By Mark Pszonak
There are games every week that are eye openers, both positive and negative. Here are the three teams that have seen their stocks rise and fall after the first weekend of action:
Stock Up
Miami-Florida
There was a good amount of hype surrounding the Canes this preseason, but that can be said almost every year. However, after their 41-17 victory at Florida, this season might actually be different. Transfer quarterback Cam Ward looked the part, the offense has plenty of weapons and the defense looked fast and relentless. All eyes will be on Coral Gables for the remainder of the season.
Nebraska
Similar to Miami, buzz coming out of Lincoln is nothing new and similar to the Canes in recent years it has resulted in disappointment. This year was a bit different though, mostly due to true freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola. No matter what his talents were in high school and during preseason camp, nobody truly knows how a true freshman quarterback will respond until the games begin. And Raiola showed that he is up to the pressure on Saturday. Yes, it was only against UTEP, but he showed poise and all of the talents everyone had heard about. Even more lights will be on him this Saturday night as the Huskers welcome Colorado in what has suddenly become must-watch TV.
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Georgia Tech
I didn’t post one of these lists last week, but the Yellow Jackets obviously would’ve been on it after their surprising victory over Florida State. Even with that victory, there were still people wondering how Georgia Tech would come out on Saturday against Georgia State. They answered those questions with a relatively easy 35-12 victory. A suddenly important game is coming up next weekend at Syracuse and Louisville is looming in three weeks, but for now their performance through two weeks has made Georgia Tech significant.
Stock Down
Clemson
It is one thing to lose to Georgia in Atlanta, but it is another thing to get totally outclassed. This is what happened to the Tigers on Saturday afternoon. Expectations were somewhat tempered coming into the season anyway, but now you must already wonder where Clemson will fall in the ACC pecking order this season.
Virginia Tech
After finishing the 2023 season strong, returning most of their important players and adding some nice pieces through the portal, Virginia Tech became a trendy dark horse pick to make the playoffs. That quickly ended with a thud on Saturday in Nashville with an overtime loss to Vanderbilt. The Hokies came out listless and paid for it, which has already led to fingers being pointed at head coach Brent Pry who is now 10-15 during his time in Blacksburg. This could derail quickly and violently in the coming weeks with the next four games coming up against a solid Marshall team, Old Dominion (which almost beat South Carolina), Rutgers and Miami-Florida.
Houston
Considering Houston was selected 15th in the Big 12 media preseason poll, not much was expected from the Cougars during head coach Willie Fritz’s first season. Now even less is expected after a disastrous 27-7 home loss to UNLV. Yes, the Rebels were one of the preseason favorites in the Mountain West, but it was more the way Houston lost. Somehow, they lost by 20 points at home while UNLV only completed seven passes. Oh, and a trip to Oklahoma is coming up on Saturday. It’s going to be a LONG season for Houston.
