Four freshmen shine in college footballopening week
Nebraska midfielder Dylan Raiola, State of Ohio wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, Tennessee midfielder Nico Iamaleava And Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams each had standout performances on Saturday that sent the college football world into a frenzy. Raiola threw for 238 yards and two touchdowns in a 40-7 win over UTEP. Iamaleava, a freshman redshirted after backing up Joe Milton III Last year, threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns, playing in just half of Tennessee’s 69-3 win over Chattanooga.
On the receiving side, Smith had six receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns in Ohio State’s win over Akron. He also had a highlight-reel one-handed catch in the win. Williams had just two receptions against West KentuckyBut the 17-year-old turned both catches into touchdowns for a total of 139 yards in the 63-0 win.
So, let’s play a little game with each of them called “If This, Then That” to see how they can impact their team’s goals for the 2024 season.
Nebraska midfielder Dylan Raiola
I believe Raiola could have the biggest impact of these four players. If he’s just a net gain for Nebraska, the Cornhuskers will be playing meaningful games for the College Football Playoff come November.
In fact, that’s Nebraska’s standard. Everyone talks about how Raiola could be the savior of the program and rescue Nebraska from its current state. But if you actually look and study what Nebraska did in 2023, you’ll see that this team was very close to playing a net negative quarterback a year ago. If it didn’t give the ball away as much as it did last year, Nebraska would be a different team, at least in terms of record. Nebraska would win maybe three or four games.
Think about it this way: Nebraska had a minus-17 turnover differential last year, the worst among Power 5 schools. The Cornhuskers lost five games by one point last year, four by three points, and one in overtime. In those games, they had 16 turnovers, 14 of which came from the quarterback.
Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. UTEP Miners Highlights
If you extrapolate that and say, “If Dylan Raiola was just a pure positive and not a pure negative; if he just took care of the football,” then those games would probably be wins. If that gets cleared up, there’s no question that Nebraska will play meaningful games this season with the schedule they have coming up.
I was in a little bit of a wait-and-see mode with Raiola before Saturday’s game. He showed some flashes. So I think he’s really good, but he just needs to be a net positive for Nebraska to be a CFP contender by the end of the season.
How big is this Saturday’s game? Colorado in Lincoln? I think that’s the difference between Nebraska losing (maybe two) or going undefeated against Ohio State on October 26. If Nebraska loses to Colorado, it’s likely to be another one-score game with Rutgers-like team (which has improved a lot under Greg Schiano) and you think they can lose a game to that caliber of opponent. If the Cornhuskers beat Colorado, then no one else really scares you anymore because it proves you can beat two phenomenal players in Hunter Travis And Shedeur Sanders.
How did Colorado’s win affect the team’s prospects this season?
If Nebraska remains undefeated until the game against Ohio State, it will be 7-1 entering the final four games of the season. Nebraska will be able to beat UCLA University The following week before the end of the year with games at University of Southern Californiahouse against State of Wisconsin and at State of Iowa. If the Cornhuskers are 8-1 entering that stretch and win those two games, they not only have a chance to play in the Big Ten championship game, but they also have a chance to make the College Football Playoff.
That’s why Raiola’s rise is such a big step not just at Nebraska but across the college football landscape.
Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith
Everyone was talking about Smith all spring, and rightly so. In fact, Ohio State tried to tamp down some of the hype. He was so hyped up to go to Columbus that Ryan Day breathed a sigh of relief at the podium when he delivered his letter of intent to the Woody Hayes Center last December.
Smith’s stat line from Saturday may not blow you away, but some of his catches will. The style of catch Ohio State gives Smith is also notable. If he’s one-on-one, Smith gets the ball. That tells you everything you need to know about the confidence Ryan Day, Chip Kelly and Will Howard in Smith. Even Howard said that Smith is the type of player that you can pass the ball to if he’s in a one-on-one situation.
What does that mean for the Buckeyes? Well, if Smith he (as the kids say), he’ll be the tide that raises all boats for Ohio State and their offense. If Smith isn’t at that level, defenses might start cheating and devoting resources to stopping the run while making Howard’s life that much harder.
Dylan Raiola & Jeremiah Smith: Can They Take Nebraska and Ohio State to the Next Level?
But if Smith can continue to play at that level, defenses will have problems. He can command a double-team with the safety up high. If the safety is up high, Ohio State can block everyone on the run front, at least on the other side of the football. With Quinshon Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson and even Howard, that run game could really get loose. Guess who would either be single guarded or have the odds in their favor if Smith were double guarded? Emeka Egbuka.
We often think of quarterbacks as the rising tide on all boats because linebackers are often a secondary position. But if Smith impacts the structure of the defense before he catches the ball, he becomes the tide. We saw that a little bit with Marvin Harrison Jr. in recent seasons.
Ohio State’s offense may not need to score 40 points in a game because of what they can do on defense. But if Smith hethen be careful.
Tennessee midfielder Nico Iamaleava
If Iamaleava is a really good team, Tennessee will be the 2022 version of themselves, not the 2023 version.
Iamaleava looked incredible on Saturday, even though it was against Chattanooga, and you could make the same comment about Smith’s opponent. But these are players who shine when given the chance to play. I know Iamaleava played in Tennessee’s win last year, but Tennessee will be a factor if he’s the real deal. The 2022 version is a problem in the SEC.
It’s not just that Iamaleava puts up incredible numbers in just 30 minutes of football. His receivers don’t have to adjust much to his throws. In some of the film I’ve seen, Iamaleava throws the ball with great accuracy and moves it down the field.
One of our Big Noon colleagues, Matt Leinart, has known Iamaleava for a long time due to their California connections. Leinart has always said that Iamaleava is one of the most impressive, if not the most impressive, young passer he’s ever seen. That proved true against Tennessee in Week 1.
If Iamaleava continues like this, the Volunteers will make a deep SEC run, similar to what Miller Moss made it to USC in the Big Ten on Sunday. Tennessee’s schedule is tough, with games against Georgia, Alabama and Oklahoma. But Tennessee has also become a big problem for those teams. How will each team navigate the Volunteers? If Iamaleava is as good as he is, Tennessee could be in contention for a spot in the SEC championship game.
Alabama forward Ryan Williams
If Williams plays as well as he did on Saturday, Kalen DeBoer will be the Crimson Tide’s answer at quarterback.
That hasn’t been the case with Alabama the past two years. If you asked me what I think the biggest difference between Alabama the past two years and other seasons in the Nick Saban era is, it would be the lack of top talent at linebacker. Since Saban’s early years, Alabama has always seemed to have one of those guys, whether it’s Julio Jones, Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy, DeVonta Smith or Jameson Williams.
If Williams is heAlabama has another receiver in that same mold and an elite playmaker on the outside. Not only does Alabama have that talent, but you pair Williams with DeBoer. Just look at what DeBoer has done with Rome Odunze last season. He just got to the national final because he has talent as a midfielder. I know. Michael Penix Jr. is also very prominent. But mostly from the play of the elite catcher.
Kalen DeBoer explains his path to Alabama and why he’s ready to follow in the footsteps of GOAT Nick Saban
So if Williams is an elite player, watch out for Alabama because DeBoer knows what to do with a receiver room like that. Williams could develop into that and become DeBoer’s new Odunze.
That must be a scary thought for everyone.
Joel Klatt is FOX Sports’ lead college football game analyst and host of the podcast “Joel Klatt’s show.“Follow him on X/Twitter at @joelklatt And Subscribe to the “Joel Klatt Show” on YouTube.
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