The college football season has begun, and the three big teams -- Oklahoma, Nebraska and Georgia Tech -- didn't bring their "A" games for their openers. Here's my review of the first weekend of games:

Oklahoma 41, North Carolina 27
The Sooners should be No. 1 in the country, even though I don't think they are the best team. Their big question is still at quarterback. Josh Heupel was an incredibly effective college quarterback. With Nate Hybl and Jason White, the Sooners have two players who may have more physical ability but aren't as experienced and have less poise or leadership ability.

The Sooners' big question is still at quarterback; they will bog down without a quality QB.

With Heupel last year, the other players knew he would get them back on track after a bad series or two. Now, they don't know if the quarterback can get them out of trouble. There will be some uncertainty and a lack of confidence.

The Sooners have a strong offensive line, led by left tackle Frank Romero, a great receiving corps and a solid running back in Quentin Griffin. But they will bog down without a quality triggerman, as we saw against North Carolina. Oklahoma was fortunate that North Carolina gift-wrapped points for them in the first half. Without the early points, the game would have been much closer. Although Oklahoma's defense was impressive, North Carolina received a poor effort from starting quarterback Ronald Curry. So were the Sooners really tested?

Oklahoma ran into trouble against freshman quarterback Darian Durant. When he replaced Curry, the Tar Heels started to move the football. He was being flushed out of the pocket, but he was showing poise and awareness. He gave the Sooners' No. 1 defensive unit lots of trouble and made it a 14-point game. Had the Tar Heels converted their last drive, they could have made it a seven-point game.

Curry was so inconsistent and erratic that it was hard to tell if Oklahoma's defense deserved all the credit. I have some concerns about Oklahoma, especially with Kansas State visiting on Sept. 29 and a tricky game at Tulsa on Sept. 15. The Sooners get Texas on Oct. 6. They need to be improved by the time they play Texas or they may end up with at least two losses by the end of the season.

Nebraska 21, TCU 7
Even though TCU was set up to be dominated, the Horned Frogs hung in against Nebraska on the road. They showed guts and determination. Their effort in Lincoln, Neb., was even more amazing because they had lost LaDainian Tomlinson, pass rusher Aaron Schobel, defensive tackle Shawn Worthen and their two safeties to the NFL and head coach Dennis Franchione to Alabama.

Was the game an indictment against Nebraska? Was TCU overachieving or were the Cornhuskers not playing as well as people expected? It might be a combination of the two. Nebraska doesn't have the star power it used to have. Granted, their No. 1 I-back, Dahrran Dedrick, was out with a one-game suspension, and the 'Huskers had to go with Thunder Collins. I see Eric Crouch being star, but he needs to get his completion percentage up around 55 percent and to be more accurate throwing the football or the Cornhuskers won't be as potent offensively. Their offensive line doesn't have a dominant tackle, and it hurt losing center Dominic Raiola to the NFL after his junior season. They lack big-time receivers. The defensive front seven has good (but not great) players, although the secondary has Keyou Craver at corner.

Nebraska's schedule is at least manageable. The 'Huskers host Notre Dame on Sept. 8, Oklahoma on Oct. 27, and Kansas State on Nov. 10 before playing at Colorado on Nov. 23. That said, they need to play much better than they did against TCU. It's unknown whether or not they have the talent to get through a favorable schedule and outplay the three tough teams coming to Lincoln.

Georgia Tech 13, Syracuse 7
I was impressed with Syracuse's defense, which was sound and fundamental and made Georgia Tech work for the victory. Kelly Campbell, one of my top 25 senior prospects for the NFL draft, had a spectacular day for the Yellow Jackets, with 10 catches for 193 yards. George Godsey also turned in a solid game. Joe Burns was shut down until the last drive.

Former Tech offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen is now the head coach at Maryland. So will the offense -- which has a similar number of components in place, even though Nate Curry is out for the year -- become more conservative? The Yellow Jackets' game against Syracuse indicated they may be more conservative when they get near the goal line.

While Bill O'Brien is the new offensive coordinator, he understands Friedgen's system. But head coach George O'Leary -- who is a defense-first coach -- may pull in the reins, where Friedgen had a lot of latitude in play-calling and gambling. Georgia Tech must improve before trying to handle Florida State on the road on Sept. 15.

At some point, Syracuse will have to think about using freshman quarterback Cecil Howard. The Orangemen need to get some offense going. The Orangemen could have beaten Georgia Tech. They had opportunities but couldn't make a play offensively. They have a brutally tough schedule, which doesn't bode well for head coach Paul Pasqualoni -- at Tennessee next week, East Carolina and Auburn at home, at Pittsburgh, at Virginia Tech and at Miami down the stretch.

Wisconsin 26, Virginia 17
The Badgers' offense will still have some struggles, although they put together a productive second half. Once Jim Sorgi came in for the injured Brooks Bollinger, Wisconsin made some plays, getting the big play from Lee Evans.

But realize that the Cavaliers don't have a great defensive player or much star power. Once Antwoine Womack was hurt -- and he's supposed to get 30 to 35 touches a game -- what do they have left? Virginia didn't have the manpower to go to Camp Randall and hang in tough with Wisconsin, even though it was only a nine-point game. The game showed Wisconsin will run into trouble and perhaps be a middle-of-the-pack team in the Big Ten at best.

Fresno State 24, Colorado 22
The Bulldogs did more than hang around against the Buffaloes; they won the game on the road. Quarterback David Carr had a great first half. The Colorado defense adjusted in the first half and made it tougher on him. But the Bulldogs have some good skill-position talent. Their defense, led by Alan Harper, was outstanding. Fresno State deserves a lot of credit.

Fresno State still has to play at home against Oregon State, at Wisconsin and at Colorado State. The Bulldogs are playing 13 games and will have to travel 21,000 miles this season. They are capable of beating Wisconsin at Camp Randall, and they can stay close against Oregon State and maybe get an upset. They are a dangerous team.

Even if Fresno State does lose two games and is 1-2, that's three games down and nine to go. The Bulldogs can win eight of the final nine and have a nine-win season. Nine or 10 wins are possible with a 13-game schedule.

BYU 70, Tulane 35
Gary Crowton's team got off to a great start against Tulane's defense, which isn't very good. The Green Wave have some weapons, with senior quarterback Patrick Ramsey and sophomore running back Mewelde Moore, who had an outstanding game. He ran hard and showed tackle-breaking ability. But without a quality defense, they will be forced to score 35 to 40 points a game. Of course, they would have had to score 71 to win this game.

I picked BYU to win the Mountain West, but I still the Cougars think need to play better than they did against Tulane if they hope to beat out Colorado State, UNLV, San Diego State and Air Force. BYU got a big game from Luke Staley, who has to stay healthy. He's a great running back, but he has to prove his durability.

The Cougars have a solid offensive line. Receiver Reno Mahe demonstrated some big-play ability. Quarterback Brandon Doman managed the team well and showed mobility and a multidimensional approach. Ryan Denney had a big game at defensive end, which bodes well for BYU's defensive front.

With a versatile offense and an excellent defensive line, the Cougars have a chance to win the conference. They had problems against Tulane at some points, but Tulane is a pretty good offensive football team. BYU has three tough road games coming up -- at Cal, at Mississippi State and at UNLV.

Louisville 45, New Mexico State 24
The Aggies should have won the football game because they rushed for 407 yards. Louisville gave a disappointing effort despite the 21-point victory.

The Cardinals were outplayed. Dave Ragone had a decent game, with three TD passes, but he needs to upgrade his performance. Their defense had major problems. New Mexico State's best back, Chris Barnes, moved on to the NFL, but they had other backs who stepped in and did a great job.

If the Cardinals continue to play like they did, they will have no chance of beating Illinois in Champaign, Ill., on Sept. 15. They must step up their performance or East Carolina will be the team to beat in Conference USA.