Opening weekend was not so kind to some of college football's traditional powers. Most notably, No. 21 Alabama suffered a 31-17 defeat at No. 14 Florida State, but there were other programs that also found themselves in an unexpected situation.
Here are three teams that must improve if they are to avoid hitting the panic button.
Where it must improve the most: Defending the run
Take your pick: defending the run, cutting down on penalties, converting on third down — it all went wrong for the Tide in Tallahassee. However, Alabama's inability to stop the run was the most concerning issue.
Florida State racked up 230 yards on 49 attempts. Alabama only allowed that many yards rushing once last season — a 24-3 loss at Oklahoma. FSU quarterback Tommy Castellanos kept the Tide on their heels, leading the FSU attack with 78 rushing yards.
Handling a dual-threat quarterback is never easy. Doing so in the first game of the season is even tougher. Injuries are also piling up on the defensive line. Head coach Kalen DeBoer announced this week that Jeremiah Beaman is out for the season. He was starting in place of the also-injured Tim Keenan who will not play Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe.
Most difficult upcoming game: Sept. 27 at No. 4 Georgia
Where it must improve the most: Finishing games
To be fair, Kansas State is 1-1 and had to play its first game in rainy Ireland, and then play its second game just seven days later in Kansas. Still, going down to the wire with North Dakota was not in the plans for a team with Big 12 title hopes.
K-State has given up 59 points in two games thus far. 24 of those points (40%) were allowed in the fourth quarter. Against Iowa State the Wildcats fell behind by 10 in the fourth and could not comeback. Against North Dakota, K-State blew a 10-point lead in the fourth and found itself down 35-31 before an Avery Johnson touchdown pass saved the day with 42 seconds left.
The Big 12 is known for high-octane offenses. K-State has one of its own, but its defense simply cannot allow multiple scores in the fourth quarter every game.
Most difficult upcoming game: Nov. 22 at No. 25 Utah
Where it must improve most: Limiting turnovers
The Broncos (0-1) traveled across the country to get a 34-7 beatdown at the hands of South Florida. The Group of Five favorite for the College Football Playoff now finds itself in a precarious position.
One game is a small sample size, but the loss came down to turnovers. Boise State fumbled the ball away three times. A glance at the box score shows that the two teams were nearly even in almost every category. Boise State didn't have an issue moving the ball, but it couldn't hang on to it.
It's three fumbles came on ...
It was a killer and it sets up a very difficult road for the Broncos the rest of the way.
Most difficult upcoming game: Oct. 4 at No. 9 Notre Dame
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