INDIANAPOLIS – The Big Ten kicked off its season with four new teams, five new coaches and 13 schools featuring new starting quarterbacks.
It was a smashing success.
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With no league contests in Week 1 for the first time since 2019, the league finished a 17-1 weekend with Miller Moss' dramatic last-minute touchdown drive to give Southern California a 27-20 victory over then-No. 13 LSU, a key win over a high-powered Southeastern Conference school in a matchup of Heisman Trophy-winning replacements.
The victory shot Southern California up 10 spots in this week's AP Top 25 to No. 13.
“There's some pretty good Big Ten football today,” Trojans coach Lincoln Riley said after winning his Big Ten debut. “I like my team, I I like our team, I like our defense, I like our coaches. I like our offense, I like our special teams, I like the vibe of this team. There's a long, long way to go, but I'm sure glad I'm coaching these guys.”
Similar sentiments spread throughout a league that played games everywhere from the Atlantic Coast to Seattle, even stretching across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii in Week 1.
And while Big Ten schools weren't breaking scoring records, like the SEC, the glitzy dynamics left something for everyone to celebrate.
— Quarterbacks Will Rogers and Davis Warren won their starting debuts at Washington and Michigan, last year’s national championship finalists, giving Jedd Fisch and Sherrone Moore their first wins since being named head coaches at their respective schools.
— Highly-touted quarterback Dillon Gabriel, the transfer from Oklahoma, threw two TD passes in his debut with Oregon, a 24-14 winner over Idaho. The Ducks' performance however dropped them four spots to No. 7 in the poll.
— Coaches Curt Cignetti at Indiana, Jonathan Smith at Michigan State and DeShaun Foster at UCLA all won their first games to give the league's new coaches a 5-0 mark.
— Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara threw three TDs in a rare 40-point showing to move the Hawkeyes up four spots to No. 21 in the poll. The win came as interim coach Seth Wallace acted in place of suspended coach Kirk Ferentz.
— Freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola led Nebraska, his All-American father's alma mater, to 28 first-half points in a 40-7 rout of UTEP in a venue he admitted he'd envisioned playing in since he was 8 years old.
— And Will Howard produced a quality debut at No. 2 Ohio State, throwing three TDs in a 52-6 victory over Akron.
It wasn't just the strong showings of familiar names and faces in different locales that impressed fans — or players — either.
“It’s a pretty freaking cool stadium,” said Howard, the Kansas State transfer who played at Ohio Stadium for the first time. “I’ve never been a part of so many different traditions. It makes it more engaging for everyone involved. Getting to experience all this stuff that I’ve heard about for the first time was really fun. Now that I’ve got it all under my belt, it’s like, ‘Alright, now I’ve done it, and now it’s business as usual.'"
Though Dragan Kesich's errant 47-yard field goal as time expired against North Carolina was the only blemish separating the Big Ten from a perfect weekend, even the winners found plenty to correct.
“I’m taking full responsibility for everything that happened,” Michigan State QB Aidan Chiles said after the Spartans' less-than-stellar offensive performance against Florida Atlantic. "You always want to come out and play football and do what you’ve got to do and I felt like I did that. But I didn’t do what I’m used to doing. It was my fault. I’m sorry if I sound rude or with attitude, I truly apologize but I’m a little angry at myself.”
Can the Week 2 sequel be as good as Week 1? Perhaps.
With No. 3 Texas visiting the defending national champion Wolverines, ranked No. 10, No. 19 Kansas traveling to Illinois and two longtime rivalries return — Iowa State at Iowa and Colorado at Nebraska — it's certainly possible.
“When you get a stage like that, which is rare in college football — you get one day, no NFL games, like there's not much else going on right? — this was our day here on one of the biggest stages,” Riley said. “So, yeah, to show up like that, I know there was a lot of people watching.”
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