Saturday in Review: Week 1

The South Carolina defense was the strongest unit in this
year's first game. Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

I hope everyone got a chance to watch a little football and have fun this weekend. The season began with the predictably awkward, but closely fought border-rivalry between South Carolina and North Carolina. Interceptions thrown by Heels quarterback Marquise Williams assured that South Carolina would be the first team of the season to go 1-0. Shortly after that game ended, FIU finished off UCF by blocking a late, would-be-game-winning field goal in the game's dwindling moments. Despite being 17-point favorites over the Golden Panthers, the Knights were outplayed on their home field.

Vanderbilt fell to Western Kentucky after the Commodores failed a late two-point conversion to tie the game. Jim Harbaugh's Michigan Wolverines struggled to move the ball against Utah, losing 24-17 in game that wasn't quite as close as the score suggests. TCU passed the test against Minnesota, though they hardly looked invincible. Currently, it appears less likely that any Big 12 team will run the table in their conference. Arizona held off a plucky UTSA team, but looked vulnerable defensively (particularly after a star linebacker left due to injury).

Despite poor play by special teams, Michigan State bested Western Michigan by 13 points in Kalamazoo. SMU put up a fight early, but Baylor pulled away from the Mustangs in the second half. The Washington Huskies fought valiantly against a superior Boise State team, but, in the end, the Boise State defense clinched a victory for the home team.

Most of the SEC began their season Saturday, and (almost) all in strong fashion. Georgia, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Mississippi State all imposed their will over overmatched opponents. In all likelihood, LSU would have done the same had a thunderstorm not led to their opener's unfortunate cancellation. I predicted the Northwestern Wildcats would pull off this season's first upset over a ranked team, and so it came to be. Despite being 12.5-point underdogs (undercats?) at home, NU totally stifled the Stanford offense, winning 16-6.

Penn State's 31-game win streak over Temple ended in
Philadelphia last Saturday. Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports

In the biggest upset of this young season, 31-point underdog Portland State beat Washington State in the Palouse. Fordham, South Dakota State, and North Dakota were the other three FCS teams to upset their FBS opponents this weekend. Thanks to a last-second Hail Mary, the BYU Cougars came out of Lincoln with a victory over Nebraska. The astonishing finale ended Nebraska's record 29-game season-opener win-streak. Another long-standing win-streak came to an end when Temple defeated Penn State in a sold-out Lincoln Financial Field. In front of a record crowd and to most of their surprise, the Owls totally outclassed the Nittany Lions in a dominant 27-10 triumph. Since the Temple-PSU series began in 1931 (with a 12-0 TU victory), the Owls had only beaten Penn State on three occasions before Saturday, and not since 1941. In that same period, Penn State had won 39 times (with a single draw in 1950).

Florida Atlantic left Tulsa heartbroken after a 47-44 overtime defeat to the Golden Hurricane. Other in-state teams South Florida and Miami had no problem dispatching Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman, respectively.

The one SEC that struggled most on Saturday was Kentucky, who just held on to defeat Louisiana-Lafayette in the newly-renovated Commonwealth Stadium. The Wildcats needed a last-minute touchdown to overcome the Ragin' Cajuns in their opener (this was after a furious comeback by the visitors to tie the game in the fourth).

Appearing improved on defense, Auburn held off Louisville in the Georgia Dome. The Tigers were particularly effective in limiting the Cardinals' passing attack and forcing turnovers. Texas A&M was the second unranked team to knock off a ranked Pac-12 team (also predicted by yours truly) when the Aggies overpowered the Arizona State Sun Devils in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, their old rivals the Texas Longhorns were obliterated by Notre Dame in South Bend. Texas will surely struggle through their Big 12 schedule (though in some cases they may be underestimated). Alabama performed as expected, proving superior to Wisconsin in North Texas.

Will Grier showed a strong arm in his first game as a college
quarterback. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Florida Gators were the last SEC team to knock out an outmatched opponent on Saturday. The Gators beat New Mexico State 61-13, effectively scoring at will and totally shutting down the Aggie offense in the second half. Both quarterbacks Treon Harris and Will Grier excelled, leaving the position of starting quarterback unresolved. After Nebraska's defeat, the Gators now possess the active record for most consecutive season openers won (26). In a similar game, the Florida State Seminoles demolished Texas State 59-16 in rainy Tallahassee. Transfer Everett Golson scored four touchdowns against the Bobcat defense.

Ohio State took care of business in the second half against Virginia Tech. The Buckeyes jumped to an early lead in the first, only to have the Hokies pull ahead before halftime. However, the home team couldn't keep up after quarterback Michael Brewer went out with a broken collarbone early in the second half and Ohio State rolled to a victory.

I'll end on a note about the Pac-12. Although the premier conference of the West had been touted by many as one of the nations two best, many of its teams disappointed this weekend. Five Pac-12 members lost their openers and a few more looked less than impressive. Two ranked teams lost to ranked opponents while another lost to what was expected to be a below-average FCS team. The conference has a stellar opportunity to regain its prestige when the Ducks travel to East Lansing next Saturday.

State of Florida:

• UCF (0-1) over FIU (1-0), 31-14 15-14
• Florida Atlantic (0-1) over Tulsa (1-0), 35-28 47-44 (OT)
• Miami (1-0) over Bethune-Cookman (0-1), 48-7 45-0
• South Florida (1-0) over Florida A&M (0-1), 38-13 51-3
• Florida (1-0) over New Mexico State (0-1), 45-3 61-13
• 10 Florida State (1-0) over Texas State (0-1), 52-20 59-16

Southeastern Conference:

• South Carolina (1-0) over North Carolina (0-1), 30-24 17-13
• Vanderbilt (0-1) over Western Kentucky (1-0), 31-28 14-12
• 9 Georgia (1-0) over Louisiana-Monroe (0-1), 56-13 51-14*
• 17 Mississippi (1-0) over Tennessee-Martin (0-1), 52-6 76-3
• 18 Arkansas (1-0) over UTEP (0-1), 38-10 48-13
• 6 Auburn (1-0) over Louisville (0-1), 38-28 31-24
• 24 Missouri (1-0) over Southeast Missouri State (0-1), 49-14 34-3
• 25 Tennessee (1-0) over Bowling Green (0-1), 41-17 59-30
• Texas A&M (1-0) over 15 Arizona State (0-1), 45-38 38-17
• Kentucky (1-0) over Louisiana-Lafayette (0-1), 28-21 40-33
• 14 LSU (0-0) over McNeese State (0-0), 56-17 CANCELED
• 3 Alabama (1-0) over 20 Wisconsin (0-1), 38-24 35-17
• Mississippi State (1-0) over Southern Mississippi (0-1), 42-17 34-16

Top 25:

• 1 Ohio State (1-0) over Virginia Tech (0-1), 45-28 42-24
• 2 TCU (1-0) over Minnesota (0-1), 52-28 23-17
• 4 Baylor (1-0) over SMU (0-1), 63-10 56-21
• 5 Michigan State (1-0) over Western Michigan (0-1), 35-10 37-24
• 7 Oregon (1-0) over Eastern Washington (0-1), 59-24 61-42
• 8 USC (1-0) over Arkansas State (0-1), 52-13 55-6
• 11 Notre Dame (1-0) over Texas (0-1), 24-17 38-3
• 12 Clemson (1-0) over Wofford (0-1), 52-3 49-10
• 13 UCLA (1-0) over Virginia (0-1), 38-17 34-16
• 16 Georgia Tech (1-0) over Alcorn State (0-1), 48-14 69-6
• 19 Oklahoma (1-0) over Akron (0-1), 45-14 41-3
• Northwestern (1-0) over 21 Stanford (0-1), 21-17 16-6
• 22 Arizona (1-0) over UTSA (0-1), 35-17 42-32
• 23 Boise State (1-0) over Washington (0-1), 35-24 16-13

*called early due to weather
Week 1 Record: 29-3 (91%)