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ESPN staff
And we’re off! The first full week of college football saw a Saturday filled with wild games early and statement performances later.
The sample size is small — and we’re still awaiting the winners of Florida State-LSU (Sunday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) and Georgia Tech-Clemson (Monday, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN) this holiday weekend — but it’s never too early to look at the far horizon and what this might mean for the College Football Playoff.
Ohio State grinded through a tougher-than-expected win over Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish forced the Buckeyes into more punts than they had in any game last season, but the Buckeyes found their run game in the second half and held on for a victory they can point back at in December.
Defending national champion Georgia looked better than ever, defeathering Oregon and the mid-afternoon slate of games. Quarterback Stetson Bennett completed an incredible 80% of his passes before departing in the third quarter.
The Pac-12’s chances of a playoff berth suffered a blow when Utah came up just short of Florida at The Swamp, but USC — behind three pick-sixes — could be a force under new coach Lincoln Riley.
Alabama coasted behind five touchdown passes from Bryce Young, the most ever for a Crimson Tide QB in a season opener, while top-10 teams Texas A&M, Michigan, Oklahoma and Baylor cruised to victories.
With Week 1 mostly in the books, here’s how ESPN’s college football reporters see the very early playoff picture.
Andrea Adelson: Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame
Blake Baumgartner: Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson
Kyle Bonagura: Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson
Bill Connelly: Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Arkansas
Heather Dinich: Ohio State, Georgia, Alabama, Notre Dame
David Hale: Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Oklahoma
Chris Low: Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson
Harry Lyles: Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson
Adam Rittenberg: Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson
Alex Scarbrough: Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson
Paolo Uggetti: Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame
Tom VanHaaren: Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Texas A&M
Dave Wilson: Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma
