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College Football Recap: First Games Of 2024

August 29th, 2024

We at Big Game Football Factory are excited to welcome the start of the 2024 college football season and the new, unprecedented matchups in the SEC, ACC, Big 12, and Big 10. Not only do we get to see our official game balls in action on the field, but we get to be a participant in the history of some of these teams’ commemorative season openers in their new conference. The fans, including us, are excited for the year ahead, as we take a look back at how teams are faring in week 0-1. Visit our site to check out our 2024 CFB official game balls!

Week 0 Upsets

The kickoff in Dublin, Ireland, between the Florida State Seminoles and Georgia Tech sets up for an entertaining season! Georgia Tech upsets Florida State with a close 3-point win. Losing this season’s opener stings FSU fans, but as we all know, the Seminoles have a whole season ahead to regain its ACC Championship title. Georgia Tech showed an experienced offensive line against FSU’s defense despite having one of the most anticipated defensive lines going into the season. FSU’s quarterback, Haynes King, was never sacked. With ACC expanding to 17 teams and the addition of SMU, Stanford, and Cal, the fight for a conference championship will be more complicated than it used to be.

To further entertain college football fans everywhere, SMU Mustangs enter the season with a nail-biter against Nevada. Nevada was up 24 – 23 until SMU’s tight end, RJ Maryland, ran 34 yards for a last-minute touchdown, resulting in SMU winning 29 – 24. The Mustangs needed this fourth-quarter comeback to survive their first game in their inaugural season as a team in the ACC. This win did not come without surprises; penalties plagued the Mustangs, including an unsportsmanlike penalty leading to the dismissal of cornerback Brandon Crossley, which sent the media into a frenzy. Even with a win on their backs, SMU coach Rhett Lashlee states that the game was “the most undisciplined game we’ve played since I’ve been here,” with “self-inflicted wounds” making it hard for the offense to perform at their best in the first half. The close-call winning drive of SMU makes us believe that they will be a team to watch as they solidify their name in the ACC.

Despite Hawaii Rainbow Warriors’ favored win against Delaware, the 40.5-point favorite had a tough 35 – 14 win, scoreless in the second quarter, with wind conditions escalating in the third quarter. The Rainbow Warriors’ quarterback, Brayden Schager, led two five-play scoring drives, giving UH the final 35 – 14 lead. Hawaii will play back-to-back home games with UCLA as the Bruins play their first game in their inaugural season as a part of the Big Ten conference.

Games to Watch this CFB 2024 Season

From ESPN, Associated Press, the predicted Top 25 are:

With new conference alignments and matchups, certain games and teams are to look out for this season. Starting soon with No. 4 Texas at No. 9 Michigan on September 7th, it is the biggest non-conference matchup of the 2024 season and will influence the rest of the way for the loser and winner. At the end of the month comes the superpowered matchup of No. 1 Georgia at No. 5 Tuscaloosa. This showdown will be an event to watch since it will be Coach DeBoer’s first taste of the Bulldogs, and all eyes will be on the two quarterbacks, Jalen Milroe of Tuscaloosa and Carson Beck of Georgia, who are both Heisman Trophy contenders. After last year’s overtime victory, Florida State playing Clemson in Florida is a must-watch to see who will come out on top. Saturday, October 12th is a stacked weekend with Ohio State at Oregon, Ole Miss at LSU, and Cotton Bowl’s Red River Showdown: the Oklahoma Sooners vs the Texas Longhorns in Dallas, TX. “Horns Down” will dominate conversations in the SEC, and fans are grateful to be keeping this long-standing Big 12 rivalry alive. Just one week later, it will be Georgia vs Texas, with Georgia visiting Austin, TX, for the first time since 1958. November with Rivalry Week comes all too soon with an opening game like Oregon at Michigan on November 2nd, one of the biggest matchups in the Big Ten. On November 9th, Georgia will be at Ole Miss, and the Tuscaloosa game at LSU will bring whichever winner to the SEC Championships. Rivalry Week is always one to watch, as everyone knows, especially Michigan at Ohio State. After three straight losses to the Wolverines, Ohio State will be out for blood and the conference title.