College football's 10 most important people in Week 1

Questions abound with the arrival of Week 1 of college football season.

How will the retooled SEC and Big Ten shake out? Who will take the early lead in the Heisman Trophy race? Will Florida State rebound from a stunning upset loss?

Each week, Yardbarker will dissect the 10 most important people leading into the week. Here are the 10 who will influence the first full week of games.

1. Mike Norvell | Florida State head coach

In Week 0 in Dublin, Ireland, Norvell and Florida State were stunned by Georgia Tech, 24-21, putting the Seminoles in a difficult position already. In a game they should win easily, the Seminoles face Boston College at home on Monday. With Clemson, Miami, Notre Dame and Florida still on the schedule, Norvell's team can't afford another slip-up against an inferior team.

2. Wes Goodwin | Clemson defensive coordinator

Goodwin received a $550,000 raise in February, bringing his annual salary to $1.4 million. His first task since the raise is stopping No. 1 Georgia and Heisman Trophy contender Carson Beck, the Bulldogs' returning starter at QB. Georgia ranked fifth in total offense last season, while Clemson ranked eighth in total defense. Goodwin's unit must be in midseason form to win.

3. Garrett Nussmeier | LSU quarterback

It's not easy replacing the Heisman Trophy winner, but that's what Nussmeier is doing at LSU when the Tigers face USC on Sunday. Jayden Daniels was drafted second overall by the Washington Commanders after an electric Heisman campaign in 2023. In the transfer era, Nussmeier has waited an abnormally long time to get his shot. He finally made his first career start last season as a redshirt sophomore in the Reliaquest Bowl, finishing 31-of-45 for 395 yards with three touchdowns in a 35-31 win over Wisconsin.

4. Dylan Raiola | Nebraska quarterback

After finishing 5-7 in his first season in Lincoln, what does Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule have in store in 2024? Much of his rebuilding plans rest on the shoulders of Raiola, a true freshman. He won the starting job and will become just the second true freshman to start a game in Nebraska football history on Saturday against UTEP.

5. Billy Napier | Florida head coach

Napier is 11-14 in two seasons at Florida. Although fans may consider Napier on the hot seat, Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin told the Orlando Sentinel in January that he doesn't consider Napier's job to be on the line. He can quiet the critics with an opening win against in-state rival Miami.

6. Riley Leonard | Notre Dame quarterback

Leonard transferred to Notre Dame from Duke and has assumed the starting QB duties. He leads the Irish into Kyle Field against No. 20 Texas A&M. It's already a difficult task, but to complicate matters even further, he'll be facing his former head coach, Mike Elko, who is making his debut at A&M.

7. Ross Bjork | Ohio State athletic director

Former Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith served for 19 years before retiring this summer. Bjork now has arguably the best job in college sports. He arrived at Ohio State from Texas A&M, where he hired Jimbo Fisher and then attempted to hire Mark Stoops as his successor before the offer was seemingly pulled from the table due to blowback from the fan base . The Buckeyes have assembled a championship-or-bust roster , so it will be interesting to see what Bjork does if they come up short.

8. Jordan Seaton | Colorado offensive lineman

Seaton, the No. 1 offensive line recruit in the country, is joined by nine transfers on the Colorado offensive line. Head coach Deion Sanders made the unit one of his top priorities in the offseason after quarterback Shedeur Sanders was pressured on 36.8% of his dropbacks with a pressure-to-sack rate of 25.3% , according to PFF. Seaton and the new-look offensive line must be better than the 2023 team. They'll have their first opportunity Thursday against North Dakota State.

9. Kalen DeBoer | Alabama head coach

Replacing a legend is never easy. DeBoer is tasked with following in Nick Saban's footsteps and he'll make his debut at Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday against Western Kentucky. Will the Tide take a step back? The early recruiting and transfer portal rankings say no. Alabama's recruiting class was ranked No. 2 overall by 247 Sports.

10. Tony Petitti/Greg Sankey | Big Ten and SEC commissioners

No conference is more powerful than the Big Ten and SEC, so we feature these two as one entry. We'll get our first look Saturday at these conferences that realigned the landscape of college sports over the past year. Oklahoma and Texas are now in the SEC, while Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington are in the Big Ten. Both conferences also have new homes for their biggest games, with the Big Ten on CBS and the SEC on ESPN.