College Football Cheat Sheet: A Soft Opening

We are back. We are so back. The 2024 college football season has finally arrived, and we’re here to break it all down and absorb as much game-watching as we can over the next three months.

The full-on sprint has arrived.

The best regular season in sports has returned. I hope you’re ready for a wild three-month ride filled with missed field goals, bad beats, under sweats, parking lot beers, punts downed inside the five, gadget play touchdowns, stuffed quarterback sneaks, hoodie weather, multi-screen basement setups, hot wings, tasty dips, and roller coaster Saturdays spent with friends and loved ones.

KSR’s Cheat Sheet will be here every Friday to provide a template to help get you ready for a weekend of college football. There is no time to waste. Week Zero starts now. Football is back.

The Slate

Conference game in Ireland

We’ve seen the NFL consistently go over the pond to play games, and now we’re starting to see an interesting Week Zero trend emerge. For the third year in a row, a Week Zero game will take place at Aviva Stadium. For the second time in three years, this will be a conference game.

Northwestern upset Nebraska in 2022, and Georgia Tech will be looking to do the same against No. 10 Florida State.

The Seminoles will have a lot of new on the field with former Clemson and Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei stepping in at quarterback. Uiagalelei will be joined by tailback Roydell Williams (Alabama), wide receiver Malik Benson (Alabama), and offensive guard Richie Leonard (Florida) in the starting lineup on offense. The Seminoles will also have some first-year transfers starting on defense.

Georgia Tech was a surprise bowl team in year one under Brent Key thanks to an offense thanks that ranked No. 14 overall in EPA/rush under first-year play-caller Buster Faulkner. Former Texas A&M transfer Haynes King returns at quarterback after throwing for 2,842 yards, rushing for 811 non-sack yards, and accumulating 37 total touchdowns. All five starters are back on the offensive line led by All-ACC caliber center Weston Franklin along with 1,000-yard rusher Jamal Haynes and wideout Eric Singleton (48 receptions for 714 yards) after becoming this offense’s top target as a true freshman. The Yellow Jackets will score points, but the defense has a long way to go under new play-caller Tyler Santucci.

The Seminoles should have an advantage at the line of scrimmage, and that should ultimately get them over the finish line. However, the Jackets have five outright wins under Key as a double-digit dog in 21 total games. Do not be surprised if FSU finds itself in a backyard brawl against this unranked foe to start the season.

A perfect Week Zero matchup.

SMU’s power conference debut

SMU made a very aggressive move in the offseason when the Mustangs decided to join the ACC at a discounted rate. The private university in Dallas will get no broadcast media revenue for nine years but can financially afford the next decade due to some incredible fundraising.

The former college football powerhouse in the 1980s is hungry to return to national prominence. SMU is ready to strike after winning 43 games over the last five seasons highlighted by an American Athletic Conference title in 2023.

Rhett Lashlee returns the leading passer, rusher, and receiver off an offense that ranked No. 15 in points per drive. The defense returns the top seven tacklers off a unit that finished in the top 15 in success rate, EPA/play, and points per drive. Expectations are high.

Can SMU compete for an ACC title in year one? The program must prove they can hang for a full season in a power conference at the line of scrimmage, but we know this team will score points, and defensive coordinator Scott Symons is very underrated. The Mustangs will begin their first power conference year in the modern era on Saturday night against a rebuilding Nevada in Week Zero. A home game against Houston Christian in Week 1 will give Lashlee’s team a nice tune-up before 10 consecutive games against power conference completion begin in Week 2 against BYU.

SMU’s get a nice soft opening to begin the year, but we will learn quickly if this team is ready to compete for double-digit wins in a power league.