College football week 1 is in the books. After every week fans can take away things from what happened on the field. Here are 5 things learned from college football week 1.
Related: 5 Things to watch in college football week 1
Lane Kiffin has been in the headlines since the end of last season. First, for leaving a school that was in the CFP. More recently, for trying to get former pros eligible. It has covered up the fact that Kiffin has put together a good team, without pros. The Tigers proved that on Saturday night, as LSU dominated Clemson 51-3.
Although Sam Leavitt threw an early pick and gave Clemson the field position an early field goal, LSU’s defense shut down Clemson’s offense the rest of the game. Leavitt ran the offense well the rest of the game, doing damage with both his arm and his legs. Running back Dilin Jones seems to be Kiffin’s running back of choice this season, as he had 23 carries for 113 yards and two touchdowns. The defense has some talent, while Kiffin’s offense will put up points this season, giving them a real shot to make the CFP and maybe advance in it.
Clemson lost to LSU 51-3 in a game that looked even worse than the final score indicated. They passed for 105 total yards and rushed for just 40. The offense couldn’t get anything going, while the defense struggled as well, which was worsened by the offense not controlling the clock or flipping the field. It was an embarrassing loss, as it didn’t look like Clemson had a ton of fight.
The expectations weren’t very high for Clemson this season, after a talented roster featuring plenty of NFL Draft picks won just seven games last year. Swinney has had plenty of success at Clemson, but has not adapted to NIL, the transfer portal and even to strategy on the field that is holding him back. It would be hard for Clemson to fire Swinney, but the old Clemson era is over as we know it.
A lot of talking heads are pushing the thought of doing a group of six playoff. There is plenty of influence from the networks they work for or with that is baked into those opinions. They will always say things like, “It’s best for those schools” or they “aren’t playing the same sport”. In the best case, they are lying, as they are playing the best sport. At worst, they are trying to make a change that they think is the best for those schools, without the schools even feeling that way.
There have been some blowouts in the CFP, but that includes ones with group of six teams losing and power conference teams getting defeated. But every season there are group of six teams winning games or putting teams to the absolute limit during the regular season, proving they belong. In week 1, there are several games that proved there was quality in the group of six. Tulsa defeated Oklahoma State. Boise State took Oregon to the very limit. Western Michigan had Michigan defeated before a second was added and a Hail Mary was completed. College Football allows for the incredible and we need to continue to allow the little guy a shot if the CFP system is going to have at least 12 teams like they currently have.
Ole Miss is coming off a year that they went to the CFP semifinal and were ranked in the top 10. There is a new regime this year, as Pete Golding takes over as full-time head coach after leading them in the CFP last season. They opened the season with a game in Nashville against Louisville, a team also ranked in the top 25. The Rebels played a close game with the Cardinals, with plenty of big plays in the second half. Ole Miss came away with the 41-38 victory.
It was Golding’s first regular-season game as a head coach and there are definitely things that will need to be improved. Louisville deserves some credit, but Ole Miss had the higher expectations coming into the season. The defense gave up several big plays and that side of the ball is where Golding has expertise. Offensively, running back Kewan Lacy also left the game with an injury, which is an additional hurdle to cross. Ole Miss still has talent, but they need to get things together quickly.
After a first half that was sloppy and close, Notre Dame pulled away from Wisconsin in the second half, asserting their dominance. The game was a neutral-site game at Lambeau Field. While it wasn’t a marquee game due to Wisconsin’s struggles last season, the Badgers did seem to be improved this year. That didn’t matter as the Fighting Irish got the win.
The Fighting Irish seemed to struggle with opening up the offense early, but CJ Carr looked good when he was able to attack downfield. He also had a rushing touchdown to help the cause. When the running game got more room to run in the second half, the offense really took off. The Fighting Irish still have to show up in their two big games against BYU and Miami, but if they do a return to the CFP this season is in the cards.
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