An Introduction to the 2024-2025 College Football Season

A look at all of the top teams in the first week of play

We’ve finally made it to the 2024 college football season - a year that will be different from all that came before: Oklahoma and Texas in the SEC; Washington, Oregon, USC, and UCLA in the Big 10; a 12-team playoff. This year will be brand new. 

So what’s been going on in the offseason? 

Primarily, NIL has gone out of control. I wrote an article last summer about how NIL could spiral into something dangerous, and it definitely has. The sport is moving in the direction of being effectively semi-pro. We’re seeing teams like Ohio State and Georgia offer massive checks in order to recruit players, all the while siphoning off the top talent of much smaller schools who simply don’t have the budget to compete. In just the last few years, the sport has changed drastically - we’ll start to see this year if it’s for better and for worse, but right now it feels as dangerous as I feared. 

But now, let's get to football. 

The biggest game of the week was probably top-ranked Georgia against #14 Clemson. The game started off very slow. Both teams looked rusty, but Georgia was quite disappointing at first, considering the talent they’ve had in the past few seasons. However, the game quickly got out of hand. Now veteran QB Carson Beck proved to be both an effective game manager and sneakily athletic centerpiece of the potent Georgia offense. They ended up scoring 34 on Clemson, all without their transfer RB Trevor Etienne. Georgia looks potent and appears to deserve its #1 pre-season ranking 

Overall, all of the top teams dominated. Ohio State managed to drop 52 points on Akron, with a great performance from true freshman WR Jeremiah Smith, who hauled in 2 touchdowns. Their new QB Will Howard had a rough start, beginning 6-16, but finished the game very strong. The Buckeyes have a loaded roster this year, which might have to do with all of that NIL money coming through Columbus. Alabama had a similar day. They won their first game with no sweat, and luckily got to see their true freshman WR, (who’s still 17 years old), have a huge day. Both teams should be very optimistic. 

Now, let’s look at two teams who struggled a bit more - the first being Oregon. There was huge hype surrounding the Ducks this offseason. They were able to return many of their key pieces from last year’s team, while also managing to bring in two superstar players in QB Dillon Gabriel and WR Evan Stewart. However, all of this talent didn’t exactly translate into huge success. They only defeated Idaho, a far inferior team, by 10 points. They finished the game with a 24-14 win, but their performance left everyone a bit underwhelmed. 

Finally, we have Michigan. The 30-10 scoreline doesn’t immediately jump out as concerning, but it doesn't tell the full story. The Wolverines are coming off a magical national championship run, having won 15 straight games. However, they lost nearly all of their key offensive players, like JJ McCarthy, Blake Corum, Roman Wilson, and nearly all of their offensive lineman. You wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the offense struggled. Coming into the season, there was a QB battle between the game-manager Davis Warren and the dual-threat Alex Orji. Orji has made appearances in previous seasons - many expected him to be the starter. The Wolverines staff was very secretive; we didn’t find out until kickoff that Warren was actually starting. Both players got meaningful snaps, but neither looked great. Warren, while not making many game changing mistakes, does not seem to be a downfield threat. On the other hand, while Orji is dangerous in the running game, the coaching staff seems very hesitant to let him throw the ball. The two throws he was given were both checkdowns or dump offs and did not require an actual read. The defense, though, is another story. They were able to retain much more of the ‘23 roster, with key players like Mason Graham and Will Johnson making immediate impacts. The defense stifled most of the Fresno State offense, and generated two turnovers as well. I’m concerned about Michigan’s chances next week against the Texas Longhorns, given that the offense seems to be entirely reliant on slants to Colston Loveland and the occasional push from Mullings or Edwards. While this sufficed against a weak Fresno State team, it will not work against a far more talented Texas team, who will now be able to spot Michigan’s downfield passing attack weaknesses, and plan accordingly. 

Finally, we have Sunday night’s game: USC vs LSU. Two historically offensive-minded teams, both having featured Heisman Trophy QBs in the past two years, came in with two brand new starters. However, right away, both Nussmeier and Moss looked like seasoned veterans. Both teams moved the ball down the field with ease. LSU relied on Senior Kyren Lacy in the beginning, but Nussmeier was able to target nearly all of his receivers. Similarly, Miller Moss found a special connection with Kyron Hudson and Zach Branch. USC managed to get the victory due to the great leadership of Miller Moss. He executed the two-minute drill to perfection, showing no signs of fear or nerves. All in all, both teams look much more balanced this year. In years past, a critique of both the Tigers and Trojans was that despite their great offenses, their respective defenses were quite weak. After only one game, this no longer seems to be the case. Both fan bases should look forward to a great season ahead.

Photo creds: Robert Gauthier (LA Times)