2024 College Football: Winners and Losers from Week 0

It only required one game for the 2024 college football season to embrace a new year of chaos.

Welcome back, you beautiful monster.

Florida State headed to Dublin, Ireland, with a No. 10 national ranking, but the Seminoles are returning home in a disappointed mood. Georgia Tech, meanwhile, provided an immediate shakeup to the ACC standings and tossed an early wrench in the College Football Playoff race.

Week 0 included a couple of other matchups, and we’ve provided some winners and losers from within the results.

Oops, Georgia Tech did it again.

Two years ago, Brent Key guided the Yellow Jackets to a victory over 24th-ranked Pitt in his debut as the interim coach. They later defeated rival, 13th-ranked North Carolina in 2022.

Georgia Tech defeated a pair of then-No. 17 opponents last season, stunning Miami and North Carolina. For good measure, the Jackets put together a fourth-quarter charge to test top-ranked Georgia.

In other words: This wasn’t new territory for Tech.

Jamal Haynes ran in a pair of scores, the defense played well and Aidan Birr drilled a 44-yard field goal as time expired in a 24-21 upset.

Clemson, FSU and Miami attracted the most preseason hype in the ACC, but Georgia Tech has already commanded in-season respect. And in reality, that’s exactly the brand of attention you want.

The good news: New quarterback DJ Uiagalelei completed 12-of-14 passes for 96 yards in the opening half.

The bad news: He averaged -0.1 air yards on those attempts.

Ultimately, the lack of explosiveness hurt a rebuilt FSU offense in a surprising loss to Georgia Tech. Uiagalelei managed 7.1 yards per throw overall, and the running game mustered only 3.2 yards per carry—but 58 of the Seminoles’ 98 rushing yards happened on the first drive.

There were bright spots, yes. Beyond that initial drive, Uiagalelei hit a couple of key fourth-down passes on a game-tying possession in the fourth quarter. Florida State has upside in its scoring attack.

But on this day in Dublin, the ‘Noles failed the first test.

Let’s be very clear: This was not an upset.

Early on, that might’ve been misunderstood. In the first half, New Mexico raced out to a 17-point advantage.

Montana State, however, was a double-digit favorite in this matchup. It looked dicey for a while, but the FCS power flexed its muscle in the second half and pulled out a 35-31 victory.

Tommy Mellott threw for 205 yards and two scores, yet the rushing game carried MSU. Adam Jones rushed for 167 yards, Scottre Humphrey went for 140 and Mellott chipped in 30 yards. All three scored once, and the Bobcats roared back from a 31-14 deficit in the fourth quarter.

New Mexico beat the spread. If you dropped a dime or two on the Lobos, you might’ve been happy.

Nevertheless, the FCS program left with the win.

On the bright side, SMU’s flight isn’t as disheartening compared to FSU. A win is a win, no matter how ugly it might’ve looked on the field.

The standings are different than our perception, though.

As a nearly 30-point favorite at Nevada, SMU entered the fourth quarter trailing 24-13. Although the Mustangs recovered—Preston Stone tossed a late touchdown to RJ Maryland in the 29-24 win—it wasn’t exactly an emphatic showing from the newly crowned ACC team.

Conference play doesn’t arrive for several weeks; SMU’s league debut is home to Florida State on the last weekend of September.

Between now and then, though, the Mustangs have plenty to prove if they’re to remain a mid-tier ACC contender.

In the nightcap, Hawaii was another heavy favorite. And like SMU, the Rainbow Warriors had a bit of a struggle.

Delaware State erased a 14-0 deficit, evening the score with Jaden Sutton’s rushing touchdown on the opening drive of the second half. From there, however, Hawaii controlled the game.

Brayden Schager capped a methodical drive with a 15-yard scamper to give Hawaii the lead for good.

Most importantly, the defense held Delaware State to 58 yards on its final five possessions. None of those drives lasted more than six plays or 23 yards, and Hawaii ultimately cruised to a 35-14 triumph.

Hawaii has a chance for a statement win against UCLA next weekend.