The first week of the college football season has wrapped up, complete with last-second stops, game-winning field goals, power outages, and a controversial Hail Mary finish.
Here is a recap of all the chaos from Week 1:
Auburn 17, Baylor 16
This ended up being the game of the weekend, coming down to the final play. Both teams moved the ball effectively, but drives were repeatedly derailed by penalties and turnovers. Sometimes, however, all it takes is one play to change the outcome of a game.
With 3:12 left in the fourth quarter, Baylor drove down the field and scored a touchdown. Down by a point, head coach Dave Aranda elected to go for two to secure the win. Bears quarterback DJ Lagway connected with receiver Gavin Freeman near the end zone on a 5-yard pass, but Freeman was stopped at the 1-foot line by Auburn safety Eric Winters to seal the victory for the Tigers.
- Up Next: Auburn hosts Florida in two weeks on the Plains.
Ole Miss 41, Louisville 38
Offenses were humming for both teams in Nashville on Sunday night. Ole Miss compiled 488 yards of total offense, while Louisville posted 469 yards in a back-and-forth contest that felt like a boxing match.
Quarterbacks Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss) and Lincoln Kienholz (Louisville) both put up impressive numbers for their respective teams. However, special teams delivered the final blow as Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro drilled a 48-yard field goal as time expired.
- Up Next: The Rebels host Charlotte before a highly anticipated matchup against LSU on Sept. 19.
LSU 51, Clemson 10
In a game where the hype was as thick as the Southern humidity, the LSU Tigers made a loud statement Saturday night. LSU transfer quarterback Sam Leavitt put on a clinic, throwing for 230 yards and rushing for 113.
LSU controlled the game from start to finish. The defense was dominant, holding Clemson to just 145 total yards of offense, including only 40 yards on the ground. For head coach Lane Kiffin, this performance served notice to the SEC and the rest of the college football landscape. As for Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, it feels as though the sun may be setting on his tenure—perhaps not immediately, but soon.
Alabama 48, East Carolina 10
The Keelon Russell era in Tuscaloosa got off to a fast start as Alabama rolled past East Carolina, 48-10, on Saturday. Russell accounted for 335 total yards and a touchdown, displaying his skills both through the air and on the ground.
The Crimson Tide also rushed for 227 yards as a unit, addressing a key area of emphasis from last season.
- Up Next: Alabama travels to Lexington for an early SEC matchup against Kentucky.
SMU 27, Florida State 24
Kickoff was delayed nearly two hours due to a stadium power outage, but there was plenty of electricity on the field once play began. SMU star quarterback Kevin Jennings delivered a standout performance, throwing for 430 yards and three touchdowns.
For Florida State, it was another disappointing outing for Mike Norvell’s squad. The Seminoles’ defense had no answers for the Mustangs’ passing attack.
- Up Next: Florida State travels to Tuscaloosa next Saturday to face Alabama.
Michigan 13, Western Michigan 12
For a brief moment, it looked like Ann Arbor was about to witness a historic upset reminiscent of Appalachian State in 2007.
Trailing by five points with five seconds remaining in regulation, Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood scrambled downfield attempting to locate an open receiver before launching a pass into the end zone. The ball fell incomplete, seemingly ending the game. However, a discrepancy between the stadium play clock and the television clock prompted Big Ten officials to restore 0:01 to the game clock, granting Michigan one final play.
Michigan capitalized on the second chance to avoid the upset and secure a 1-0 start to the season.
The Aftermath of the Call
Regardless of whether the outcome was viewed as a officiating mistake or a legitimate Michigan victory, the handling of the game clock drew widespread criticism. On Wednesday, the Big Ten announced it is expanding replay review access for football broadcasts to address stadium clock synchronization—a policy previously utilized only by the ACC. It is unfortunate that it took a controversial ending of this magnitude to trigger the policy update, particularly for Western Michigan.
JDubb's Sideline Report 