College football games, Week 1: SEC vs. ACC showdowns headline as new era begins in 2024 season

It’s the second week of the college football season but Week 1 on the calendar. Confused? Don’t be. While we can discuss the merits of labeling something “Week 0,” there’s no argument elsewhere. Football is here and the overreactions have only begun.

Suddenly, Florida State’s best chance at achieving anything meaningful this season is in the courts. Social media vultures jumped on that Georgia Tech result for pure sport, didn’t they? Never mind the Seminoles lost at the gun to a plucky Yellow Jackets team in another country with 11 games left (at least). 

Now, other victims await our judgment following as the first full week of games takes center stage. 

This is an early warning to reel in your knee-jerk reactions. The newly expanded College Football Playoff not only means more access but also more hope. You may have missed two of these gems buried in the unwritten CFP rules because, well, they’re unwritten.

For the first time in the BCS era (since 1998), winning your conference isn’t the clearest path to a championship. You can lose early, actually lose big, and still be in the running … as long as you win your conference. 

Yes, both those things can be true at the same time. 

Don’t forget, the top five ranked conference champions get automatic spots in the CFP field. Yes, there are nine conferences, so this isn’t about complete redemption for this weekend’s losers. But such is the impact of the breadth and width of the 12-team playoff. 

This week’s games are great because they’re not definitive. That’s good news for those on the unfortunate end of Clemson vs. Georgia, Penn State vs. West Virginia, Miami vs. Florida, Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M and LSU vs. USC. 

Losing doesn’t kill your season. You can rebound. 

In fact, third place…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-games-week-1-sec-vs-acc-showdowns-headline-as-new-era-begins-in-2024-season/

Author : Dennis Dodd

Publish date : 2024-08-29 18:17:45

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