No.19 Miami 41, Florida 17
The hyped Week One Battle of Florida at a scorching Ben Hill Griffin Stadium took place in Gainesville between two formerly dominant powers of college football, and turned into a rather one-sided affair.
A sell out crowd of 90,544 saw two storied programs at different stages of their journey to to return to relevance, let alone dominance. This was just the fourth meeting between the two Sunshine State teams in just twenty years, who had previously met every year between 1944 and 1987.
It became quickly apparent that Miami are on an upward trajectory, while Florida, may have more bumps in the road before they improve. The Gators wheeled out former greats Jevon Kearse, Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow to energise the home crowd. By the fourth quarter, even the traditional Swamp anthem, Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down", was half-heartedly sung by Gators fans, mirroring their team by appearing to go through the motions, such was Miami's dominance.
The Hurricanes have been aggressive in the transfer portal, securing Cam Ward, formerly of Incarnate Word and Washington State, the the best quarterback available with 14,000 yards passing under his belt. Damien Martinez, the bull-rushing 230lb running back, and Sam Brown, the talented receiver were secured from Oregon State and Houston respectively. They join incumbent talent Xavier Restrepo at receiver and Elijah Arroyo at tight end to give Miami a potent offense which was unveiled impressively in this 41-17 win.
Ward completed 26 of 35 passes for 385 yards and three touchdown throws to Cam McCormick, Jacolby George and Xavier Restrepo, who had 112 receiving yards. Ward was impressive, appearing almost nonchalant in his play, which has lent a security and optimism sadly missing from the Hurricanes' offense in recent seasons. Mark Fletcher ran in two touchdowns, leaping over the Gators' defense for a 1-yard run which capped an impressive 6-play, 75-yard drive with 12:25 left in the third quarter to put Miami up 31-10.
Florida have the toughest schedule in football, with Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, LSU, Florida State and Ole Miss still to come. They failed to convert five third down attempts in the first half and lost quarterback Graham Mertz to injury at the start of the fourth quarter. Mertz had led the SEC with a 72.9% completion rate last year but completed only 11 of 20 passes for just 91 yards against Miami.
There were a few bright spots for the Gators. Running back Montrell Johnson, Jr. brought the Swamp back to life with a 71-yard touchdown run, scampering along the sideline for his 28th career score. This was Florida's first play over 20 yards and brought them back to a 17-10 deficit with 3:21 left in the first half. DJ Lagway, considered to be one of the best University of Florida recruits in years going back to Tim Tebow, provided Gators fans with a glimpse of the future. The 6’3” 240lbs true freshman came in to replace the injured Mertz and showed some promising flashes, a strong run down field to convert a 3rd and 12, as part of a nine-play drive he orchestrated which was capped with a one-yard touchdown run from Treyaun Webb.
It was a bleak start for Billy Napier and Florida, who conceded the most points allowed in a home opening game in Gainesville.
Following Florida State's hiccup against Georgia Tech and Clemson's ineffectual showing against No.1 Georgia, Miami impressed and have a softer schedule ahead. Florida State, on 26th October, appear to be their toughest opponent left. With the exciting Ward under center, you wouldn't bet against the Hurricanes clinching a top-four playoff place as the ACC champion.
“I feel it’s the most prepared I’ve ever been in my college career and excited we’re 1-0.” - Miami quarterback Cam Ward.
No.7 Notre Dame 23, No.20 Texas A&M 13
Riley Leonard’s first game as Notre Dame quarterback saw him face his former coach at Duke, Mike Elko now head coach at Texas A&M, in front of a raucous Kyle Field crowd of 107,315.
This tense match, between two of college football's traditional heavyweights, took a while to warm up. The Aggies and Fighting Irish defenses neutralised offenses that struggled to find their rhythm until the fourth quarter, or in the case of Texas A&M, at all. Having exchanged a couple of field goals, both teams went in tied at 6-6, the Aggies a man down after their safety Dalton Brooks was ejected for targeting for a late hit on Leonard.
The Notre Dame defense was twitchy in the first quarter, eager to hunt down Aggies' quarterback Conner Weigman, conceding four penalties in the process due to false starts. The offensive line of the Fighting Irish had started just six college football games between them. Freshman Anthonie Knapp, making his first start at the vaunted left tackle position vacated by new L.A. Charger Joe Alt, had Texas A&M's edge rusher Nic Scourton to contend with. Scourton had led the Big Ten with 10 sacks for Purdue last year before transferring to College Station. He was restricted to three tackles against the young Notre Dame line.
Notre Dame's defense kept A&M offense quiet in a first half bereft of downfield passing plays that resulted in a field goal battle. Conner Weigman struggled to settle into the game, his overthrow picked off by Adon Shuler, in his first start.
Marcus Freeman's aggressive aproach started to pay off for Notre Dame. Riley Leonard made two tough runs on fourth down - taking on the Aggies' defensie front, setting up
Jadarian Brice for a 47 yd TD run with 6:59 left in the third quarter for a 13-6 lead. “Finally someone gets in the end zone”, exclaimed ESPN commentator Chris Fowler.
A 10-play 65 yard drive, featuring a 14-yard run from Aggies running back E.J. Smith, son of former Dallas Cowboy Emmitt, tied the game at 13-13 with a 1-yard run from Le'Veon Moss.
Notre Dame became more aggressive in the second half. An 18-yard run from Jeremiyah Love, outstanding 20-yard reception from Beaux Collins and first down run from Riley Leonard capped three successive first downs on a drive capped by a 21-yard Love touchdown run. Mitch Jeter's 46-yard field goal put the full stop on an excellent road win for Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish start the season full of confidence. Their strong defensive line and outstanding backfield of Benjamin Morrison, Xavier Watts and Christian Gray will keep them competitive. Their offense, if it can build on their solid fourth quarter against Texas A&M, can make the difference with outstanding runners in Leonard, Love and Jadarian Price. Leonard completed 18 of 39 passes for 158 yards in an attritional game, and ran for a further 62 yards.
Texas A&M have a tough schedule ahead and must improve on Connor Weigman's 100-yard passing game if they are going to overcome the SEC's top teams in weeks ahead.
“They got baptised today.” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman on his team's new offensive line.
Elsewhere
No.1 Georgia 34, Clemson 3
Georgia were professionalism personified as they brushed aside a Clemson team for their 40th straight professional win. Dabo Swinney's team seem to be a shadow of his former championship winning teams. Bulldogs safety Malaki Starks provided a highlight reel interception and Carson Beck eased into a Heisman-chasing campaign by completing 23 of 33 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns.
“You got to out-physical them, you got to out-hustle them AND you got to out-discipline them. I thought we did all three of those today. I was really proud of our guys.” - Georgia head coach Kirby Smart.
No.2 Ohio State 52, Akron 3
Much hyped freshman receiving sensation Jeremiah Smith seems to be "as advertised", so said Akron coach Joe Moorehead. Smith caught two touchdowns and had 92 receiving yards on his debut having dropped his first pass. “I just want to go out and play football and play my game,” said Smith, the top player in the 2024 recruiting class. “I know all the hype around me was crazy coming in. I just wanted to come in and be a guy (who’s) just working.”
Having built through the portal, Ohio State's incoming transfers had a decent start. Quarterback Will Howard completed 17 of 28 passes for 228 yards and three touchdowns and Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins ran in a touchdown.
No.3 Oregon 24, Idaho 14
Oregon looked sluggish against the Vandals. Dan Lanning's team were a 44.5 point favourite going into the game and won by 10 points. They face an awkward opponent in Boise State this weekend, their second Idaho opponent in a week. Dillon Gabriel put up 380 yards and threw for two touchdowns in his Oregon debut.
No.4 Texas 52, Colorado State 0
The Longhorns' offense looked balanced in a home rout of Colorado State. Quinn Ewers thre for 260 yards and three touchdowns, before being withdrawn in the third quarter. Enter Arch Manning for an impressive cameo, capped with a cheeky shovel pass to Oregon State transfer Silas Bolden for a touchdown.
Concerns over the loss of first-choice back C.J. Baxter were eased with some solid contributions from Jaydon Blue, Quintrevion Wisner and Jerrick Gibson. Texas lost some premium receiving talent to the NFL, but have made some smart acquisitions in the off season. Matthew Golden (Houston) caught two touchdowns from three catches, Isaiah Bond had 61 receiving yards and a touchdown, while 17-year old Ryan Wingo and Silas Bolden look like they will add some explosivity to the Texas offense.
No.5 Alabama 63, Western Kentucky 0
Jalen Milroe is going to be fun to watch. Alabama's quarterback passed for three touchdowns and ran for two more in just under three quarters, completing 7 of 9 passes for 200 yards and adding 79 rushing yards.
No.6 Ole Miss 76, Furman 0
Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart was phenomenal, completing 22 of 27 passes for six touchdowns in the first half and accounting for 445 total yards. The Rebels racked up 772 yards of offense and 37 first downs while Tre Harris had 179 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
No.8 Penn State 34, West Virginia 12
A two and a half hour weather delay due to rain and lightning didn't dampen Penn State's start to the season. Drew Allar, on radar for NFL scouts, threw three touchdown passes for 216 yards.
No.9 Michigan 30, Fresno State 10
If anyone was in doubt as to the calibre of Will Johnson, the Wolverines' cornerback answered with a sensational 86-yard interception from a Mikey Keene pass. He could be the top defensive back selected in the NFL draft.
Aside from Jim Harbaugh's departure and the sign-stealing scandal, the hot topic in Ann Arbor has been the battle for the starting quarterback job. Davis Warren won the job and threw 15 of 25 passes for 118 yards. Warren has an incredible story. He battled and defeated leukemia in high school, saw his senior season cancelled due to COVID-19, attended high school in New Jersey and got a spot at Michigan as a walk-on.
Boston College 28, No.10 Florida State 13
Boston College caused an unexpected upset by defeating No. 10 Florida State 28-13 in Tallahassee, condemning the Seminoles to an 0-2 record which likely rules them out contention for both the ACC and a playoff spot. Florida State's fall from grace, unjustly ruled out of last season's playoff to virtually eliminated from this season's after just two games, is extraordinary.
The most entertaining game of the week saw Tetairoa McMillan put up the most extraordinary statistics. Arizona's star receiver caught ten passes for 304 yards and four touchdowns in a 61-39 Wildcats' win over New Mexico.
Across The Pond College Football
Tony and I break down the big games from a huge Week One in College Football. We talk about the current state of offenses in college football before highlighting some big individual performances this week and a look ahead to the action next weekend.
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