Atlanta games, Lane Kiffin key explosive college football action

ATLANTA — College football’s first full weekend of games delivered in dramatic fashion with two of the more exciting finishes taking place in Atlanta.

Georgia Tech’s crushing 14-13 loss to Colorado on Thursday on a blocked field-goal attempt in Deion Sanders’ return to Atlanta was as theatrical as finishes get. And on Saturday, Auburn’s defensive stop an inch short of the goal line to beat Baylor 17-16 was the stuff of oil paintings.

But the weekend’s biggest headlines, at least to this point ― Sunday night Ole Miss plays Louisville in a battle of ranked teams and preseason Top 5 Notre Dame ventures into Lambeau Field to play upset-minded Wisconsin ― came later on Saturday night.

LSU’s decimation of Clemson by a 51-10 count was the definition of a statement game, with Lane Kiffin’s Tigers overwhelming Dabo Swinney’s proud program of yesteryear.

Kiffin, the self-proclaimed “Portal King” with 48 transfers suiting up for his new LSU program on Saturday night, showed Swinney what he’s been missing by resisting transfer portal action.

The Bayou Bengals outgained Clemson by nearly 500 yards — 644-145 — with a school-record 38 first downs to the Tigers’ eight.

To put that into perspective, No. 3 Georgia outgained hapless Tennessee State of the Football Championship Subdivision by a similar margin (660-109) with a 31-10 advantage in first downs.

LSU did it in punishing and convincing fashion that should leave future opponents shaking, powering out 309 yards rushing while holding Clemson to 40 yards on the ground.

“I didn’t expect their offense to be that dysfunctional,” Kiffin said after the game, per Yahoo Sports. “Our scout team scored more than they did against us.”

Kiffin, embroiled in court cases surrounding LSU’s attempt to add players who had signed professional contracts to his roster, said while leading 31-3 at halftime, “imagine if we had pro players.”

Meanwhile in Michigan, college football’s all-time winningest program needed a Hail Mary miracle TD pass — and a second chance with one controversial second left on the clock — to pull out a 13-12 win over four-touchdown underdog Western Michigan.

A once-proud Wolverines program has seen its 2024 national championship tarnished somewhat by an NCAA investigation that revealed impermissible sign-stealing, as well as the firing of former head coach Sherrone Moore in December in the wake of an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Michigan appears to be on shaky ground with Oklahoma coming to Ann Arbor next Saturday.

The future appears more promising for Auburn, where coach Alex Golesh made a successful debut thanks to the sort of clutch play that was missing last season when the Tigers went 1-6 in games decided by single digits.

Transfer QB Byrum Brown, the active leader in the Football Bowl Subdivision in total touchdowns (93 combined in rushing and passing), put his new team out front with an 11-yard touchdown run with 3:21 left.

Then it was the Tigers defense answering the bell with the game on the line, as safety Eric Winters took down Baylor tight end Matthew Klopfenstein with a bear hug inside the 1 yard line, inches short of what could have been a game-winning 2-point conversion.

No. 2-ranked Oregon escaped a potential home upset at the hands of 24½-point underdog Boise State, rallying from a 10-point deficit to score a 34-27 win at Autzen Stadium.

Here’s a look at how the AP Top 25 has fared:

1. Ohio State (1-0)

Def. Ball State, 56-3

2. Oregon (1-0)

Def. Boise State, 34-27

3. Georgia (1-0)

Def. Tennessee State, 63-3

4. Notre Dame (0-0)

Sunday vs. Wisconsin 7:30 p.m. (NBC)

5. Texas (1-0)

Def. Texas State, 59-7

6. Indiana (1-0)

Def. North Texas, 52-16

7. Miami (1-0)

Def. Stanford, 45-6

8. Texas A&M (1-0)

Def. Missouri State, 50-0

9. Ole Miss (0-0)

Sunday vs. No. 24 Louisville, 7:30 p.m. (ABC)

10. Oklahoma (1-0)

Def. UTEP, 51-0

11. LSU (1-0)

Def. Clemson, 51-10

12. Texas Tech (1-0)

Def. Abilene Christian, 33-10

13. Alabama (1-0)

Def. East Carolina, 48-10

14. Southern Cal (2-0)

Def. Fresno State, 39-0