The first weekend of the football season is now officially in the books. Billed as the best opening week in college football history, week 1 didn’t disappoint, producing a number of great games, as well as a few upsets.
We also learned a few things about the Atlantic Coast Conference during the opening week of the season. Here are five takeaways from what happened on the gridiron last weekend.
5. Georgia Tech can win close games
Last year, the Yellow Jackets finished 1-6 in games decided by eight points or less. The lone victory could have easily been a loss, as Tech returned Florida State’s potential game-winning field goal attempt for a touchdown on the final play of the contest.
Would 2016 be more the same?
Judging by the result of Saturday’s game with Boston College, the answer is an emphatic, “no”. After struggling on offense all day long, the Jackets mounted an 11-play, 59-yard drive for the victory. A triple option team by trade, Tech’s passing game made the difference in this contest, completing passes on fourth-and-19 and third-and-10 to keep the drive alive. Dedrick Mills, who fumbled earlier in the game, punched in the game-winning score with just 35 seconds to play.
That’s the type of resiliency that led Georgia Tech to the ACC Championship Game in 2014. No matter how hopeless the situation seemed, the Jackets always delivered.
Could it happen again in 2016?
Judging by what happened on Saturday, it’s certainly possible.
4. Wake Forest’s offense is going to struggle
Even though the Demon Deacons finished 114th nationally in total offense last year, there was plenty optimism about the offense this fall. With nine starters returning from an offense that finished in the middle of the conference in passing in 2015, Wake Forest expected to be noticeably better on that side of the ball this season.
It isn’t.
Playing against a Tulane team that was 80th in the country in total defense last season, the Deacons struggled mightily on offense. The running game never got going, rushing 34 times for just 79 yards. The passing game wasn’t much better, producing just 96 yards on 21 pass attempts.
In all, Wake could only muster 175 yards of total offense, 14 first downs, and four plays of 10 yards or longer.
Ouch.
To their credit, the Demon Deacons won the game by playing solid defense and capitalizing on excellent position to score its lone touchdown. Wake Forest will need to do a lot more of that this season in order to qualify for a bowl game.
3. Dino Babers was the perfect choice to lead Syracuse
While other schools wondered if they hired the right guy to lead the program, Syracuse already knows that Dino Babers is a home-run hire.
Friday night’s result proved that point perfectly. Inheriting an offense that finished 119th in yards per game last season, Babers has already transformed it into one of the better units in the ACC. Quarterback Eric Dungey completed his first 13 passes, and finished 34 of 40 passes for 355 yards and two touchdowns. His backup, Zach Mahoney, completed all six of his passes for 82 yards.
That’s 40 of 46 for 437 yards. It’s difficult to do that against air, let alone a Colgate team that made it to the FCS quarterfinals last season.
The fact that Babers has turned things around so quickly, leads me to believe that he’ll have the Orange back in a bowl game this season.
2. Clemson proved that it’s a contender in the College Football Playoff race
Yes, you read that headline correctly, Clemson proved that it’s a contender in the College Football Playoff race.
Don’t let the final score fool you: the Tigers played like a top 10 team in this contest. While the offense could have been better, the fact of the matter is that it racked up 399 yards against an Auburn defense that will be one of the best units in the SEC year. That’s hardly the clunker that some in the media are making it out to be.
Even if you accept the talking points that the Clemson offense isn’t as good as it was last year, it’s hard to ignore how well the Tiger defense played on Saturday night. Brent Venables’ D held Auburn’s offense to just 265 yards, which was the third-lowest total in Gus Malzahn’s tenure. The Tiger front seven disrupted the Auburn attack all night long, recording 14 tackles for a loss, 4 quarterback hurries, 3 sacks, and 2 two passes knocked down. The secondary was solid as well, picking off two passes and breaking up five more.
More importantly, the Tiger defense allowed just one touchdown in four trips to the red zone.
Not bad for a group that’s breaking in seven new starters, is it?
Of course not… which is why I implore Clemson fans not to panic. This is a good team.
1. Deondre Francois should be the starting quarterback for Florida State
Heading into Monday’s contest with Ole Miss, people didn’t really know what to expect from the quarterback position. Was Francois the guy to lead the team or was he simply a caretaker until Sean Maguire returned?
We know the answer to that question now. It’s clearly Francois. Making his first career start, Francois threw for 419 yards and two touchdowns. After a slow start, he brought the Seminole offense to life, guiding them to nine straight scoring drives before running out the clock on the final drive.
It’s also worth noting that he led Florida State to the largest come-from-behind victory in school history.
That ought to answer any questions about whether or not he should be the starter for the rest of the season.
