CFB Week 1: Unstoppable Forces vs. Movable Objects

Death. Taxes. And Ashton Jeanty scoring touchdowns on (almost) every play.

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Christian Medley, Miles Shea & Noah Sausville
September 05, 2024

Death. Taxes. And Ashton Jeanty scoring touchdowns on (almost) every play. The 2024 College Football season started with a bang. Elite offenses put on a clinic against FCS opponents while Power 4 interconference battles were sprinkled across each TV window.

Potential Contenders and Pretenders emerged in Week 1. Florida State’s season ended in Week 1. Let’s jump into the rundown.

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1. #23 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 2-0 (1-0)

2. Boston College Eagles 1-0 (1-0)

3. SMU Mustangs 2-0

4. California Golden Bears 1-0

5. Duke Blue Devils 1-0

6. #22 Louisville Cardinals 1-0

7. #12 Miami Hurricanes 1-0

8. #24 NC State Wolfpack 1-0

9. North Carolina Tar Heels 1-0

10. Pittsburgh Panthers 1-0

11. Syracuse Orange 1-0

12. Virginia Cavaliers 1-0

13. Wake Forest Demon Deacons 1-0

14. Clemson Tigers 0-1

15. Stanford Cardinal 0-1

16. Virginia Tech Hokies 0-1

17. Florida State Seminoles 0-2 (0-2)

Key Performances

  • Miami 41 - 17 Florida | Cam Ward and the ‘Canes embarrassed the Gators at the Swamp. Billy Napier has a lot of questions to answer.

  • BC 28 - 14 Florida State | BC outgained FSU 263 to 21 on the ground. After all the hype coming into the season, FSU is reeling. This comes just nine days after FSU’s Week 0 loss to Georgia Tech in Dublin.

Notable Developments

  • UNC narrowly escapes Minneapolis with a win | The Tar Heels barely escaped Minneapolis with a win. A Minnesota missed FG sealed the deal as time expired. UNC took down Minnesota 19 - 17.

  • NC State turns up the heat on WCU in the 4th quarter | The Wolfpack sputtered for three quarters and entered the 4th quarter only up 17-14. They finally put three touchdowns on the board to pull away. They finished the game with a 38 - 21 victory over WCU.

Look Ahead to Week 2

  • GT (-2.5) @ Syracuse, Saturday 12:00pm ET | Two conference foes off to hot starts meet at the JMA Wireless Dome. Both have potential to be an ACC dark horse.

  • Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati (-1.5), Saturday 12:00pm ET | The Panthers travel to Nippert Stadium looking to gain momentum against a battle-tested Big 12 opponent.

1. Illinois Fighting Illini 1-0

2. Indiana Hoosiers 1-0

3. #21 Iowa Hawkeyes 1-0

4. Maryland Terrapins 1-0

5. #10 Michigan Wolverines 1-0

6. Michigan State Spartans 1-0

7. Nebraska Cornhuskers 1-0

8. Northwestern Wildcats 1-0

9. #2 Ohio State Buckeyes 1-0

10. #7 Oregon Ducks 1-0

11. #8 Penn State Nittany Lions 1-0

12. Purdue Boilermakers 1-0

13. Rutgers Scarlet Knights 1-0

14. UCLA Bruins 1-0

15. USC Trojans 1-0

16. Washington Huskies 1-0

17. Wisconsin Badgers 1-0

18. Minnesota Golden Gophers 0-1

Key Performances

  • Penn State 34 - 24 WVU | This game was never in doubt for the Nittany Lions in Morgantown. QB Drew Allar and company took care of business.

  • USC 27 - LSU 20 | A flawless 2-minute drill by USC QB Miller Moss saw the Trojans win big in Las Vegas. LSU HC Brian Kelly’s postgame meltdown was must-see TV.

Notable Developments

  • Oregon struggles at home against Idaho | Oregon’s offense struggled to put points on the board at Autzen Stadium versus an FCS opponent. They managed to squeak out a 24 - 14 win over Idaho and will look to get back on track against Boise State this week.

  • MSU looks shaky against FAU | Talented transfer QB Aidan Chiles looked rusty in his debut for the Spartans. However, Michigan State still won the game 16 - 10.

Look Ahead to Week 2

  • Colorado @ Nebraska (-7.5), Saturday 7:30pm ET | Coach Prime, Shedeur, and the Buffaloes travel to Lincoln to give Matt Rhule’s Cornhuskers a true test.

  • Boise State @ Oregon (-19.5), Saturday 10:00pm ET | Oregon will need to get back on track fast with Ashton Jeanty and the Broncos coming to town.

Shooting Our Shot

Join the Shootaround to see our picks here!

BIG 12 CONFERENCE

1. #20 Arizona Wildcats 1-0

2. Arizona State Sun Devils 1-0

3. BYU Cougars 1-0

4. Baylor Bears 1-0

5. Cincinnati Wildcats 1-0

6. Colorado Buffaloes 1-0

7. Iowa State Cyclones 1-0

8. #19 Kansas Jayhawks 1-0

9. #17 Kansas State Wildcats 1-0

10. #16 Oklahoma State Cowboys 1-0

11. TCU Horned Frogs 1-0

12. Texas Tech Red Raiders 1-0

13. UCF Knights 1-0

14. #11 Utah Utes 1-0

15. Houston Cougars 0-1

16. West Virginia Mountaineers 0-1

Key Performances

  • Colorado 31 - 26 North Dakota State | Colorado, led by Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, secured a big Week 1 win against FCS-powerhouse North Dakota State.

  • TCU 34 - 27 Stanford | TCU, led by QB Josh Hoover, secured a big Week 1 win vs. ACC newcomer Stanford.

Notable Developments

  • Arizona’s McMillan goes NUCLEAR against UNM | The Servite High School connection between Arizona QB Noah Fifita and WR Tetairoa McMillan was on full display. Fifita racked up 400 yards passing, with 304 of those and all 4 TDs going to McMillan. The Wildcats secured a 61 - 39 victory over UNM in a bonafide barnburner.

  • Houston goes down at home to UNLV | Houston was unable to defend home-turf as QB Donovan Smith threw 2 INTs and only passed for 135 yards. Final score: UNLV 27 - 7 Houston.

Look Ahead to Week 2

  • Arkansas @ Oklahoma State (-7.5), Saturday 12:00pm ET | Winner will add a key non-conference win to their resume as star RB Ollie Gordon and the Cowboys take on the Razorbacks.

  • Iowa State @ Iowa (-2.5), Saturday 3:30pm ET | Iowa State comes up against the immovable object that is Iowa. Bragging rights for the state of Iowa are on the line.

1. #4 Alabama Crimson Tide 1-0

2. Arkansas Razorbacks 1-0

3. Auburn Tigers 1-0

4. #1 Georgia Bulldogs 1-0

5. Kentucky Wildcats 1-0

6. Mississippi State Bulldogs 1-0

7. #9 Missouri Tigers 1-0

8. #15 Oklahoma Sooners 1-0

9. #6 Ole Miss Rebels 1-0

10. South Carolina Gamecocks 1-0

11. #14 Tennessee Volunteers 1-0

12. #3 Texas Longhorns 1-0

13. Vanderbilt Commodores 1-0

14. Florida Gators 0-1

15. #18 LSU Tigers 0-1

16. Texas A&M Aggies 0-1

Key Performances

  • Georgia 34 - 3 Clemson | Georgia used both sides of the ball to dominate Clemson en route to a 34 - 3 Week 1 win. Clemson continues to fall out of the national spotlight and Georgia continues to be the top dawg.

  • Vanderbilt 34 - 27 Virginia Tech (OT) | Vanderbilt, led by Senior QB Diego Pavia, secured a Week 1 OT win against Virginia Tech after choking away a 17-0 lead. A big win for a team that might not get many more this year.

Notable Developments

  • Texas blew the doors off of Colorado State | Texas dominated Colorado State as QBs Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning both contributed on offense to an easy win. More on the 52-0 Texas victory here.

  • Alabama’s DeBoer gets first win against WKU | Alabama had a dominating performance in their first game of the post Nick Saban era. New head coach Kalen DeBoer secured his first win behind quarterback Jalen Milroe’s 3 passing touchdowns and 2 rushing touchdowns. The Crimson Tide won 63 - 0 against Western Kentucky.

Look Ahead to Week 2

  • Texas (-7.5) @ Michigan, Saturday 12:00pm ET | Heisman-hopeful Quinn Ewers faces his first true test of the season against Michigan’s star-studded defense at the Big House.

  • Tennessee (-8) @ NC State, Saturday 7:30pm ET | Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava will play in his first true road game as a starter and the winner will add a key non-conference win to their resume.

Best of the Rest

Key Performances

  • Notre Dame 23 - 13 Texas A&M | The Aggies only found the endzone once in the first game of the Mike Elko era as Notre Dame pulled away in the 4Q for an impressive road win.

  • Boise State 56 - 45 Georgia Southern | Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty ran all over Georgia Southern, totaling 267 rushing yards and 6 rushing TDs for the Broncos. This was on 20 carries, meaning Jeanty averaged 13.4 yards/carry and scored on 30% of his attempts. A generational performance, some might say.

Notable Developments

  • Texas Tech and Abilene Christian battle in overtime thriller | The Red Raiders found themselves in an early season shootout against the Wildcats. 103 points and 1,154 yards later, Texas Tech sealed the win in OT. Abilene Christian 51 - 52 Texas Tech (OT).

  • Ole Miss obliterates Furman behind QB Jaxson Dart | Ole Miss jumped out to a commanding 52 - 0 lead at halftime versus Furman and did not look back. QB Jaxson Dart threw for a cool 418 yards and 5 TDs. Furman 0 - 76 Ole Miss.

Look Ahead to Week 2

  • South Carolina @ Kentucky (-10), Saturday 3:30pm ET | Winner will take sole possession of first place in SEC until the rest of the league starts playing conference games.

  • App State @ Clemson (-16.5), Saturday 8:00pm ET | Dabo’s seat gets warmer and warmer as known titan-killer Appalachian State travels to Death Valley to face Cade Klubnik & company.

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