Sam’s Section: Overreactions and takeaways from Week 1 of College Football 

Labor Day weekend was full of college football, from No.1 Georgia blowing out No.14 Clemson, to No.10 Florida State losing for the second straight week, becoming unranked after high expectations. In this edition of Sam’s Section, we will look at some of the overreactions and takeaways from just the first week of the season.  

Florida State may not go bowling after going 13-1 last season and DJ Uiagalelei needs to be benched  

Florida head coach Billy Napier needs to be let go at some point this season  

This may not even be an overreaction. Florida State just lost to Georgia Tech and Boston College in back-to-back weeks, which is rare for one of the top programs in college football. Florida State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who played for Clemson and Oregon State, has not shown that he deserves to be the starting quarterback for the Seminoles. In week zero, the Inland Empire, Calif. native passed for 193 yards on a completion rate of 70.4 percent. On Monday, he did even worse. He completed only 50 percent of his passing attempts, threw one interception, and was sacked three times. Even though 272 passing yards is an upgrade, he did so at such a low volume. He has been missing open receivers constantly. How was he the No. 2 quarterback in his high school recruiting class? I would not go after head coach Mike Norvell’s head just yet, but the decision to bring in Uiagalelei after three mediocre seasons as a starting quarterback was quite interesting.  

I was a fan of the hire that Florida made in 2022 with Billy Napier after his successful tenure at Louisiana, but he has not been the guy Florida needs to get back to being a feared team, not only in the SEC but all over the country. He has had a losing record going into his third season in Gainesville, Fla. He did lead the Gators to a bowl game in his first season, losing to Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl. I am not a fan of how he decided to go with former Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz, whose ceiling is mediocre over the five-star freshman DJ Lagway. Lagway looked more comfortable on the field while Mertz was not helping this team as they got blown out by Miami (Fla.) at home.  

USC getting rid of defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has paid off  

It is such a shame that former Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams could not have a competent defense during his two years at USC. However, quarterback Miller Moss had the help of his defense as they were able to take down LSU on Sunday night. I was suspicious of how the team would look now going into the Big Ten after their vulnerability in the Pac-12. However, holding off LSU’s offense has shown they are more than prepared for their new conference foes. Also, it has been super easy to fall in love with the skills that wide receiver/returner Zachariah Branch has to offer. He looks like one of the best wide receivers in the country.  

It is going to take time to get things going for Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko  

Texas A&M fans need to settle down. Elko just coached his first game as the Aggies’ head coach and it was against No. 7 Notre Dame. That is a hard first game for him. Elko was hired after the program let go of Jimbo Fisher. Elko was terrific for Duke in his two seasons in Durham, N.C., winning ACC Coach of the Year in 2022. Elko was the defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Texas A&M from 2018-2021, which led to his hiring at Duke. I still believe in him and the Aggies, who will host McNeese State on Saturday.  

Give Tetairoa McMillan the Biletnikoff Award already  

I knew that McMillan would be one of the best wide receivers this season. However, I did not expect him to break records in week one. In Arizona’s 61-39 rout over New Mexico, the Waimanalo, Hawaii native caught ten passes for an astounding 304 yards and four touchdowns. He is projected to be a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but I already want to give him the Biletnikoff Award, which goes to the best receiver in college football.  

Best games for Week 2:  

No. 4 Texas at No. 9 Michigan (Noon, FOX)  

Iowa State at No. 25 Iowa (3:30 p.m., CBS)  

No. 15 Tennessee vs. No. 24 NC State (in Charlotte) (7:30 p.m., ABC)  

Colorado at Nebraska (7:30 p.m., NBC)  

Boise State at No. 3 Oregon (10 p.m., Peacock)