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Dan Mullen reveals top team performances from Week 1

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh09/03/24

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(Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)

Week 1 of the college football season is over, providing a few incredible results. To celebrate, ESPN’s Dan Mullen decided to hand out a few awards.

Mullen revealed his top team performances from the sport’s opening weekend, giving five names. Two reside in the Big Ten, getting wins against other power conference opponents.

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Notre Dame is the lone outlier in the list’s five, not having a conference to represent. You can check out the other four selections from Mullen below.

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USC Trojans

USC quarterback Miller Moss celebrates on the field after the Trojans' win over LSU
(Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

One team was going to leave Las Vegas with a lot of questions to answer and it wound up being LSU. A huge win for Lincoln Riley and the Trojans, making USC No. 1 on Mullen’s list.

Significant defensive improvement was shown and quarterback Miller Moss might be Riley’s next great starter. USC still faces a tough Big Ten schedule but after one week, there cannot be any complaints from Los Angeles.

Vanderbilt Commodores

[Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]

Who would have guessed the best win out of the SEC on Saturday would have been Vanderbilt? A two-touchdown underdog at home to Virginia Tech wound up being a straight-up win in overtime for the Commodores.

Clark Lea has been searching for this kind of momentum ever since taking over the job. Eleven games remain but people will be thinking differently about Vanderbilt than they did just a week ago.

Miami Hurricanes

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Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports

Miami fans could not be more on top of the world right now. Going to the Swamp and beating Florida would have been one thing but the Hurricanes took it to the Gators, making a major statement.

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After other results around the ACC, Miami looks to be the clear favorite to represent the conference in the College Football Playoff. Quarterback Cam Ward will receive some deserved Heisman Trophy discussion as well.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

notre dame marcus freeman
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman. (Photo by Chad Weaver)

Saturday night in College Station was not always the prettiest but Notre Dame will not apologize. Going to Texas A&M and heading back to South Bend with a win could be a huge springboard for the Fighting Irish.

Arguably the most impressive performance came from the Notre Dame offensive line, doing well against the highly thought of Texas A&M front seven. Now, it’s full steam ahead to get into the CFP and compete on a national stage.

Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar
Quarterback Drew Allar. (Credit: Steve Manuel | Blue White Illustrated)

Mother nature may have caused problems on Saturday but West Virginia surely did not. Penn State found itself running away with the game following a weather delay to bring home a comfortable Week 1 win.

Drew Allar appeared to be a lot more comfortable in his second season as the starter, while Tom Allen‘s defense was able to contain West Virginia for four quarters. Nearly everything went to plan for Penn State, being a pretty good opener to 2024.