College football has been back for one full week, which is apparently all the evidence we need to prognosticate the next four months.There were blowouts, upsets, quarterback debuts, coaching debuts and enough disorder for one week of college football to vandalize months of offseason consensus. So we did what college football fans do best: overreacted.We’ve already found our Heisman darlings and our doomed teams, promoted dark horses into contenders, diagnosed our first coaching crises and drawn conclusions from roughly six days of action.Are these premature? Almost certainly. Are we going to make one overreaction for each Power 4 team anyway? Certainly. Here are 68 Week 1 overreactions from The Athletic’s college football staff.ACCBoston College‘Brand-new team’ has the exact same problems as the old one.Boston College tried to change nearly everything after last year’s 2-10 collapse. The early evidence suggests it may have changed everything except the problems that mattered. The same old fingerprints were everywhere: missed tackles, busted protection, procedural penalties, burned timeouts and special-teams mistakes. By the end of a 34-15 loss at Cincinnati, 2026 looked less like a fresh start than 2025 with a new date attached to it. That’s the danger for Bill O’Brien in year three: roster churn buys patience only if it produces progress. If the same self-inflicted errors keep surviving every overhaul, the Eagles’ ceiling may have less to do with who’s on the roster than how it’s being run. — Ira GorawaraCalBowl eligibility is suddenly in question.Tosh Lupoi has achieved what his predecessor couldn’t: He’s activated the dormant Cal fan base. But the Bears were absolutely trounced by a UCLA team that could run at will. The Bears gave up 277 yards rushing to their in-state rival. While there is excitement back in the Bay, Cal does have an incredibly green coaching staff. Lupoi, a first-time head coach, also hired two first-time coordinators. There will be growing pains. And the schedule has zero gimmes early. — Christopher KamraniClemsonThis will be Dabo Swinney’s last season as Clemson’s head coach.It’s almost impossible to imagine the Tigers looking worse in an opener. It was brutal. LSU made them look like a mediocre FCS team. This game should be a wake-up call to Clemson leadership. The Tigers looked slow compared to those other Tigers. Recruits not panning out or developing have become glaring issues, especially if you don’t backfill in the transfer portal to make up for it. Dabo has also missed on a bunch of key hires and new OC Chad Morris really has his work cut out for him. The offensive line looked woeful. So did the defense. For a team to pile up 38 first downs on a Clemson defense is stunning. LSU ran it down the Tigers’ throats. Clemson has some weapons outside, but couldn’t get them the ball. It was all bad. — Bruce FeldmanDukeNate Sheppard means a repeat is possible.The ACC’s defending champions were picked to finish 10th in the ACC. Starting quarterback Darian Mensah is at Miami now. But running back Nate Sheppard means the Blue Devils will be just fine. He took over lead back duties late last season and carried the ball an astounding 35 times for 227 yards in the Week 1 win over Tulane. He might be Iron Man. West Virginia’s Cam Cook — the nation’s leading rusher last season — is the only other running back with 30 carries in a game this year. Sheppard averaged almost 7 yards per carry. Duke’s offense will look a lot different without Mensah, but that doesn’t mean it can’t still contend for the conference. — David UbbenFlorida StateMike Norvell will be out before Halloween.The first thought — “It’s lights out on Mike Norvell” — doesn’t qualify as an overreaction, but this amps it up. SMU turned the ball over three times in Florida State territory, missed a field goal and muffed a punt … and the Seminoles still lost at home. If Norvell can’t win under those circumstances, how can he beat Alabama, Virginia, Louisville and Miami (FSU’s next four games, excluding the Central Arkansas cupcake)? If FSU plays the way it did Monday on Oct. 17 at Miami, the Seminoles will get thumped. And that would be lights out for the Norvell era. — Matt BakerWill Florida State’s Mike Norvell get through the season? (Don Juan Moore / Getty Images)Georgia TechThe Tennessee game now feels like the season.Quarterback Alberto Mendoza looked good in his debut, but the line play on offense and defense was abysmal in the loss to Colorado. Now here comes Tennessee, and if Georgia Tech starts the season with two home losses, then it will already feel like a lost season. Yeah, there’s still a full ACC schedule, and Miami isn’t on it, and Louisville comes to Atlanta in November, so there’s time for Brent Key to mold this team back into a contender. But an 0-2 start would feed the narrative that the Yellow Jackets aren’t as good without Haynes King and Buster Faulkner. — Seth EmersonLouisvilleCardinals found Haynes King 2.0.There was a lot to like in the Cardinals’ loss to Ole Miss. Lincoln Kienholz looks like a dude. A tough and athletic quarterback who Jeff Brohm can deploy the way Georgia Tech did so effectively with King for two years. The Ohio State transfer has plenty of weapons at his disposal, such as receiver Tre Richardson and tight end Jaleel Skinner. Even with an off-game from star running back Isaac Brown, Brohm’s offense diced up Ole Miss. The Cardinals just have to clean up the dumb stuff, like roughing the kicker penalties and burning timeouts early because they can’t get the ball snapped on time. — Ralph RussoMiamiMalachi Toney is going to New York.“Baby Jesus” caught 12 passes for a school-record 234 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-6 blowout of Stanford and struck the Heisman pose after every score. After the game, Toney’s Heisman odds shot up from 40-1 to 15-1. The performance showed Toney has three things a receiver needs to overcome the award’s quarterback bias: spectacular production, viral moments and a team capable of keeping him in the national title conversation. The complication — and what makes it a legitimate overreaction — is that Toney will have to compete for votes with the guy throwing him the ball: Darian Mensah. — Manny NavarroNorth CarolinaBobby Petrino has fixed all the offensive ills.Last year, the offense was aimless, punchless and ill-suited for Gio Lopez’s skill set. Billy Edwards’ 232 passing yards on a wet field in Ireland in Week 0 were more than any in any Tar Heels game a season ago. After an offseason of bad vibes, Petrino’s offensive scheme paves the way for a respectable season, bowl bid and maybe a win that provides a higher high than the opening drive of the Bill Belichick era in 2025. — UbbenNC StateCJ Bailey may not even be able to carry his offense.Expectations around Bailey swelled over the summer. Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren said his quarterback “could be the best in the country,” and Bailey, who said the game had slowed for him, predicted NC State would “win a lot of games.” Virginia supplied a cold splash of reality, holding Bailey to a career-low 84 yards in a 34-8 rout in Week 0. To be fair, he had precious little help: The Wolfpack’s rebuilt receiving corps generated little separation, the run game disappeared and the offense staggered to just 168 yards. But that’s precisely the concern. NC State paid to retain Bailey, hoping he could elevate an imperfect roster. — GorawaraPittMason Heintschel is the nation’s most overlooked Heisman contender.Forget Arch. Mensah? Isn’t that a society for geniuses? Heintschel electing to stay at Pitt and his offseason development led to seven touchdowns and 453 yards, averaging 11 yards per attempt against Miami (Ohio), which is picked to finish second in the MAC. Where is the Heisman love? Better yet, where can I reserve a hotel room for the Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremony? — UbbenSMUThe Mustangs have become a top-two program in the ACC.Monday night’s win at Florida State improved SMU to 15-2 since joining the ACC, the best league record of any ACC team in that span. Despite turning the ball over four times and missing a field goal, the Mustangs still got the win, a sign of how good they have become, putting up 585 yards of offense. This is one of the best and quickest G5-to-P4 transitions we’ve ever seen. They beat Miami last year, and the Louisville game in a few weeks could determine who finishes No. 2 in the league this season. — Chris VanniniStanfordStanford will pull a couple of ACC upsets.I covered Friday night’s game against Miami, and somehow came away from a 45-6 loss thinking the Cardinal, picked to finish dead-last in the ACC, look a little better than expected. Most notably, QB Davis Warren is decidedly improved from his awful 2024 stint at Michigan. He led a game-winning drive against Hawaii in Week 0, and most of his throws in the first half against Miami were on the money. Problem was his receivers dropped four passes. The defense had no answers for Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney, but most of the Canes’ opponents won’t either. — Stewart MandelSyracuseFran Brown fixed all the things that derailed the Orange during their 2025 nightmare.There will be no lacrosse players starting at quarterback this year. Most importantly, starting quarterback Steve Angeli is healthy and looked like his old self. But Brown added a pair of experienced backups in Kennesaw State transfer and C-USA champion Amari Odom and former five-star prospect Malachi Nelson, who all played on Saturday. Last year was a distant memory in Week 1. The third-year head coach learned from his team management mistakes from a 3-9 season that ended with eight consecutive losses. Repeating the 10-win debut in 2024 might not happen, but the Orange are back on track. — UbbenVirginiaNobody does get-old-stay-old better than UVA.The Cavaliers were off in Week 1, still basking in one of the most impressive opening performances of the season. Virginia pounded NC State behind a punishing running game and veteran offensive line in Week 0. How veteran? Let’s just say the Cavaliers are leaning into their big guys being mature. Former Penn State and Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula looks like a good fit to fuel that ground game. It was foolish to assume UVA, which won 11 games last year, would regress. Tony Elliott’s Cavaliers will contend in the ACC again. — RussoVirginia TechYou can already see the James Franklin difference.Franklin’s debut in Blacksburg was a frolicking, stress-free celebration of what Virginia Tech fans hope will be a return to better days. The Hokies put 73 points on VMI, their most in a game in 31 years, and outgained the Keydets by 536 yards. Everything gets harder from here, even next week against Old Dominion, but the Hokies sent a pretty clear message that the talent has been substantially upgraded and this won’t be a bottom-of-the-standings ACC team again. — RussoWake ForestNorth Carolina was the problem, not Gio Lopez.Lopez threw for 350 yards and three touchdowns in Wake Forest’s 38-16 win over Akron, resembling more of the quarterback he was before spending a season trapped inside North Carolina’s dysfunctional operation. Now he’s reunited with Rob Ezell, the offensive coordinator who recruited him and helped unlock his breakout 2024 season at South Alabama. Jake Dickert won nine games last year with a roster assembled on short notice; apparently, that was not enough to stop voters from picking Wake 13th in the ACC. If Lopez keeps playing this freely, the Deacons will make that prediction — and UNC’s handling of him — look ridiculous. — NavarroBig 12ArizonaThe Wildcats defense is ready to pick up where it left off.Arizona had a really good defense last season (21st in scoring) and lost pretty much the entire secondary, but in the season opener, the Wildcats showed there won’t be much of a drop-off. Yes, it came against Northern Arizona, but Arizona handled an FCS opponent just like it should with five sacks, 11 tackles for loss and held it to negative-7 yards rushing. Quarterback Noah Fifita should always make the Wildcats competitive, but it’s coordinator Danny Gonzales’ defense that set the tone for Arizona’s nine-win season in 2025, and this year should be no different. — Antonio MoralesArizona StateSam Leavitt won’t be missed.Leavitt missed most of last season with a foot injury and left for LSU. But Cutter Boley cut it loose in his debut. With six touchdowns, 387 yards and just six incompletions, who needs Leavitt? Boley is throwing to a trio of star receivers in Omarion Miller, Reed Harris and Grayson Rigdon instead of leaning so heavily on single talents like Cam Skattebo in 2024 and Jordyn Tyson last season. Kenny Dillingham stayed and he’s got another star quarterback on his hands after one left the program. — UbbenBaylorDave Aranda has at least two ways he can save his job.Baylor losing a winnable game in a scorching hot-seat season for Aranda was not the start he needed, but consider this. The Bears defense, led by new coordinator Joe Klanderman (formerly of Kansas State) looked better in its 17-16 loss to Auburn than it has in years. And although there were some critical mistakes from Florida transfer quarterback DJ Lagway, the new Baylor QB made big-time throws, showed grit while playing through injury and had the Bears in position to win in the final moments. There’s a lot that needs to be fixed, but a great defense and a playmaking, if flawed, quarterback could be enough to make Baylor a factor in the Big 12 and extend Aranda’s lifeline a little longer. — Sam KhanBYUCougars fans should already be sweating about losing a Legend.Kid’s got a cool name and a game to match. First-year wide receiver Legend Glasker had a heck of a debut in the 63-7 romp over Utah Tech. He had five total touches — and three of them ended up in the end zone. Coaches spoke glowingly of Glasker all camp, and he showed out in a big way. If this continues and he becomes a focal point of the BYU offense, others nationwide will certainly be paying attention. After coach Kalani Sitake went public with his frustrations with lack of promised resources from the athletic department, one can’t help but wonder if BYU is already sweating next offseason. — KamraniUCFScott Frost has made UCF fun again.UCF’s 73-6 victory over Bethune-Cookman was the largest blowout in program history. Duke Watson scored on his first carry and the offense rolled up 560 yards. Yes, it came against an FCS opponent. We are overreacting here. But last year’s 5-7 team too often resembled the joyless Nebraska offenses Frost was supposedly leaving behind. Now he has a quarterback in Alonza Barnett III with Playoff experience, a stampede of running backs and enough speed to make the Bounce House bounce again. The Big 12 may not be getting 2017 UCF, but it could be getting the Knights’ first bowl-eligible team in three years. — NavarroCincinnatiLook, turnovers!The defense has been a weak link for the Bearcats under Scott Satterfield, but the first game under new defensive coordinator Nate Woody had two encouraging signs: a pair of turnovers. Cincinnati had just 10 takeaways all of last season, fewest in the Big 12, and only two interceptions, worst in the FBS. Transfer defensive back MJ Cannon forced both in the win over Boston College, punching out a fumble and hauling in an interception. If the Bearcats are to get back to a bowl game, they need to keep creating takeaways. — Justin WilliamsColoradoDeion Sanders will win Big 12 Coach of the Year.Colorado’s gritty 14-13 season-opening win at Georgia Tech is precisely the type of game that the Buffaloes would not have won during Deion Sanders’ first three seasons as head coach. But these are not your 2024 Buffs. They held the run-dedicated Yellow Jackets to a measly 51 rushing yards while rushing for 183 themselves — the most Colorado has had against any P4 opponent since Sanders took over. A potentially program-altering audible was called by Sanders when he hired Brennan Marion as OC, who despite the flashy potential of his offense always wants to run the ball. — KamraniHoustonThe Cougars are built to win up front.This may be Houston’s best offensive line since Willie Fritz arrived. The Cougars have had to retool that group every year, but it looks like they hit better on their transfers this go-round than in previous years. Even when right tackle Drew Terrill went out early in the Cougars’ Saturday win over Oregon State, Ronnell McLain stepped in and performed well. The unit paved the way for a 228-yard rushing performance and allowed just four pressures. — KhanIowa StateMatt Campbell who?Sure, he’s the all-time winningest coach in school history, who brought the program to an unprecedented level of consistent respectability before taking his talents and a large chunk of the Iowa State roster to Penn State. But Jimmy Rogers’ debut was pretty nice — a 38-10 rout of a solid Southeast Missouri State program. The defense looked stout. Arkansas State transfer quarterback Jaylen Raynor made big plays. Maybe rival Iowa administers a reality dose this week that makes Cyclones fans miss Campbell all over again. But if Rogers prevails, he’ll have one-third of Campbell’s career wins in the series. Just saying. — Joe RexrodeKansasThe Border War needs to become an annual game again.Missouri recently claimed the 1960 national championship, with one of its U.S. Senators taking jabs at the people of Kansas over a forfeited game from that season. Kansas, meanwhile, has spent this rivalry week leaning into the history of the Jayhawk name, referencing the group of anti-slavery militant groups that clashed with pro-slavery groups in Missouri in the 1850s. KU football even posted a photo of John Brown. Now that’s a different level of rivalry trash talk. — VanniniKansas StateRodney Fields Jr. will be a top-five rusher in the Big 12.Deuce Vaughn and Darren Sproles were short in stature, but they left giant legacies at Kansas State. Fields, listed at 5 feet 9 and 193 pounds, could be the next diminutive running back to become a star in Manhattan. Fields, a transfer from Oklahoma State, had 101 yards on 14 carries in the Wildcats’ 71-3 romp against Nicholls. He’s emerged as the leader of Kansas State’s running backs rotation ahead of Joe Jackson, who set Kansas State’s single-game rushing record with 293 yards last year against Utah. First-year coach Collin Klein might have found lightning in a bottle with Fields. — Austin MeekOklahoma StateThe rebuild will take longer than expected.Any thought that Eric Morris and QB Drew Mestemaker would pick up right where they left off at North Texas — which averaged a national-best 45.1 points last season — quickly got debunked with the Cowboys’ 24-10 loss to Tulsa. Not a good sign for Big 12 play. Mestemaker, one of the top QBs in the portal last winter, threw two picks, and Oklahoma State went 2 of 6 on fourth downs. It showed that for all the skill talent, success still starts with the offensive line, which floundered after left guard Jacob Sexton went down with a leg injury after just six snaps. — MandelTCUThe quarterback situation got worse.When Josh Hoover left for Indiana, there was at least some belief that TCU’s situation could be better with Harvard transfer QB Jaden Craig taking care of the ball and new offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis running a balanced offense. But one game in, Hoover looked fantastic for IU, and Craig looked flustered for TCU against North Carolina in Ireland. A Playoff dark horse in some circles, TCU’s ceiling looks short of the top of the Big 12 again. — VanniniTexas TechThis year’s team is less talented — with a higher ceiling.The 2025 Red Raiders won 12 games by 20 or more points, then got shutout against Oregon in the CFP. The 2026 team didn’t come out of the gate with the same sizzle on offense or defense — a 17-3 halftime lead vs Abilene Christian?? — but Will Hammond completed his first 14 passes and threw for almost 300 yards. If he can stay healthy and limit turnovers, the defense and run game are still good enough to get back to the CFP, and Hammond’s steadiness could help them advance this time. Or at least score. — WilliamsUtahThe Utes will once again lead the Big 12 in rushing.After a drama-filled offseason, question marks lingered for an offense that lost two first-round offensive linemen and an OC that was the architect of the most dominant rushing attack in the country in 2025. But let us overreact to rushing for 364 yards on 49 carries against the Idaho Vandals as the Utes did in their 66-14 win. New OC Kevin McGiven was hired because he uses a scheme similar to Jason Beck, who is now at Michigan. The Utes, with five new offensive line starters, can rely on last year’s blueprint. And RB Wayshawn Parker is on his way to being another 1,000-yard back. — KamraniWest VirginiaCam Cook is the best back you’ve probably never heard of.Frankly, this is on you considering Cook led the nation in rushing last season with 295 carries for 1,659 yards and 16 touchdowns. He was back at it during a 31-24 win over Coastal Carolina with 30 carries for 142 yards and two scores. West Virginia might not be interesting enough for the nation to know Cook, but maybe check in Sept. 19 for a game against Virginia. Not every All-American needs to play for a CFP contender. — Pete SampsonBig TenIllinoisKatin Houser is an upgrade at quarterback.It’s difficult to argue with Luke Altmyer’s success the past two seasons with 19 wins and 44 touchdown passes. But Houser’s arm strength is at a different level, which he displayed in a perfectly placed 54-yard Hail Mary to end the first half in a 42-23 win against UAB. Houser, who transferred from East Carolina, completed 13 of 17 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns and was on target — even with the Illini missing two top receivers. This week provides a major test for Houser and the offense with defending ACC champ Duke and defensive guru Manny Diaz coming to Champaign. If Houser equals or exceeds his first-week performance, the Big Ten should be on notice. — Scott DochtermanIndianaThe Hoosiers defense has taken a step back.The outcome never was in doubt in a 52-16 win against North Texas, but there were a few noticeable concerns tucked inside that victory. One, North Texas controlled the clock, putting up 37:22 in time of possession and holding the ball nearly as much in the second and third quarter (22:28) as the Hoosiers did the entire game (22:38). Additionally, North Texas ran for 152 yards and outgained Indiana by 2 yards. Indiana has time to improve without any ranked opponents on the horizon until hosting No. 1 Ohio State on Oct. 17. Ultimately, the Hoosiers struck a nice balance for Curt Cignetti by winning in dominant fashion yet providing the perfectionist head coach with teachable moments. — DochtermanIowaIowa’s pass catchers are … good.College football’s perpetual punching bag for offensive woes overwhelmed Northern Illinois in every facet of a 40-0 victory, and that included a modest passing day from co-starters Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski. Neither quarterback outright won the job, but the Hawkeyes’ pass catchers are the best they’ve had since 2020. When the ball was on target, not only was it was caught, but receivers produced nearly 60 percent of Iowa’s pass yards after the catch. Newcomer Tony Diaz (84 yards, 60 after the catch) has a different type of explosiveness we haven’t seen at Iowa. More will be revealed this week against Iowa State, but the Hawkeyes might actually be fun to watch … on offense. — DochtermanMarylandImproved rushing attack will help Terrapins reach bowl eligibility.Maryland was one of the most one-dimensional teams in the country last season — ranking last in the Big Ten in rushing attempts and first in passing attempts. While part of that was because Maryland played from behind so much, it also wasn’t efficient in the run game, averaging just 4.1 yards per carry and tallying nine total touchdowns. But on Saturday, it broke out in a big way. It beat Hampton 62-0 and ran for a Big Ten-leading 365 yards. A chunk of that came from a 94-yard touchdown run by DeJuan Williams, but even with that run taken out, Maryland would still be third in the Big Ten after one week. Quarterback Malik Washington still threw the ball 31 times, but if the Terrapins can build on that rushing attack, they might win more than four games for the first time in three years and get coach Mike Locksley off the hot seat. — Cameron Teague RobinsonMichiganSaturday’s game against Oklahoma will be Bryce Underwood’s last start in a Michigan uniform.Is this even an overreaction? Maybe it’s just a reaction, full stop, to what everyone saw in Michigan’s bizarro win against Western Michigan, coupled with Kyle Whittingham’s not-so-subtle comments Monday about Underwood playing for his job. Making those comments before Michigan faces Oklahoma, one of the toughest defenses on its schedule, lays the groundwork for a QB switch if the offense sputters again. Tommy Carr, the brother of Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr and grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, has impressed Michigan’s coaches since he arrived on campus last winter, and he’ll be the next man up if — when? — the Wolverines run out of patience with their five-star starter. — MeekMichigan StatePat Fitzgerald showed he’s Mark Dantonio Part Deux.Even in the glory days of Dantonio — we have to go back more than a decade now — when the Spartans were winning 11 or more games in five of six seasons, they often had to muck their way through the traditional Friday night opener against a lesser foe. MSU’s 30-20 win over Toledo delivered no visions of 2026 greatness. But the Spartans played tough defense most of the night. Ran the ball at times. Got clutch throws from quarterback Alessio Milivojevic. Maintained poise when the lead was lost briefly in the fourth quarter. And had a coach on the sideline bringing energy and emotion. Familiar, no? — RexrodeMinnesotaReplacing Koi Perich is no big deal.The do-it-all former four-star safety left in January for Oregon. In two years at Minnesota, Perich didn’t take a single one of 75 punt or kickoff returns to the house. Javon Tracy did it twice in the opener against Eastern Illinois, scoring on punt returns of 87 and 69 yards. Tracy put up big numbers as a wide receiver, too, and Minnesota held its Week 1 foe to four first downs and 59 passing yards. P.J. Fleck’s squad clicked on all cylinders. Perich, by the way, got picked on in coverage by Boise State in the Ducks’ narrow victory. — Mitch ShermanNebraskaIt’s official: Anthony Colandrea is the answer.When did Nebraska last get clutch QB play? For basically a decade, QBs in Lincoln have put up numbers. But when adversity hit, usually in late-game situations and always against ranked opponents, the quarterbacks came up short. Enter Colandrea, the UNLV transfer who was poised and took command of the offense in a 49-21 win against Ohio that tested his mettle. He threw for 275 yards and accounted for four touchdowns. Colandrea showed the ability to extend plays, promised through the offseason. And most important, the offense with him in charge dominated the fourth quarter and did not commit a turnover. — ShermanNorthwesternChip Kelly will rescue Aidan Chiles.On the first play of Northwestern’s new era on offense, Michigan State transfer Chiles uncorked a 71-yard completion to star receiver Griffin Wilde to begin the Wildcats’ 34-18 win over South Dakota State. Clearly new OC Kelly saw something to exploit on film. Chiles, who had a rocky two-year stint as the Spartans’ starter, finished 14-of-24 passing for 273 yards and a touchdown against a perennial FCS national title contender. Throw in an 80-yard touchdown run from returnee Joseph Himon II and you can see the makings of a more explosive offense in Evanston. — MandelOhio StateJulian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith are even better.Sayin and Smith spent the entire offseason talking about how much their connection has improved. A year ago, they linked up for 87 catches, 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns, which felt hard to improve on. And then the Buckeyes beat Ball State 56-3 in Week 1, with Sayin and Smith looking unstoppable. Sayin targeted his star receiver nine times and connected on eight of them for 151 yards and two touchdowns, including a two-minute drive that featured five catches, 74 yards and a back-shoulder touchdown connection in the back of the end zone. Ohio State’s season relies on these two players and Saturday, despite being against an overmatched opponent, looked like they have indeed only gotten better together. — Teague RobinsonOregonThe Ducks might be in trouble at USC later this month if they don’t get things cleaned up fast.Credit to Boise State. It executed really well and did a terrific job tackling. The positives for Oregon: Boise has two good running backs, and the Ducks didn’t allow a run longer than 9 yards. Their dynamic guys outside looked scary and like Oregon is going to be more explosive this year than in 2025. Jeremiah McClellan and Dakorien Moore had three catches of 50-plus yards. The Ducks had only five such plays in 15 games last year. The rebuilt O-line played pretty well for a first game against a solid opponent. The meh: Dante Moore looked a bit rusty — didn’t find some open receivers and misfired on a post that he normally hits for a touchdown. Ten penalties for 90 yards is a bit more concerning. — FeldmanPenn StatePenn State finally has an explosive passing attack.The Nittany Lions’ new-look passing attack was on full display in their 45-0 win over Marshall. New quarterback Rocco Becht threw for 271 yards and four touchdowns in his debut as Penn State had two passes over 40 yards and 14 over 10 yards, a massive improvement from the struggles in previous years. Last season was hampered by an injury to starter Drew Allar, but Penn State has had more than eight passes over 40 yards, in a season, one time in the last six years. Saturday was the first look at an offense that could finally surpass that and showed off its receiver talent. Koby Howard had six receptions for 161 yards and one touchdown, already surpassing his touchdown and yardage totals from a year ago. — Teague RobinsonPurdue BoilermakersA balanced offensive attack will get this team over the hump.Purdue has won three games over the past two seasons. It’s lost 18 straight in the Big Ten since a 2023 win against — get ready for it — Indiana. But this year is different. The rushing attack ranked 103rd nationally last year under new coach Barry Odom and 110th in 2024. This ground game, though, has a pulse behind Fame Ijeboi, the Minnesota transfer who rushed for 87 yards and a touchdown in his Boilers debut. He also had a 63-yard TD run called back. Ijeboi and QB Ryan Browne could form a dangerous duo. — ShermanRutgersGreg Schiano’s second Rutgers rebuild has hit its ceiling.This was supposed to be the roster that showed how far Schiano had taken Rutgers. Instead, his “deepest and most talented” team has raised a less comfortable question: What if this is as far as the rebuild goes? The Scarlet Knights spent the offseason pouring resources into a defense Schiano insisted would be much better. One game later, a UMass team that hadn’t won in 16 tries made that improvement awfully hard to find. The concern now stretches beyond one upset. Rutgers has spent more, built more depth and remade its defense. If that still isn’t enough to move the program forward, there may not even be another level left to reach. Schiano’s seventh year was meant to reveal the next stage of the rebuild — instead, it may be revealing its limit. — GorawaraUSCTrent Mosley is the Trojans’ next great wideout.Most expected Tanook Hines to be USC’s No. 1 wideout coming into the season. Boobie Feaster and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt were higher-rated recruits. But it’s Mosley who has been the Trojans’ top producer and appears ready to take the mantle of USC’s next great wideout. Mosley has great contact balance, is explosive and has quickly established himself as a go-to target for Jayden Maiava. The scary thing is Mosley, who has 11 receptions for 222 yards, is two games into his college career and will only get better from here. — MoralesTrent Mosley might just help USC finally break through under Lincoln Riley. (Griffin C. Hooper /Getty Images)UCLABob Chesney is the next Curt Cignetti.What Cignetti first changed at Indiana wasn’t the talent level. It was its imagination, inheriting a program fluent in losing and rewiring its expectation so completely that belief stopped sounding aspirational and started sounding routine. Chesney, who replaced Cignetti at James Madison, is initiating the same psychological renovation at UCLA. Even after California erased a 14-point lead in Week 1, UCLA answered with 21 unanswered points to complete a 45-24 drubbing. Afterward, quarterback Nico Iamaleava gave his new head coach the game ball for making the Bruins “believe in something we didn’t believe in before.” — GorawaraWashingtonThe Huskies offense still has to prove itself.Washington’s defense was great against Washington State. The unit competed well enough in losses to Ohio State and Oregon last season, too. But if the Huskies are going to break through and beat the nation’s elite, they’ll need a lot more from their offense, which looked pretty sloppy for a good portion of the season-opening Apple Cup win. Washington hurt itself with penalties and couldn’t convert some short-yardage situations early on until quarterback Demond Williams Jr. turned it up in the fourth quarter. The offense should be fine over the next few weeks, but it’ll have to step once the schedule picks up in early October. — MoralesWisconsinLuke Fickell has his work cut out for him.An encouraging first half quickly turned to a second-half blowout against Notre Dame. The schedule eases up the rest of the way, but the disappointment from Badgers faithful was a stark reminder of just how hot the head coach’s seat is this season. Frankly, this Wisconsin team can’t sit at the same lunch table as Notre Dame, but the fan base is fed up with that reality, and it’s going to require clear and significant progress the rest of the way for Fickell to win any of them back. — WilliamsSECAlabamaThe Tide have a legit shot to win the SEC title.Keelon Russell looked outstanding. The Tide looked more committed to the run. Need to see more of that when they play better teams, but Russell’s wheels and ability to escape pressure are going to help a lot. The bigger D-line looked the part. Ryan Coleman-Williams made some big plays, but had the drops again and a fumble, which is concerning. Would’ve liked to have seen one of the backs break something. Have heard great things about EJ Crowell, who was banged up for much of camp; he scored and averaged 5 yards on seven carries; expect him to become more of a factor as the season goes on. — FeldmanArkansasThe Razorbacks changed coaches but aren’t any better.Arkansas beat North Alabama from the FCS ranks in the debut of new coach Ryan Silverfield. Quarterback KJ Jackson was solid (267 yards passing, 3 TDs). But it wouldn’t be a shock if the Razorbacks went 2-10 again, going winless in the SEC. Arkansas was always going to be a bit of a rebuild after Sam Pittman’s departure, even if the Razorbacks were usually competitive last season. This year’s schedule is cruel and unusual punishment for a first-year head coach. A trip to Utah is next, followed by hosting Georgia. Good luck. — SampsonAuburnThe offense is going to struggle more than expected.Auburn had just 17 points and 5.1 yards per play against a Baylor defense that was dreadful a year ago, and the Tigers won only because of a stop on a 2-point conversion. The offensive line allowed five sacks and 11 tackles for loss, while quarterback Byrum Brown threw three interceptions. Under new coach Alex Golesh, we wondered if Brown and the USF offense could translate to the Power 4 level. One game in, the answer has been no. — VanniniFloridaThe Gators are dark-horse Playoff contenders.Laugh about that proclamation after Florida’s 66-21 rout of Florida Atlantic, but the Gators have struggled with in-state G6 opponents recently. This time, Florida was strong on offense and defense with running back Jadan Baugh looking like one of the best running backs in the country. In Jon Sumrall’s debut, the Gators didn’t beat themselves with the kind of mistakes that plagued Billy Napier’s tenure. If that trend continues and the opening performance wasn’t a fluke, it’s easy to envision the Gators being competitive in every game — maybe even good enough to go 9-3 (which would be CFP-worthy with this schedule). — BakerGeorgiaNate Frazier is a Heisman contender.The junior tailback had only four touches in Georgia’s opener — and scored touchdowns on three of them. Then the Bulldogs wisely pulled him on the way to a 63-3 pasting of Tennessee State. Frazier is coming off a 947-yard rushing season when he split carries with Chauncey Bowens and others. If Georgia, worried about explosiveness in the passing game, decides to lean on its running game this year, Frazier could benefit. Of course, Gunner Stockton and the passing game looked pretty good too on Saturday, albeit against an FCS team that went 2-10 last year. — EmersonNate Frazier has been tough to keep out of the end zone when he gets the ball. (Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)KentuckyKenny Darby is this season’s Malachi Toney.Big Blue Nation has been buzzing about the freshman wide receiver since he showed out in the spring game, and he showed what he’s capable of to kick off the season — with Alabama coming to town next. The Louisiana native and former LSU commit led the Wildcats against Youngstown State with 74 receiving yards on three catches and a touchdown, as well as 9 rushing yards in the first game of the Will Stein era. Darby’s versatility and explosiveness should be a game-changing weapon for transfer quarterback Kenny Minchey and an optimistic Kentucky squad. — WilliamsLSULSU belongs in the national championship conversation.In the preseason, there seemed like a gap between the top seven teams and the next tier. Put the Tigers in that championship mix with Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia, Notre Dame, Texas, Miami and Oregon (maybe). Considering the opponent (Clemson), Lane Kiffin’s debut was the most impressive performance any team had in Week 1. If LSU can put up 51 points on a Power 4 opponent despite having a so-so passing attack, imagine how good the Tigers will be when quarterback Sam Leavitt inevitably clicks with the rest of the revamped roster. — BakerOle MissThe offense is going to carry Ole Miss back to the Playoff.Yeah, the defense looked like a sieve on Sunday, but that wasn’t a great defense last year either. The worry for Ole Miss this year was it would miss play caller Charlie Weis Jr., who went to LSU after the College Football Playoff run. But against a Louisville defense that was the ACC’s third-ranked last year, Trinidad Chambliss and company overcame a slow start to be explosive, even with Kewan Lacy missing most of the game with a knee injury. Deuce Alexander (159 receiving yards, two TDs) is going to be one of the SEC’s best receivers, and Chambliss has already shown he won’t be a one-year wonder. — EmersonMississippi StateKamario Taylor is going to be a Heisman contender.For those refreshing your Heisman boards after every Saturday, please make a little room for Taylor. Not because he ruthlessly carved up Louisiana-Monroe, but because the schedule is about to hand him a national stage five weeks in a row. Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma, Texas and Vanderbilt — if Taylor is as good as he looked Saturday, Mississippi State is about to give him every opportunity to dominate Heisman talks. Jeff Lebby’s offense gives Taylor exactly what a dark-horse Heisman campaign needs: the ball constantly, permission to improvise and enough dual-threat juice to make being outmanned irrelevant. Nick Saban already called the sophomore quarterback “the truth.” If Taylor starts stealing SEC games Mississippi State has no business winning — and 472 yards and five touchdowns suggest he’s capable of that — the Heisman conversation won’t feel premature for long. — GorawaraMissouriThe Tigers upgraded their passing game.The Tigers, like a lot of Top 25 teams, opened easy. Arkansas-Pine Bluff provided little resistance and gave Mizzou a chance to break in new quarterback Austin Simmons with a near-perfect performance. Simmons was 17-for-19 passing for 252 yards and four touchdowns. The Ole Miss transfer, who lost the starting job to Trinidad Chambliss last season after being injured, should give the Tigers’ passing game a higher ceiling than it had last year with Beau Pribula, who was a better runner. Simmons to receiver Donovan Olugbode might be one of the best pass-catch combos in the SEC. — RussoOklahomaRocky Beers will appear in a national TV ad at some point this season.Beers, a tight end with one of the most marketable names in college football, is on his way to becoming a fan favorite in Norman. A 24-year-old transfer on his fourth collegiate stop, Beers caught two passes for 43 yards and hurdled a defender for his first OU touchdown in Saturday’s 51-0 win against UTEP. His No. 81 jersey is already showing up in the stands, and it will become even more popular if Beers becomes one of John Mateer’s favorite targets. The brother of Raegan Beers, a star center at Oklahoma who’s now in the WNBA, is making his own name in Norman. — MeekSouth CarolinaEverything’s fixed and it’s 2024 all over again.The Gamecocks offense looked explosive again under new OC Kendal Briles, with LaNorris Sellers passing all over Kent State (270 passing yards, three TDs). The tailbacks averaged more than 7 yards per carry, showing the line play has improved, too. The defense got its first shutout since 2022. There’s another tune-up game this week against Towson, then a home game against Mississippi State, so the Gamecocks should be 3-0 going into Alabama. — EmersonTennesseeFaizon Brandon is the guy who takes Tennessee to the next level.Furman Schmurman. Don’t throw the opponent back in my face. Did you see those feathery throws? Did you watch those darting runs? The freshman tossed for three touchdowns and ran for two in a 56-9 laugher over the Paladins, pointing the way to an exciting future running Josh Heupel’s offense in Knoxville. That doesn’t mean Brandon won’t learn hard lessons in the SEC. But that talent combined with Heupel’s penchant for QB development is a tantalizing prospect. We’ll see if the 2026 Vols can get in the Playoff mix. Either way, 2027 is lining up to be a monster roster. — RexrodeTexasArch Manning’s job just got a lot easier.The Longhorns went all-in for top talent in the transfer portal and after their easy win over Texas State, it looks to have paid off, especially on offense, where the team struggled around Manning last year. Running backs Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown bring a level of dynamism to the running game that didn’t exist a year ago. Having receiver Cam Coleman opposite Ryan Wingo puts opposing secondaries between a rock and a hard place, because double-teaming one can result in the other going off. Right tackle transfer Melvin Siani and linebacker Rasheem Biles look the part, too. This team looks built for the tough schedule it has, with Ohio State up next. — KhanTexas A&MThe retooled defensive front will be just fine.A year ago, some red flags emerged in the Aggies’ season-opening win over a Group of 6 opponent as their run defense struggled. With a host of new faces both on the defensive line and at linebacker in a shutout of Missouri State, A&M looked much sharper this time. Linebackers Ray Coney and Noah Mikhail showed promise and captain Daymion Sanford is still to play as he recovers from an offseason injury. Transfer defensive linemen Anto Saka and Ryan Henderson looked like impact players and several of the returnees up front who are stepping into larger roles appeared equipped to do so. — KhanVanderbiltClark Lea has a plan for Jared Curtis and isn’t going to stray.Blaze Berlowitz started and five-star frosh Curtis played as planned in the Commodores’ uneven 28-9 win over Austin Peay. They both did fine, but the talent difference is clear and it’s likely this becomes Curtis’ job at some point. It should. Vandy fans chanted for Curtis. Lea gently stuck to his guns. And here’s a little conspiracy theory on why: He doesn’t want to throw Curtis to the wolves (or Dawgs) on Oct. 3 at Georgia, the team that once had Curtis committed. It’s way less pressure to come off the bench in that game. Berlowitz will have received more than a fair shake by then. The transition happens after that one. Please remember this, only if it turns out to be correct. — RexrodeIndependentNotre DameThe Irish wide receiving corps didn’t answer many questions.Notre Dame insisted its receiving group was better. It didn’t look like it during the 41-13 blowout of Wisconsin. Jordan Faison played his part (four catches, 81 yards). Everyone else was anonymous. Jaden Greathouse had one catch for 6 yards. Mylan Graham didn’t record a catch. Micah Gilbert almost never came off the field and posted modest numbers (three catches, 34 yards). Don’t sound the alarm bells here, but Notre Dame can’t cover its ears either. — Sampson