College football catchup: Miami can run ACC, top freshmen performers, 1-handed catches, and more

Welcome to the beginning of a new era of college football. 12 teams are in the playoff! The Pac-12 is now the Pac-2! Stanford and Cal are somehow in the Atlantic Coast Conference, but UCLA and USC are in the Big 10!

Let’s go over everything that happened in Week 1 of the 2024 college football season.

The Big Deal: A Tale of two Florida bluebloods

Week 1 saw a lot of the top teams (outside of the Georgia death machine and Texas) look really sleepy. Ohio State won 52-6, but it had to overcome a slow start. Oregon was pushed to the brink by Idaho, and other top teams played opponents who weren’t good enough to get a good look at what they’ll be this season. However, a team that really put their stamp on the early portion of the CFB season was the Miami Hurricanes.

Entering a season that saw them spend big in the transfer portal, Miami walked right into Gainesville and beat the Gators over the head with a shovel. In a 41-17 win that didn’t even feel close, the Hurricanes dominated both lines of scrimmage and pushed around the Gators offensively. There wasn’t anything Miami couldn’t do, finishing with 147 rushing yards and 385 passing yards from transfer QB Cam Ward, who had approximately seven years to throw the ball in the pocket. After years of tinkering and toiling, Hurricanes’ head coach Mario Cristobal finally has an offensive line that can dominate in the ACC. Miami is big, physical and fast up front, and swallowed up a Gator team that didn’t stand a chance in hell from the moment the game kicked off.

With Miami looking like this, it’s fair to ask if this is their year to win the ACC. Looking around the conference, a lot of the top teams slipped up early and have major flaws. Florida State couldn’t get out of their own way in a loss to Georgia Tech and couldn’t defend the run to save their lives. Clemson is going through a midlife crisis, wanting a team that’s shaped in head coach Dabo Swinney’s image but it’s time to ask whether that photo has gone out of style or not. The Tigers were outclassed by Georgia, and simply looked like the less athletic team on the field. It’s a steep fall from grace for the Tigers, who look nothing like the budding dynasty we saw five years ago.

A trendy pick to win the ACC (including by yours truly) Virginia Tech lost to (checks notes) Vanderbilt while giving up (checks notes again, squints) 294 total yards of offense to new Vandy QB Diego Pavia, who looked like the second coming of Johnny Football against the Hokies. Tech might not be ready for the limelight yet, which clears up the road to Charlotte for the Canes. Combine that with not having to play Clemson or Notre Dame this season and Miami not only has eyes for the ACC, but for a top spot in the 12 team playoff. With a QB who can make every throw in Ward (when he’s playing composed) and some beef up front on both lines, Cristobal and the Canes might be onto something in Coral Gables.

Now let’s flip this riverside. Florida … we gotta talk. Head coach Billy Napier was given a vote of confidence and preached patience to Gator fans after he was hired in 2021, but at some point the proof of concept has to show. Florida was once again pushed around by a team that they’re supposed to be in the same weight class in and didn’t stand a chance on Saturday. The most frustrating thing about the Gators is that they can’t stop beating themselves. Two stupid roughing the passer penalties, having to burn timeouts to line up properly for kickoff…out of a TV timeout, busted coverages. These are the traits of a poorly coached team, and the Gators have had these issues from the moment Napier stepped on campus. Florida ran for five yards a carry on Saturday, but it didn’t matter because the game was out of hand, and 71 of their 139 yards came on one play. Even if you didn’t think Florida would win, this is a brutal way to open the season, but hey it can’t get worse, can it?

Yuck.

What stood out to me: The kids are alright

What are they feeding children these days, and why didn’t I get any of it? A few highly touted freshmen immediately made their college football debuts in style, setting up for at least three years of exciting play.

Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola was the first true freshman to start at QB for the Huskers since 2018, and the highly-touted prospect didn’t disappoint, throwing for 238 yards and two touchdowns en route to being named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week. What stood out the most watching Raiola was how composed he was in the pocket. Yes, it was UTEP, but for a freshman he looked mighty comfortable back there. The natural arm talent stood out too, this ball got dropped out of the sky and into the hands of Isaiah Neyor for a TD.

I’m excited to see Raiola play against tougher competition, where the speed of the game will be a lot faster, because the kid is mighty talented.

Elsewhere in the Big Ten, the Buckeyes’ best receiver might be a freshman. Top overall recruit Jeremiah Smith put on a show, catching two TDs and physically dominating for Ohio State. I don’t think people understand how big Smith is for a freshman receiver. He’s all of 6’3 and 215 pounds. I hate doing the NFL comparisons, but physically he looks a lot like Julio Jones. Just these big, strong, fast athletes who can both tilt the field vertically and make the difficult movements look easy. Look how quickly he gains ground on this corner in off coverage and blasts past him for a TD. It might not be long before we talk about Smith as the best receiver in the country.

I also thought Auburn’s Cam Coleman and Alabama’s Ryan Williams stood out as well. The freshmen group of receivers are a dynamic group, potentially all of them could be gamebreakers.

NFL Draft Spotlight: Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State

For most players, six rushing touchdowns is a real solid season. Something to build upon, but people know your name for sure. Add in 267 rushing yards and maybe the guy was a backup who got some run at the goal line and made the most of his chances.

Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty did that in one game. On 20 carries. Jeanty entered the year as my RB1, and certainly cemented his place emphatically at the top on Sunday. A tidy 13.4 yards per carry and you’re looking at a once in a lifetime performance for a running back. Let’s take a look at Jeanty’s game and how he translates to the NFL.

Jeanty is a tackle breaking machine. He has a compact build at a listed 5’9, 215 pounds and his low center of gravity makes him extremely difficult to get on the ground. He has a variety of jump cuts in his bag, but his most powerful move is simply stiff arming a poor DB. Against Georgia Southern, Jeanty forced a combined NINE forced missed tackles and broken tackles, leaving confused DBs with a facemask full of turf. His creativity when it comes to tackle breaking is just absurd.

It’s going to take more than an arm tackle to take down Jeanty, who has such an impressive ability to think quickly and react. This split zone gets washed out to the front side, so Jeanty simply cuts it back, and then the And1 mixtape starts.

Jeanty didn’t get the chance to show off his receiving chops, but he’s a more than capable receiver. I want to see him continue to improve holding onto the ball (lost four fumbles in 2023) and his vision improve in shotgun run situations, but if you want a guy who will turn every play into a big play, look no further.

Jeanty is a workhorse (pun intended) for Boise State, and is the best of the backs in the 2025 draft class. Will this lead to more RBs being taken in the first round? I’m not sure, but I know I want a guy who runs like Jeanty in my backfield.

Last Call: One handed catches

I mean, what even is this?

How do I explain this to my eventual children?

One-handed catches have just become normal these days. Everyone just wakes up and can make a catch that was once believed to be witchcraft. Again, going back to my question: what is going in our children’s food these days, and where can I get some? Because I want to be able to do that. Imagine knowing you can catch passes by just putting out one hand, I’d try and one handed catch everything. Girlfriend tosses me something? One handed catch. Someone drops something in the store? Don’t need two hands for those. It’s come to the point where it’s just normal to see something like that, which I think is an awesome development in the world of football.