Evidence that Clemson’s offense has finally turned a corner will have to wait at least another week.

Facing off against No. 1 Georgia, the No. 14 Tigers cobbled together just 188 yards on 3.6 yards per play in a 34-3 loss. After spending just two snaps inside opposing territory in the first half — one ended in a loss, the other in a penalty — Clemson’s only points came on a 26-yard field goal about midway through the third quarter, by which point the Bulldogs had built a 13-0 lead. Georgia would respond to the Tigers’ field goal with a touchdown on the ensuing possession to erase any sense of momentum.

After coming up just short of the College Football Playoff last season, Georgia looks built to smother teams on the way to a third national championship in four years. For the Tigers, even short gains felt like accomplishments; any long gain felt like an absolute miracle.

Second-year starting quarterback Cade Klubnik finished 18 of 29 for 142 yards, just 4.9 yards per attempt, with an interception. His receiver corps struggled to get any separation against the Bulldogs’ secondary while Clemson’s offensive front failed to get any movement, resulting in just 46 rushing yards on 23 carries. Overall, the performance would be shocking had we not seen it again and again these past three seasons — a crippling run of unrealized production that has coincided with Clemson’s disappearance from the national stage.

Of course, Georgia is going to do this to teams. The Bulldogs were not only dominant defensively but unsurprisingly effective on the offensive side: Carson Beck was 23 of 33 for 278 yards and two scores, kickstarting his Heisman Trophy campaign in style, while seven runners combined for 163 yards and two touchdowns on 6.3 yards per carry.

Even if the Bulldogs are the No. 1 team in the country, that Clemson was thoroughly dominated shows how far the Tigers stand from true title contention. When these two teams met in 2021, a 10-3 Georgia win, you could’ve made the case that Clemson was only a step or two behind the eventual national champs. A few years later, that gap has widened to miles and miles of what seems to be insurmountable space.

That makes Georgia the biggest winner and Clemson the biggest loser from Week 1 of the 2024 season. Here’s the rest of the list:

Winners

Penn State

The No. 9 Nittany Lions’ new-look offense delivered 457 yards on 7.6 yards per play, led by quarterback Drew Allar’s 216 passing yards and three touchdowns on 13.1 yards per throw, in a 34-12 win at West Virginia. This a quick validation of James Franklin’s decision to hire coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, who previously worked wonders in the same position at Kansas. The turning point was a late touchdown drive to end the first half, a 73-yard haul in just three plays to put Penn State in front 20-6 at the break. After an extended weather delay, the Nittany Lions tacked on a pair of touchdowns in the second half for a convincing road win against Power Four opponent. After one week, the Nittany Lions look like a very legitimate Big Ten threat and one of the top contenders for the playoff.

Dylan Raiola

The five-star true freshman kicked off his college career at Nebraska with a bang: Raiola completed 19 of 28 throws for 238 yards and two scores without an interception as the Cornhuskers got started with a breezy 40-7 win at home against Texas-El Paso. One of the biggest additions of the offseason in the Big Ten, Raiola is a clear upgrade over what Nebraska worked with in Matt Rhule’s first season and one of a few reasons why the Cornhuskers are a trendy pick for eight or more wins.

Tennessee

It’s only Chattanooga, so let’s not get too excited. But the 69-3 win for No. 15 Tennessee was highlighted by a wonderful 2024 debut for redshirt freshman Nico Iamaleava, a former five-star prospect who got his feet wet in four appearances last season. Iamaleava hit on 22 of 28 throws for 314 yards and three touchdowns, including a 59-yard score to Dont’e Thornton Jr., before taking a seat for almost all of the final two quarters. All but one of his 314 yards came in the first half to set a new program record for one half, breaking by one yard the previous mark set by Tyler Bray against Troy in 2012.

Ohio State and Texas

These two playoff favorites hit the ground running. New Ohio State quarterback Will Howard had 246 yards of total offense and several freshmen made an immediate impact as the No. 2 Buckeyes poured it on in the second half to beat Akron 52-6. One rookie, five-star receiver Jeremiah Smith, led Ohio State with six grabs for 92 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman running back James Peoples had 30 yards and a score in six carries behind co-starters TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, who combined for 120 yards on 21 touches. Texas rolled past Colorado State 52-0 behind 545 yards of offense to set up next week’s huge non-conference matchup against No. 8 Michigan. The win included the first career touchdown pass for redshirt freshman Arch Manning, who finished with 95 passing yards.

Ashton Jeanty

Boise State and Georgia Southern played the wildest game of Week 1, a back-and-forth shootout that saw the two teams combine for 35 fourth-quarter points in the Broncos’ 56-45 win. But the day belonged to Boise running back Ashton Jeanty, who was already a dark-horse Heisman contender after running for 1,347 yards with another 569 yards as a receiver a year ago. Jeanty rewrote the program’s single-game record book with 267 rushing yards and six touchdowns, two off the Bowl Subdivision record of eight in a game.

Alabama

There was never any doubt that No. 5 Alabama would romp over Western Kentucky, so there’s nothing eye-opening about the 63-0 final in coach Kalen DeBoer’s debut. But that’s still a great opener for the guy tapped to replace Nick Saban, with all the pressure and attention that entails. Jalen Milroe and the offense looked comfortable in the Crimson Tide’s new scheme, dropping 42 points in the first half with three touchdowns of 54 or more yards. Two traveling a combined 139 yards went to true freshman receiver Ryan Williams, a 17-year-old phenom who reclassified from the 2025 recruiting class to join the Tide this season.

Notre Dame

The go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter of the 23-13 win at No. 20 Texas A&M was really good stuff from No. 7 Notre Dame, which outside of that spurt was pretty uninspired on offense (but predictably strong on defense). Duke transfer Riley Leonard had 221 yards of offense and was at his best late, always a good sign. Can he take the physical toll of the 12 carries on Saturday night and stay healthy? That question probably defines how far the Fighting Irish go in 2024. Another good question asks how good the Aggies really are, and we won’t know about that for a few more weeks. But you won’t find anything but good vibes about the Irish after this sort of win in maybe the toughest road setting in the country. In other words, if you were thinking 11-1 or so against this year’s schedule, this isn’t shaking your confidence.

Losers

Florida

The clock is ticking on Billy Napier after an ugly, hard-to-watch 41-17 loss at home to Miami showed just how far the program has fallen in his third season. In a must-win game against a bitter rival, the Gators were barely competitive. The schedule was always going to be a problem: Florida is slated to play eight ranked teams, including five ranked opponents in a row to close the regular season. While the Hurricanes have clearly taken a step forward thanks to additions such as new quarterback Cam Ward, who threw for 385 yards and three scores, that the Gators were whipped in the Swamp is the strongest hint to date that Napier’s time is numbered and that this year’s team could be just the second since 1980 to lose eight or more games.

Virginia Tech

At the very least, an overtime loss at Vanderbilt evaporates all of the optimism around the Hokies after a very strong close to last season and and immediately tosses the Hokies out of any consideration for the Top 25. Down 17-3 at halftime, Tech scrambled back to take a 27-20 lead before the Commodores tied the game with under two minutes left in regulation. While not important in the grander scheme of things — any road to the playoff has to include an ACC title — falling to the Commodores is the sort of loss that can come to define a season, if not cut a promising year down to size before getting into September.

ACC

Miami might’ve looked the part, but that result was an outlier amid a bad first step for the ACC. Clemson was blasted by Georgia. Virginia Tech lost to Vanderbilt. No. 21 North Carolina State struggled to put away Western Carolina. A week ago, No. 10 Florida State got things started for the ACC with a loss to Georgia Tech. It’s been a pretty awful start for the conference, which was already badly losing a battle of public perception against the Big Ten and SEC. Down the line, bad losses in non-conference play and sloppy showings from the league’s best of the best could hold major sway with the playoff selection committee as they look through a dozen or more options from the Power Four for the seven at-large bids.

Rice

The Owls have made clear progress under coach Mike Bloomgren, namely in back-to-back bowl bids heading into this season. Rice is still living on the edges of bowl eligibility. The 2022 team went 5-7 in the regular season but was chosen for the LendingTree Bowl by virtue of the program’s high score in the Academic Progress Report. Last year’s team went 6-6 before getting blown out by Texas State in the First Responder Bowl. So getting to the six-win cutoff means Rice has to win games at home against teams such as Sam Houston State, which instead ran for 178 yards, forced two turnovers and beat the Owls 34-14. The Bearkats went 3-9 last season as transitional FBS members and were picked fifth in the Conference USA preseason poll.

PARIS — Tahl Leibovitz still remembers his first Paralympic games in Atlanta 28 years ago. 

The para table tennis player remembers how energetic he was, fighting the crowd as he played. He described his first games as a constant battle. The high-intensity games culminated in a gold medal for Leibovitz and concluded with a trip to the White House. 

‘That was unbelievable for me in the United States,’ Leibovitz said on Tuesday. ‘That’s probably the best memory.’

Fast forward to 2024, the three-time medalist is preparing to compete in his seventh Paralympics in Paris. He will be in Classification 9 – a class for athletes with mild impairment that affects the legs or playing arm. He has Osteochondroma, making it difficult for movement in his playing right arm.

Leibovitz, out of Ozone Park, New York, enters as a much different person and athlete than he was in 1996. 

2024 Paris Olympics: Follow USA TODAY’s coverage of the biggest names and stories of the Games.

For one, he successfully published a book that he had worked on for the past 20 years. ‘The Book of Tahl’ details his journey from being homeless, stealing food just to survive to becoming a renowned Paralympic athlete and college graduate. He is a USA Table Tennis Hall of Famer, and the book tells the story of how he arrived there. 

Leibovitz has authored two other books, but his newest is his favorite.

‘This one is actually quite good,’ Leibovitz said, joking about the book. ‘And I would say just having this story where people know what it’s like to be homeless, what it’s like to have depression, what it’s like to never go to school like high school and junior high school. And then you have whatever – four college degrees and you graduate with honors from NYU and all that stuff. It’s interesting.’Between balancing publishing the book, Leibovitz was training to add another medal to his cabinet. But it isn’t the winning that keeps the 5-foot-4 athlete returning. 

Leibovitz keeps returning to the world stage for the experiences. So far, Paris has been one of those experiences that Leiboviz will never forget along with his previous trips with friends and family. 

‘That’s what it comes down to because when you think about it – everyone wants to make these games and it’s the experience of just meeting your friends and having something so unique and so different,’ Leibovitz said. ‘But I would say that’s what really brings me back. Of course, I’m competitive in every tournament.’

Fans returned to the stands in Paris after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics saw empty arenas due to COVID-19. More than 2 million tickets have been sold to the 2024 Games, but Leibovitz is not worried about nerves after his Atlanta experience. 

No matter the crowd or situation, Leibovitz no longer feels pressure. Leaning on his experience from back to his debut in the 1996 Atlanta Games, the comfort level for the veteran is at an all-time high. 

‘I think it’s the experience and people feel like in these games because it’s different,’ Leibovitz said. ‘They feel so much pressure. I feel very comfortable when I’m playing because I’ve played so many. And I think that helps me a lot. Yeah, it probably helps me the most – the comfort level.’

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The five-day celebration that is college football’s Week 1 is still going strong.

Though the vast majority of the Week 1 schedule played out on Saturday, there’s still football left to be played on Sunday and Monday. Each of those games will feature teams who can potentially challenge for the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.

Watch select college football games live with Fubo (free trial)

That starts first with the final top-25 matchup of the Week 1 schedule, between No. 12 LSU and No. 23 USC in Las Vegas. Then No. 10 Florida State — which also played in the first game of the season in Week 0 — will wrap up the Week 1 schedule with a Monday night game vs. ACC foe Boston College.

With that, here’s what you need to know about Sunday’s college football schedule, including time, TV and streaming information and more:

College football games on today

Matchup: No. 12 LSU vs. No. 23 USC (Las Vegas)
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV channel: ABC
Streaming: ESPN+ | Fubo (free trial)

The lone college football game on Sunday is the top-25 matchup between No. 12 LSU and No. 23 USC. The Tigers and Trojans — who each must replace Heisman Trophy winners at quarterback in 2024 — will play in the Modelo Vegas Kickoff Classic in Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium (home of the NFL’s Raiders franchise).

The game is scheduled to kick off Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will air nationally on ABC, but can also be streamed via ESPN+ and Fubo, the latter of which offers a free trial and includes ABC as part of its package.

College football scores from Week 1

Below are all the scores involving top 25 teams from Week 1. For a full list of scores, click here.

Thursday, Aug. 29

No. 11 Missouri 51, Murray State 0
No. 13 Utah 49, Southern Utah 0
No. 22 NC State 38, Western Carolina 21
No. 24 Kansas 48, Lindenwood 3

Friday, Aug. 30

No. 16 Oklahoma 51, Temple 3

Saturday, Aug. 31

No. 1 Georgia 34, No. 14 Clemson 3
No. 2 Ohio State 52, Akron 6
No. 3 Oregon 24, Idaho 14
No. 4 Texas 52, Colorado State 0
No. 5 Alabama 63, Western Kentucky 0
No. 6 Ole Miss 76, Furman 0
No. 7 Notre Dame 23, No. 20 Texas A&M 13
No. 8 Michigan 30, Fresno State 10
No. 9 Penn State 34, West Virginia 12
No. 15 Tennessee 69, Chattanooga 3
No. 17 Kansas State 41, UT-Martin 6
No. 18 Oklahoma State 44, South Dakota State 20
No. 19 Miami 41, Florida 17
No. 21 Arizona 61, New Mexico 39
No. 25 Iowa 40, Illinois State 0

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PARIS — Ian Seidenfeld remembers the feeling of winning his gold medal in the Class 6 men’s singles in Tokyo. 

He entered the Tokyo Games stressed, insecure and unsure if he belonged at the Paralympics. He didn’t know what to do or how to react. Those uneasy feelings were gone once he reached the top of his sport. Getting to celebrate with his family after earning a gold medal was “euphoric” for Seidenfeld. 

It is a feeling he is chasing at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. 

“It’s a long time since I’ve won the gold medal, so I definitely want to feel that again to be able to win,” Seidenfeld said on Tuesday. “So basically everything I’ve done before doesn’t really matter much.”

Seidenfeld, a native of Lakeville, Minnesota, and alum of Minnesota-Twin Cities will have the opportunity to earn another gold medal when para table tennis play begins in Paris with doubles play. 

2024 Paris Olympics: Follow USA TODAY’s coverage of the biggest names and stories of the Games.

Seidenfeld’s approach to training for Paris has been a little unconventional. He’s prioritized having fun and said that part of the equation has been not taking himself too seriously. 

“Having fun is being able to smile a lot, laugh a lot, and be able to admire my great shots as well as other people’s great shots,” Seidenfeld said. “Knowing that we’re all getting better and that’s really a lot of fun to improve and see that improvement with my training partners and myself.”

The other part of having fun for Seidenfeld is spending more time with his family — namely his father and former Paralympian Mitchell. His dad has been there every step of the way, and Seidenfeld gives him a lot of credit for his accomplishments. 

Mitchell, who also acts as a coach for Team USA, began a coaching program that Seidenfeld joined when he was 5, starting the path down international success.

“I don’t think I’d do anything of consequence without my dad,” Seidenfeld said. “He’s been helpful mentally as well as teaching me how to play the game of table tennis and kind of prepared for life. So he’s everything along with my mom and sister.”

With the support of his family, Seidenfeld is heading into his second Paralympics with a lot more confidence than in his first in Tokyo. The insecurities that he worried about in 2020 have dissipated. He’s no longer stressed but looks to just have fun.

Seidenfeld knows what to do coming into the Games this time around, and he knows how competitive the field will be in his Class 6 classification. But the feeling of winning the gold medal, and the support from his family, is leading Seidenfeld to strive for even more success in 2024. 

“It’s a lot more confidence and joy and being able to have a lot more fun this time around,” Seidenfeld said. “Kind of taking everything in in a more mature way — especially being three years older.”

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina women’s basketball player Ashlyn Watkins was arrested Friday, according to online records for Richland County (South Carolina).

Records show Watkins, 21, was charged with first-degree assault and battery as well as kidnapping. Bond was set for $30,000. She is scheduled to make a court appearance on Oct. 25.

According to the records, Watkins is to have ‘no direct contact with the unnamed victim,’ and stay 1,000 yards away from the ‘victim’s house, work, school and place of worship.’ Watkins will need ‘permission to travel out of state for games and practice.’

‘We are aware of the situation and are continuing to gather information,’ a South Carolina spokesperson told The Greenville News, part of the USA TODAY Network, on Saturday.

Watkins, a junior forward, is from Columbia and played for Cardinal Newman High School. She was a key part of last season’s national championship team, averaging 9.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. When center Kamilla Cardoso missed five games, Watkins replaced her in the starting lineup. In the Final Four game against NC State on April 5, Watkins had a career-high 20 rebounds.

The 6-foot-3 Watkins is projected to start at center with Cardoso playing in the WNBA.

Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @LuluKesin

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.

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.

‘(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.

Matt Hayes’ CFP 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