Buckeyes defense makes strong case
Ohio State returns to form as defense shines. Everyone knows how explosive Ohio State’s offense can be, but the defense has let down the Buckeyes in the past. That wasn’t the case Saturday night as Ohio State’s defense stepped up in a big way, holding No. 5 Notre Dame to just 72 yards of offense in the second half. That allowed the offense a chance to overcome a lackluster first half and an injury to receiver Jaxon SmithNjigba. No. 2 Ohio State won 21-10.
Georgia already looks playoff-ready. It didn’t take long to silence any doubters who wondered if Georgia would take a step back after losing more than two dozen players to the NFL draft. The third-ranked Bulldogs jumped out to a 21-point lead as QB Stetson Bennett dissected Oregon’s defense for 368 yards and a pair of touchdowns and the defense held the 11th-ranked Ducks without a TD in an impressive 49-3 win Saturday night.
The Pac-12’s CFP hopes already are shrinking. It’s only the first weekend of the college football season, but the Pac-12 already saw its two best chances to qualify for the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2016 crumble. Utah and Oregon, both ranked in the Top 25, were the early favorites in the conference. Still, they suffered losses Saturday against Power Five foes, leaving the league to hope for a rebound or someone else — like USC — rises to the top before the end of the season.
It was a wild weekend on the road for the ACC. It was touch-and-go for North Carolina and No. 13 NC State, which got all they could handle from hosts Appalachian State and East Carolina. The Tar Heels gave up 40 points in the fourth quarter to the Mountaineers before hanging on 63-61, while the Wolfpack needed a missed extra point to lift them past the Pirates 21-20. Virginia Tech wasn’t so lucky, losing at Old Dominion in Brent Pry’s debut as Hokies coach.
Quarterback play powers SEC to perfection. The SEC rolled to a perfect 13-0 through Saturday’s play, thanks partly to some stellar quarterback play throughout the league. Bryce Young scored a career-high six touchdowns in top-ranked Alabama’s 55-0 shutout of Utah State, while Anthony Richardson had three touchdowns to push Florida past No. 7 Utah 29-26. KJ Jefferson had four touchdowns as Arkansas held off No. 23 Cincinnati 31-24.
Vintage USC in Riley’s debut. One of the most anticipated debuts in college football went off without a hitch as USC’s offense looked as dominant as it has in decades in the debut of new coach Lincoln Riley and transfer quarterback Caleb Williams. The 14th-ranked Trojans amassed 538 yards of offense, and the defense forced four turnovers in a romp over Rice, giving Riley, who left Oklahoma in the offseason, his first win at his new school.
Billy-ball makes a successful debut at Florida. It didn’t take long for new Florida coach Billy Napier to make his presence known in Gainesville as the Gators pulled off the biggest upset of the weekend by knocking off No. 7 Utah in the Swamp. Expectations were already high for Napier, a former Nick Saban assistant. Still, nobody outside of Gainesville gave the Gators much of a chance against the Utes, who were the defending Pac-12 champs.
Iowa continues to win ugly. It might not have been the prettiest win of Kirk Ferentz’s coaching career, but Iowa’s 7-3 victory over South Dakota State was quintessentially Hawkeyes football. The two teams combined for 286 yards of total offense and averaged 1.3 yards per carry on the ground, with Iowa scoring seven points on a field goal and two safeties.
It’s going to be an interesting season in Happy Valley. Penn State fans should stock up on plenty of antacids after watching Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford’s performance in the team’s road win over Purdue on Thursday. Clifford made up for throwing a 72-yard pick six midway through the fourth quarter by leading Penn State on an 8-play, 80-yard game-winning touchdown drive with 57 seconds left to secure a 35-31 comeback victory.
The Backyard Brawl should be a regular occurrence. If Thursday’s game between No. 17 Pitt and West Virginia proved anything, it was the fact that this long-standing rivalry series should again be an annual tradition. The two programs hadn’t met in more than a decade, but that didn’t temper excitement between the schools as Pitt’s M.J. Devonshire picked off West Virginia QB J.T. Daniels and returned it 56 yards for a game-winning touchdown.