College football Week 1 overreactions: Notre Dame to the CFP, 'The U' is back and Dabo is cooked

No. 7 Notre Dame converted two third downs, compiled 99 penalty yards and played ugly for the most of the night at No. 20 Texas A&M.

So, should we pencil the Irish into the College Football Playoff now?

The Irish beat the Aggies 23-13 at Kyle Field for their first victory against a ranked SEC team since 2004. Notre Dame was a three-point underdog, but the victory showed third-year coach Marcus Freeman has learned from past road letdowns.

Riley Leonard passed for 158 yards, rushed for 63 yards and led the go-ahead TD drive in the fourth quarter with a clutch third-and-5 pass to Jaden Greathouse. Jadarian Price and Jeremiyah Love scored on TD runs of 47 and 21 yards, in the second half, and an inexperienced offensive line learned on the job and did not give up a sack.

Notre Dame has an elite defense, too. Adon Shuler and Xavier Watts had interceptions against Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman, who finished 12 of 30 for 100 yards. The Aggies had 146 rushing yards, but Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden has this unit dialed in.

Why does this mean Notre Dame is going to the College Football Playoff? No. 10 Florida State and No. 23 USC are the only ranked teams left on the schedule, and the Seminoles are going to tumble out of the top 10 on Tuesday. If the Irish get to 10 or 11 wins, then that is going to mean they take an at-large berth, likely one away from the Big Ten or SEC. That was the significance for Freeman, who improved to 8-4 against top-25 teams.

The Irish won ugly, but that was the biggest win of Week 1. More over-reactions from the first week of the season.

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Is Penn State more of a threat to Ohio State than Oregon, Michigan?

No. 8 Penn State hammered West Virginia 34-12, and second-year starter Drew Allar passed for 216 yards and three TDs despite a lengthy rain delay. The Nittany Lions shook off a trendy upset pick, and Allar and the offense and the schedule might give Penn State a clearer Big Ten championship and College Football Playoff path than Michigan and Oregon.

Mainly because Penn State does not have to play the Wolverines and Ducks.

No. 9 Michigan was up 16-10 with 10 minutes remaining against Fresno State with a shaky offense that struggled with the quarterback combination of Davis Warren and Alex Orji. The Wolverines totaled 269 yards, and the line might move more in Texas’ favor ahead of that Week 2 showdown. Michigan has an elite defense, but will that be enough against a brutal schedule?

No. 3 Oregon beat Idaho 24-14 in an odd game where the Ducks out-gained the Vandals 487-217 but had trouble putting the ball in the end zone. Dillon Gabriel passed for 380 yards, but the Ducks averaged 2.9 yards per carry. That will not be good enough in Big Ten play, and they play Ohio State and Michigan.

All that is good news for the Nittany Lions – who will not have to hear about the big game narrative with James Franklin until No. 2 Ohio State visits Happy Valley on Nov. 2. The Buckeyes don’t have a second-year starter either. Will that be the difference?

Kalen DeBoer, Jalen Milroe will lead Bama to the national title!

Remember the last time Alabama faced South Florida? Jalen Milroe was benched by Nick Saban, and the Crimson Tide slogged to a 17-3 victory. What a difference a year makes heading into the Week 2 rematch.

It is clear first-year-coach Kalen DeBoer and Milroe are a good match – even if it wasn’t much of a test in a 63-0 victory for No. 5 Alabama against Western Kentucky. Milroe completed just four passes in the first half, but they went for 169 yards and three TDs. Five-star freshman Ryan Williams scored on TDs of 84 and 55 yards, respectively, and Milroe added six carries for 49 yards and a TD.

Milroe scored on a 21-yard run in the third quarter before exiting with the Crimson Tide leading 49-0. He finished 7 of 9 passing for 200 yards and three TDs and had 10 carries for 79 yards and two TDs. That’s 279 yards on 19 offensive plays – or 14.7 yards per play. Yeah, it’s the Hilltoppers, but it’s also a reminder that DeBoer got the best out of Michael Penix Jr. the last two seasons at Washington.

If DeBoer gets the most out of Milroe and the defense follows, then Alabama will be right back in the SEC championship, College Football Playoff and national championship mix. They could be ranked as high as No. 3 as a result.

The ‘U’ is back and Billy Napier’s seat is hot at Florida!

No. 19 Miami beat Florida 41-17 in The Swamp on Saturday – an almost-identical score to the 41-16 victory the Hurricanes had against Florida on Sept. 7, 2002. That Miami team reached the BCS championship game that year.

So, is The ‘U’ back, because we are sick of the false alarms? Quarterback Cam Ward – a Washington State transfer – looked the part. He finished 26 of 35 for 385 yards, three TDs and shook off a first-half interception to lead a blowout in the in-state rivalry.

When you look at the state of the ACC – Florida State, Clemson and Virginia Tech have losses and NC State struggled in the first half against Western Carolina – then it is clear the Hurricanes are the favorite, at least for now. Can Mario Cristobal manage the hype sure to follow?

What about Billy Napier and Florida? Gators athletic director Scott Stricklin preached patience on “The Paul Finebaum Show” this week, and the Gators’ rough schedule was a popular talking point throughout the offseason.

Still, this was bad. Graham Mertz (11 of 20, 91 yards, INT) and freshman DJ Lagway (3 of 6, 31 yards, INT) struggled, and the Gators were 1 of 9 on third down. Rewind back to that 2002 loss. That was part of a 8-5 season under first-year coach Ron Zook, and he was fired two years later. Napier has work to do.

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Clemson and Dabo Swinney are cooked after another top-10 loss!

Cooked is the trendy term, no doubt, after a 34-3 loss to No. 1 Georgia in the Aflac Kickoff Game in Atlanta.

The Tigers trailed the Bulldogs 6-0 at half before an uncomfortable reality set in. No. 14 Clemson had 77 total yards at halftime and finished with 188 total yards for the game.

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck finished 23 of 33 for 278 yards and two TDs. The Tigers averaged two yards per carry, and Cade Klubnik finished 18 of 29 yards for 142 yards and interception. Clemson’s offense hasn’t changed enough with second-year coordinator Garrett Riley.

Swinney’s lack of transfer portal usage will be cited. Is it the weight disparity between the SEC and ACC? The Bulldogs beat Florida State 63-3 in last year’s Orange Bowl – albeit against a depleted Seminoles’ roster. That’s still a combined score of 97-6.

Yet the Tigers aren’t cooked. The ACC will get an automatic berth in the playoff, and this is only a bad loss in terms of the score. Georgia blasted Oregon 49-3 in the season opener in 2022, and the Ducks finished 10-3 that season. That’s a playoff resume in 2024.

MORE: Four takeaways from Georgia’s blowout of Clemson

Travis Hunter will win the Heisman Trophy!

Yeah, we did this last year – but Hunter was better in Week 1 against North Dakota State than he was against TCU last year.

Hunter had seven catches for 132 yards and three TDs in Colorado’s 31-26 victory against North Dakota State. The two-way star played 129 snaps and added three tackles and captivated the Thursday Night Football audience with a series of game-changing plays against the Bison.

OPPONENT	SNAPS	TARGETS	REC	YDS	TDS	TACKLE	PBU	INT
vs TCU (2023)	152	14	11	119	0	2	3	1
vs. NDSU (2024)	129	9	7	132	3	3	0	0

Hunter’s touchdown catch through – yes, he went through North Dakota State defensive back Jailen Duffie – was the defining play for the Buffaloes in a highly-entertaining Week 1 victory. Yes, with Hunter, Shedeur Sanders and Coach Prime, the Buffaloes are very much in the national consciousness again heading into a Week 2 Showdown against Nebraska.

Hunter is a Heisman Trophy candidate right now – just like last season. He has a better chance of sustaining that by being an elite receiver – but keep in mind Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. finished fourth in the voting last year. Being the best receiver in the country often isn’t enough, even if it is clear Hunter is more than that.

This was a touchdown for Travis Hunter btw pic.twitter.com/vPAHYiC2xg

— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) August 30, 2024

Extra point: Bring on the Super League!

Why will Super League talk escalate? A total of 10 ranked teams played FCS teams in Week 1, and the average margin of victory was 41.3 points per game. While there is always the hope for a huge upset, more often than not it will not happen. No. 17 Oklahoma State beat two-time FCS national champion South Dakota State 44-20 in Week 1. These games need to stop.