Week 0 Whirlwind: The biggest winners and losers of opening weekend

With the opening weekend of the 2024 college football season over, several big storylines caught the nation's attention. Only four games with FBS representatives were played last Saturday.

However, some teams came up big to start their season and some were disappointed right out of the gate. Let's look at a couple of the biggest winners and losers for Week 0.

Georgia Tech comes out as the biggest obvious winner. The Yellow Jackets have been one of the most improved teams in college football over the past few years.

Ever since Brent Key was hired as the team's interim coach after the first four games in 2021, Georgia Tech has skyrocketed up the latter in the ACC. They might not be true contenders yet, but this is just the start of what's to come in Atlanta.

Coming off a 7-6 season and a win in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl in 2023, the Yellow Jackets experienced much-needed buzz heading into this year.

The excitement only escalated with the commitment from top high school prospect Josh Petty, the biggest signing in Jacket history. It was clear that momentum had been building up with the football program. All they needed was one major victory.

In this year's Aer Lingus College Football Classic, they got it. Against #10 Florida State, Georgia Tech pulled off the first massive upset of the 2024 campaign, winning 24-21. While an upset win wasn't totally out of the question for the people who've been paying attention, it still is a surprise for everyone.

The Seminoles entered this year as one of the top contenders in the ACC and came into the game as double-digit favorites.

Georgia Tech's defense was able to stifle and shut down FSU's running game, which is arguably the biggest reason why they earned the victory. The unit also held the Seminoles under 50% on third-down conversions.

The Yellow Jackets running game was the group that flourished, led by Jamal Haynes, who scored two touchdowns on 11 carries. The team has a well-balanced offensive attack and didn't try to force things down the field.

190 yards were gained on the ground and 146 more through the air for 336 yards. This is the biggest win the program has experienced since they dramatically beat #9 Florida State in 2015. This school should be known as the "Nole killers".

Other than the aforementioned recruitment, this win will serve as the biggest springboard for future success. Now, many eyes are laying on the up-and-coming team in Atlanta. There's no doubt this will give the team momentum to have the best season the school has experienced in years.

On the other side of the spectrum is Week 0's biggest loser. As said earlier, Florida State was ranked tenth in the country to start this season. The Seminoles seemed poised and ready for the challenge of proving their worth to the college football world.

Despite going undefeated in the regular season and winning the ACC title, Florida State was left out of the College Football Playoff.

Following the snub, there's been plenty of debate as to whether the Seminoles deserved to get a chance in the playoff.

Some agreed that they belonged and others didn't. Regardless of which side of the scale you're on, this was supposed to be Florida State's first decisive victory on their revenge tour.

If the team wanted full respect right out the gate, FSU has to win this game against Georgia Tech in Dublin. As the game began, it seemed as if the Seminoles would cruise past the Yellow Jackets. To start the game, the ACC favorites went down the field on a seven-play, 75-yard drive.

On five of those plays, FSU ran the ball right through the Jacket defensive line.

It culminated in an early touchdown by Lawrance Toafili and a two-point conversion that took a little over four minutes of game time. The early 8-0 was a message sent by FSU but that message didn't last.

As you know, Georgia Tech had other ideas. They immediately answered with a scoring drive of their own. They then made Florida State turn the ball over on downs, and the rest is history.

The Seminoles lost on a last-second field goal and they've been under consistent scrutiny. In a game this tight, both team's stats were close in comparison with each other.

However, Georgia Tech was able to shut down Florida State's ground game as the Seminoles only gained 98 rushing yards. FSU also went 5 for 12 on third-own efficiency and they didn't get any major plays from the passing game.

DJ Uiagalelei only averaged 7.1 yards per throw. His longest completion was a 21-yard pass to Lawrance Toafili on FSU's second possession of the game. They just didn't get enough from any facet of their offense.

Now, Florida State finds itself in a position that it ended last year with. That position is not getting full respect from the country despite being a talented squad and facing many questions. Next Monday, they play Boston College in their home opener.

If they drop that contest, they could be out of the playoff race fast.

Heading into the 2024 season, there weren't many expectations for Hawaii to have a winning season. Head coach and former Hawaii legendary quarterback Timmy Chang has increased the win total for the Rainbow Warriors in each of his last two seasons.

There's been evidence of progress for Hawaii since his arrival and he has potentially one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the country on his team.

Brayden Schager is a guy who hasn't gotten as much attention as he should. Last year was a breakout season for Schager as he threw over 3,500 yards and 26 scores. He started the 2024 campaign with a great performance over Delaware State.

Even though it's against an opponent from the FCS ranks, Hawaii needed a win here as they take on UCLA this Saturday.

Schager delivered for his team. He completed 17 of 34 passes for 203 yards. He threw for two touchdowns. The first was an 11-yard toss to wideout Tamatoa Mokiao-Atimalala in the first quarter.

The second touchdown toss came in the fourth period, a 29-yard completion to Kentucky transfer Dekel Crowdus.

However, Schager didn't just do his damage through the air. He was also able to contribute on the ground. He ran 38 yards and two more touchdowns on 10 carries.

Out of all the FBS quarterbacks who saw action in Week 0, he might've had the best performance. The only other quarterback that has as good of a week was SMU's Preston Stone.

Schager contributed to four of the five touchdowns Hawaii scored in their 35-14 triumph. The only other score was a punt return. This is a great start for Schager and Hawaii.

At the end of the season, you can expect to see the senior on several major passing leaderboards, especially since he's playing for a school known for big numbers produced by quarterbacks.

Our final loser is the conference that Hawaii plays in. The Mountain West had a pretty rough week. Other than Hawaii, the league had two other schools in the national spotlight. They were New Mexico and Nevada. Both suffered crushing losses.

New Mexico was the first of the two teams that played, as they faced the Montana State Bobcats, one of the perennial powers in the FCS.

The Lobos came into their season-opener as double-digit underdogs, which is a rare sight in an FBS vs. FCS matchup. It was understandable because UNM has gone through seven straight losing seasons and was coming off a 4-8 mark in 2023.

Bronco Mendenhall was brought in due to his resume of rebuilding BYU and Virginia.

His first game at New Mexico didn't go as planned. After the conclusion of the third quarter, the Lobos were up 31-14. They were looking like the favorite over the Bobcats and it appeared to be another blowout victory for an FBS team over an FCS opponent.

Then the floodgates opened, as MSU quarterback Tommy Mellot and tailback Adam Jones ignited a furious comeback. Several miscues including a dropped pass by Luke Wyson and missed field goals by UNM also contributed. Montana State won 35-31.

After the collapse by the Lobos, the Nevada Wolf Pack took the field against SMU. This game was the first of 35 matchups between the Mountain West and Power 4 opponents. As was the case with the Lobos, Nevada also took a double-digit lead into the fourth quarter.

The Wolf Pack were doing a great job against the new ACC members. Their defense was holding down the Mustang's vaunted passing game.

However, in the final period, SMU came back on the road. After trailing 24-13, SMU scored 16 unanswered points to take the contest by a score of 29-24. What also hurt was that Nevada also added to the SMU comeback, by taking a safety with 7:19 to go in regulation.

The safety occurred when Nevada ran a halfback draw from the shotgun formation, which was a bad call. The comeback was capped off by a 34-yard touchdown pass from Preston Stone to RJ Maryland with just over a minute left.