College football winners and losers from Week 1: DeBoer's debut, Miami's statement and more

The first weekend of college football action delivered, just as we all knew it would.

We got upsets. We got dramatic finishes. We got heightened nerves and sighs of relief. Surrender cobras are in season.

Every weekend, there are winners and there are losers, in the literal and figurative sense. Georgia was a big winner with a 34-3 victory over Clemson. Dabo Swinney took a beating for that one. But neither made the cut for our biggest winners and losers of the week, mostly because that outcome was as predictable as any over the weeken.

Let's dive in!

Winners — Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame

Notre Dame played on the biggest stage in Week 1 going into Kyle Field to play No. 20 Texas A&M. Oddsmakers even had the Aggies favored over the No. 7 Irish. Marcus Freeman and company left with a victory anyways.

The Irish defense looked impenetrable for most of the game. Quarterback Riley Leonard showed flashes of the gamer he was at Duke. Running back Jeremiyah Love came alive late.

Now Notre Dame's path to the College Football Playoff is clear. They'll be favored against the rest of the schedule with only two true road tests remaining — Purdue and USC. Go ahead and pencil the Irish into the 12-team field.

Winners — Cam Ward and Miami

Speaking of statement games, the Miami Hurricanes made theirs for the CFP against Florida. Quarterback Cam Ward made his for the Heisman Trophy as well.

In a 41-17 beatdown of the Gators, Ward racked up 385 yards passing with 3 touchdowns. Defensively, Miami held Florida to 1-of-9 on third downs. It was a complete performance that essentially put the Hurricanes in the driver's seat in the ACC.

This wasn't a conference game, but it was by far the most impressive showing for an ACC team. Florida State already has a loss on their record. Darkhorse Virginia Tech fell flat on their face against Vanderbilt. Clemson was humbled by Georgia. NC State struggled with Western Carolina. Miami already looks like the class of the conference with a quarterback who could run circles around the rest.

Winners — Kalen DeBoer and Alabama

Kalen DeBoer is a winner y'all. Filling Nick Saban's shoes is an impossible task, so I understand the question marks surrounding the program going into the season. Still, DeBoer was the right man for the job and he left no doubt about it in Alabama's opener against Western Kentucky.

Listen, I'm not going to overhype a victory over a Group of 5 school for a 37-point favorite. Still, top teams around the country had slow starts or growing pains against lesser opposition. Alabama's defense looked as effective as ever pitching a shutout. Jalen Milroe effortlessly scored five touchdowns between the air and ground.

The Tide aren't falling off a cliff without Saban. Much bigger challenges are coming down the line. That's when we'll find out if Alabama has maintained their championship pedigree. As it stands, DeBoer's debut couldn't have gone more smoothly.

Losers — Deion Smith and Colorado

Alright, let's get to some of those teams that struggled, starting with Colorado.

Deion Sanders is one of the biggest names in the sport and he has two of the best players in college at his disposal. Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter are immense. That much was abundantly clear against North Dakota State.

Unfortunately, other things were clear too. This Colorado team didn't look improved over last year's 4-8 outfit. The defense struggled. The offensive line let Sanders get pummeled all night. There was no semblance of a running game.

It's hard to gauge the overall level of the Big 12 right now. But looking at the schedule, bowl eligibility is no certainty.

Losers — Dan Lanning and Oregon

What the heck, Ducks? What was that?

Oregon barely survived an upset bid from FCS Idaho in Autzen in what was far and away the most bizarre result of the weekend. Dillon Gabriel was 41-of-49 for 380 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jordan James averaged 6.3 yards per carry. Yet the Ducks managed just 24 points? Make it make sense!

Despite the quarterback's efficiency, Oregon was incredibly inefficient on key downs, going 7-of-16 on third and 1-of-3 on fourth. That basically explains it.

Pray for the Ducks at practice this week because Dan Lanning is probably going to make life miserable.

Losers — Brent Prye and Virginia Tech

The offseason is a time for every fanbase to build up their hopes for the new season. Some fanbases get those hopes crushed earlier than others. Virginia Tech was one of those teams.

With a wealth of returning production, the Hokies were supposed to be on the rise. Vanderbilt put that perception to bed with a 34-27 upset over the 13.5-point favorites.

To be brutally honest, Brent Pry was the biggest loser of the week because he's now firmly in the "first coach to be fired" sweepstakes. His coaching performance against the Commodores was a fireable offense on its own. There were costly special teams miscues. His team didn't look prepared. They were cowed by the hostile environment, falling behind 17-0 in the first half.

Losers — Billy Napier

Insert "grimmace" emoji here.

The best news for Pry is that Billy Napier might not have long at Florida if his team puts in another performance like that...