Week 1 of the college football season gave us our first glimpse at the teams expected to compete for the national title, and their performances warranted mixed reviews. While No. 1 Georgia passed a top-15 test with flying colors by dominating No. 14 Clemson 34-3, others ran into a little more trouble.
Though they each came away with double-digit wins, Big Ten teams Ohio State, Oregon and Michigan worked through some kinks. Things even got dicey in the fourth quarter for the Ducks and Wolverines before they came up with big plays to escape with wins.
All in all, the top teams did well to avoid upsets in an opening weekend that featured plenty of mayhem and drama. But that doesn't mean they all received good grades. This early in the season, every team has things to clean up. The miscues were more evident and costly for some teams than others, and that's reflected in our first batch of grades for the season.
Here are the Week 1 grades for each team with national title odds of +4000 or better.
College football grades: Week 1 report card
| Team | Odds | Grade | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
 | +270 | A+ | Georgia started slow in a 34-3 win over Clemson, but once it got revved up, it looked unstoppable. The Bulldogs outscored Clemson 28-3 in the second half while scoring touchdowns on four of their first five possessions after halftime. UGA was ruthless defensively throughout, limiting the Tigers to 188 total yards. The Bulldogs were penalized seven times for 70 yards and had a couple three-and-outs, but it was an excellent debut. |
 | +450 | C | Ohio State trailed 3-0 against Akron and only scored one touchdown on its first four possessions before cruising to a 52-6 win against the overmatched Zips. Transfer quarterback Will Howard's 6 of 16 start through the air highlighted a clunky showing from the first-team offense in the early going. The good news is that Ohio State should be able to turn in "C" performances and get to 5-0 without much problem. But it will need something better than that to pass a big midterm at Oregon on Oct. 12. |
 | +700 | D | Oregon barely escaped a valiant effort from FCS Idaho, winning 24-14 as more than a 40-point favorite. The Ducks needed an offsides penalty from the Vandals late in the fourth quarter to create a more manageable situation and avoid a potential turnover on downs. Without the flag, the Vandals may have gotten the football back down just three. A win is a win, but Oregon cut this one way too close and has some things to clean up before a Week 2 visit from Mountain West power Boise State. |
 | +700 | A | Texas punted on its first possession and never punted again on its way to a 52-0 thrashing of Colorado State. Meanwhile, the Longhorns surrendered just 11 first downs and held Colorado State under 200 yards. Arch Manning even got in on the action, throwing his first career touchdown pass as the Longhorns easily passed their first test before heading to Michigan for a seismic Week 2 showdown. |
 | +1100 | A | Scoring touchdowns was almost too easy for Alabama in its 63-0 thrashing of Western Kentucky. The Crimson Tide averaged 2.5 plays per possession on their first six touchdown drives and didn't have a drive of more than four plays until the middle of the third quarter. Coach Kalen DeBoer's debut featured scoring plays of 22, 84, 39, 85 and 55 yards as the Tide put up 600 yards on one of Conference USA's better teams. |
 | +1400 | A | Ole Miss racked up 772 yards in a 76-0 win over Furman. Quarterback Jaxson Dart passed for 418 yards and five touchdowns in the first half. He didn't play in the second half, but the Rebels' dominance continued even with reserves playing. Furman never even made it to the red zone. This was a bludgeoning of the highest degree. |
 | +1700 | B+ | Notre Dame edgedTexas A&M 23-13 on the road in a physical slugfest highlighted by fierce defense from both sides. The Fighting Irish's offense came alive with the game on the line, driving 85 yards on eight plays for a go-ahead touchdown with 1:54 remaining. Duke transfer quarterback Riley Leonard's debut wasn't perfect, but he got it done in crunch time, and Notre Dame's defense was solid all game. |
 | +1800 | A | West Virginia was a trendy upset pick against the Nittany Lions, but Penn State did away with that notion in a 34-12 road thrashing of the Mountaineers. Most encouraging was the improved explosiveness of Penn State's offense under new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. Quarterback Drew Allar threw touchdown passes covering 50, 20 and 18 yards and had another 55-yard completion mixed in. Nick Singleton also rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown. Penn State's defense was tough, per usual. |
 | +2200 | A+ | Miami's authoritative 41-17 road win over Florida set the stage for a potential College Football Playoff run. QB Cam Ward was spectacular and the Hurricanes were stout defensively. In a critical third season for coach Mario Cristobal, the 'Canes aced their first test. |
 | +3000 | C- | Don't be deceived by the 30-10 final score of Michigan's win over Fresno State. The offense flunked its first test of the post-J.J. McCarthy era at quarterback, going eight straight possessions without a touchdown. Fresno State drew within a score in the fourth quarter before the Wolverines snapped to life. A late pick-six from Will Johnson made the score look better. But this was not an inspiring performance on the eve of a visit from Texas. |
 | +3500 | A | The competition was lacking, but Tennessee's offense looked spectacular in a 69-3 win over Chattanooga. In his first start at Neyland Stadium, former five-star prospect Nico Iamaleava looked like a Heisman Trophy contender with 314 yards and three touchdowns on 22 of 28 passing. |
 | +4000 | A | You can't take take much from games against overmatched FCS foes, but Missouri held Murray State to just 85 yards and kept the Racers from reaching the red zone in a 51-0 victory. That's an encouraging start from a unit that lost coordinator Blake Baker to LSU and five players to the NFL Draft. |
