As college football returned this weekend, the joy of packed stadiums was once again on full display. With the expanded CFP arriving in 2024, we finally got to experience postseason football on actual college campuses — and I’m a firm believer that all regular season games should also be played on campus. The unique atmospheres this week proved it. You can’t tell me that the neutral-site games had more juice or better crowd interaction than what we saw and heard at Doak Campbell, The Shoe, or Death Valley.
But let’s start in Kent, Ohio.
Kent State Ends the Streak
Dix Stadium was only a third full, but those 8,647 fans witnessed something special: Kent State snapping the nation’s longest losing streak (21 games) with a 100-yard kickoff return TD by Da’Realyst Clark in the final five minutes. That play lifted the Golden Flashes over FCS opponent Merrimack. I’ll be on pins and needles waiting for Ryan McGee’s Bottom 10 on Wednesday to see who takes over the new No. 1 “honor.”
Upsets, OTs, and G5 Contenders
Week 1 kicked off with a Top 25 upset as South Florida spoiled Boise State’s post-Ashton Jeanty campaign. The Broncos’ offense looked very pedestrian without the nation’s leading rusher in their backfield.
One of my employees, who trains certain soccer players, gave me inside information that QB Maddox Madsen and his girlfriend (who plays college soccer) broke up over the summer. Moneyball teaches us that if a ballplayer has an ugly girlfriend, he has no confidence. Not sure what it means that Madsen has no girlfriend at all, but his play didn’t inspire much confidence either. Meanwhile, USF firmly entered the G5 playoff conversation. With back-to-back road trips to Florida and Miami, they’ve got a chance to really shake things up.
Friday night brought our first overtime game of the season, as Tarleton State needed two OTs to put away Army. That was also the first of two FCS-over-FBS wins, with Austin Peay handling Middle Tennessee easily. But there were other scares, too. Kansas State, for instance, needed an 81-yard TD drive in the final 90 seconds to edge North Dakota 38–35.
Top 10 Showdowns
Week 1 gave us three different Top 10 matchups — the first time that’s happened since November 2017.
Texas vs. Ohio State
Big Noon Kickoff and Gameday both descended on Columbus for No. 1 vs. No. 3 — a rematch of last year’s Cotton Bowl. Anticipation was sky-high with Arch Manning’s starting debut for Texas and Julian Sayin making his Buckeye debut. The reality? A dud for the first 55 minutes.
Neither QB looked poised for the spotlight, and both teams were sloppy. OSU struck midway through the second quarter and led 7–0 at half. An incredible catch by Carnell Tate stretched it to 14–0, and although Texas rallied late, Ohio State held on 14–7. The Longhorns were stopped twice on fourth-and-goal, and aside from two or three throws, Manning looked overwhelmed. No need to panic, though — it’s still Week 1, and losing on the road to the defending champs isn’t a death sentence.
LSU vs. Clemson
Saturday Night Football gave us “Death Valley vs. Death Valley.” LSU came in ranked No. 9, Clemson No. 4. The first half was all defense, with Clemson leading 10–3 at the break. But Brian Kelly clearly lit a fire at halftime — LSU flipped the script, scoring twice to win 17–10. Huge statement for the Tiger defense after last year’s “Swiss cheese” reputation. Clemson, meanwhile, still controls its destiny with Florida State looming in November.
Notre Dame vs. Miami
Sunday night revived the Catholics vs. Convicts rivalry, and Miami delivered, notching its first Top 10 win since 2017. The Hurricanes’ defense — a liability last season — looked transformed after Mario Cristobal’s offseason tweaks. QB Carson Beck did just enough, while Notre Dame’s CJ Carr showed promise but threw two costly interceptions, including one on a bizarre bounce off a defender’s foot. With that win, Miami is right back in the ACC race.
Belichick’s College Debut
Bill Belichick’s first game at North Carolina was ugly. TCU came into Chapel Hill and after surrendering a early touchdown, dominated the first half to lead the Tar Heels 20-7 at half. The second half didn't go much as TCU took it to the house to extend their lead. It didn't stop there either as TCU continued to score on offense and defense, ultimately winning 48-14. The “coach’s name” only goes so far — UNC has a long road ahead, and Belichick doesn’t have Tom Brady to bail him out.
Game of the Week: Florida State 31, Alabama 17
For the fifth straight year, a Top 10 team lost to an unranked opponent in Week 1 — this time Alabama at Doak Campbell. Tommy Castellanos had called his shot back in June, saying Nick Saban couldn’t save Alabama from him. He was right.
FSU’s offense, full of QB scrambles and misdirection, shredded Bama’s defense. After the Tide cut it to 24–17, it looked like Alabama might do their usual Houdini act — but FSU iced the game with a 10-play, 75-yard drive.
This is now the fourth loss to an unranked team in the Kalen DeBoer era. In fact, since the start of the 2022 season, only one of DeBoer’s eight losses has come to a ranked opponent — Washington’s loss to Michigan in the 2024 National Championship. I don’t necessarily know what this means long-term, but I do know it’s not what Alabama donors had in mind.
DeBoer looked defeated and perplexed on the sideline Saturday, like he had no answers. Personally, I don’t think DeBoer is the genius everyone touted him as. And Ryan Grubb — well, just look at what he did with the Seahawks. It’s starting to catch up with them that they don’t know how to manage games as well as some of the veteran coaches in the South.
Some of you might say: But Will, he went 26–3 at Washington — how can he not be a good coach? To that I’ll respond with three words: Michael Penix Jr. I thought back in 2023 that Penix should have won the Heisman over Jayden Daniels, and as time goes on, watching what DeBoer and Grubb do with their new talent only solidifies that take.
Jalen Milroe helped cover up a lot of issues for Alabama last year. But now, with a quarterback who isn’t as mobile or creative as Penix or even Milroe, DeBoer and Grubb’s deficiencies are being exposed. On Alabama’s opening touchdown drive, they ran the ball 12 times. For the rest of the game, only 14 runs were called. You establish the run early, score, and then completely go away from it. As a Seahawks fan, I saw this far too often from Grubb last year — probably the reason Macdonald canned him.
I also started to notice back at Washington, and it’s even more obvious now: DeBoer-coached teams commit far too many undisciplined penalties (unsportsmanlike conduct, personal fouls, etc.) for a top-tier program. To me, that’s a reflection of coaching style and lack of discipline.
I’m not saying this loss is entirely on DeBoer. But I am saying his seat just got a lot hotter — and the leash is running out.
But don’t let that overshadow FSU’s brilliance. That crowd at Doak was electric — you could feel it through the TV. If the Seminoles carry this energy into Clemson in November, they’ll be dangerous.
Stat Line of the Week
Haynes King (Georgia Tech): 13/20, 143 YDS; 19 CAR, 156 YDS, 3 TD
King was a warrior in GT’s upset of Colorado, including the game-winning 45-yard TD run with a minute left. No celebrations, just exhaustion — pure football.
Will’s Corner
BYU 69, Portland State 0
Not much to take away here — BYU did what they should. Freshman QB Bear Bachmeier tossed 3 TDs and ran for 2 more before halftime. He didn’t get much action, but he looked sharp. BYU plays host to Stanford this coming Saturday, making a clash between Bear's current school and the school he originally committed to.
Tennessee 45, Syracuse 26
The Vols jumped out early and never looked back. QB Aguilar threw for 247 and 3 TDs, while RB Star Thomas added 92 yards. A tune-up next week against East Tennessee State before Georgia comes to town on the 13th.
Washington State 13, Idaho 10
This game had me all worked up — the debut of Jimmy Rogers for the Cougs, with the Battle for the Palouse on the line. Wazzu hasn’t lost to Idaho since 2000, and their last meeting was the closest in a while (24–17). Zevi Eckhaus came in last year after Mateer entered the portal and threw for 363 yards against Syracuse in the Holiday Bowl. I assumed he would win the job this year, but Rogers kept things quiet until redshirt sophomore Jaxon Potter ran onto the field to start the game.
The Cougs’ offense was abysmal. A fourth-down throw to Josh Meredith gave WSU a 7–0 lead at halftime. The run game was truly awful, but the defense was playing great. You can’t expect them to pitch a shutout forever, though, and Idaho scored early in the fourth to make it 10–7.
Then Rogers, for some reason no one understands, put Julian Dugger in at QB — which only resulted in a loss of 14 yards. Thanks to a fumble by Angel Johnson deep in our own territory, we gifted Idaho the ball on the 10-yard line. Our defense held, though, and with 1:30 left it was 10–10.
Rogers finally put Potter back in, and — imagine that — when he called passing plays, Potter led the drive down the field so smoothly that they reached field-goal range with time to spare. Jack Stevens nailed the winner.
A win is a win, but 3 rushing yards on 22 attempts is flat-out bad. That has to be fixed, because San Diego State comes to town next weekend, and that won’t fly again.
AP Poll Reaction
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New #1: Ohio State jumps Penn State.
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LSU moves to #3.
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Miami climbs into the Top 5.
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Florida State & Utah enter the Top 25, replacing Kansas State & Boise State.
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Biggest loser: Alabama drops 13 spots to No. 21.
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Despite losses, Texas, Clemson, and Notre Dame all remain in the Top 10 (slots 7–9).
CFB News
This week was the final week for Lee Corso on ESPN’s College Gameday. If you haven’t watched the special about him, Not So Fast My Friend: A Lee Corso Special, I highly recommend it. Coach Corso is one of a kind, and I want to add my words to the many others who have shared how important he was to the game and what he meant to so many people.
I remember discovering College Gameday as a kid and being excited each Saturday morning to see who Corso would pick and which headgear he’d put on. This was before social media, so the only real way to know his pick was to tune in each week — and that’s exactly what I did. Every Saturday, to kick off a great day of football, I turned on Coach.
Even with the rise of Instagram and Twitter, I still tried to watch live as much as I could. From turning it on while opening the golf course in high school, to having it streaming on my phone while working the course in recent years, Corso was always part of my Saturday routine.
College Gameday won’t be the same without him, but I’m grateful for the memories he gave me. A fitting highlight of what he meant to the game came yesterday, when every team he ever played for or coached won their games — the greatest sendoff he could have asked for.
Games to Watch – Week 2
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Iowa @ Iowa State – Sept 6, 12 PM ET (FOX)
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South Florida @ Florida – Sept 6, 4:15 PM ET (SEC Network)
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Michigan @ Oklahoma – Sept 6, 7:30 PM ET (ABC)
Guest Guesser Update
Growing up, I loved the Seattle Times “pick ’em” segment — so my mom and I started doing our own. Nearly 20 years later, we’re still at it. I’ll post our standings here each week. Fair warning: Mom knows her stuff (even if she roots for UW).
I’d love to hear from readers, too. Think my takes are dumb? Want my opinion on something I missed? Email me at thecollegefootblog@gmail.com.
