Eight Games, just 1 top 25 team, surely there weren’t massive takeaways from week 0? WRONG. From Hot Seats to playoff implications, here’s what week 0 brought.
Sonny Dykes is in trouble. This team had several questions coming into the year and a national spotlight with the Dublin game against Bill Belichick and UNC. However, UNC’s defense held TCU to just 281 yards, the worst since 2022-23 when Georgia trounced the Horned Frogs. Harvard transfer, Jaden Craig was supposed to be great in a newer, pro-style offense. However, he fumbled twice (losing one), and he was not efficient overall. Finally, TCU lacked discipline, putting up 11 penalties for 89 yards. North Carolina has questions, however, TCU has more heading back across the pond.
Bill Belichick may have figured out how he is going to win in college. His defense allowed 106 yards on 39 rushing attempts, and 175 passing yards on 32 attempts. That’s 5.5 yards per pass and 2.7 yards per rush. If UNC can clean up the turnovers (2 fumbles lost), their defense (led by Melkart Abou Jaoude) is a force to be reckoned with. They were constantly in the backfield, getting 6 tackles for loss and 3 sacks on the day.
Virginia is here to stay… NC State, not so much. Virginia absolutely dominated the Wolfpack, winning 34-8. UVA won 11 games last year and they grabbed prized QB Beau Pribula from Missouri. For NC State, CJ Bailey was one of those “Heisman sleepers” that pundits loved to talk about. However, he went 12-23 for 84 yards and an INT. He will want to just put up consistent solid numbers before moving his sights towards NYC and the most famous trophy in College Football. Dave Doeren and his staff now have to go back to the drawing board or his seat will get hot quickly. For UVA, all eyes will turn towards the CFP and pushing towards the top of the ACC.
Charles Huff: Rising Star. The former Marshall and Southern Miss HC has spent his career winning. He took the Herd to four straight bowl games, and won the Sun Belt at 10-3 before he left to go to Southern Miss. At USM, he went to a bowl game last season. His reward is one of the top 5 jobs in the G6 ranks. He opened his Memphis HC career with a monumental road win over UNLV to close out week 0. That makes them the clubhouse leader for the G6 CFP bid.
North Dakota State belongs in the FBS. The Bison absolutely dominated Jacksonville State at the Fargo Dome. NDSU has long been a power in the FCS ranks, but they will now look to immediately jump up into the national picture on the FBS scale. The Fargo Dome has every opportunity to become one of the iconic venues in football, and the fans make that possible.
Goodbye, Week 0
Football is back, and while Week 0 is awesome, this is the final season we will have a Week 0 as the CFB calendar will officially move up a week next season. I know I savored it yesterday, but I’m ready for a full slate of chaos and I won’t complain about earlier kickoffs! What stood out to you this week?
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