Three And Out, Week 1: Is Lincoln Riley Real, Dabo Done And Notre Dame's Big Game | Sallee

College football provided a nice appetizer in Week Zero as three of the four games involving FBS teams ended as one-score games. That was headlined, of course, by Georgia Tech’s thrilling, 24-21 walk-off win over previously No. 10 Florida State in Dublin, Ireland.

Now it’s time to feast.

The first full week of the college football season will kickoff on Thursday afternoon and provide a five-day marathon that will conclude Monday night when those same Seminoles square off against Boston College on Labor Day night. That marathon will be headlined by three incredible out-of-conference games: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 14 Clemson in Atlanta, No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 20 Texas A&M and No. 23 USC vs. No. 13 LSU in Las Vegas.

It’s time to take a look at the best-of-the-best of what’s to come on opening weekend in the weekly edition of "Three and Out."

Is Lincoln Riley a Fraud?

It’s "put up or shut up" time for USC’s third-year coach, as Riley will look to rebound off a disappointing 8-5 season that saw the Trojans ascend all of the way to the No. 5 ranking in the nation before losing five of their last six regular season games. What happened? The lack of attention paid to basic defensive fundamentals caught up with Riley and the offense simply couldn’t keep up.

Lincoln Riley. (Credit: Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports)

Fast-forward to this season and Riley has a new defensive coordinator in D’Anton Lynn, who has a big-time challenge against the Tigers in Week 1. Sure, LSU lost quarterback and 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels, but veteran Garrett Nussmeier’s upside is immense, which is a big reason why NFL scouts are already high on him. Nussmeier will have the best offensive line in the country in front of him, a wide receiving corps that is still very solid led by Kyren Lacy and a very deep running back group.

Will Riley’s defensive changes take hold? Or will this new-look Tigers’ offense light up the Trojans as so many other things have done in the past?

If it’s the latter, it’ll be even more apparent that it’s a "Riley problem" in Los Angeles, and the philosophical change that was expected than nothing more than a mirage.

Is This The Beginning of the End for Dabo Swinney?

Swinney built Clemson into a 900-pound gorilla in the 2010s, but things have changed as Swinney has failed to embrace NIL and transfer portal as much as other coaches. What’s more, his happy, go-lucky persona gave way to frustration with the new look of the sport that goes against most of what he praised about the sport.

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 30: Head coach Dabo Swinney (R) of the Clemson Tigers talks with Cade Klubnik #2 after a play against the Tennessee Volunteers at the end of the first half of the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2022 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)

That became even more apparent this week after Swinney banned callers from his coaches show after last year’s "Tyler from Spartanburg" dust-up.

Look, let’s not kid ourselves. It’s unlikely that the 13.5-point underdogs will spring the upset over the Bulldogs. It’s more about vanity. Will the offense look more explosive in quarterback Cade Klubnik’s second full season as the starter? Will the offensive line live up to the hype? Will the new-look defense be able to rattle Bulldogs’ quarterback Carson Beck?

All three are very legitimate questions, and a close game vs. the Bulldogs will go a long way toward calming the fears of Tiger Nation. If the Tigers get blown out, the pitchforks will follow the busses for the entire two-hour drive up I-85 back to campus.

The Biggest Notre Dame Game of the Year

College football is the greatest sport in the world, and this weekend’s game between the Fighting Irish and Aggies in College Station is a perfect example of its power. If Notre Dame — which is somehow a three-point underdog — springs the upset, could cruise to the College Football Playoff.

How?

The toughest game remaining on its schedule would be a home game vs. Florida State or a road trip to upstart Georgia Tech. Even if they lose both of those games, it’s almost impossible to imagine that a 10-2 Notre Dame would be left out of the College Football Playoff regardless of what the outside landscape looks like. What else scares you? The home game vs. Louisville? Nah. The road trip to USC? Hard pass.

07 JAN 2013:  Cierre Wood (20) of the University of Notre Dame rushes up field against the University of Alabama during the Discover BCS National Championship game held at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL.  Alabama defeated Notre Dame 42-14 for the national title.  Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

Is an upset possible, though? I’ll go a step further and say that it’s probably.

When healthy, quarterback Riley Leonard is one of the best signal-callers in the country. The Duke transfer has a loaded wide receiving corps and a veteran defensive line that can rotate players at an elite level. Plus, it’s much easier to trust third-year Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman over first-year Aggies’ coach Mike Elko.

Will it be close? Probably. If the Fighting Irish prevail, they’ll have a clear path to the CFP.