College Football 2018: 5 things we learned from Week 1
College football made its long-awaited return and provided for plenty of drama. Some teams struggled while others dominated. What did we learn from Week 1?
Is it possible that some teams are already in trouble? It could be, but it’s only Week 1 of the season. There were some shocking upsets some teams (like Michigan State and Penn State) went down to the wire to capture a win in their season openers.
There is still a lot of time left for teams to start to gain steam and figure things out, but for now, here are five things we learned from Week 1 of the 2018 college football season.
5. Notre Dame is legit
The Irish didn’t come away with a blowout win like other teams but in the renewed rivalry with Michigan, Notre Dame fared pretty well in the win at home.
Quarterback Brandon Wimbush’s dynamic nature pervaded onto the field Saturday as he showed off his arm and danced around on the ground against one of the top defenses in the nation.
Wimbush threw for 170 yards and a touchdown pass — connecting with Chris Finke on a 43-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter of the game.
He shared the wealth among three main targets in Finke, Chase Claypool and Miles Boykin. Wimbush also ran the ball 19 times for 59 yards including a 22-yard run.
The Irish were without Dexter Williams, but Jafar Armstrong made the bulk of the carries behind Wimbush in the rushing attack. He only tallied 35 yards, however, Armstrong punched in two touchdowns in the absence of Williams.
Defensively, the Irish were clutch on arguably the most important drive of the game. Notre Dame was ahead by a score and with just under a minute to go, jarred the ball loose from the grasp of Shea Patterson and scooped up the ball to seal the win.
Notre Dame will likely have a tougher trek to the postseason than other College Football Playoff hopefuls, but the win against Michigan provided the Irish with a confidence-building win to kick off the new season.