Ten Takeaways: Week One

For those reading on e-mail: click 'view in browser' to see the full contents of today's post

For my Ohio State subscribers: Check out my full thoughts on Ohio State's 56-3 win over Ball State in Bulletpoints:

Bulletpoints: Ball State

Thoughts on the Buckeyes’ season-opening 56-3 win over Ball State.

Two Stripes with Colton DenningColton Denning

1. The worst of college football

I'm guessing you already know how I feel about the end of the Western Michigan-Michigan game. Even if I give you the most measured take in the world, there's still going to be that voice in the back of your head telling you, "Fair point, but he's an Ohio State fan. Of course that's what he thinks." So instead of screaming "CONSPIRACY!" for five paragraphs, I'm going to focus on how what happened is a perfect encapsulation of the overall dysfunction in major college football right now.

The sport has always operated with some level of dysfunction, no matter the era. This past offseason took it to the next level, though, and it's bled into the season itself. The Big Ten and SEC are currently holding the sport hostage by bickering over the size of the playoff. The recruiting and portal calendars are a disaster. College Gameday is using airtime to have their talent run propaganda for congressional legislation. It's week two and teams are still trying to get guys who participated in NFL training camps eligible to play, while opposing teams eye breaches of contract if they do.

There's no cohesion, and a flood of mixed messaging. Sounds similar to the Big Ten saying there's a "known discrepancy" between the "actual" game clock, versus the scoreboard's - after their original statement said the clocks were synced before the game:

The potential reality that the clocks weren't synced in the first place makes the Big Ten, NBC, and the sport as a whole look bush league. Forget the most important thing here (the result of a legitimate sporting event) for a second. Millions of dollars are at stake in these games. There are potential playoff appearances and the TV money that comes with that, bonuses in coaching contracts, and effects to the betting markets that constantly get shoved down viewers' throats every broadcast. With all that on the line, the referees used a game clock we'd never heard about before that no one but them could see. NBC's John Fanta looked and sounded like a man reading a note at gunpoint while trying to explain it on Sunday:

No matter what you think about the outcome of the call, the process to get there was a disaster that never should've happened. Furthermore, the Big Ten's explanations of the process have led to even more questions than answers. In a dark way, it feels fitting for the season's first major moment on the field to be as dysfunctional as everything happening off it.

Join college football fans like yourself with a subscription to 2StripesCPD 👇

Subscribe

BONUS THOUGHT

I respect Western Michigan and the MAC not going full Mark Mangino BCS conspiracy mode. WMU coach Lance Taylor took what happened in stride, while the MAC's Saturday night statement essentially agreed with the outcome. Kudos to them for not throwing a tantrum. At the same time, I think it's embarrassing that they didn't stand up for themselves more.

Western Michigan isn't just some random team in the conference - they're the defending champions! If the MAC isn't willing to stand up for them, will they stand up for anything? That call going their way wouldn't have just resulted in an all-time win for the program - it would've legitimately put their current team in the College Football Playoff spotlight! I'm sure that some will argue that their September 26 matchup with Boise State still has playoff implications. That's fine, but it won't be what it could've been had the call stood.

The MAC rarely gets any spotlight outside of being the weird conference who plays on Tuesday and Wednesday nights in November. '#MACtion' is fun, but it's also an identity that doesn't resonate with anyone who isn't a diehard college football fan. That isn't all the MAC's fault. They make due with what's available to them, and I can't stand that the sport has largely treated them like a doormat for the last decade. They dropped the ball here in a major way, though. I don't have any sympathy for them or Western Michigan's decision-makers after they willingly chose to be OK with this.

2. The best of college football

The Western Michigan-Michigan controversy shouldn't ruin the week one moments that showcased why –despite its many flaws– college football is still so magical. In fact, it was a MAC Team beating a Big Ten team that kicked off the weekend in style!

UMass snapped a 16-game losing streak by smashing Rutgers Thursday night in the largest FBS upset since Texas lost to Kansas in 2021. Minutemen QB Pop Watson put on a show for an audience who had no idea who he was before, lighting the Scarlet Knights up for 197 yards and three TD on 19/22 passing. A program who hasn't won five games in a season since joining FBS in 2012 got juiced up overnight:

The next night, Colorado and Georgia Tech played an ugly, entertaining, and dramatic game that –like so many other games in the Deion Sanders era– ended wildly:

On Saturday, Citadel picked up their first win against an FBS opponent since 2019, beating Charlotte in triple overtime. Bulldogs RB Gavin Garcia scored one of his three touchdowns in OT1 on the sweetest run of the season so far:

Lastly –apologies to whatever happens in SMU-Florida State on Monday night– Ole Miss and Louisville gave us a shootout to remember on Sunday. The two combined for 63 second-half points and six touchdowns of 30+ yards, as the Rebels walked it off with a last-second field goal for a 41-38 win. Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambiliss was just as show-stopping as he was last year, dropping in some beautiful throws in crunch time. There were a handful of other fun games, but these were a reminder that the core of college football is still just as awesome as it's always been.

3. Lane Kiffin and LSU pummel Clemson

It was fair to wonder if LSU would let the noise consume them to some degree. Everything Lane Kiffin's done since taking the job has been a headline, and it would've made sense if they at least came out a little jittery against Clemson. Instead, the Tigers put a historic beating on Dabo Swinney, backing up why they're riding with Kiffin through all his antics. It doesn't get much uglier than this:

What impressed me most with LSU is how punishing they were. Offensively, they ran for 309 yards, mixing in carries for QB Sam Leavitt (113 yards), with a rotation of backs. Defensively, they gave up nothing, while actively attacking Clemson on every snap. LSU defenders combined for 11 tackles for loss, four sacks, and a pick six.

The only reason I'm not ready to jump on the 'LSU is a national title contender' bandwagon just yet is because of how dead in the water Clemson looked. LSU was the main factor in that, but Clemson's whole operation was a disaster - particularly the offense. Dabo bringing back Chad Morris as his offensive coordinator was a disaster when they announced it, and was even worse in action. I'm looking forward to taking a deeper dive on Swinney in the first edition of the 2026 Hot Seat Rankings later this week.

4. Player of the Week: Miami WR Malachi Toney

I had the pleasure of attending my second game of the season already when I hit Stanford-Miami on Friday night. It was an ugly 45-6 blowout in favor of the 'Canes, but the seats and atmosphere were lovely in Palo Alto:

To say that Miami receiver Malachi Toney went off would be an understatement. The Heisman hopeful caught 12 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns in three quarters of work - the last of which happened right in the corner of the endzone I was sitting in. After the touchdown, a European man who'd earlier explained to the people around us that he was just getting into American football turned to me and said, "It looks so easy to him, yes?"

The game indeed does look so easy to him:

5. Oregon squeaks one out against Boise State