The NCAA football schedule kicked off this Labor Day weekend with an extended schedule involving Sunday night and Monday night matchups, capping off nearly 100 games in total spanning five days.
Key matchups played out and some significant shifting was, as expected, seen in the lower portions of the poll. Many of the top-10 teams were involved in warmup contests. Blowout results are seen throughout, with Oregon and FSU the lone differences, the Seminoles sporting a loss in Week #0 and playing a decent enough Boston College on Labor Day.
The rest of the Top-25 involved getting to know what the teams are composed of, with all of the transfers and new roster alignments, as some schools have as many as two dozen new arrivals. (The Colorado Buffaloes have over 40 new players.) It is a matter of both figuring out the talent as well as how quickly players who come in as starters learn a new playbook. It is also hard to measure just how well a team played, as the opponent’s skill set may also be in flux.
Here are the noteworthy results from the opening weekend.
Georgia 34 – Clemson 3
It took a couple of quarters for the Bulldogs to settle in but then they took control, scoring on the regular in the second half, on the way to its 40th consecutive regular-season win. As for Dabo Swinny’s Tigers, they could not generate any offense, with Georgia’s defense looking as stern as it has been in recent years. Clemson threw for less than 150 yards, and even removing the net losses from sacks saw the running backs gaining just 65 yards. Carson Beck for Georgia passed for 278 yards and a pair of strikes, while the running game gobbled up 169 collectively.
USC 27 – LSU 20
This was as entertaining as it gets with the score close throughout and both quarterbacks playing strong, with a late scoring drive the difference maker. USC’s Miller Moss (378 yards, 1 TD) got the Trojans in position for a short field goal with a 20-yard pass followed by a targeting penalty, and with eight seconds left and one play before the winning field goal, Woody Marks instead split the middle and scored a 13-yard touchdown. Garrett Nussmeier passed for 304 and a pair of TDs for the Tigers.
Notre Dame 23 – Texas A&M 13
One of the marquee games coming into the weekend delivered a close matchup to the end, but it was another case of wondering where the new-look teams actually stand. Both defenses looked strong and/or both offenses were unimpressive. Neither quarterback threw for more than 160 yards and the running games were just adequate; the Irish went for 198 yards on the ground and the Aggies 146. It took a 21-yard TD run with under two minutes to put Notre Dame in the lead, and after a desperation drive by A&M stalled out, a field goal was added to ice the win.
Miami 41 – Florida 17
The Hurricanes were another question-mark team with transfer QB Cam Ward stepping in from Washington State. He looked composed and displayed chemistry with his receivers all game, throwing for 385 yards and a trio of touchdowns, using ten receivers in total. Returning senior Xavier Restrepo went for 112 yards and a touchdown on seven catches. The only highlight for the Gators was Montrell Johnson rushing for 106 yards, but that was on Florida’s lone big play, a 71-yard score.
Oregon 24 – Idaho 14
With Bo Nix moving on to the NFL, there were high hopes for Dillon Gabriel taking over, as he transferred from Oklahoma and is considered one of the Heisman favorites. He mostly showed that prowess statistically but not in an overwhelming fashion on the score sheet. Gabriel was supremely efficient, going 41/49 for 380 yards and two scoring throws, but the Ducks were 44-point favorites. Idaho was not too impressive offensively but managed to stay close until Gabriel’s second touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.
Boston College 28 – FSU 13
Serving as perhaps the prime example of the program you could not accurately measure due to the portal system, the tenth-ranked Seminoles looked listless in their second straight loss. The team never held a lead as FSU has no running attack – at all. The entire game saw them gain only 21 yards, all while the run defense was no better; they surrendered 263 on the ground, with three different BC runners picking up over 70 yards apiece.
Iowa 40 – Illinois State 0
This one was noteworthy for one main reason: The #25-ranked Hawkeyes scored! Last year, this team was tough to watch, as scoring was hard to come by. Not only did Iowa manage to reach 40 only once all of last season, but the 21 points collected in the 4th quarter alone exceeded the totals of nine of their games in 2023. And get this; they won six of those contests, before being shut out in both the Big 10 Championship and the Citrus Bowl.
RANKINGS
The new ranking sees USC making the biggest jump, gaining 10 points, coming in just behind Miami, which made a nine-point move. Clemson hung on to the final slot in the poll, while falling off the top list was Texas A&M (26th) and as expected FSU, which as a result of opening with two losses, earned zero votes this week. This is the new Top-25 from the AP following the Week #1 results:
1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Texas
4. Alabama
5. Notre Dame
6. Mississippi
7. Oregon
8. Penn State
9. Missouri
10. Michigan
11. Utah
12. Miami
13. Southern Cal
14. Tennessee
15. Oklahoma
16. Oklahoma State
17. Kansas State
18. LSU
19. Kansas
20. Arizona
21. Iowa
22. Louisville
23. Georgia Tech
24. N.C. State
25. Clemson
