College football was back in full swing with five days of games from Thursday through Monday night. There was plenty to talk about from blowout games to upsets, and poor performances.
Another year means another Week 1 disappointment from the LSU Tigers who lost their neutral site opener for the third straight year. This time it came at the hands of the USC Trojans rather than the FSU Seminoles. Sticking in the SEC, we saw the Vanderbilt Commodores knocking off the Virginia Tech Hokies in overtime. A great start for new quarterback Diego Pavia, who transferred in from New Mexico State.
In the Big Ten, fans saw the beginning of the Dylan Raiola era in Lincoln. He looked every bit like a five-star signee with his two touchdowns including the 59-yard dime to Isaiah Neyor.
With that being said, here are five takeaways from Week 1:
Florida State has a D.J. Uiagalelei problem
Replacing the outgoing Jordan Travis at quarterback was never going to be an easy task for head coach Mike Norvell and the FSU Seminoles. The team felt good after adding former Clemson and Oregon State quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei to the roster to take his place. The former five-star signee looked more like a two-star passer against Boston College missing wide-open receivers and overall making poor decisions.
It might be time to re-open the quarterback competition between Uiagalelei and backup Brock Glenn during the open week. After starting 0-2 in ACC play, the window to make the College Football Playoffs is closing fast. The Noles need to win out in all likelihood to get there.
Miller Moss looks ready to take the Big Ten by storm
After both the USC Trojans and LSU Tigers had to answer plenty of questions from which quarterback starts to fixing the defense, it was the former that shined brightest in Sin City. Miller Moss continued what he started in the 2023 Holiday Bowl where he threw six touchdown passes in his first start.
Against an improved defensive unit for LSU, Moss was efficient in leading the Trojans to victory. With a tied game at 20 with under two minutes to go, the quarterback led a game-winning drive that culminated with Jo’quavious Marks’ touchdown run with eight seconds left. This was just the first of many tests for USC, but they look ready with Moss leading the way.
Billy Napier should blame his vanilla playcalling, not “some guy in a basement”
After an embarrassing 41-17 loss to the Miami Hurricanes, it seems everyone in Gainesville is on edge. One in particular, Billy Napier, is feeling the heat after the loss. So much so that he went after fans on social media with the ole basement comment.
“I think we got to become a more consistent team and we have to execute better. If we can focus on those things and not necessarily what some guy in his basement is saying in rural central Florida on social media, then we got a chance to get better, right? I think that’s the key.
I am not sure how many basements there are in the Sunshine State, but the focus should be on the Florida Gators‘ offense. In two years plus with the Gators, Napier’s offense has finished no better than No. 9 in the SEC. A pedestrian offense will leave your defense high and dry more often than not.
Texas A&M shouldn’t panic after loss to Notre Dame
It is easy to panic after an opening weekend loss, especially when you are at home. However, Mike Elko and the Texas A&M Aggies shouldn’t feel down or panic after the loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. A preseason top-10 team with a very stingy defense made things hard for Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman.
The lack of a consistent offense in this game along with the turnovers made it difficult for Elko’s defense to keep them in the game at the end. However, all of the Aggies’ goals are still on the table. They can get it right over the next several weeks with games against McNeese and Bowling Green sandwiched around the Florida Gators matchup in Gainesville.
Dabo Swinney has no one to blame but himself
I have been quite bullish on Dabo Swinney and him righting the storm with the Clemson Tigers. However, after watching his offense against the Georgia Bulldogs it has become painfully clear that this team needs some juice that only the transfer portal can provide. Swinney and Clemson was the only non-service academy school to not add players through the portal. He was the complete opposite of Colorado and Coach Prime.
If Swinney wants to stick to his guns and not entertain the transfer portal in the future, he will likely find himself on the outside looking in. Just as he has been over the last three years. For Clemson it is about adopting a new mantra for the football program, adapt or perish. It feels more like the latter for a program that owned the ACC for the last decade plus.