Stories From Week 1 in College Football: Welcome Back!

Hallelujah, it's finally that time. It's September, cooler weather is coming, leaves are changing color, and guys put on pads to hit each other head on at full speed. Ah, football, how I love you. Welcome back!

What happened this weekend in the CFB landscape, you ask? Well, the answer to that is complicated but I'll answer it this way: a lot. Here are my top takeaways:

Doug Beghel/The Oregonian

Poor Oregon State - Yikes. An opening day loss to Sacramento State is ugly and unfortunate. It's clear that the Beavers' offense without the James brothers is a very sad one. A loss in overtime is always a tough one, but a loss in OT to a team that has nowhere near the amount of talent as OSU? Bummer. RB Malcom Agnew was the only bright spot in the Beavers' game, and even then it wasn't anything to write home about. Injuries and big mistakes were the downfall to the Oregon State team. What now? They have to redeem themselves, period, end of story.

LSU Rolls Over Oregon - Let's just say it. The Ducks have lost their swagger...at least for now. Even my personal favorite, LaMichael James, looked like a lost little puppy. The Oregon offense was stopped at every turn by the LSU defense and looked like they were miles away from the national championship caliber team they were last season. LSU, on the other hand, looked ready and poised for the national championship stage. I know it's early, but look for Les Miles' Tigers to bring the pain in the SEC - in my opinion, they're a top contender for the ultimate prize this year.

AJC.com

Mark Richt Might Want to Say His Goodbyes - Oh Mark Richt...he's a good guy and a great coach, but his time has passed at Georgia. The outcry for him to be fired has already begun after the Bulldogs' painful loss to Boise State in the Georgia Dome. UGA made the Boise State Broncos look like a pro caliber team. Messy mistakes and a weak offensive line were ultimately the Dawgs' downfall in their season opener. Georgia plays South Carolina next week and they had better win, or else Mark Richt can wave goodbye to Athens and the UGA football program. We all know UGA fans are some of the most vocal and dedicated in the country, and you can bet they won't put up with another losing season, especially in the ultra-competitive SEC.

Auburn Needs Work - Woah. That's all I could say while watching Utah State beat up on Auburn. Had USU taken advantage of a few missed opportunities (like that onside kick), they would have upset last year's National Champions. Auburn has lost many of it's strong starters (Cam Newton, Nick Fairley, etc) from last year, and has turned into a very young team that obviously has a lot of work to do. Head Coach Gene Chizik even stated that much in his post game press conference. If Auburn wants to defend their title and compete in the SEC, they had better make some real changes...fast.

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Notre Dame is Still Irrelevant - Sorry to my ND friends. Let's just be honest here, they aren't the same team they once were. Notre Dame has talent and with the right development, they'll eventually bounce back to the top tier of collegiate football, but they are far from that level right now. South Florida had the upper hand in this game and took advantage of a few big turnovers to pull a big win in South Bend. It's a huge win for the South Florida program, and surely an emotional one for head coach and ND alum Skip Holtz. This game was made extra interesting, though, by multiple delays because of weather. Let's just say this, metal bleachers + lightning = bad news. It was smart to evacuate the stadium in this situation.

Brady Hoke Makes his Michigan Debut - The much anticipated Brady Hoke era has begun in Ann Arbor, much to many fans' relief. Rich Rod is gone and it seems a breath of fresh air has been breathed into the Wolverines' program. Denard Robinson is still dynamic and the offense still works, but this opening game in the Big House showcased the improvements to Michigan's defense. Thank goodness, too, because it was a hot mes over the past few years. Look for Michigan to grow into a strong program once again under alumni coach Hoke.

Sue Ogrocki/AP

Yup, Oklahoma Deserves that #1 Ranking - One name: Dominique Whaley. Big story: the walk-on takes charge of the offense. Awesome. Whaley had the first 100-yard game by a walk on in 36 years...thirty-six years!! This kid is in for an epic season and I guarantee Bob Stoops is patting himself on the back right now. This kid will be the personal interest story of the season, and rightly so. He stuck to his goals and made a swift and serious impact for the Sooners. Beyond Whaley, though, OU does look like they deserve that #1 ranking. QB Landry Jones looks like he hasn't missed a beat and his favorite target, WR Ryan Broyles was a beast (as usual).  OU is an obvious threat to the almighty SEC. Get ready for a battle this season.

Baylor's Stud QB Robert Griffin III is Awesome - I don't think anyone saw this one coming. RG3 carried Baylor to a stunning win over #14 TCU. Goodbye Horned Frog, hello Bears. It's obvious that RG3 and his receivers will make for a lot of fun this season - they're dynamic and work well together; however, it's Baylor's defense that needs work. They were ahead of TCU by a lot and let it all slip away, almost losing the game. Obviously, that kind of thing can't happen, so it's safe to say the Bears' focus will be on fortifying their defense from here on out. As far as TCU goes, they'll have to work on team dynamics on both sides of the ball, but don't count them out quite yet, they're still a strong program.

Other Things Worth Noting: 

Marco Torres/HoustonPress.com

•  Texas A&M was looking good, which is a positive for them since they announced their departure from the Big 12
• ...And on that note, billionaire T. Boone Pickens announced the Big 12 was dead as both OU and OSU look to join other conferences. What T. Boone says goes, ya know.
• BYU looked good in their win against Ole Miss, but then again, it is Ole Miss.
• Andrew Luck is still a beast.
• Blah, blah, blah, Virginia Tech is really awesome, blah, blah, blah.
• USC looked mediocre at best...c'mon, they almost lost to Minnesota...at home!
• The other USC (South Carolina) is really good, especially with Stephen Garcia starting. Note to Steve Spurrier: don't ever bench him again.
• Can Dan Persa get well already? I really like him leading the Wildcats.
• I think Case Keenum beat UCLA on his own. Welcome back, kid.
• Colorado is still terrible. Jon Embree, good try, but you still have very little talent on your team. You had better recruit well, or else CU will be at the back of the Pac-12 rankings, sitting pretty with Washington State.

So what's the bottom line this week? Nothing makes me happier than the return of football season.

Til next time...
S.