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Justin Williams right here, and I’m sitting in for Jayna after our first full Saturday of school soccer. Yep, we made it.
Might all of your interceptions be one-handed leaping barrel rolls.
High-ranked UGA routs Tigers
The No. 14 Tigers obtained manhandled by top-ranked Georgia in a 34-3 rout at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It was an unpleasant defeat for a Clemson program that has been trending within the fallacious course for a number of years.
“On the finish of the day, we simply obtained our butts kicked,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney mentioned.
Nothing went proper for the Tigers, who had 188 yards of complete offense, together with an underwhelming day for QB Cade Klubnik (18-for-29 for 142 yards passing). It was a sluggish begin for either side, with Georgia main 6-0 on the half. Then the Bulldogs reached the top zone on 4 of their first 5 possessions to start out the second half whereas preserving Clemson fully bottled up.
Georgia — which backed up the No. 1 rating and championship chatter — will make a number of opponents look unhealthy this season. But it is a top-15 Clemson squad that seems to be a great distance from these preseason ACC championship and Playoff expectations, not to mention the identical program that gained two nationwide titles prior to now decade.
The very fact is we haven’t seen that Clemson since 2020, and it’s solely pure to surprise if we ever will once more, as our Grace Raynor wrote. It was the Tigers’ worst loss since 2013 by way of level margin, however it additionally amplified the criticism Swinney has confronted for refusing to make the most of the switch portal. Outdoors of the service academies, Clemson was the one FBS program that didn’t have a single incoming switch this offseason.
“Persons are gonna say no matter they wanna say,” Swinney responded after the sport when requested about his crew’s lack of transfers. “And once you lose like this, (folks have) obtained each proper to say no matter they wanna say.”
There’s been no scarcity of opinions, however after Saturday’s efficiency, Swinney and Clemson have greater issues than the critics.
Golden on the Highway
Irish grind out a win in Faculty Station
It wasn’t fairly, however Marcus Freeman and his No. 7 Combating Irish battled to a 23-13 highway win over No. 20 Texas A&M, spoiling the debut for Aggies coach Mike Elko. Offense was briefly provide for many of the evening as each quarterbacks struggled in a defensive slugfest. However Notre Dame’s operating sport got here up clutch within the second half with landing runs of 47 and 21 yards to eke out a victory. The protection shined, limiting Texas A&M QB Conner Weigman to 12-of-30 passing for 100 yards and a couple of INTs.
The win was large for the Irish, in each the fast and big-picture sense. A top-20 highway win over an SEC opponent ought to present a pleasant jewel in Notre Dame’s Playoff pursuit, and the Irish ought to be favored in the remainder of their video games.
The Aggies’ at-large Playoff hopes aren’t dashed, notably with a positive schedule by SEC requirements — no Georgia, no Alabama, no OleMiss. However A&M must get a lot better play from Weigman and the offense if it needs to make any noise in convention play.
Cam Ward threw three landing passes on Saturday in his Miami debut. (Matt Pendleton / USA In the present day)
Closing Scores
Roundup of different notable video games
How did these Week 1 outcomes influence the 12-team Playoff race? We’ll be updating our CFP projections each Sunday.
Vegas Vacation
No. 23 USC vs No. 13 LSU preview
We’re not completed but. Faculty soccer has blessed us with an prolonged vacation weekend of video games, persevering with tonight with a High-25 Massive Ten (!) vs. SEC bout in Las Vegas between the Trojans and Tigers (7:30 p.m., ABC).
(Yeah, USC being within the Massive Ten is gonna take some getting used to.)
Realignment glitches apart, I like the similarities between these two groups, stretching again to USC hiring Lincoln Riley and LSU hiring Brian Kelly a day aside in November 2021. Since then, each coaches had robust first seasons adopted by sophomore slumps, every producing a Heisman Trophy-winning QB within the course of. And tonight, every crew will begin a junior quarterback with one profession begin — Miller Moss for USC and Garrett Nussmeier for LSU — which is kind of an anomaly in a sport rife with switch QBs.
Each applications are rolling out new defensive coordinators after getting gashed final season, and each may have Playoff aspirations below the brand new expanded format.
The combination of storylines and expectations, and the Sunday evening prime-time slot, offers this one slightly additional juice — and can put slightly additional strain on whichever crew comes up brief.
Fast Snaps
Questioning why the two-minute timeout (warning) has made its solution to faculty soccer? We’ve obtained you coated.
BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill didn’t coach in his crew’s season-opening win over Southern Illinois after struggling a coronary heart assault on Thursday. Hill confirmed on social media he has been launched from the hospital and is feeling higher.
The NCAA blocked Oklahoma State from placing QR codes on gamers’ helmets. The codes would have linked to the college’s official NIL collective, permitting followers watching from residence to donate.
You should buy tickets to each faculty soccer sport right here.
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(High picture of Dabo Swinney: Ken Ruinard-USA In the present day)
