Game of the Week: On Sunday night in Las Vegas, the #23 USC Trojans played against the #13 LSU Tigers. Both of these teams made drastic changes at the quarterback position this offseason. For USC, they lost superstar quarterback Caleb Williams to the NFL draft, and for LSU they lost Heisman trophy winner, Jayden Daniels to the NFL. This game flew under the radar this week as bigger teams played, but all those games didn’t come down to the wire like this one did. The game started slow as the opening possession was a turnover on downs for the LSU Tigers. Then the next two possessions ended in punts. Then, the second quarter was a completely different game. LSU and USC then proceeded to both bury field goals and punch in a touchdown. At halftime, the game was tied 10-10 and both teams were heading in there with momentum. To start the third quarter, USC drove down the field and their kicker Michael Lantz, buried a 35-yard kick to increase the lead to 13-10. Following the field goal, LSU’s quarterback Garrett Nussmeier lead the Tigers down the field for a touchdown to take their first lead in the game. LSU was heading into the 4th quarter with momentum, but USC was hoping to quickly end that. Miller Moss, USC’s quarterback led the Trojans down the field and threw for a 28-yard touchdown. That gave USC the lead back and increased the lead to 20-17. LSU then responded with a field goal of their own and tied things back up 20-20. USC had the ball in the final possession and was hoping to close out the game and send LSU back to the Bayou. With 8 seconds remaining in the game, Woody Marks rushed powerfully through the Tiger’s defense and marched in to win the game and send LSU home 0-1. After the game, USC’s head coach was fired up and now firmly believes USC can make some noise in the Big 10.
Other games: “Week 1” of college football started at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. As #14 Clemson played #1 Georgia in a neutral site. The Georgia Bulldogs are heading into the 2024-2025 as the consensus #1 team in the country. Last year, they lost in the SEC Championship. They were excluded from the “College Football Playoffs”, but the Bulldogs dominated Florida State in the Orange Bowl after a 63-3, and following that the Bulldogs started this season as the #1 ranked team. On the other hand, the Clemson Tigers start the year #14. Last season, Clemson finished the year 9-4 and ended the season with a 5-game winning streak. Junior quarterback, Cade Klubnik, is looking to put a campaign together for a potential “Heisman” trophy and a win against Georgia would surely put him in the conversation for a potential Heisman. This game started very slow as the first five possessions of the game resulted in punts. At the end of the first quarter, the game was tied 0-0. However, Georgia finally put a drive together early on in the second quarter, and then Georgia’s kicker Peyton Woodring buried a field goal to increase the lead to 3-0. Peyton Woodring then buried another 55-yard kick to increase the lead to 6-0 at halftime. Heading into the half, Georgia and Clemson fans were disappointed by how poorly their team had played. The third quarter started well for Georgia as their opening possession was capped off by Carson Beck throwing a 7-yard touchdown pass to Colbie Young. The Bulldogs increased their lead to 13-0 as Clemson fans were now worried about a potential blowout. Then, Clemson had their hopes brightened after Cade Klubnik led the Tigers down the field for a field goal. The Bulldog’s lead was cut down to 10 after that field goal. Now, the Bulldogs lead 13-3. No matter how well the Tigers played on that one drive, the game was always out of reach. Georgia in the second half proved why they are ranked #1 after they went on a 28-3 run to end the game. Georgia closed out the game 34-3 and proved why they are ranked #1 in the country. 
On Saturday night, the Texas A&M Aggies hosted the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a big game. Kyle’s Field, the home of the Aggies, was packed for their season opener against the Irish. The winner of this game would have a huge momentum swing for the remainder of the season. To start the season, Notre Dame was ranked #7 and was led by transfer quarterback Riley Leonard. Leonard was the quarterback at Duke last season and led the Blue Devils to a 9-4 record, even though Riley was injured for most of the season. Over the offseason, Riley decided to take his talents to Notre Dame in hopes of contending for a national championship. On the other hand, Texas A&M entered the game #20 and was hoping to make some noise at home and beat the Irish. Texas A&M had a questionable offseason after they fired their head coach and hired a new head coach in Mike Elko. Elko wanted to make noise early and prove why they had a chance at contending for the SEC. The stadium was packed, the crowd was loud, and the teams were fired up. College Football was back in Texas. The game was sloppy in the first half after both teams only managed to score 6 points and were tied at the half. However, the second half was different. Riley Leonard went out firing and led Notre Dame down to the 47-yard line. After that, it was the big running back Jadarian Price who ran for a 47-yard touchdown. After that Notre Dame touchdown, the crowd fell silent. Texas A&M believed that their hopes were crushed. But, this is college football and in college football, no hope is lost. Early on in the 4th quarter Texas A&M striked a touchdown of their own to tie things back up at 13-13. The crowd was alive once again and were yelling and cheering for the Aggies. Then disaster struck, the Aggie’s defense gave up 10 straight points to fall behind 23-13, and that is what the score would stay for the remainder of the game. Notre Dame would win 23-13 and go home 1-0.
The 2024-2025 season started for the Ohio State Buckeyes at home where they faced the Akron Zips. Ohio State came into the game as 50-point favorites to win the game. The Buckeyes did not disappoint. The Buckeyes head into this season ranked #2 in the country and many sources have them #1. However, Ohio State had an incredible offseason. They gained key players such as Will Howard, Caleb Downs, Jeremiah Smith, and Quinshon Judkins. Ohio State proved their dominance in this game winning 52-6. This game was really never close and really just showed how dominant this team truly is. During the game, most eyes were focused on the freshman sensation, Jeremiah Smith. Smith showed that he is the next great Ohio State wide receiver after his week 1 performance. He had 6 catches,92 yards,and 2 touchdowns to cap off the week. The Buckeyes just truly proved their dominance this week. There was also another big team who played last weekend. The reigning national champions, Michigan Wolverines faced Fresno State at home this past week. The majority of the college football world was wondering how this season would go for the Wolverines following the departure of head coach Jim Harbaugh, and key players such as JJ McCarthy, Blake Corum, and Roman Wilson. The Wolverines started their season at home vs Fresno State and the Wolverines were favorites to win this game by a large margin. However, this game was closer than expected. At halftime, the Wolverines were only up by 7 and led 10-3. Michigan opened up the half by burying 2 field goals, but Fresno State went down and scored a touchdown of their own. The score now was Michigan leading 16-10. In the next possession, Colston Loveland caught a touchdown pass from Davis Warren to increase the score to 23-10. Fresno State then drove down the field and Michigan’s star cornerback, Will Johnson intercepted the Fresno State quarterback and took it to the house for a touchdown. That Michigan score ended the game and the Wolverines won 30-10.
So, “Week 1” is in the books and it did not disappoint. The week it had featured upsets, blowouts, and everything in between. That wraps up College Football Recap: Week 1.
