A weekend full of college football has already come and gone. Sure, we have more action on Sunday night and Monday night, even, but the majority of the action returned in all its glory on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
With that in mind, it’s time to celebrate the best of what we saw on the field this weekend in college football.
Week 1 College Football Team of the Week
It’s important to note that the CFN Week 1 College Football Team of the Week awards players based on their impact in their respective games and is not necessarily based on total statistical output.
The strength of competition is accounted for, as is the situation — both time of the game and score. These individual awards are also solely based on a player’s ability on the field and does not look into any future beyond college football.
We’re doing things a bit differently this season. We’ll go into the analysis below and then list the players of the week at each spot below that.
Let’s get to it.
First off, what a weekend it was for some of the nation’s top quarterbacks. The top performance, however, came during the 3:30 p.m. ET window when Cam Ward dismantled the Florida Gators secondary.
Ward threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns, effortlessly spotting his receivers over the middle of the field, deep down the sidelines, or separating from coverage.
Ashton Jeanty torched Georgia Southern himself, recording a Boise State record six rushing touchdowns on Saturday, while the late crowd was given a dramatic performance from Arizona WR Tetaiora McMillan. The Arizona wideout recorded 10 catches for a program record 304 yards and four touchdowns by the time the final whistle blew.
On defense, Will Johnson cemented himself as the top cornerback in the country with a game-sealing pick-six against Fresno State. Elsewhere, Malaki Starks went high-flying for the week’s most acrobatic interception and a couple of transfer edge defenders wreaked havoc on their opposition.
First Team College Football Offensive Team of the Week
QB: Cam Ward, Miami
RB: Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
RB: Marquez Cooper, San Diego State
WR: Travis Hunter, Colorado
WR: Damon Ward Jr., North Texas
WR: Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
TE: Oronde Gadsden II, Syracuse
FLEX: Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt
OT: Michael Tarquin, Oklahoma
OG: Anez Cooper, Miami
OC: Bryce Foster, Kansas
OG: Joshua Braun, Arkansas
OT: DeVonte Gordon, Wake Forest
First Team College Football Defensive Team of the Week
EDGE: Fadil Diggs, Syracuse
DT: Josaiah Stewart, Michigan
DT: Jahvaree Ritzie, North Carolina
EDGE: Tyler Baron, Miami
LB: Kyle Louis, Pittsburgh
LB: Jackson Woodard, UNLV
LB: Francisco Mauigoa, Miami
CB: Will Johnson, Michigan
CB: Peter Manuma, Hawaii
CB: JaTravis Broughton, TCU
S: Malaki Starks, Georgia
S: Jalen Catalon, UNLV
FLEX: Dylan Stewart, South Carolina
First Team College Football Special Teams of the Week
PK: Dominic Zvada, Michigan
P: Bryce Ferguson, Maryland
KR: Stephan Bracey Jr., Central Michigan
PR: Donte Kent, Central Michigan
Second Team College Football Offensive Team of the Week
QB: Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
RB: Dylan Sampson, Tennessee
RB: Jonah Coleman, Washington
WR: Harrison Wallace III, Penn State
WR: Kevin Concepcion, NC State
WR: Corey Rucker, Arkansas State
TE: Brant Kuithe, Utah
FLEX: Nick Nash, San Jose State
OT: Alex Wollschlaeger, Bowling Green
OG: Willie Lampkin, North Carolina
OC: Paolo Gennarelli, Army
OG: Cade Briggs, Arizona State
OT: Josh Atkins, Arizona State
Second Team College Football Defensive Team of the Week
EDGE: Kyle Kennard, South Carolina
DT: Glenn Seabrooks III, Vanderbilt
DT: Aaron Graves, Iowa
EDGE: Matayo Uiagalelei, Oregon
LB: Aiden Fisher, Indiana
LB: Marsel McDuffie, UNLV
LB: Deshawn Pace, Cincinnati
CB: Cam Lockridge, Fresno State
CB: Jakob Robinson, BYU
CB: Josh Minkins, Cincinnati
S: Beau Freyler, Iowa State
S: Jaylen Reed, Penn State
FLEX: Stephen Hall, Washington State
Second Team College Football Special Teams of the Week
PK: Peyton Woodring, Georgia
P: James Rendell, Notre Dame
KR: Lloyd Avant, Tulsa
PR: Kamdyn Benjamin, Tulsa
Third Team College Football Offensive Team of the Week
QB: Noah Fifita, Arizona
RB: RJ Harvey, UCF
RB: Terion Stewart, Bowling Green
WR: Jimmy Horn Jr., Colorado
WR: Tre Harris, Ole Miss
WR: Ryan Williams, Alabama
TE: Jalin Conyers, Texas Tech; Desirrio Riles, ECU
FLEX: Gio Lopez, South Alabama
OT: Francis Mauigoa, Miami
OG: Cam’Ron Johnson, Missouri
OC: Luke Petitbon, Wake Forest
OG: Shadre Hurst, Tulane
OT: Gunnar Hansen, Vanderbilt
Third Team College Football Defensive Team of the Week
EDGE: Ashton Gillotte, Louisville
DT: Payton Zdroik, Air Force
DT: Anthony Hawkins, Bowling Green
EDGE: Will Heldt, Purdue
LB: James Djonkam, Eastern Michigan
LB: Max Uihlein, Northwestern
LB: Keaton Thomas, Baylor
CB: D’Angelo Ponds, Indiana
CB: Toriano Pride Jr., Missouri
CB: Nohl Williams, Cal
S: Jonas Sanker, Virginia
S: Robert Rahimi, San Jose State
FLEX: Rayshawn Pleasant, Tulane
Third Team College Football Special Teams of the Week
PK: Logan Ward, Oklahoma State
P: Rhys Dakin, Iowa
KR: Justin Pegues, Bowling Green
PR: Desmond Reid, Pittsburgh
KEEP READING: Week 0 College Football Players of the Week: RJ Maryland Powers SMU’s Comeback