Week 1 of the 2024 season provided a small glimpse at what we might come to expect from teams around college football over the next few months, and what we saw from some teams was certainly more impressive than others.
Unsurprisingly, Georgia’s 34-3 beatdown of Clemson was among the most impressive outcomes of the weekend, and as a result, earned the highest game grade of any team in Week 1, per Phil Steele.
The Bulldogs paced the nation with a 145.8, and their game control — especially in the second half — was indicative of such a high mark.
Georgia wasn’t the only team who impressed in Week 1, though, as Steele’s list of top game grades has a few noteworthy Big 12 performances as well.
Arizona State, who was favored by just 6.5 points over Wyoming, throttled the Cowboys to the tune of 48-7. ASU outgained Wyoming 499-118 and possessed the ball for over 37 minutes. The performance earned them Steele’s seventh-highest game grade (130.6) and the highest grade among all Big 12 teams.
UCF also had an impressive season opener, taking down New Hampshire 57-3. While there were some early struggles in the passing game, the Knights ran for a total of 454 yards on the ground and held the Wildcats to just 162 yards and nine first downs on the evening. The come in with the 11th-best game grade (122.3) on Steele’s list.
Cam Rising finally got back on the field last week for Utah and didn’t disappoint in his much-anticipated return — throwing for a career-high five touchdowns and exiting the game after leading the Utes on five consecutive scoring drives in the first half. The Utes would win the game 49-0 and earned Steele’s 14th-highest grade of the week (119.7).
