Top 10 Overreactions from Week 1 of 2024 College Football Season
Although there has been only one week (and change) of college football, that won't stop the declarations from taking shape.
One game, for many, is plenty. For Florida State, two games are more than enough.
Either way, we never wait long to make conclusions about college football teams and conferences across the land.
Why stop now? (Spoiler: We won't.)
Like most everyone, we're eager to make sweeping proclamations about the CFB season shortly after it leaves the starting blocks. And that's precisely what we'll do here.
Here are 10 overreactions from Week 1 of the college football season.
The U Is Back
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This time, we mean it.
The Hurricanes, after many attempts to return to glory, might actually be onto something.
A 41-17 beatdown of Florida is the kind of result that will open people's eyes, and that's precisely what it did.
It starts with quarterback Cam Ward, who played a brilliant game on the road with his new team. He threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns, showcasing a mix of skills that should translate well down the line. The rest of the roster, especially the defensive line, also flashed.
This is a program that has quietly added and recruited extraordinarily well, and the additions appear to be paying off.
It doesn't hurt that the rest of the ACC appears to be a bit of a mess. And it's possible Miami won't play a meaningful game until October.
The vibes here are very, very positive.
Dabo Swinney Will Not Be at Clemson 2 Years from Now
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The Clemson defense looks like it will be a problem for opposing teams for the rest of the year. The Clemson offense, well, looks a lot like the group we saw last year, and that is not good news for a team that had playoff aspirations.
Those playoff aspirations are still alive, although the juice that once surrounded the nation's best team is all but gone. That much is clear after the Tigers fell 34-3 to Georgia, but the sentiment has been building for a while.
Now, it faces a new reality. Dabo Swinney has refused to evolve in the era of NIL and the transfer portal, choosing instead to stick prominently with his recruited players. The result is a program that, while still ripe with talent, is falling quickly behind.
Swinney, either by his own choosing or by the program he helped establish, is not long for this spot. While he might dig in a while longer, the long-term future seems clear.
Colorado Has 2 Top-Five NFL Draft Picks on Its Roster
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For all the noise and oddities that surrounded Colorado this offseason—and for all the questions that still exist with its defense—the excellence of the team's two best players seems undeniable.
Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders were special against North Dakota State, which shouldn't shock anyone. Still, the performances were special.
Sanders finished with 445 yards passing and four touchdowns. Hunter, who played wideout and cornerback, caught seven passes for 132 yards and three scores. He also delivered an absurd touchdown grab while being interfered with, generating one of the more memorable moments of Week 1.
There is plenty of unknown surrounding the Buffaloes, although there is far less mystery surrounding these two. Both are exceptional at what they do, and both are positioned, regardless of how this season unfolds, to be two of the most coveted names in next year's draft.
Part 1: The Iowa Offense Is Forever Fixed
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If you watched the first half of Iowa-Illinois State, you were gifted an ugly, touchdown-less 30 minutes of football; if you watched the second half, you saw the most productive version of the Iowa offense in some time.
The Hawkeyes finished with 492 yards of offense in the 40-0 shutout of Illinois State. It's the most yards an Iowa offense has accumulated in the last five years.
Oh, we can keep going.
Last year, Iowa wideouts finished with three touchdown catches. In one game, the wideouts matched that total. This is...something.
A healthy Cade McNamara at quarterback certainly will help. As will a healthy Luke Lachey, one of the best tight ends in the sport.
Is this offense actually fixed? Let's stick with "maybe" for now. But it's an encouraging start for a team still loaded on the defensive side.
This marks the last time all year we'll joke about the Iowa offense, right?
Right?
Part 2: The USC Defense Is Forever Fixed
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Like Iowa, USC had a moment this weekend. Unlike Iowa, USC played a team with enormous yearly aspirations and national championship hopes.
The Trojans' eye-popping win and performance over LSU in Las Vegas was without question one of the more jarring takeaways from Week 1. The fact that this group allowed only 20 points should scare the rest of the rest of the Big Ten.
Yes, USC's defense still gave up more than 400 yards. There were still big plays to be made, and that will be the case again. But the effort, especially up front, was evident the moment the game started. The impact new defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn has made is clear.
With that, a simple reality takes shape. If the USC defense can go from embarrassing to simply mediocre, head coach Lincoln Riley, starting QB Miller Moss and a suddenly deep cast of wideouts could be one of the surprises of the year.
Jeremiah Smith Is Already the Best Wide Receiver in College Football
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Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State's dazzling true freshman, is about to take the sport by storm. In his very first game, he responded with six catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns. (He also dropped his first pass, just to get it all on the table.)
At 6'3" and 215 pounds, he can do it all. And although it might seem outrageous to declare him the best in all of CFB right now—particularly after Arizona's Tetairoa McMillan just had 304 receiving yards in a single game—that's precisely what is taking place.
To be clear, there are tremendous wideouts across college football yet again. But Smith has the size and tools to be the best of the bunch, even if the offense won't rely on him to catch double-digit passes every week.
Don't let that fool you. He's already that dude.
Notre Dame Has Already Secured a College Football Playoff Spot
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Have you looked at this schedule lately?
If not, you're in for a treat. Before we get there, though, let's first commend Notre Dame for heading on the road to take on Texas A&M in a wild and challenging environment. Given how little we saw of this in Week 1, that deserves plenty of kudos.
It wasn't always pretty on offense for the Irish, but the defense lived up to the hype. And that offense, led by new QB Riley Leonard, should get better.
Now, let's talk about that schedule. The Irish will close out with USC, which suddenly feels like a difficult road trip. Outside of that, though, this road map to the playoff feels somewhat defined.
An away game against Purdue in a few weeks could be tough. And maybe Florida State gets right at some point, although it doesn't feel likely.
Regardless of how you feel about this team, two losses are hard to find. Congrats to the Irish on getting in, whether you like it or not.
Nico Iamaleava Is the Future of College Football
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The performance came against Chattanooga. Let's get the obvious out of the way.
But regardless of how overmatched this opponent was, please don't let that drown out just how superb Nico Iamaleava looked for Tennessee.
The redshirt freshman threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns in roughly 30 minutes of play, although the stats don't do his performance justice. The deep balls were crisp. The mechanics were on point. The general vibe surrounding the former 5-star QB was simply wonderful.
Yes, it came against Chattanooga. There's no denying this.
Tougher games and better defenses are coming, but Iamaleava looked like a future star and face of the sport.
If it feels like we're getting a little ahead of ourselves, that's because we are.
Ashton Jeanty Will Make a Heisman Push
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The very notion of a player making a run for the Heisman while playing at a Group of Five school would shock many. Although that's precisely how good Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty is.
The 20-year-old finished the Broncos' thrilling Week 1 game against Georgia Southern with 267 yards rushing and six touchdowns. While the numbers were robust, the performance wasn't necessarily shocking given what we've seen..
In 2023, Jeanty finished with more than 1,262 yards rushing, 552 yards receiving and 21 touchdowns. The fact that he could build on such a solid season speaks volumes about his ability, although that's where we are.
And in a new era of the sport, with a Group of Five team set to make the postseason, Jeanty is likely to garner more interest and coverage in the weeks ahead. Winning the award might be a bit much, but Boise's star runner will be a factor.
Florida State Won't Make a Bowl Game
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About 11 days ago, we were wondering whether Florida State would be College Football Playoff-bound.
Two games in, and we're left wondering just when one of the darlings of last season will get it together. Or, better yet, will they at all?
The Seminoles are now 0-2 after losing to Boston College on Monday night, falling to two conference foes despite being a double-digit favorite in both games. For as brutal as rival Florida's opener was, it's hard to find a more disappointing beginning across college football.
And there is no help in sight.
FSU plays Memphis next week, which will be no picnic. It then plays Cal, at SMU, Clemson, at Duke and at Miami. The Seminoles also head to Notre Dame later in the year.
There is still time to turn it around, although the schedule looks far more complicated than it once did. Are there six wins there? Perhaps. But there are few gimmes upcoming.
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