing another game it should have won.

This is a problem. It’s not a deathblow, but it’s suboptimal to say the least. Stay tuned on this one.

'Parity in College Football Is Finally More Reality Than Myth'

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South Alabama beat Mississippi State. Eastern Washington conquered Washington State. Richmond dominated Virginia. Northern Iowa beat Iowa State. Western Michigan beat Northwestern.

South Dakota State pushed TCU. Arkansas nearly fell to Louisiana Tech. Tennessee needed a miracle to take down Appalachian State. There were others too. 

It was a rough week for the SEC, and it could have been worse. 

The tangible chaos came from Houston and Wisconsin, but the near-misses were notable. There was a feeling of vulnerability throughout Week 1, which will be a fascinating theme to follow. 

Chaos will surface. It will make its presence felt weekly. There will be upsets and puffy-chested underdogs to come. The question is whether this becomes more pronounced than usual, and if these losses and close calls grow into a theme. 

It does feel as though the gap between the top teams—with the exception of a talented few—and everyone else is shrinking.

The end result—and perhaps this is wishful thinking from someone who loves chaos—will be more meaningful games and unexplainable results.

We’ve been working toward this movement (see: last season), and it would not be surprising to see this continue to grow.

So overreact. Now is the perfect time. Just remember in two weeks, when you're overreacting to something different and original, just how far you've come.

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