The first full week of college football delivered on all accounts. Fans packed stadiums around the country for the first time in almost two years, while teams on the field put on a show. However, some of the top programs in the country struggled out of the gates and dropped their 2021 openers.
In fact, eight of the preseason top 25 teams lost in Week 1.
The first top program to fall came on Friday night when No. 10 UNC lost on the road against ACC foe Virginia Tech. Heisman candidate Sam Howell struggled in Blacksburg and threw three interceptions, which prevented the Tar Heels from pulling off a fourth quarterback comeback.
North Carolina wasn’t the only top 25 ACC team to go down over the weekend. In Saturday’s headliners, No. 14 Miami lost badly to No. 1 Alabama while No. 3 Clemson fell in a defensive battle to No. 5 Georgia. A pick-six proved to be the difference, and the only touchdown, in the Tigers-Bulldogs match-up.
No. 12 Wisconsin also lost a low-scoring, defensive struggle to No. 19 Penn State on Saturday afternoon. In the other Big Ten match-up between ranked teams, No. 18 Iowa blew out No. 17 Indiana, 34-6.
Ed Orgeron and the No. 16 LSU Tigers ran into an impressive UCLA ground game and lost at the Rose Bowl, 38-27. The No. 23 Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns also struggled to keep pace with a talented Texas offense and fell by multiple scores.
Finally, in the upset of the weekend, FCS program Montana held off No. 20 Washington, 13-7. Freshman quarterback Dylan Morris threw three interceptions which sank the Huskies chances at walking away with a win in their season opener.
Week 1 laid the stage for an exciting upcoming year, but the 2021 college football season is just getting underway. Already, fans are anxiously awaiting next weekend’s games.
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Eight Top 25 teams have lost in Week 1:
No. 3 Clemson
No. 10 UNC
No. 12 Wisconsin
No. 14 Miami
No. 16 LSU
No. 17 Indiana
No. 20 Washington
No. 23 Louisiana
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— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 5, 2021
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