Week 1 of the college football season is in the books, minus Florida State and Boston College who play Monday evening, and we take this time to discuss our most alarming observations from the first action of the campaign.
Here are the College Sports Wire alarming observations from Week 1:
Clemson Tigers have a TON of work to do
If Dabo Swinney wants to continue to be stubborn and not use the transfer portal, he has a TON of work to do with his team. The Clemson Tigers did not belong on the same field as the Georgia Bulldogs. Sure, Georgia does that to many teams, but for a game that was hyped as a Top 15 battle in Atlanta, the Tigers should be ashamed.
Clemson will need to figure out ways to get creative on offense. The offense seems to lack a true threat, and they cannot rely on a continual dominant run game, as they just don’t seem to have the line to do that. The Tigers will need to bounce back quickly, as Appalachian State will not lay down and die for them in College Football Week 2.
West Virginia Mountaineers are not in upper echelon quite yet
Just four field goals for the West Virginia Mountaineers. That is not going to get it done. Especially in the Big 12. The Mountaineers were hyped coming into the game as they were a sneaky pick to upset the Nittany Lions, but that never was a chance in the storm-delayed game.
Penn State coach James Franklin called an outstanding offensive game against West Virginia. The Nittany Lions were on upset watch and made quick and easy work to put that to rest.
Drew Allar was good when they needed him to pass the football. Just 17 attempts, but 11 completions and three touchdowns. Nicholas Singleton was sharp on the ground with more than 100 yards. The Nittany Lions showed why they are a third threat out of the Big Ten. Penn State will get to play four straight at home starting Saturday against Bowling Green. Their next road game is October 12th at USC.
LSU Tigers still not ready for the big time
Brian Kelly can pound his fist on the table following the loss all he wants. In the end, his team, the LSU Tigers are just not ready for the big time. The Tigers could not slow down the USC Trojans in the final two minutes of the game and force overtime. The Tigers still allowed nearly 450 total yards of offense to the Trojans. The pass defense was atrocious, allowing more than 375 yards in the game.
The verdict is still out on Gus Nussmeier, and the Tigers will see several other tests this season. Coach Kelly has work to do in Baton Rouge. LSU will get a cupcake when they head home and host Nicholls on Saturday. But, a road trip to South Carolina comes up following that one.