Ten defining moments from previous opening slates

True freshman extensive receiver Zachariah Department was the discuss of Week 0 final season when he opened his profession with an electrical debut. The previous five-star recruit drew prompt comparisons to Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush along with his explosiveness and elusiveness, racking up all-purpose yards in a Week 0 drubbing of San José State. Department accomplished a 96-yard kickoff return for a landing, took three punt returns for 66 yards, dealt with a carry for 12 yards and caught 4 passes for 58 yards and a rating in a right away breakout efficiency. He went on to turn out to be an integral a part of the Trojans’ offense and particular groups models and is maybe their most enjoyable participant forward of the 2024 season.

Notre Dame took a slight step ahead in 12 months 2 beneath Marcus Freeman, who accomplished his first 10-win season as a head coach. The 42-3 rout of Navy final yr’s Eire recreation was a harbinger of the dominance to return for the Preventing Irish, who flexed their defensive muscle groups on nearly each opponent they confronted. It was additionally the primary of four-straight video games with at the very least 40 factors for the offense, and whereas that tempo cooled down in the course of the season, the unit remained the seventh-highest-scoring group within the land.

Scott Frost entered his fifth season at Nebraska on the recent seat, and regardless of the hopes that 2022 may lastly be his breakthrough yr, Frost in the end lasted simply three video games. A loss to Northwestern within the Eire recreation spelled main hassle for a coach that might in poor health afford to lose to inferior competitors, and the defeat seemed even worse at season’s finish when the Wildcats completed with a putrid 1-11 document — their solely win coming over the Huskers in that Week 0 contest. Frost was out two weeks later when Nebraska misplaced to Georgia Southern.

Season openers are sometimes sloppy affairs riddled with Sport 1 jitters, and that was clearly the case for a Florida crew that in any other case had an incredible 2019 season. The Gators dedicated a number of turnovers in opposing territory and saved Miami within the recreation with late penalties however in the end squeaked out a one-possession victory over their in-state rival. Whereas the shut name briefly value them a spot within the AP High 10, they by no means fell additional than No. 11 all season. It was a key victory for Dan Mullen in his winningest yr atop the Florida program.

Florida State entered 2002 as a premier nationwide championship contender and carried a No. 3 preseason rating into its Week 0 battle with Iowa State at Kansas Metropolis’s Arrowhead Stadium. The Seminoles constructed a commanding 24-0 lead, however the Cyclones stormed again and made issues precarious for Bobby Bowden’s crew, narrowing the margin to a landing by the tip of the fourth quarter. The rocky second half identified flaws in an FSU crew that by no means once more climbed as excessive as No. 3 within the rankings and in the end misplaced 5 video games, falling properly in need of a nationwide title.

Texas gained the Huge 12 South in 1999, but it surely had increased aspirations in 12 months 2 of the Mack Brown period and got here up in need of all of these, shedding within the Huge 12 Championship Sport and falling to rival Arkansas within the Cotton Bowl. Indicators pointed to a disappointing marketing campaign proper out of the gate when the eventual five-loss Longhorns slipped up in a big upset to NC State on their residence turf, dropping a 23-20 season-opener. The Wolfpack blocked a whopping three Texas punts and scored 16 factors off these performs — together with the game-winning landing.

Arizona was recent off one of the best season in program historical past and returned most of its starters from that 12-win marketing campaign, sparking Rose Bowl aspirations and even some nationwide title hopes. The Wildcats held a No. 3 preseason rating — the best at school historical past. However once they fell on their faces in a 41-7 Week 0 beatdown, it grew to become clear very early on that they may not dangle with the nation’s greatest groups. That loss to No. 4 Penn State was the primary of six defeats in a massively underwhelming marketing campaign by which Arizona didn’t even make a bowl recreation, not to mention the Rose Bowl.

Texas A&M had by no means gained fewer than eight video games in a season beneath R.C. Slocum till the 1996 marketing campaign, by which the Aggies dissatisfied with a 6-6 document. They carried a No. 13 rating into their Week 0 matchup with BYU and fell sufferer to an upset loss in Provo, setting the tone for an uncharacteristically underwhelming yr. The defeat despatched the Aggies tumbling to No. 25 within the AP High 25 Ballot, and after their loss to Southwestern Louisiana the subsequent week, they dropped out of the rankings for good.

The 1990 season-opening duel between a pair of top-10 squads in Colorado and Tennessee stays arguably one of the best Week 0 recreation of all time. The Pigskin Basic in Anaheim resulted in a 31-31 tie and gave the Buffaloes a key résumé-building outcome on their path to a nationwide championship. That they may dangle with one of many nation’s prime groups was an early signal of a particular yr by which they misplaced only one recreation and rattled off 5 ranked victories en path to an Orange Bowl title and their first and solely nationwide championship in program historical past.

The 1984 crew stays the one Auburn soccer squad to enter a season at No. 1 within the AP High 25 Ballot. It knew its first two video games could be an indicator of potential nationwide championship competition, however sadly for the Tigers, neither of these video games went their means. They opened the yr with a 20-18 loss to No. 10 Miami at a neutral-site, Week 0 battle, and after two weeks of preparation for No. 4 Texas, they got here up quick in one other marquee matchup. That 0-2 begin despatched Auburn plummeting within the rankings, and it by no means fairly recovered in a four-loss marketing campaign.