Top 10 Overreactions from Week 1 of The 2023 College Football Season

College football's Week 1 wrapped for the most part on Saturday. After seeing teams across the country play in their first games of the season, it's typical to have some overreactions to them. Because after an eight-month offseason, how can you not?

Sure, one game early in the season may not dictate how the rest of the year goes. But man, is it fun to make drastic conclusions off of just one week of games.

From Deion Sanders' Colorado debut, to Heisman favorites and more, let's run through the top overreactions from college football's Week 1.

The Buffs shocked the college football world on Saturday, upsetting TCU 45-42. It's not too surprising that the Buffs entered the game as 21-point road underdogs, playing a Horned Frogs program that was in the national title game in January. The Buffs led at the end of every quarter, and forced a TCU turnover on downs in the game's final minute to run out the clock and seal the upset victory.

The first seven months of Deion's tenure at Colorado made lots of headlines. For starters, he told Buffs players when he came in that most of them would have to hit the portal. He was telling them the truth—41 players ultimately transferred out of Colorado in April.

Sanders has built this Buffs team in an unprecedented way unlike we've ever seen in college football—by using the transfer portal and his 2023 recruiting class. Some of the biggest names from the portal included his son, quarterback Shadeur Sanders, and cornerback Travis Hunter, both of whom followed him from Jackson State. In early August, Sanders downplayed a need to establish a culture within his team, adding that he didn't care if his players didn't like each other.

As unorthodox as Deion's approach may seem, Colorado—a program that was 24-42 dating back to 2017—upset a TCU team that didn't lose a single game at home in 2022. I think the Buffs have a great shot at winning five more games to make a bowl, and will win its first one since 2004. Speaking of Colorado…

If you're already annoyed with how much Deion Sanders and Colorado is featured in this article, it's going to be a long college football season for you.

But man, I have to show some love and emphasize just how incredible both quarterback Shedeur Sanders and cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter were on Saturday.

We'll start with Sanders, who had no problems starting on the road for the Buffs. He was going up against a TCU defense that returned seven starters from last year. Sanders had a record-setting day, throwing for 510 yards and four touchdowns while completing 80 percent of his passes.

His 510 yards set a school record for the most passing yards thrown in a single game in Colorado school history—in his first Buffs start! His game-winning touchdown pass to true freshman Dylan Edwards on 4th-and-2 went 46 yards to the house:

And you can't really talk about Sanders without mentioning Travis Hunter, the Buffs' second leading receiver on the day behind Edwards. Hunter, who also plays cornerback, had over 100 total snaps in the win. He had 11 receptions for 119 yards, including one reception for 43 yards. On defense, he added three total tackles and an interception. He was quite literally, everywhere on the field:

Both of these guys have vaulted themselves into the Heisman conversation, even after one game. What a day for Colorado and these two outstanding players. I can't wait to see what both of them do the rest of the season.

Yes, I know it's only Week 1! But that's why these overreactions are fun.

Three of the other favorites come from the Pac-12. We'll start with the reigning Heisman winner, USC quarterback Caleb Williams. Thanks to USC playing in Week Zero against San Jose State and Week 1 vs. Nevada, Williams already has two games under his belt.

He hasn't slowed down a bit this season, having thrown for 597 yards with nine total touchdowns and zero interceptions during USC's 56-28 and 66-14 respective victories.

It looks like Oregon quarterback Bo Nix and Washington signal-caller Michael Penix, Jr. are also early favorites. Nix, who got put on a billboard in New York City last month to start his Heisman campaign early, had a good day against Portland State in Week 1.

During Oregon's 81-7 victory which set a scoring record for Autzen Stadium, Nix threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns with just four incompletions. He took the bench in the third quarter since Oregon was up by so much.

Elsewhere in the Pac-12, Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. had no problems against Boise State's defense. He finished with 450 yards passing with five touchdowns and zero interceptions. His five touchdowns matched a career high for him that he set with Indiana back in 2020.

Lastly, UNC quarterback Drake Maye helped his team get a 31-17 victory over South Carolina. Although his numbers didn't quite jump off the statsheet, throwing two interceptions and two touchdowns with 269 yards passing, he'll be in the mix for NYC come December.

The Buckeyes enter 2023 with high expectations, with many picking Ohio State to win the Big Ten. OSU was a 30-point favorite going on the road vs. Indiana, who Ohio State had scored 110 points on in the last two seasons. Riding a 28-game win streak against the Hoosiers, the expectations were high for OSU, even as it replaces quarterback C.J. Stroud.

But Ohio State's offensive debut with quarterback Kyle McCord looked underwhelming against the Hoosiers, to say the least. The Buckeyes led just 10-3 at halftime, and added a touchdown and two field goals in the second half to win 23-3. OSU finished 2-for-12 on third down, with just 380 total yards of offense.

McCord, who was named OSU's starter by head coach Ryan Day last Saturday, finished with 239 yards passing with an interception and no touchdowns, completing 60 percent of his passes. His back-up, Devin Brown, had just one pass completion for -2 yards.

Sure, starting a season on the road with a new quarterback is never easy. But if Ohio State wants to beat the likes of Notre Dame, Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan this year, the offense has to be a lot better than what it showed on Saturday.

The biggest storyline in Tuscaloosa this season is just how good Alabama can be despite having to massively reload. As far as Bama's new quarterback is concerned, Tide fans shouldn't be worried with Jalen Milroe starting under center.

During the Tide's 56-7 victory over Middle Tennessee State, Milroe went 13-for-18 with 194 yards passing with three touchdowns. He led Bama in rushing with 48 yards and two touchdowns on the night, too. Perhaps most impressive was that he became the first Alabama signal-caller in school history to get three passing touchdowns and two rushing ones in a single game. Not even Jalen Hurts or Tua Tagovailoa can say they did that.

One of his most exciting plays came when he recovered a fumble off an errant snap and blasted upfield 21 yards for a score:

"I think Jalen did a good job," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said of his new QB on Saturday. I think he's had a good fall camp. I thought he played well in both scrimmages, I think he's more confident with doing a good job in the passing game. His athleticism helps him."

Alabama started 2023 with a new quarterback and a new offensive coordinator in Tommy Rees. Putting up 56 points and 431 total yards—yes, even against Middle Tennessee State—is a great way to come out.

It's only fitting that this happens in the final year of the conference's existence, really. As 2023 will be the end of the conference as we know it, there are several teams that look capable of having huge seasons.

A whopping five teams finished with double-digit win seasons last year in Washington, USC, Utah, Oregon and Oregon State. All five look like potential playoff contenders, and they have some serious playmakers on their teams.

Washington returned quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and his leading receiver Rome Odunze from last season, and won 56-19 over Boise in Week 1. USC is tied for first in the country in scoring offense with its first two wins, led by Caleb Williams and adding receiver Dorian Singer from the transfer portal. Oregon and Bo Nix had a 43-point lead over Portland State at halftime.

Oregon State had just its second 10-win season in school history last year. Former Clemson star D.J. Uiagalelei is expected to elevate its quarterback position in Week 1 against San Jose State on Sunday. And last, but certainly not least, Utah. The Utes have won the conference in back-to-back seasons, and dominated the Florida Gators 24-11 despite missing eight starters, including star quarterback Cam Rising.

Colorado will certainly shake things up inside this conference. UCLA true freshman quarterback Dante Moore threw two touchdowns and led the Bruins to four scoring drives in a 27-13 win over Coastal Carolina on Saturday. New head coaches like Stanford's Troy Taylor and Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham might surprise some people in their debuts.

How much fun is the Pac-12 this season? I'm going to enjoy every minute of the conference's final year.

Neither of these coaches entered 2023 with a whole lot of leeway. Boston College's Jeff Hafley led the Eagles to a 3-9 mark last season following 6-5 and 6-6 seasons in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Arkansas State is 5-19 over two seasons under Butch Jones.

Both coaches didn't exactly have great results in Week 1. We'll start at Boston College, where Hafley's team was upset by Northern Illinois at home. The Huskies led 21-7 with 9:24 left in the fourth. Although the Eagles stormed back and tied things up to force overtime, Boston College's offense had to settle for a field goal on its first possession. NIU was able to score a touchdown on its posession to seal the victory.

To say that Arkansas State had a rough outing against Oklahoma would be putting it lightly. The Sooners led 28-0 after the first quarter alone. OU's defense completely shut out the Red Wolves. Arkansas State missed two field goals in the first half which were the only two scoring opportunities the Red Wolves got all day.

Oklahoma ended up putting 73 points on Arkansas State—the most points in an opener for the Sooners since 1917. The game was so bad that Jones was visibly anguished on the sidelines afterwards:

Yes, I know it's only Week 1, but the writing looks to be on the wall for both of these coaches.

Putting up 52 points in Week 1 is a pretty decent way to get critics off of your back if you're Jimbo Fisher. The Aggies head coach hired Bobby Petrino to be Texas A&M's new offensive coordinator this offseason, following a disappointing 5-7 season in 2022.

It looks like the decision was a great one, as Texas A&M led 35-7 at halftime, and added another 17 points in the second half. Aggies starting quarterback Conner Weigman had a brilliant day, finishing with just five incompletions for 236 yards and five scores.

The 52 points were the highest point total for TAMU since putting up 74 over LSU in 2018. Fisher, who has handed play-calling duties over to Petrino, was feeling good about his hire postgame:

"I feel great," Fisher said via On3 Sports after the game. "We knew going in we had a great plan. That's why we hired Bobby. This fits in well with all the adjustments we talked about and things are going great."

We'll see how good this Aggie offense looks when Alabama comes to town on Oct. 7. Regardless, a 52-point performance paired with your quarterback throwing five scores undoubtedly injects confidence in the state of Fisher's program.

Last October, Matt Rhule was fired by the Carolina Panthers following a disappointing three seasons in the NFL. Getting fired as a coach likely never feels good, but getting a $40 million buyout from the Panthers surely helped soften the blow.

Just imagine for a second getting an extra $40 million in your pocket. The possibilities are endless as to what you can do next. You could take that money and spend more time with your family, or simply just enjoy some time off away from the grind of football season. Heck, you can go hang out on a giant yacht, which you can certainly now afford!

Instead, Rhule decided to coach football at Nebraska, a program that's been nationally irrelevant for the last decade. Week 1 went about as poorly as you could have imagined for Rhule's Nebraska team. Just look at how ugly this game was:

The Huskers ultimately lost 13-10 on the road to Minnesota on Thursday night, and his team had four turnovers—two of them coming late in the fourth quarter. Minnesota capitalized on both of them, scoring a field goal and a touchdown to get the win.

"It was just the first game of the season, can't Rhule turn things around in Week 2?" you might be thinking. That's the even worse part, because next week, Nebraska has to go on the road for a second consecutive week. Who do the Huskers play? Well none other than Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes in their home opener. Big oof, coach.

The Drew Allar Era in Happy Valley is finally here. After spending the 2022 season behind longtime starter Sean Clifford, Allar got his first start under center Saturday night against West Virginia. His debut was impressive—he went 21-for-29 for 325 yards and three touchdowns during Penn State's 38-15 win.

His second throw of the night? A 72-yard touchdown bomb to his receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith:

Allar, a former 5-star QB recruit out of Medina, Ohio, had a 12-yard touchdown pass to Lambert-Smith and a 25-yard touchdown pass to Malik McClain in the second half.

"I thought he did a really good job of managing the game from a decision-making standpoint," Penn State head coach James Franklin said of Allar after the win. "He's extremely poised. ... He's mobile for a big guy, does a great job of climbing the pocket and keeping his eyes up. So I was very pleased."

Penn State hasn't played in the Big Ten title game since 2016, thanks to Michigan and Ohio State dominating the division in recent years. The meat of the Nittany Lion's Big Ten schedule starts Oct. 21, when Penn State travels to Ohio State. Given how the Buckeyes' offense struggled in Week 1, Penn State looks like it has the better unit, for now.