Trey's College Football Takes: Georgia, Miami And Notre Dame Deliver, While Others Had Their Big Moments

PublishedSeptember 1, 2024 7:58 AM EDT|UpdatedSeptember 1, 2024 7:58 AM EDT

If you were looking forward to the monster Saturday in college football, there were enough clutch performances to make sure you came away happy, depending on who you cheer for. From Georgia demolishing Clemson, to Miami humbling Florida and Notre Dame coming up clutch in the fourth quarter to beat Texas A&M, we were treated to a fun day of football.

Even though it's week two, there were a number of teams that made a statement for this early season, and it started in Atlanta with the Georgia Bulldogs. The day ended with the Fighting Irish storming into College Station and snatching the win from the Aggies, and starting their run toward the playoffs.

Down in Gainesville, Florida, the Miami Hurricanes stepped off the bus with quarterback Cam Ward and stomped the Gators into the field turf, sending fans to the exit early in the fourth quarter. If there was a player who made an early, early, statement for the Heisman Trophy, it was certainly the Miami quarterback, who made the Gators secondary look like a JUCO squad.

Oh, and Nico Iamaleava looks like the real deal for Tennessee, as the Vols have found their next star quarterback.

Let Me Know What You Thought About The Weekend Of College Football, And Send Any Questions You Have My Way For the CFB Mailbag. We Are Headed To Lincoln, Nebraska, Next Week for the Colorado vs. Nebraska Game, So I'll Need Some Recommendations On Places to Visit. Email Me At Trey.Wallace@OutKick.Com

There were certainly moments of frustration. Just ask Michigan and Oregon, who both had to pull away in the fourth quarter to secure their wins. But if there was one team that was doubted all week long, but rose to the occasion in a massive way, that award would go to Penn State, who took care of West Virginia in front of a raucous crowd in Morgantown.

Simply put, there were a number of teams looking to come out of the gates firing, and some that struggled to get things going for four quarters. Either way, Saturday delivered for college football fans, even if that was during postgame radio shows, with one particular show in Tennessee delivering one of the wildest moments of the day.

Florida And Clemson Have Some Massive Problems, Infuriating Fans

There are two groups of fans that are now wondering what in the heck has gone wrong with their programs. If you've been paying attention to the mess at Clemson, it shouldn't come as a surprise that folks are starting to get weary of the Dabo Swinney shtick. After Georgia humiliated the Tigers in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon, Clemson fans are starting to seriously wonder if this is going to be it for Dabo Swinney, and his weird approach to the transfer portal.

As Dabo continued to defy the current state of college football by not dealing with the transfer portal, the play on the field continued to suffer. While the rest of the country has embraced the portal, Dabo continues to go about recruiting in his own way, and not feeling the need to look for help from veteran players has turned into a big problem. The Tigers looked outmatched in the second half, after putting together a nice first half on defense. But the truth is that while other coaches continue to evolve, Swinney continues to infuriate fans with his decisions, which was one reason why Clemson was destroyed by Georgia.

We have to wonder if this is the beginning of the end of the Dabo era. I'm not implying he's going to be fired if he doesn't contend for the ACC this season, but maybe the head coach decides to make a move. Who knows what will happen, but Clemson looked like a lost team in the second half. Time will tell.

Let Me Know What You Thought About The Weekend Of College Football, And Send Any Questions You Have My Way For the CFB Mailbag. We Are Headed To Lincoln, Nebraska Next Week for the Colorado vs. Nebraska Game, So I'll Need Some Recommendations On Places to Visit. Email Me At Trey.Wallace@OutKick.Com

As for Billy Napier, well, that's a whole different type of situation. From the minute Florida took the field on Saturday, it was easy to notice that this Gators team is still on the struggle-bus, and the roster is not on the same level as a team like Miami, who put together a talented group in the off-season. One game into the 2024 season, Florida looks like a team that is once again going to struggle, especially after the 41-17 thumping by the Hurricanes.

Who knows what the Florida administration is thinking, but the fans are already frustrated, which has been the common theme over the past few years. Struggling to contain Cam Ward, this defense is going to have problems for the rest of the 2024 season, even if they can find a way to score some points behind Graham Mertiz. Simply put, it could be a long month of September, and that's not even close to the hardest part of their schedule.

It Wasn’t Pretty, But Notre Dame Picked Up Huge Win At Texas A&M

One of the toughest games of the season for Notre Dame came down to the fourth quarter, and the Irish found a way to get out of College Station with the win. Quarterback Riley Leonard struggled for a good chunk of the night, but the Irish rushing attack took care of business for this Marcus Freeman led squad. It was a dogfight, tied 6-6 as both teams headed for the locker room at halftime, thanks to Texas A&M holding strong on defense.

And it should be noted that while the Aggies offense did not play great, they had chances to win, even though QB Connor Weigman struggled to throw for only 100 yards on the night. Tied 13-13 with 11:48 remaining in the game, a slugfest was in full-force before a crowd of over 108,000 crazy Texas A&M fans. But it was the Irish offensive line that proved to be the deciding factor, as Jeremiyah Love rushed for the 21-yard touchdown with 1:54 remaining in the game.

The Fighting Irish did everything they could to weather the storm, and at the end of the day it worked. Getting out of College Station with a win is no easy task, and now Notre Dame has a pretty good path to the playoff, with their toughest game on paper behind them.

Wrapping Up The Rest Of College Football Saturday

While it was tough sledding for Oregon and Michigan on Saturday, both teams found a way to win in the fourth quarter. Who knew that Idaho would present a challenge for the Ducks, while Fresno State gave the Wolverines everything they wanted and then some, until midway through the fourth quarter.

Congrats to Arch Manning on his first touchdown as a Texas Longhorn, with a bright future ahead. But don’t expect to see him much, unless the Longhorns are taking care of business, like today against Colorado State in the 52-0 win.

Did you see that Ole Miss beat Furman 76-0? Yea, not many others either, as the game was over ten minutes into the first quarter, but Jaxson Dart had himself a fantastic game.

But my ‘Team Of The Day’ goes to the Vanderbilt Commodores, who defeated Vriginia Tech in overtime on Saturday. A massive win for the Dores, who were up to 17-point underdogs before kickoff, but it was Vandy who got out to a seventeen point lead, before pulling off the dramatic win in overtime.

Even though Saturday has come and gone, that doesn't mean we're done with College Football. We've got a massive game tonight in Las Vegas, as LSU and USC are set to battle in Sin City. This should be a fun one, and a pivotal game for both teams.