CFB Wrap-Up: Takeaways from Week 1's biggest games

College Football Wrap-Up recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines their significance moving forward.

New faces, same old Georgia

There are few constants in life, but Georgia being an utterly dominant college football program is certainly one of them. The Bulldogs kicked off the campaign with their 40th straight regular-season victory, embarrassing Clemson 34-3 in Atlanta. All the staples of a Georgia team under Kirby Smart were on full display from the opening kick.

• Smothering defense: Clemson totaled just 188 yards of offense
• Balanced offense: 278 yards passing, 169 yards rushing

Smart once again showed his ability to reload after heavy roster turnover, with the Bulldogs replacing Brock Bowers, Ladd McConkey, and their top two rushers from last season. The top two running backs on the depth chart also missed out Saturday, creating an opportunity for freshman Nate Frazier to star - and that's exactly what the 5-foot-10, 210-pounder did. Frazier rushed 11 times for 83 yards and a score and added 24 receiving yards. London Humphreys and Arian Smith combined for seven catches and 119 yards. Frazier, Humphreys, and Smith certainly aren't the first three names one would expect to carry Georgia's attack, but with 233 yards of total offense, that's precisely what happened.

It's important to remember that Smart and Georgia haven't lost to a team coached by someone other than Nick Saban since 2021. With Saban now hugging a topless Pat McAfee on College GameDay instead of stalking the Alabama sideline, don't be shocked if Georgia runs through the 2024 slate and reclaims the title.

Clemson's slide continues

Last year, Clemson went into Duke to begin the season and suffered a shocking 28-7 upset loss. The Tigers were able to move the ball but failed to capitalize, leaving Dabo Swinney to say the following after the contest:

"That's the weirdest game I've ever been a part of," Swinney said. "I've been beat. I've had my butt kicked. But that's the strangest game I've ever been a part of."

The 2024 season saw a much stiffer test in the form of No. 1 Georgia, and we'll let Swinney's comments tell you how the contest broke for the ACC program:

A butt-kicking, indeed. Clemson failed to crack the 200-yard mark against Georgia's dominant defense, looking nothing like the perennial national title contender it used to be under Swinney. Simply put, the talent gap between the two teams is large and getting wider by the year.

Swinney once again ignored the transfer portal when constructing his roster in the offseason. No transfer has started a game for the program since 2018, making Clemson the only school not a service academy to operate in that fashion. While Swinney used to be able to rely on elite high school recruiting to stay atop the sport, that is no longer the case, and Saturday proved it once again. On the other side, Georgia is very active in the portal on a yearly basis, with two transfer receivers scoring touchdowns Saturday.

The Tigers still have plenty of talent compared to most programs in the country, but Clemson shouldn't be content with just being one of the top programs in the ACC. Swinney set the standard of competing for national titles in the late 2010s and failed to live up to that over the last few years. It doesn't appear that will change in 2024.

Miami looks incredible

Mario Cristobal's reputation as an elite recruiter might be at an all-time high after Cameron Ward's performance in the Swamp. Cristobal convinced the former Washington State quarterback to pull out of the NFL draft and join Miami for his final collegiate season. It looks like a brilliant decision for both parties after Week 1.

Ward was electric against the Gators, throwing for 385 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-17 blowout. The numbers are impressive enough, but the highlights really hammer home how good Ward was in his Miami debut.

However, it wasn't just Ward who impressed, as the defense was dominant from start to finish in Gainesville. Despite a 71-yard touchdown run, the Gators were held to under 200 yards of total offense on the day.

Barring a drastic change, the Hurricanes will now be favored in every game for the remainder of the season. The home date with Florida State later in the calendar doesn't look nearly as difficult following the Seminoles' shocking loss last week to Georgia Tech. Miami will simply need to avoid the stunning loss out of nowhere that has plagued the program under Cristobal. Having Ward and a dominant defense looks like a pretty effective way to make sure that won't happen.

Napier can probably start packing up his office

Let's review how Saturday went for Florida. The program got pounded 41-17 by an in-state rival. The 41 points are the most Florida's ever allowed in an opening-week game. It was the program's first loss in a home opener since 1989, and former coach Dan Mullen took to social media to chime in.

Billy Napier's make-or-break season began in the worst way possible for a Florida team that has one of the most difficult schedules in college football history. Not only did the Gators lose, but they looked overmatched in every facet of the game. Graham Mertz struggled to get anything going in the passing game before exiting with a concussion. Highly touted quarterback DJ Lagway - whose commitment to Florida is likely single-handedly keeping Napier employed - entered for his first action in college, but even he struggled with an interception.

After Samford next week, the Gators' schedule kicks into hyperdrive the rest of the way with dates against Texas A&M, UCF, Tennessee, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, and Texas highlighting the slate. It feels more than ever like it's not a case of if, but when Napier is relieved of his duties.

Notre Dame immediately sets up playoff run

The calendar is just about to flip to September, but Notre Dame made a massive statement Saturday that it'll be involved come playoff time. Texas heat and humidity, a supercharged Aggies defensive line, and over 100,000 screaming Texas A&M fans presented a daunting test, but the No. 7 Fighting Irish pulled off a huge road win with supreme execution down the stretch.

One of the biggest offseason transfer acquisitions in college football was quarterback Riley Leonard joining Notre Dame from Duke, and the talented senior showed why in the late stages. Leonard drove the Irish 85 yards in under five minutes before Jeremiyah Love scampered in from 20 yards out for the game-winning score with two minutes to play.

Marcus Freeman's defense is once again stout, but it's Leonard that might give Notre Dame the edge. He showed his dual-threat capabilities on the clinching drive, rushing for 20 yards and throwing for 29 before Love found paydirt. The Irish will now likely be favored in every game for the rest of their schedule and should comfortably secure a spot in the 12-team playoff.

Kotelnicki has the launch codes

Through 60 minutes of Penn State football, it's clear Andy Kotelnicki has the Drew Allar launch codes and isn't afraid to use them. Allar had a solid but unspectacular debut season last year, averaging 6.7 yards per pass attempt to rank 93rd nationally. In Kotelnicki's first game as Nittany Lions offensive coordinator, Allar almost doubled that number, averaging 12.7 yards per pass to finish with 216 and three touchdown tosses in a 34-12 win over West Virginia.

Penn State paid Kotelnicki almost $8 million over four years to leave Kansas, money that appears to be very well spent at the earliest possible marker. He's already unlocked a version of Allar we rarely saw in 2023, one that will have him flying off the draft board early should he repeat it throughout the year. The win should also have Penn State firmly in the absurdly early playoff chatter, with the Nittany Lions clearly looking like a top-five team in the country.

No Ferentz, all fun for Iowa

Think back to your grade school years for a moment and remember how much fun it was when a substitute filled in for your regular teacher. One could easily get away with things the regular teacher never would have allowed because the substitute didn't know any better. In Iowa football terms, that would mean throwing touchdown passes when it usually seems to be forbidden. That was on full display during Iowa's season opener, with Kirk Ferentz missing his first game in 26 years as head coach due to suspension.

With Kirk out - and son Brian Ferentz no longer with the program after being fired as offensive coordinator last year - the sideline was Ferentz-free in Iowa City. Safe to say the Hawkeyes' offense felt liberated, piling up an astonishing 40 points in a blowout of Illinois State. It was an impressive debut for new offensive coordinator Tim Lester, helping lead the offense to one of its best showings in the last five years.

Yes, the competition was FCS Illinois State, but that hasn't mattered in previous years. The Hawkeyes barely sneaked by South Dakota State in 2022 by a 7-3 margin with Ferentz on the sideline. He'll be back for next week's rivalry game against Iowa State; whether the explosive offense we saw Saturday also returns will be something worth watching.

Freshman receivers ain't scared

It used to take freshmen multiple games, sometimes even a season, before contributing regularly in college. It also used to be acceptable to smoke on an airplane. We figured out the latter was a bad idea long ago, and Saturday proved the latest reminder that the former is also a thing of the past. The star freshmen receivers from the 2024 class hit the ground running in Week 1 and showed immediately that they're ready to dominate like they did in high school.

Ohio State's five-star standout Jeremiah Smith got things going early with a blistering performance against Akron, leading the team with six catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns. Then it was No. 1 overall receiver Ryan Williams shining for Alabama. Williams, who was born in 2007 and reclassified from the 2025 class, lit up Western Kentucky with touchdown catches of 84 and 55 yards in the opening half. Ryan Wingo of Texas had four grabs for 77 yards, and the Auburn pair of Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson combined for 144 yards and two scores.