‘Respectable Big 10 football’: USC’s win sets tone for

• J.J. Post, ESPNSep 2, 2024, 06:51 PM ET College football is back– therefore are its best quotes.Editor’s Picks

1 Related After a long offseason of preparing for opening week, many college football teams got their 2024 projects underway over the weekend. And after the games, new and old coaches alike held court to assess what they saw.From USC looking at home with its brand-new conference association to standout freshmen, here were the top quotes from the opening weekend of the 2024 college football season.” Respectable Big Ten football”A Week 1 win in prime-time show is always

great for spirits, and Lincoln Riley kept the mood light after a go-ahead touchdown assisted the USC Trojans take down the LSU Tigers in Las Vegas.Last season, both teams were understood for high-scoring affairs– the Tigers

finished first in points per game, while the Trojans clocked in at 3rd. Both teams likewise brought in brand-new defensive coordinators over the offseason, and the matchup of revamped defenses caused a lot more modest 27-20 final score.The success was USC’s very first while representing the Big Ten after formally signing up with the conference– which boasts a track record for hard-nosed, defensive football– in early August.Lincoln Riley, smiling.”That was some respectable Big 10 football today.”– Paolo Uggetti(@PaoloUggetti)September 2, 2024 “I need to send out Ryan Day a bottle

of champagne “Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord’s very first game leading the Syracuse Orange offense could not have gone much better.The senior looked right in your home at the JMA Wireless Dome, throwing for 354 yards and 4 touchdowns

in a 38-22 win over the Ohio Bobcats. McCord’s four goals were the most by a quarterback in their Syracuse launching in school history.After the game, Orange head coach Fran Brown joked that he owed Ryan Day– who coached McCord last season in Columbus– a gift for enabling the signal-caller to join him in Syracuse.”4 plus 2 does equivalent 6″ Often quarterback/wide receiver chemistry is as fundamental as easy math.Highly promoted freshman wideout Ryan Williams wasted no time at all establishing a connection with Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe in the very first game of the Kalen DeBoer era.

Milroe found Williams for ratings in the very first and 2nd quarters of Alabama’s game against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers,

with both plays covering more than 50 yards.Williams pointed out the duo’s respective jersey numbers as a sign that touchdowns were all but fate for him and Milroe.Milroe+Williams @AlabamaFTBL pic.twitter.com/dGoGa7YmL6!.?.!— SEC Network(@SECNetwork)September 1, 2024 “You don’t think he’s quite human”While Williams flashed in Tuscaloosa, another blue-chip freshman receiver was likewise getting their collegiate profession off to a hot start.Jeremiah Smith turned heads in his Ohio State Buckeyes launching, capturing six passes for 92 yards and a pair of goals. The Buckeyes cruised to a season-opening

triumph, and Ryan Day marveled after the game at the talent of his novice feeling.”It’s never ever not going to be personal”

When Clark Lea took control of as head coach of the

Vanderbilt Commodores at the end of the 2020 season, he dealt with one of the most significant uphill climbs up in college football– the team had actually won a total of

five SEC games in the previous four seasons.And while generating momentum under Lea has been difficult– the Commodores finished winless in conference play for the second time in 3 years in 2023– the fourth-year boss scored a landmark success Saturday in Nashville.Vanderbilt’s 34-27 upset of

the Virginia Tech Hokies was the school’s very first

season-opening win versus a power conference challenger considering that 2005. Lea, who holds 2 degrees from the school, didn’t pull back from what the win indicated for him and his group after the game.ESPN Statistics & Details contributed to this story.