OK, stop this madness. Stop it right now.

Before we start throwing Dabo Swinney into the same deep end as Billy Napier, let’s take a deep breath and reassess. Relax, people.

First Down

Clemson is not as far from the College Football Playoff as you’d think.

“We certainly took one, punched right in the gut,” Swinney said in the press conference postmortem of yet another Georgia opponent limping away battered and bruised. “Didn’t play those last two quarters like we know we can.”

And that’s the key. Clemson traded blows for two quarters with Georgia, which in case you don’t know by now, is really good at tackle football. That doesn’t make an embarrassing 34-3 loss feel any better, but it absolutely shows all isn’t lost.

In fact, it shows Clemson can beat anyone in the shaky ACC — including Miami after its beatdown of Florida — with the same defensive intensity and a better game from quarterback Cade Klubnik. Because frankly, he can’t play much worse.

So while every television bobblehead will tell you Clemson’s undoing at the hands of the best team in college football over the last three seasons is a referendum on Swinney’s avoidance of all things transfer portal, think deeper. It’s easy to panic, to take one bad half and paint with a wide primer brush.

But there’s too much good on a defensive line that Georgia struggled to block in the first half. Too much good in the run game behind an improved offensive line. Too much potential with tailback Phil Mafah, and man-mountain defensive tackle Peter Woods and young wideout Antonio Williams. And too much average in the ACC outside of Miami.

Preseason favorite Florida State lost to Georgia Tech in Week 0, Playoff sleeper Virginia Tech lost at SEC tomato can Vanderbilt, and North Carolina State struggled with FCS team Western Carolina before pulling away late. So yeah, Clemson’s worst loss in a decade was difficult to swallow.

But who on the schedule will match up physically with the defense Clemson rolled out and gave up all of six points in the first half to the sledgehammer that is Georgia? That’s the anchor for the remainder of the season at Clemson, not a philosophical argument about using the transfer portal or the narrative that Swinney should’ve signed a transfer quarterback.

HIGHS AND LOWS Georgia, Clemson lead Week 1 winners and losers

There’s no sugarcoating it, Klubnik played poorly against the best team in the nation in the first game of the season. But we’ve seen this movie before, and know how it ends.

Bo Nix left Auburn after the 2021 season, and arrived at Oregon with new coach (and former Georgia assistant) Dan Lanning. His first game with the Ducks was against Georgia, in the same building and the same neutral site game ― and he played worse than Klubnik in another Georgia beatdown.

He then led the Ducks to 10 wins and had the then-best season of his career. Ten wins, everyone, will more than likely get Clemson in the playoff — and certainly if it wins the watered-down ACC and earns an automatic spot in the 12-team field.

“People are going to say whatever they want to say,” Swinney said of the looming criticism for Clemson’s perceived fall from the national elite. “When you lose like this, they got every right to say whatever they want to say.”

Second Down

You’ve heard the drill by now. If the new 12-team format were around since the birth of the playoff in 2014, Penn State would’ve played in six tournaments.

Which, of course, means nothing.

What does mean something ― a big something ― is the impact of new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. Specifically, his impact on uber-talented but still developing quarterback Drew Allar and the ability to get Penn State to its first playoff.

Don’t overlook the play of Allar in a difficult environment at West Virginia, against a one-time bitter rival coming off a nine-win season and playing in front of a wild home atmosphere. Those were the games that ate up Allar in his first season as a starter in 2023.

This time under Kotelnicki, Allar played nearly flawless. He threw for 216 yards and three touchdowns, and averaged 12.7 yards per attempt. The bloated yards per attempt number is significant because Penn State was among the worst teams in the nation in 2023 in long pass plays.

Kansas, where Kotelnicki worked in 2023, was among the best. Against West Virginia, Allar had completions of 55, 50, 20 and 19 yards, and stretched the field for an offense that was way too predictable in 2023.

Last season, Allar averaged a paltry 6.8 yards per attempt, and nearly doubled it Saturday against defense that did what every other Penn State opponent did last season: safeties creeping up to stop the run, and man coverage with zero respect for third-level throws.

This time, Allar made the defense pay for those decisions. The next big step is doing it against Ohio State and the rest of the Big Ten on the way to the playoff.

Third Down

First, the obvious: it was a glorified scrimmage against FCS member Chattanooga. But did it ever look good in the much-anticipated beginning of Nico Iamaleava’s first season as starter at Tennessee.

Before he left early in the second half and after a majority of the damage had been done in a 69-3 rout, an NFL scout texted me and was raving about ― take your pick ― Iamaleava’s arm talent, poise, movement in the pocket and accuracy on the roll.

Maybe the best way to explain Iamaleava’s spotless performance (314 yards passing, three touchdowns, 11.2 yards per attempt) is how it looked. More like Hendon Hooker, less like Joe Milton.

Translation: accurate throws downfield, less throws to the perimeter.

HOT WATER: Tennessee fan gets into argument with wife live during postgame radio show

“(Iamaleava) looked really comfortable, in control,” the NFL scout said. “You can tell he understands pass game concepts, and he throws that thing effortlessly. It was uncomfortable watching (Tennessee) last year because the quarterback wasn’t a fit.”

We’ll get an idea of just how different the Vols are at quarterback with the former five-star recruit from California when Tennessee plays NC State next week in Charlotte. An NC State defense that ― despite what it showed in an ugly win over Western Carolina ― will be a significant test with defensive coordinator Tony Gibson and his exotic pressure packages.

Fourth Down

The big winner of Week 1 is Notre Dame ― if only because the Irish passed their most difficult road test of the season right out of the gate.

How easy is the remainder of the schedule? Notre Dame has only two more true road games.

If those two games (at Purdue and Southern California) are anything like the toughness and moxie the Irish showed in a 23-13 victory at Texas A&M, Notre Dame may not lose this season. Especially with the evolving play of Duke transfer quarterback Riley Leonard, who played in front of an inexperienced offensive line that had six career starts combined ― and against his former coach (Mike Elko) who knew his strengths and weaknesses ― and played smart and didn’t make mistakes.

The Irish rushed for 198 yards behind the patchwork offensive line impacted by injuries in fall camp, and Leonard threw for 158 yards and ran for 63. In the game-wining drive, Leonard had two carries for 20 yards, and completed two passes for 29 yards.

A critical early win, and a galvanizing game.

The Bracket

A 12-team Playoff bracket prediction if the season ended today:

1. Georgia (SEC champion)

2. Ohio State (Big Ten champion)

3. Miami (ACC champion)

4. Oklahoma State (Big 12 champion).

No. 12 Liberty at No. 5 Alabama

No. 11 Missouri at No. 6 Oregon

No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 7 Penn State

No. 9 Utah at No. 8 Texas

ATLANTA—Nick Saban retired during the offseason. You may have heard about it. His departure, coupled with Jim Harbaugh fleeing to the NFL, leaves college football with just three active head coaches who have won national championships. Two of them—the only two who have won more than one title—faced off here Saturday.

The result underscored who is the new king of the sport. It’s two-time champion Kirby Smart, and it’s not close. The coach of the Georgia Bulldogs won his 40th straight regular-season game, routing the Clemson Tigers, 34–3, in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. And his two-time champion counterpart, Dabo Swinney, looks more like a has-been than ever.

The latest iteration of the Georgia beast is much like its predecessors. The Bulldogs have dudes all over the field, a never-ending supply of dominators and playmakers just waiting for their chance to show what they can do. Nine Dogs caught passes from quarterback Carson Beck against Clemson, and 22 others made tackles. 

Star transfer running back Trevor Etienne, who came in from the Florida Gatos, didn’t play after an offseason DUI. Touted freshman Nate Frazier racked up 83 yards on 11 carries in his first college football game. Linebacker Jalon Walker, who was 11th on the team in tackles last season, was unblockable for a long stretch of the second half, racking up 1 ½ tackles for loss and 1 ½ sacks. Beck was a known commodity, but he showcased a full arsenal of talent in making a variety of throws and some timely runs.

The Bulldogs hit. They covered. They executed. They dominated.

The contrast between a very current Kirby and an outdated Dabo is jarring. Swinney has played Smart twice and is yet to score a touchdown. A guy who stood toe-to-toe with Saban for many years is lying at Smart’s feet. This was Swinney’s worst loss since 2013, before he elevated Clemson to elite status.

Swinney famously took zero transfers in the offseason, continuing his noble but anachronistic approach of building his team through high-school recruiting and internal player development. He’s also now lost three of his last four season openers, and 11 of his last 41 games after going 79–7 the previous six seasons. It’s getting away from him.

There was little to no room to explain away this beatdown, so Swinney didn’t even bother. “Tyler from Spartanburg” might well be on Line One for Swinney’s next radio show, ready to fire away again.

“You get beat like this, it’s on the head coach,” he said. “That’s on me. … When you lose like this, [the critics] have got every right to say what they want to say.”

Acknowledging that Georgia’s defense is a monster, Clemson still has to be able to do better than this offensively. The Tigers generated one play longer than 19 yards and averaged just 3.6 yards per play. 

The Tigers have become a place where hotshots go to flounder on that side of the ball, with continual offseason talk about improvement that doesn’t really happen.

Coordinator Garrett Riley, USC Trojans head coach Lincoln’s brother, was swiped from TCU at $1.75 million a year after the Horned Frogs made the College Football Playoff championship game in 2022. Riley’s last TCU offense averaged 38.8 points and 455 yards per game; last season at Clemson, Riley’s unit put up 29.8 points and 402.7 yards. Now this season’s team has slogged to 188 yards and three points, the lowest totals yet for Clemson under Riley.

Cade Klubnik was a five-star quarterback recruit—as was DJ Uiagalelei before him. Klubnik was a pedestrian first-year starter in 2023, recording a 126.35 pass efficiency rating that ranked 10th in the Atlantic Coast Conference. His efficiency rating against Georgia on Saturday: 96.30. But this offensive horror show was a team effort: Klubnik’s receivers didn’t help him out early with some dropped passes, and there were a couple of crucial penalties. 

Swinney did stick up for Klubnik, saying he thought the quarterback played well. And, characteristically, the coach voiced confidence about the season ahead.

“I feel great about our team,” Swinney said. “A loss is a loss; I hate to lose. So it hurts. This one will leave a mark. This will be one I won’t forget.

“They didn’t hand out a national championship trophy tonight. We didn’t lose the ACC tonight.”

Indeed, the ACC is a bit of an early mess. Reigning champion Florida State was beaten by Georgia Tech last week. Trendy pick Virginia Tech was upset by perennial Southeastern Conference doormat Vanderbilt on Saturday. And the once-mighty Tigers were embarrassed in Atlanta.

Smart was asked after the game about the transfer portal in relation to Clemson. Smart hasn’t been a huge portal dabbler himself, choosing to simply fill a few gaps when they appear. But he acknowledges the need for it.

“If you give me every kid I sign, they stay at my program for four years and they can’t leave, I would take that every day of the week,” he said. “But if we’re going to lose kids, we’ve got to replace them. … It’s a forced situation. You have to use it.”

Swinney has been a self-made success in part due to his stubborn belief in himself and in how he builds a program. He was successful for long enough with that approach that it’s become difficult to get him to accept a need to make radical changes. Starting 4–4 last season led to the “Tyler from Spartanburg” moment and a greater level of criticism than Swinney has endured in more than a decade—but then Clemson regrouped and won its last five games, and Swinney could claim his approach is still viable.

The same thing could happen here. Losing to Georgia is no great shame—although the margin was brutal. Season-opening losses are less costly than ever with the expanded playoff looming. There is an entire season ahead.

But the days of Clemson being able to measure up with the very best programs in the country are fading like a Trevor Lawrence jersey left out in the sun. This was a yardstick game for the two most accomplished active coaches in college football, and it was an absolute beatdown of Dabo Swinney by Kirby Smart.

Gameday is once again here for Georgia Tech. Tonight, they welcome their cross-town rival Georgia State and the Yellow Jackets will be looking to start their season 2-0 for the first time since the 2016 season. After being able to beat Florida State in Ireland last week, will Georgia Tech be able to avoid the letdown?

This is going to be the first ever meeting between the two programs and you can bet that Georgia State is going to want to come out and ruin whatever good feeling that Georgia Tech has been able to generate over the last week. There has been a lot of national attention on the Yellow Jackets over the past week and tomorrow is going to be the first indication of how they have been able to handle it and remain focused on their goals for the season.

So how do these two teams matchup and who will win tonight? Let’s preview the game.

Georgia Tech Offense vs Georgia State Defense

Last week, Georgia Tech was able to control the line of scrimmage against a very talented Florida State defense and on paper, they should be able to do what they want in this game. There could be some interesting wrinkles though that Georgia State could throw at the Yellow Jackets.

The Panthers defensive coordinator is Kevin Sherrer, who was on the Yellow Jackets staff last year. Sherrer took over as the defensive coordinator and play caller last year around the middle of the season and while the Georgia Tech defense did not improve much, they did have some games where they were able to force a good number of turnovers. The Panthers defense has some new faces on it and it will be interested to see how they are used.

Haynes King played a really sound game vs Florida State and made plays on the ground and through the air. Georgia Tech clearly wanted to beat the Seminoles on the ground last week and I wonder if they could try and attack Georgia State through the air and open up the offense. The best number for King last week was that he committed zero turnovers. King made timely throws and was a dynamic runner last week and will be a vocal point again tonight.

The running attack ran for 190 yards and nearly six yards per carry last week against Florida State and they should be able to dictate things tonight. Jamal Haynes led the way last week and Chad Alexander was the main backup. Head coach Brent Key said the health of this room is good heading into the week, which means Trey Cooley might be back. If this game does get out of hand, look for freshman Anthony Carrie or Evan Dickens to get carries as well.

The offensive line did a great job last week of opening up holes for the run game and protecting Haynes King from the Florida State pass rush. The Panthers defensive line is nowhere is near as talented and this should be the biggest mismatch on paper in the game. Georgia Tech should be able to move the ball rather easily on the ground and it will be interesting to see how Georgia State tries to slow the Yellow Jackets.

Malik Rutherford was the top wide receiver last week, but guys like Eric Singleton Jr, Chase Lane, Abdul Janneh, Leo Blackburn, and Bailey Stockton all got time as well. The Georgia State defense was one of the worst in the country last year when it came to defending the pass, but that was last year and there are a host of new transfers on that side of the ball for the Panthers.

Some guys to watch on the Panther’s defensive line include Henry Bryant and Fuches Lewis in the middle and transfers Dorian Royal, Sir Mells, and Bishop Thomas as well. Justin Abraham and Kevin Swint are a talented group of linebackers and Gavin Pringle could be a difference maker in the secondary. Will the Panthers defense be better? It is hard to say, but they have brought in quite a few transfers on that side of the ball.

As long as Georgia Tech does not turn the ball over, they should be able to do what they want to against this defense. The run game should be strong and I would look for the Yellow Jackets to take some shots through the air as well.

Georgia Tech Defense vs Georgia State offense

The Georgia Tech defense was one of the stories of the game last week and they showed massive improvement from a year ago. They held Florida State to under 100 yards rushing and had seven tackles for loss. They are going against a far less talented offense this week, but they need to show they can string together consecutive strong performances.

Georgia State could play multiple quarterbacks tomorrow night and Georgia Tech is very familiar with one of the options. Former Yellow Jackets quarterback Zach Gibson might get the start for Georgia State tomorrow or it could be former Penn State/Pitt transfer Christian Veilleux. The Panthers took multiple transfer quarterbacks this offseason and they could play multiple today.

The running attack is going to be led by USF transfers Michel Dukes and Colorado transfer Sy’Veon Wilkerson. The offensive line for the Panthers could see a lot of rotation tonight and they will have a tough time against Georgia Tech’s front four.

Last week, the Yellow Jackets defensive line did a great job of slowing down the Florida State offense. Zeek Biggers and Makius Scott did a great job on the interior, while Romello Height, Sylvain Yondjouen, and Josh Robinson had strong games off the edge. Expect there to still be strong rotation with this group still.

Kyle Efford had a strong game last week against Florida State and Trenilyas Tatum will be the other starter at linebacker. E.J. Lightsey and Tah’j Butler were the other linebackers who got playing time last week.

The strongest position group on Georgia State in my opinion is the wide receiver group. Petey Tucker, Ja’Cyais Credle, and Tailique Williams are the guys to know. This is a talented group, but do they have a quarterback to get them the ball? That is one of the many questions facing the Georgia State offense.

The Yellow Jackets secondary had a solid week against Florida State and Ahmari Harvey, Warren Burrell, LaMiles Brooks, and Clayton Powell-Lee will have to make sure none of the Panthers receivers have any big plays.

X-Factor

I feel like a broken record, but turnovers are the biggest key to tonight. Georgia Tech is the superior team in every way on paper and the only reason this game could be close is if they are careless with the football. As long as they take care of the football, I have a hard time seeing this game go in favor of Georgia State.

Prediction

The Yellow Jackets struggles in games like these is well documented and they are going to have to prove this is different. I think this team is out on a mission and they win this game very comfortably behind a big game through the air from Haynes King. Georgia Tech will be 2-0 for the first time since 2016 and head into the game vs Syracuse playing very well.

Final Score: Georgia Tech 45, Georgia State 17