3 most costly losses from Week 1 of the college football season

Week 1 of the 2024 college football season kicked off with a bang after several months of hibernation. In just one weekend, several teams look primed to compete for a college football playoff spot.

There are, however, other programs that took some tough losses which are going to affect them all season. There is a chance for their season to completely turn around, as it's still early in the year, but a tough start can put them behind the eight ball for College Football Playoff contention.

One loss can impact everything come the end of the season, whether it be a playoff spot, a coach's future or even recruiting battles. These three programs found that out the hard way in Week 1.

3 most costly losses from Week 1 of the college football season

Clemson Tigers

One of the biggest games of the week was the top-25 matchup between the No. 14 Clemson Tigers and the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs. This game was the perfect opportunity for the Tigers to showcase they are still the program they were a few seasons ago when they competed for a national championship. In many ways, Clemson was competing for relevancy among college football's elite.

Clemson kept it close in the first half by holding the Bulldogs to just six points at halftime. After halftime, however, the floodgates opened, and the Tigers defense was unable to hold quarterback Carson Beck and a powerful Bulldogs’ offense at bay. Georgia scored four touchdowns and accumulated 287 total yards in the second half.

The biggest problem was the offense’s lack of productivity. The Tigers only accumulated 188 total yards through all four quarters. There wasn’t any stability on the offense. While Georgia's defense is one of the best in the sport, Clemson has a lot to figure out on that side of the football. In the end, Clemson was dominated 34-3.

Meanwhile, head coach Dabo Swinney continues to decline in his ability to keep the Tigers competitive in the NIL/transfer portal era of college football. His stubbornness regarding NIL and the transfer portal is going to be a reason why fans might want to move on from him sooner rather than later.

Florida Gators

If there is one SEC program that needed to start the season with a win, it was the Florida Gators. Gator Nation needed some progress going into the third season of the Billy Napier era.

The Gators had a tough matchup in Week 1 as they hosted the No. 19 Miami Hurricanes. There was hope for the Gators as they were only a 2.5-point underdog to the Hurricanes. That hope would fade quickly after a disastrous turn of events in the middle of the game to give the Hurricanes the 41-17 win over the Gators

Florida’s offense continued to struggle in a new season as their inability to pass the ball limited the offensive progression. Former Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Graham Mertz struggled as the signal-caller for the Gators. The Gators were 1-of-9 on third down conversions and the team was out-gained in total yards, 529 to 261.

Napier’s seat went from hot to scorching as he might not survive the season with fans pleading for a change.

Virginia Tech Hokies

Leading up to the 2024 season, the unranked Virginia Tech Hokies had serious hype as a dark horse team for the College Football Playoff. A combination of Brent Pry’s stability with the team and 19 starters returning on both sides was enough for the Hokies to compete this season.

Those preseason hopes came crashing down in the first game of the season as the Hokies went on the road against the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Hokies found themselves down 17-3 to a team that has been historically at the bottom of the SEC year after year.

Virginia Tech attempted to come back as they scored 24 points in the second half, but it needed a missed game-winning field goal from Vanderbilt to force overtime. Once the game went into overtime, the Hokies allowed a rushing touchdown from Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia in just four plays. The Hokies failed to counter, thus allowing Vanderbilt to shock Virginia Tech 34-27 in overtime.

The Hokies first game of the season failed to live up to expectations. Pry’s seat as a head coach must be getting a little hot, but there is not a lot of wiggle room for a team to lose to Vanderbilt and remain a contender for the college football playoff. It was a tough weekend overall for the ACC.