College football is officially back! Students and boosters packed stadiums from coast to coast to welcome the return of meaningful college football for the 2021 season. Upsets, late comebacks, and more were just a few of the storylines that dominated Saturday’s news feeds. Get caught up on the top performances below:
CFB Week 1 Rundown:
(4) Ohio St defeats Minnesota 45-31
Top performer: Chris Olave (OSU) 4 rec, 117yds, 2 TDs
Snapshot: The Buckeyes used a big 2nd half (35pts) to down the Golden Gophers.
(22) Coastal Carolina defeats The Citadel 52-14
Top performer: Jaivon Heiligh (CCU) 6 rec, 133yds, 1TD
Snapshot: CCU dominated from start to finish in a game they were expected to win.
(24) Utah defeats Weber State 40-17
Top performer: Tavion Thomas (UTAH) 12 carries, 107yds, 2TDs
Snapshot: Utah overcame a slow start to steadily pull away from their lesser opponent down the stretch.
(25) Arizona St. defeats Southern Utah 41-14
Top performer: Rachaad White (ASU) 7 carries, 58yds, 2TDs
Snapshot: SUU QB Justin Miller had a rough day throwing 3 INTs in the Sun Devil victory.
Virginia Tech defeats (10) North Carolina 17-10
Top performer: Josh Downs (UNC) 8 rec, 123yds, 1 TD
Snapshot: The preseason hype for UNC and QB Sam Howell came to a crashing halt in the Tar Heels first game of the season. Howell struggled with accuracy all day long completing only 17 of 32 passes for 208 yards.
(1) Alabama defeats (14) Miami 44-13
Top performer: Bryce Young (ALA) 27-38, 4TDs, 344yds
Snapshot: How do you overcome losing nearly every key piece on offense to the NFL draft? You reload with one of the top recruiting classes in the nation, and have your new QB set school records for TD passes, and yards in their first start. Death, Taxes, and Alabama dominance, ho hum.
(2) Oklahoma defeats Tulane 40-35
Top performer: Michael Pratt (TULN) 27-44, 296yds, 3TDs, 34 rsh yds, 1 rsh TD
Snapshot: Michael Pratt gave Oklahoma everything they could handle, and the Sooners escaped a week 1 scare unscathed. As usual it looks like the OU offense will be one of the nation’s top units. Their defense on the other hand…
(5) Georgia defeats (3) Clemson 10-3
Top performer: Joseph Ngata (CLEM) 6 rec, 110yds
Snapshot: Life after Trevor Lawrence isn’t off to a blistering start. In a defensive battle between two of the nation’s top 5 teams, the Tigers could only muster a 4th quarter FG against Georgia.
(6) Texas A&M defeats Kent State 41-10
Top performer: Ainias Smith (TAM) 8 rec, 100yds, 2 TDs
Snapshot: The Aggies used a big 2nd half (31pts) to pull away from Kent State and start their season off on the right foot. A Clemson loss could see Texas A&M sneak into the top 5 rankings for week 2.
(7) Iowa St. defeats Northern Iowa 16-10
Top performer: Quan Hampton (UNI) 8 rec, 99yds, 1TD
Snapshot: Northern Iowa nearly pulled off the upset against their instate rivals. After heading into the half down 3, both defenses dug in only allowing a late Iowa St. field goal in the 2nd half.
(8) Cincinnati defeats Miami (OH) 49-14
Top performer: Desmond Ridder (CIN) 20-25, 295yds, 4TD
Snapshot: Cincy QB Desmond Ridder was surgical in his dismantling of the Miami (OH) defense, only missing 5 throws on the day. The Bearcats hope to build on this momentum when they take on Murray State in Week 2.
(11) Oregon defeats Fresno State 31-24
Top performer: CJ Verdell (ORE) 18 carries, 74yds, 1TD
Snapshot: The Ducks survive a scare from Fresno State. Oregon is a team many have pegged as favourites to win the PAC12 this year, however they’ll need to clean up the mistakes from Saturday if they have any hope of winning a conference title this season.
(19) Penn St. defeats (12) Wisconsin 16-10
Top performer: Jahan Dotson (PSU) 5rec, 102yds, 1TD
Snapshot: Wisconsin nearly took the lead late in the 4th, however an untimely interception sealed the victory for the Nittany Lions and sent the home team crowd home disappointed.
(13) Florida defeats Florida Atlantic University 35-14
Top performer: Anthony Richards (FLA) 7 carries, 160yds, 1TD
Snapshot: The Gators had this one on cruise control throughout most of the day. The Gators have another tune up game next week vs. South Florida before a massive date against Alabama on Sep 18th.
(15) USC defeats San Jose St. 30-7
Top performer: Drake London (USC) 12rec, 137yds
Snapshot: Despite the lopsided final score, USC fans were sweating heading into the 4th quarter with their team ahead by only a field goal. Some sloppy drives on the part of San Jose St. was ultimately their undoing down the homestretch.
UCLA defeats (16) LSU 38-27
Top performer: Kayshon Boutte (LSU) 9rec, 148yds, 3TDs
Snapshot: Don’t look now but the UCLA Bruins are suddenly 2-0 to start the year. After downing Hawai’i in their opener, Chip Kelly & co. became the first PAC12 team in 13 years to defeat an SEC opponent.
(18) Iowa defeats (17) Indiana 34-6
Top performer: Tyler Goodson (IOWA) 19 carries, 99yds, 1TD
Snapshot: Not the opener Indiana was hoping for after the program took such big strides forward last year. Michael Penix Jr. had a day to forget throwing 3 INTs against the Hawkeyes.
Montana defeats (20) Washington 13-7
Top performer: Cade Otton (WASH) 8rec, 82yds
Snapshot: Yikes. In what was easily the biggest upset of the day, Montana takes down nationally ranked Washington in their season opener. Dylan Morris had 3 picks on the day for the Huskies which sealed their fate. Adding insult to injury: Washington paid Montana overk $600K to add this game to their schedule…
(21) Texas defeats (23) Louisiana 38-18
Top performer: Jordan Whittington (TEX) 7rec, 113yds, 1TD
Snapshot: Steve Sarkisian got his tenure in Texas off to a good start with a convincing win over 23rd ranked Louisiana. The Longhorns defense kept the Ragin’ Cajuns to single digits every quarter in a balanced team win.
(9) Notre Dame vs. Florida State (Sunday at 7:30pm ET)
Home Team: Florida State