Bill Belichick of North Carolina was the biggest winner of the day from the perspective of national history. But there were other ups and downs as the college football season began with Week 0. Here are our winners and losers from Saturday’s eight-game FBS schedule, whetting our appetite for the rest of the college football season: Winner: Senior Football Many coaches and programs spent the offseason studying and copying Indiana’s national championship formula: drafting older players with proven production instead of going all-in on young potential. Virginia provided an early example of why that might be a good idea in its blowout victory over NC State. The Cavaliers possess the most experienced roster in the Power 4 after adding 29 transfers who had already played nearly 23,000 combined snaps elsewhere. NC State had the sixth-least experienced roster. The difference was hard to miss. Virginia offensive coordinator Des Kitchings acknowledged that NC State couldn’t stop its veteran offensive line or quarterback Beau Pribula from running the ball. Virginia rushed 57 times, threw just 11 passes and controlled possession for more than 38 minutes of a 60-minute game. Pribula, a transfer from Missouri, rushed for 110 yards and completed nine passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns. He took advantage of his strengths. Virginia finished with 258 rushing yards and converted all four times it chose to keep its offense on the field on fourth down. Kitchings deserves credit for refusing to overcomplicate an obvious advantage. The big winner was Virginia’s decision to build an older roster ready to dominate a younger one. After a 34-8 demolition, last year’s ACC runner-up could be even more dangerous. UNC looks like a totally different team in win over TCU David Ubben and Jayne Orenstein Winners: Andrew Luck’s QB pick Davis Warren already knew a thing or two about comebacks before Stanford needed him to pull off one against Hawaii. The No. 119 quarterback in our preseason QB tiers, the lowest among projected Power 4 starters, overcame leukemia in high school. He walked on at Michigan, winning the starting quarterback job in 2024, then transferring home to California for one last chance after the Wolverines struggled and tore his ACL. On Saturday, Hawaii rallied from a 23-7 deficit with 20 straight points in the fourth quarter before Warren led the Cardinal on a seven-play, 60-yard drive to take the lead. He went 5-for-5 on the drive for 58 yards and finished the night 22-for-34 for 310 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, giving coach Tavita Pritchard his first win as coach after being hired by Luck, Stanford’s general manager. Pritchard knows what an overlooked Stanford quarterback can accomplish. He led Stanford to a 24-23 victory over USC as a 41-point underdog 19 years ago in his first start, throwing a fourth-down touchdown pass with 49 seconds left in one of the biggest upsets in college football history. Beating Hawaii wasn’t a surprise, but the Cardinal definitely looked better offensively under Warren than they did a year ago, when they finished 122nd in scoring (18.8 points per game) and lost their opener to the Warriors in Honolulu.Losers: California Hometown Who wasn’t excited about the return of college football this weekend? Virginia fans showed up in force: a crowd of 62,779 for the first sellout at home in 18 years for a game that was originally scheduled for Brazil. Florida State nearly sold out its home opener against New Mexico State with 65,915 in the stands (67,277 capacity). UVA announces today’s attendance at 62,779, the eighth largest in Scott Stadium history. Virginia also breaks the student attendance record. pic.twitter.com/IrynG2Wxt1 — Preston Willett (@PrestonWillett) August 29, 2026 The West Coast? Maybe not so excited. No. 14 USC played San Jose State in front of a sparse crowd at the LA Memorial Coliseum in a game that was scheduled after the rivalry between USC and Notre Dame was not renewed for 2026. To be fair, it was hot. Very hot. The starting temperature reached 94 degrees, with it actually feeling 10 degrees hotter according to AccuWeather, and the largely shadeless stadium offered the atmosphere of an outdoor fryer. USC reported the final attendance figure was 51,144 (77,500 capacity). What was Stanford’s excuse? It was 76 degrees at kickoff on the coast for the first game against Hawaii. Announced attendance was 23,222, about 5,000 fewer fans than the 2025 season average. Stanford Stadium’s capacity is 50,424. Here’s the crowd at the Hawaii-Stanford game right after kickoff pic.twitter.com/pLm1V0FcfF — Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) August 29, 2026 Winner: USC’s freshman class USC’s No. 1 recruiting class didn’t spend opening day waiting for the future. He made an immediate impact in a 42-26 win over San Jose State. Thirteen of the 34 enrollees appeared in the first two, and 15 made their collegiate debuts on offense, defense and special teams. The Trojans started freshmen at all three positions of receiver, tight end and defensive end. Trent Mosley, Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Tron Baker and Mark Bowman, the entire group of starting receivers and tight ends, combined for 18 catches, 214 yards and both receiving touchdowns for USC. 47 YARD RETURN FOR TRENT MOSLEY 😤 @uscfb Watch on NBC pic.twitter.com/0teZxjWOSE — USC on BTN (@USConBTN) August 29, 2026 Mosley, a four-star recruit, delivered a standout performance: seven receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown, plus 56 yards on two punt returns. Baker, a three-star recruit, caught all four of his targets within 45 yards. Freshman running back Shahn Alston added 30 yards and a touchdown. Five-star defensive end Luke Wafle contributed two tackles, a half tackle for loss and a pass breakup. It also put some pressure on the quarterback. Elbert Hill IV, Talanoa Ili and Madden Riordan each made two tackles. The freshmen didn’t just take jobs; They justified them and part of the commotion. Winner: Miami’s 2027 recruiting class Mario Cristobal’s team will make its debut Friday night at Stanford, but a big star in the Hurricanes’ 2027 recruiting class was on display for a national audience Saturday. A’mir Sears reclassified from 2028 to 2027 because he believed he was ready to accelerate his path to Miami. A’mir Sears is NEXT LEVEL 💥 3 INT and 2 TD in Columbus’ big win over #1 Bishop Gorman pic.twitter.com/LHu3oDNKPz — SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) August 29, 2026 Assisted by Cristobal and Hurricanes legend Michael Irvin, the five-star athlete intercepted three passes and caught two touchdowns while Miami Columbus surprised number 1 Bishop Gorman. 33-28 on ESPN. Sears has resisted comparisons to Travis Hunter, saying he wants to create his own legacy. But intercepting three passes and scoring twice against the top-ranked team in the country won’t make those comparisons go away. Winner: Hometown Belichick won a big game, and an unlikely player played a big role in it. North Carolina rebuilt its defensive line with transfers from Penn State, Delaware, Richmond and Florida. Their opening day star, however, was an unranked player out of Raleigh, NCXavier Lewis entered Saturday with no career starts, 167 defensive snaps, eight tackles and half a sack as a freshman. In his first start, the small 6-foot, 260-pound sophomore racked up seven tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and a quarterback hurry in UNC’s 15-10 win over TCU. The Tar Heels had six tackles for loss and three sacks as a team. Lewis played defensive end, defensive tackle, tight end and running back at Rolesville High School and helped lead his team to the state championship game. In the era of the portal and the NIL, the biggest revelation of UNC’s opening day was a local visitor who simply stepped up. Loser: The Celebration Police College football entered 2026 with a more sensible penalty system. Offensive pass interference was reduced from 15 yards to 10, while targeting suspensions now increase only for repeat offenders or egregious hits. Those are sensible changes. But I’m not a fan of all the changes. TCU running back Jeremy Payne gained 7 yards for a first down during the third quarter of a 15-10 loss to North Carolina, briefly appeared to slide under the nose and then pointed downfield, a traditional first-down gesture. He received a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for it. Instead of crossing midfield, TCU dropped back. Two plays later, quarterback Jaden Craig was sacked and fumbled. North Carolina turned the mistake into a field goal that extended its lead to five. I didn’t like the decision. Payne did not taunt his opponent or perform any of the more serious hand signals, including gun gestures or throat slashes, which are also supposed to trigger automatic penalties. But his brief movement towards his nose still earned him a costly penalty. The NCAA deserves credit for making punishments more proportional. But rewriting the rule book will not achieve much if ordinary football emotions can still be treated as an act of hostility. There should be space between making fun of someone and briefly enjoying a first try. Payne’s penalty was meaningless. Winner: Charles Huff’s Moving Company It’s too early to declare Memphis the Group of 6 playoff favorite, but the Tigers already have a result the selection committee will remember in December. Memphis’ 27-21 victory at UNLV gave the All-American an important victory over a program that reached three straight Mountain West championship games. An even bigger opportunity awaits him on Sept. 12: a trip to Boise State, a top contender in the rebuilt Pac-12. If it wins there, Memphis would earn road wins over prominent teams from the two conferences most likely to challenge the American for the guaranteed spot. What makes Memphis’ start more notable is how quickly Huff built this roster. The Tigers added 81 newcomers (61 transfers and 20 freshmen) while returning just four starters from new Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield’s last 8-5 team. Huff brought with him 18 players from Southern Miss, where the Eagles went 7-6 in his only season after leaving Marshall. Nine started Saturday, including eight on defense. The former Golden Eagles accounted for 53 tackles and four of Memphis’ six sacks, while running back Jaylin Carter, among Southern Miss transfers, led Memphis with 97 rushing yards and a touchdown. It’s the latest example of the portal era’s strange remake of continuity. Huff changed the direction of Southern Miss’ most useful pieces and they were ready to be delivered on opening night.
