Whew! Week 1’s five straight days of football are in the books and provided plenty of insight about the 2024 college football season.
The freshman wide receivers? Worth the hype. Utah QB Cam Rising’s return from injury? He looks as good as ever. Clemson? The Tigers could be in trouble.
ESPN’s college football reporters reflect on big takeaways from Week 1.
CFP takeaway: The ACC might only have one playoff representative — and it could be Miami
With FSU already losing to Georgia Tech and Clemson’s lopsided loss to Georgia, the ACC champion might be the league’s lone representative in a 12-team field. The five highest-ranked conference champions are guaranteed a bid. The College Football Playoff selection committee will compare teams for the seven at-large bids in the same way it did for the four-team field. Who you beat matters, along with how you look while doing it.
So far, nobody in the ACC, besides Miami, has looked the part of a CFP contender. The gap between Clemson and Georgia is as wide as the score indicated. If FSU doesn’t win the ACC — and also loses to Notre Dame — that head-to-head result would likely give the Irish the edge on Selection Day for an at-large spot. — Heather Dinich
USC‘s defense is far from perfect, but it’s certainly better
In the middle of a raucous sea of cardinal and gold on Sunday night in Las Vegas, Lincoln Riley and D’Anton Lynn embraced.
It was just one game and one result — a 27-20 win over No. 13 LSU Tigers in the Trojans’ season opener — but the moment between USC’s head coach and his chosen defensive coordinator spoke volumes.
After two seasons riddled with defensive shortcomings, a defensive coordinator firing and an offseason that included a complete overhaul of USC’s defensive scheme and personnel, holding the Tigers to 20 points and coming up with a handful of key third-down stops in crunch time during the unit’s first showcase, felt like its own victory.
“This new defensive identity is way different than previous years,” lineman Braylan Shelby said. “We hold ourselves accountable.”
Lynn’s new-look defense, with its improved physicality, tackling and tactical aggressiveness, didn’t have to clear a high bar after what had ensued the two years prior, but it did showcase its potential on a night where the Trojans won because of their defense, not in spite of it.
LSU’s offense only generated 3 plays of 20+ yards vs. USC. The Trojans D gave 71 plays of 20+ last season.
Nice sign of some progress under new DC D’Anton Lynn and a byproduct of much better tackling tonight.
— Max Olson (@max_olson) September 2, 2024
USC limited LSU to 117 yards on the ground, and while the defense struggled to contain the Tigers’ attack through the air (304 passing yards), they also made the crucial plays when they needed to. A fourth down stop in the red zone on LSU’s first drive. Multiple three-and-outs in the second half that kept giving its offense a chance to make a comeback. And finally, an interception on the last drive of the game to seal the deal.
“You can bring in really good coaches, which we did, you can run whatever scheme that you want to run,” Riley said. “But at the end of the day, these guys have got to trust in it, believe in it … There’s a vibe and a confidence about that group right now and we’re just going to get better.” — Paolo Uggetti
Penn State could be ready to make its move
The Nittany Lions haven’t been able to get over the hump, going 0-6 against Ohio State and Michigan over the past three years. Saturday’s explosive performance in Morgantown showed why this season could be different.
Penn State’s revamped offense under new coordinator Andy Kotelnicki impressed in a 34-12 victory over West Virginia. Kotelnicki came from Kansas with hopes that he could help generate more chunk plays for an offense that ranked 97th last year in plays of 20 yards or more.
In the first quarter, quarterback Drew Allar connected on a 50-yard touchdown strike to Harrison Wallace, setting the tone.
Allar was especially impressive, before and after a lengthy weather delay. He posted a QBR of 98.3 while completing 11 of 17 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns in a game that never felt in doubt.
Behind Allar and Kotelnicki, this Penn State offense appears to be for real, alongside the Nittany Lions, too. — Jake Trotter
Notre Dame opener provides validation, confidence boost for offense
Notre Dame’s offense proved to the college football world Saturday night that it could provide enough explosive plays at the right time, even against a talented Texas A&M defense, in a difficult road setting. But before Notre Dame could see it to believe it, the Irish needed to believe they were capable of making such plays.
“They’ve been a little surprised at times with how explosive we can be,” offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock told me early in preseason camp. “That’s kind of fun. The lights come on, like, ‘Oh, wow, if I actually do it the way they ask me to do it, it’s pretty good.’ We want to play with that mentality that we expect to be explosive, instead of hoping that we’re explosive.”
The Irish displayed that approach in the second half, getting touchdown runs of 47 yards from Jadarian Price and 21 yards from Jeremiyah Love, which sealed the win. Love also had a 29-yard run, as a Notre Dame offensive line lacking its typical seasoning held up well.
Notre Dame’s next step is generating the same types of chunk plays from quarterback Riley Leonard in the passing game. — Adam Rittenberg
After catching 90 passes for 1,402 yards last season, Arizona‘s Tetairoa McMillan came into the season as WR1 on many draft boards. So, what did he do to begin the season? Improved his stock.
In Arizona’s first game as a Big 12 school, McMillan nearly set the conference single-game receiving yards record, hauling in 10 passes for 304 yards and four touchdowns. Had Arizona not opened up a big lead in the second half, he would have had no problem passing Terrance Williams’ single-game conference record (314) and would have had a real shot at the single-game FBS record (404 yards).
McMillan and Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita have been playing together since middle school — get ready to hear that fact a lot this season — and their understanding of each other makes difficult plays look almost casual. For Arizona, it becomes a question now of who is going to step up opposite McMillan because it’s hard to imagine opposing defenses won’t make stopping him — or at least slowing him down — their primary objectives each week. — Kyle Bonagura
Freshmen wideout crop looks special
You can’t always expect freshmen to convert offseason hype into immediate production, no matter how highly touted they might be. But all the buzz about this year’s star-studded freshman wide receiver class proved prescient on Saturday.
At Ohio State, Jeremiah Smith looked like the generational game-changer everyone expected while catching six passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns. Alabama‘s Ryan Williams, a 17-year-old future star, broke out with 84- and 55-yard touchdowns in his debut. Auburn‘s Cam Coleman, Malcolm Simmons and Perry Thompson all scored in their first game with the Tigers. Texas‘ Ryan Wingo put up a team-high 70 receiving yards. We’re going to be talking about all of them a ton over these next three seasons.
And let’s not leave out Iowa‘s Reece Vander Zee. The three-star freshman became the first Hawkeye wide receiver to catch two touchdown passes in a game since 2020. Considering Iowa’s wideouts combined for a total of two TD catches in 2022 and three in 2023, that’s a pretty big deal. It’s going to be fun to watch many more young playmakers like him pop up across the country in the weeks ahead. — Max Olson
Clemson has bigger problems than Dabo Swinney’s transfer policy
The Tigers’ 34-3 loss to top-ranked Georgia wasn’t about whether Clemson could beat the powerhouse Bulldogs. It wasn’t about Dabo Swinney’s decision to stiff-arm the transfer portal for another offseason, either. For the Tigers, this was about more than a single game.
The neutral-site opener in Atlanta was a window into the gap between Clemson and the sport’s ultra-elite in 2024. That reality is clearer after Saturday’s 31-point defeat, leaving questions lingering more than answers over Swinney’s program.
A Tigers offense led by second-year coordinator Garrett Riley and second year starting quarterback Cade Klubnik entered the season with promise. That unit got shut out before halftime Saturday and mustered only 189 total yards on the day. After halftime, a once-fearsome Clemson defense was throttled, allowing 287 second-half yards and touchdowns on four-of-five Georgia possessions that buried the Tigers.
“Sometimes you get your butt kicked and we did today,” Swinney said afterward.
Clemson won 96% of its games and produced 34 NFL Draft picks from 2014-19. The dominance and talent of that era felt distant Saturday as Georgia overwhelmed the Tigers. There’s an apparent gap between Clemson and college football’s best in 2024, and it’s down more than Swinney’s approach to the transfer portal. — Eli Lederman
Utah‘s victory over Southern Utah isn’t a measuring stick for how good the Utes are going to be this season and won’t move the needle when it comes to determining their spot in the College Football Playoff later this year.
However, it was certainly uplifting to see Cam Rising back out on the field, and — to use a basketball metaphor — see the ball go through the basket. Rising tore multiple knee ligaments in the Utes’ Rose Bowl loss to Penn State on Jan. 2, 2023, and missed the entirety of the 2023 season.
In his first action back since then, the seventh-year senior finished 10-of-15 with 254 yards and a career-high five touchdown passes. The last time Utah saw a performance like that was from Brian Johnson against San Diego State in 2008, a season in which the Utes went undefeated.
That’s not to say that’s what will happen this year with Utah, but it’s a promising start for a player that’s going to be one of the determining factors of its success. — Harry Lyles Jr.
Clark Lea and Vanderbilt come out swinging
Lost among some of the bigger national storylines in Week 1 was Clark Lea winning perhaps his most important game yet in his fourth season at Vanderbilt.
The Commodores hadn’t beaten a team from a Power 4 conference since the end of the 2022 season, and it was the way they beat Virginia Tech that was most impressive. There was nothing flukey about the 34-27 win in overtime. Vanderbilt was the better team. The Commodores rushed for 181 yards (to Virginia Tech’s 75) and didn’t turn the ball over. Most impressively, they started fast and jumped out to a 17-3 lead, and when Virginia Tech rallied to take the lead in the fourth quarter, Vanderbilt had the wherewithal to answer with a game-tying six-play, 70-yard touchdown drive and then won it in overtime.
After losing 10 straight games to end last season, Lea overhauled just about everything in the program from the strength and conditioning department to bringing in a new offensive coordinator (Tim Beck) and Lea took over defensive play-calling duties. Lea also brought in former head coach Jerry Kill to serve as a special consultant. Kill’s experience has been invaluable. And where Vanderbilt might have been behind the times in NIL/transfer portal, the Commodores have made significant strides in both those areas.
Clearly, Lea needed to show improvement this season, and to do so in the first game against a team bringing back a ton of players and a team some in the ACC thought could make a run at the conference title was a resounding statement. Equally clear is that Lea’s fullback-like mentality (He played fullback at Notre Dame) is the way he’s going to keep rolling in a job that’s the toughest in college football. It also helps to have a quarterback, Diego Pavia, who’s fearless and plays the position like a linebacker. Pavia passed for 190 yards, rushed for 104 yards and accounted for three touchdowns against the Hokies.
Vanderbilt should be 3-0 going to Missouri on Sept. 21, and while nobody is picking the Commodores to win the SEC, they look like a team that is much more representative of what an SEC team should look like. — Chris Low
Do FCS teams still have a chance against FBS opponents?
Has the clock struck midnight on FCS cinderellas? There have been 61 games played so far this season between FBS and FCS teams. FBS teams are a combined 60-1 in those games. Montana State, ranked No. 4 in the FCS coaches’ poll, took down New Mexico 35-31 in Albuquerque on Aug. 24, scoring twice in the final 4 ½ minutes to spoil Lobos coach Bronco Mendenhall’s debut.
FCS programs lost by an average of 32.7 points. There were 10 losses of 50 points or more, 21 of 40 or more. SEC teams feasted more than others: Arkansas (Arkansas-Pine Bluff), Ole Miss(Furman), Tennessee(Chattanooga) and Auburn(Alabama A&M) won by a combined score of 288-6. The Paladins and Mocs are ranked Nos. 8 and 9 in the FCS poll, respectively.
“We can’t compete with them anymore,” one FCS head coach told ESPN. “They’re taking all of our best players.”
FCS teams are at the bottom of the food chain when it comes to the transfer portal. The FCS head coach said he lost his three best players to FBS programs after the 2023 season.
There were a couple of other scares – North Dakota State fell 31-26 at Colorado and Abilene Christian lost 52-51 at Texas Tech after its two-point conversion attempt in overtime failed-but most FCS teams didn’t put up much of a fight. Ten teams were shut out, 12 scored just a field goal and 28 had seven points or less.
My colleague Bill Connelly points out that the best FCS teams – North Dakota State, Idaho, Montana and North Dakota — were competitive. So maybe it’s more about FBS teams knowing who not to schedule. — Mark Schlabach