What We Learned About College Football in Week One

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The Fall of the House of Dabo

Dabo Swinney will one day enter the Hall of Fame for his work at Clemson. However, it appears the best of the Swinney Era at Clemson is firmly in the rearview mirror. Clemson’s fall from one time national champion and perennial contender continued in week one, as the Tigers were humiliated 51-10 by LSU.

Swinney spent several years refusing to accept players from the transfer portal, putting the program at a major competitive disadvantage. While everyone else in the nation was able to bolster their rosters at key positions, Clemson had to face the hard reality of every recruiting whiff or injury cluster. Furthermore, Swinney typically opted to promote from within, losing out on anyone who could bring some much needed fresh ideas and outside perspective.

It’s been made clear that Clemson is no longer a national title contender. The days of them at least contending for an ACC Championship may be over as well.

Michigan Mess

The controversy over the final seconds of the Michigan-Western Michigan game has been well-documented. So let’s talk about the first 59:59 of that game. The result was not a fluke, or Michigan catching some unlucky breaks. Western Michigan was simply the better team.

Michigan’s offense was a complete mess outside the first scripted drive and the controversial Hail Mary that handed them an undeserved victory. The offensive line had a surprisingly poor performance, often failing to open running lanes and consistently struggling against a MAC defensive front. They also have serious questions if Bryce Underwood is the answer at quarterback. The former #1 overall recruit has shown little development, and his first game as a sophomore proved he has a long ways to go. Underwood consistently failed to see the field, often missing open receivers and misfiring on throws that were too late to the receiver. The defense also lacked physicality, allowing several long drives by the Broncos where they just could not get a third down stop to get them off the field. At least the defense had the excuse of being on the field most of the evening, while the offense just failed to produce in any meaningful way.

Maybe Kyle Whittingham is able to provide some quick fixes. Otherwise, the Wolverines could be in for a long season, especially with a showdown against Oklahoma looming on Saturday.

Pitt’s Air Raid

It’s hard to put a better season opener together than what quarterback Mason Heintschel did against Miami(OH) on Saturday. The sophomore racked up 453 passing yards and seven touchdowns on 31-of-41 passing without throwing an interception. Sure, Miami probably does not have a standout passing defense, but it will be interesting to see what Heintschel can do as the schedule grows more difficult. With a potent passing attack, Pitt could make some noise in the ACC this year.

USC Pitches a Shutout

There were four Big Ten teams who shutout opponents in week one – Penn State, Iowa, Maryland, and USC. Iowa and Penn State shouldn’t shock anyone considering the level of defenses they have put together over the years. Maryland managed to keep Hampton off the board, but USC shutting out Fresno State? Now that qualifies as a shocker. The Trojans defense has come a long ways over the last several seasons. They may have lost D’Anton Lynn, but made a smart hire to bring in former TCU head coach Gary Patterson to lead the defense. After years of bringing in better talent and a more physical mindset, Lincoln Riley may finally have the pieces in place to compete in the Big Ten.

Rutgers’ Rocky Start

You know who won’t be competing in the Big Ten this season? The Scarlet Knights. Rutgers lost quite a bit of production on both sides of the ball from last year’s squad that finished 5-7. They may not even sniff five wins if week one is an indication of what is to come.

Rutgers was simply outplayed for four quarters against UMASS. Yes, the same UMASS program that finished 0-12 in 2025. In fact, the win snapped a 16-game losing streak for the Minutemen that dated back to October 2024. The season opener was supposed to be a celebration of Greg Schiano’s 100th victory at Rutgers – instead, they are trying to pick up the pieces and figure out where to go from here.

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