College Football Week 1 Losers: Dabo, BK, and the S-E-C!

Having already given a positive spin with our Week 1 winners in college football, it’s time to get negative and anger some fan bases.

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Here are Week 1’s losers:

1. Dabo Swinney/Clemson – Is Clemson(ing) Back?

“If you really watched the game, you know what happened in the game,” Dabo Swinney said. “We just self-imploded in some critical situations and, again, you’ve got to finish. It was routine stuff. The basics. The fundamentals. Ball handling. Just some basic, basic stuff. Not jumping offside on first-and-goal from the one. Basic stuff. It’s the weirdest game I’ve ever been a part of. I’ve been beat. I’ve had my butt kicked many times in my career. I can honestly say that’s one of the strangest games I’ve ever been a part of.” 

Did Clemson make some self-inflicted mistakes? Sure. But if you really watched the game, you know Duke also had some costly turnovers and penalties, including a muffed punt inside their 20-yard line to set up Clemson’s only touchdown.

The Tigers turned it over three times…the Blue Devils turned it over twice.

Duke averaged 5.1 yards per pass to Clemson’s 4.9 and 6.6 yards per carry to Clemson’s 5.3.

This wasn’t fluky, no matter what Dabo says. They whipped your butt, 28-7. For most of the game, it looked like Duke’s players were just as athletic as Clemson’s, if not more so. Unthinkable. Where are the elite receivers?

2. Brian Kelly/LSU – Not Who They Thought They Were

LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly sang a different tune after his team’s beatdown at the hands of Florida State.

“We certainly are not the football team that I thought we were,” Kelly said afterward. â€œI take full responsibility for not having our team playing the type of football I thought they would,” he continued.

One more: “This is a total failure from a coaching standpoint and a player standpoint that we have to obviously address, and we have to own.”

Self-flagellate much? I mean, I almost feel bad for Kelly and the LSU faaaaaamily.

I won’t pile on, but where’s the running game from the running backs? And more importantly, where are the elite cornerbacks? LSU without good corners is unthinkable.

3. The Drive to 325 – Ferentz in Trouble

It started so promising. After a 54-yard kick return, Cade McNamara connected on a 36-yard touchdown pass on Iowa’s second play from scrimmage!! It was McNamara’s first pass as a Hawkeye.

The defense forced a three-and-out to get the ball back to the Iowa offense quickly, and they went on an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, which ended with a fourth-and-goal scoring strike to tight end Erick All.

Two possessions, two touchdowns.

It took just 7:16 for the Hawkeyes to score their second touchdown of 2023. Iowa needed over 130 minutes for their second TD in 2022!

The Drive to 325 was well on its way… until it wasn’t.

They moved the ball on the third drive to the Utah State 29 when they faced another fourth down. This time, Leshon Williams was stuffed for no gain.

The Hawkeyes punted on four of their next five possessions and seven times. We all LOVE Tory Taylor, but that’s too many punts, no matter how fun they are. Iowa would score just ten more points the rest of the way and looked like the 2022 offense in the game’s final three quarters. Not very good.

They are on pace for 312 points (including bowl game).

4. 2024 Big 12 Texas Schools – Everything is Bigger, Including Upsets

With Texas leaving for the SEC, the Big 12 will return to four Texas schools in 2024. Week 1 wasn’t their best showing. 

It started with Colorado’s epic upset of TCU.

The Horned Frogs, who passed on hiring Deion Sanders and made the National Championship Game last year, were a 20.5-point favorite over the Buffaloes, whom they beat 38-13 to open last season.

TCU allowed 510 yards through the air on 10.9 YPP. It’s safe to say the Horned Frogs won’t be “this year’s TCU.”

Two schools thankful for all the attention Coach Prime received on Saturday were Baylor and Texas Tech.

The Bears hosted Texas State in a “buy game” and lost 42-31! Baylor was a bigger favorite than TCU was, giving 26.5 points, and the Bobcats didn’t need any.

To add injury to insult, starting quarterback Blake Shapen was hurt in the game and will miss two to three weeks. The Bears host No. 14 Utah this week and No. 11 Texas in three weeks. It could get ugly quickly in Waco.

Finally, there’s Texas Tech, as the Red Raiders went into Laramie as a 13-point favorite. They blew a 17-0 first-quarter lead and needed a field goal with 41 seconds left to send the game into overtime, tied at 20.

Leading 33-27 in the second overtime, the Tech defense needed one stop to escape with a victory or at least keep the game going. Instead, the Red Raiders allowed an 11-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-seven, followed by a Wyoming two-point conversion for the 35-33 upset.

At least the Houston Cougars held on to beat UTSA 17-14.

5. S-E-C! S-E-C! S-E-C! Chanters– They Can Dish It Out… Can They Take It?

The SEC is the best conference in college football. No one is disputing that. But it wasn’t a great week. Both things can be true.

The big bad SEC hadn’t lost to a ranked non-conference foe since 2017. It happened three times in Week 1!

It started Thursday night when No. 14 Utah took it to Florida, 24-11, without their starting quarterback and overcoming their “Lil ah stadium.”

The Gators special teams worked extra hard to make this list. They were penalized for having two players wearing No. 3 (one too many), resulting in the first down on a Utah punt. The Utes would score a touchdown on that drive.

We’ve covered LSU’s loss to No. 8 Florida State on Sunday night. In between, South Carolina lost to No. 21 North Carolina, 31-17, as their offensive line allowed a whopping nine sacks.

That’s 0-3 against ranked teams in Week 1 for the SEC.

This week, No. 22 Ole Miss plays No. 24 Tulane, and No. 4 Alabama hosts No. 11 Texas.

Honorable Mention

Kneeling with a big lead at the end of games. Penn State and Kentucky were in situations where they could have (should have?) knelt the ball at the end of their Week 1 win. Neither did.

Instead, both teams scored with six seconds left in their game. PSU’s Beau Pribula’s TD made it a 38-15 win, and KU’s Re’mahn Davis’s scamper gave the ‘Cats a 44-14 victory.

If you didn’t watch Bad Beats this week… both touchdowns allowed the favorites to cover the spread. It also pushed the score OVER the total in Happy Valley.

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