Week one and two of the 2024 college football season have concluded, and although fans were not anticipating any upsets, they would be pleasantly or unpleasantly surprised.
The first game of the season kicked off in Aviva Stadium located in Dublin, Ireland between No. 10 Florida State and unranked Georgia Tech. This was supposed to be the redemption game that Florida State needed after controversially missing out on the College Football Playoff a little less than eight months ago, but Georgia Tech was ready to play spoiler with quarterback Haynes King under center.
Florida State started hot, scoring on their opening drive thanks to a 28-yard touchdown by redshirt senior running back Lawrence Toafili. Georgia Tech would answer quickly by scoring on their first drive as well. Right before halftime, Florida State kicker Ryan Fitzgerald nailed a career-long 59-yard field goal to tie the Yellow Jackets with a score of 14-14.
Georgia Tech came out in the second half committed to stopping the pass, as they shut out the Seminoles in the third quarter. Late into the fourth quarter, the Seminoles tied the game with a touchdown run by Roydell Williams. the game came down to the last play to decide the winner. With only seconds to go, Georgia Tech kicker Aidan Birr sealed the deal with a 44-yard field goal, winning 24-21.
Kirby Smart and No. 1 Georgia picked up right where they left off last season, defeating No. 14 Clemson 34-3. What was a competitive game in the first half quickly got out of hand for Dabo Swinney’s Tigers, as they allowed five touchdowns in the second half.
New SEC teams No. 3 Texas and No. 16 Oklahoma rolled, outscoring their opponents collectively 103-3.
After revamping their offensive line, the Colorado Buffaloes won their season opener 31-26. With Heisman hopefuls Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter returning, there will be a lot of points put up this year for the Buffaloes. Sanders threw four touchdowns, with three of those going to Hunter.
To cap off the first week of football, the No. 23 USC Trojans faced off against the No. 13 LSU Tigers. Without former Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, USC came in with high hopes and were ready for a new start. LSU, without their former quarterback Jayden Daniels, also a Heisman winner, was ready to prove Vegas right, as they were a 4.5-point favorite.
With both teams scoring ten points in the second quarter, the game was tied 10-10 at halftime. Late into the third quarter, LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier threw his second touchdown of the game, giving the Tigers a 17-13 lead going into the fourth quarter. USC scored a touchdown mid-way through the fourth quarter, taking the lead 20-17.
With one minute left in the fourth quarter, LSU kicker Damion Ramos kicked the game-tying field goal. The celebration was short lived, as USC scored a touchdown with eight seconds left in the game, going home with a win in week one.
“I was in shock, had such high expectations going in and was disappointed,” said Andrew Gardner, a junior marketing major and LSU football fan. “Losing the first game of the season for the fifth straight time was not a good feeling.”
ESPN’s college gameday crew took a trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan in week two, where No. 3 Texas would take on the defending champions, No. 10 Michigan. New head coach Sherrone Moore is looking to prove that Michigan is still a top team in college football.
This game went from bad to worse for the Wolverines, as they fell into a 24-3 hole going into halftime. With little room for error in the second half, Michigan kicked a field goal midway through the third quarter, trying to inch their way back into the game. However, Texas QB Quinn Ewers threw his third touchdown of the game late in the third quarter, and that would be all she wrote for the Wolverines, as they would lose 31-12.
“Texas beating Michigan at the Big House in a blowout was a very impressive win,” said Tyler Gardner, a senior finance major. “As a Georgia fan, Texas seems like their biggest threat to win a national championship.”
No. 8 Penn State, No. 15 Oklahoma and No. 16 Oklahoma State all won their games by very close margins.
Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty ran for 257 yards and six touchdowns in week two. He followed that up by rushing for 192 yards and three touchdowns against No. 7 Oregon. Averaging 10.2 yards per carry and over 200 yards per game, Jeanty has entered that elite category of Heisman candidates.
Coming off one of the biggest wins in school history, No. 23 Georgia Tech dropped their game to unranked Syracuse 31-28.
The game of the week came from South Bend, Indiana, where No. 5 Notre Dame would take on Northern Illinois. Notre Dame was fighting for their lives in an extremely unexpected game facing a team who was picked to lose by 28 points.
Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard opened the scoring early into the first quarter with an 11-yard touchdown run. Northern Illinois fired back with an 83-yard touchdown reception by Ethan Hampton. Going into the third quarter, Northern Illinois had a surprising 13-7 lead. Both teams had trouble on offense, and Notre Dame had a 14-13 lead late into the fourth quarter. With just seconds to go, Northern Illinois made a 35-yard field goal to take the lead 16-14. Notre Dame could not score, and they would lose at home.
