College Football Week 1 Winners and Losers: Georgia Bulldogs, Anthony Richardson Burst Out of the Gate
The SEC had a big opening week with lopsided victories, wins over ranked teams from other conferences, and some players just showing up with huge performances.
The defending-champion Georgia Bulldogs faced the No. 11 team in the country and barely broke a sweat. They look like contenders to win another national championship and they were the big winners of Week 1 in the college football season.
Here are other winners (and losers) from Week 1, featuring some of the best (and worst) from the first full 2022 slate of college football games.
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Week 1 Winners
Georgia Bulldogs
The defending national champions lost significant talent to the NFL, including seven picks in the first two rounds of the draft – but it did not appear to hold them back at all in their first game of this season.
Facing the No. 11 Oregon Ducks, the Bulldogs were dominant in a 49-3 win while staking a legitimate claim to be the No. 1 team in the country.
QB Stetson Bennett completed 25 of 31 passes for 368 yards and two touchdowns in the victory, giving way to sophomore QB Carson Beck once the score was 42-3.
The Bulldogs are priced at +300 at DraftKings and FanDuel, +325 at Caesars, at +350 at BetMGM to win the national championship.
QB Anthony Richardson, Florida
Earning an upset win at home against No. 7 Utah, the Florida Gators were led by their dynamic sophomore quarterback. Richardson completed 17 of 24 passes for 168 yards but ran the ball 11 times for 106 yards and three touchdowns.
He is now priced at +1800 to win the Heisman at FanDuel and BetMGM, +2000 at Caesars, and +2200 at DraftKings.
QB Will Rogers, Mississippi State
The Mississippi State Bulldogs are not big-time contenders in the SEC, but they have a junior quarterback who can play. Rogers opened the season completing 38 of 49 passes for 450 yards and five touchdowns (with one interception) in a 49-23 win against Memphis.
Rogers completed 73.9% of his passes last season, throwing for 4,739 yards with 36 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
He is a longer shot for the Heisman Trophy, priced at +6000 at DraftKings, +8000 at FanDuel and BetMGM, and +10000 at Caesars.
Arkansas Razorbacks
There are a lot of mismatches early in the college football schedule as powerhouse teams tend to beat up on non-conference opponents. The No. 19 Arkansas Razorbacks, on the other hand had a tough matchup at home against No. 23 Cincinnati and came away with a 31-24 victory.
Arkansas TE Trey Knox led the way with six catches for 75 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
It was a big day for the SEC, as Arkansas, Florida, and Georgia all knocked off ranked opponents from outside the conference.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
It’s not so much a moral victory, but the Fighting Irish entered as 16.5-point underdogs at Ohio State and ended up losing 21-10. At the very least, the Irish could take heart in a defense that could hold its own against second-ranked Ohio State.
There may be reasonable questions about whether the Irish have an offense capable of sustaining such a lofty ranking, but Irish faithful can take a small ‘W’ from their Week 1 loss.
Week 1 Losers
Utah State's Title Hopes (LOL)
Sure, they were supposed to lose as 40-point underdogs at Alabama, but a 55-0 loss quickly ended the national championship dream for Utah State, a team that drew some big wagers in the offseason, presumably with the hopes that an upset at Alabama would propel them to an undefeated season. Maybe there wasn't even that much thought put into it.
Oregon Ducks
They were on the road, facing the defending national champions, so it was probably going to be a tough day for the No. 11 Ducks as 17.5-point underdogs. Losing by a score of 49-3 not only elevated the stature of the Bulldogs, who just decimated a ranked opponent, but it called into question whether the Ducks were wildly overrated coming into the season.
Senior Ducks quarterback Bo Nix, who transferred from Auburn, completed 21 of 37 passes for 173 yards with two interceptions in the loss.
Iowa Hawkeyes' Offense
The Hawkeyes won by a 7-3 score against South Dakota State, and the difference in the game was two second-half safeties for Iowa. That's two safeties, one field goal and zero touchdowns at home against South Dakota State, a FCS program. They won the game, but the Hawkeyes were embarrassed nonetheless.
North Carolina – Appalachian State Under Bettors
The Tar Heels eked out a 63-61 win, with both teams easily covering the total of 52.5; the two teams combined for 62 points in the fourth quarter alone!
North Carolina QB Drake Maye completed 24 of 35 passes for 352 yards and four touchdowns, adding 76 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Appalachian State QB Chase Brice completed 25 of 36 passes for 361 yards and six touchdowns with one interception.
A wild offensive game like this one stands in great contrast to the Iowa debacle, to the point where you can hardly believe they were playing the same sport.
LSU Tigers
After an amazing rally to score a potentially game-tying touchdown on the last play of the fourth quarter against Florida State, the LSU Tigers just needed to convert the extra point to force overtime:
Oh, no!
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