Here are some thoughts and observations after the first full week of the college football season:
Suggs out, Jones in
The knee injury to Virginia Tech tailback Lee Suggs is a catastrophic blow to his Heisman Trophy hopes. The Hokies are fortunate to have true freshman running back Kevin Jones, a very competent young man to be wearing Michael Vick's old No. 7. Jones, a big back at 6-foot, 205 pounds, was a heavily recruited player.
Ironically, while the pressure was on Vick to be the Hokies' franchise, the pressure is now on Jones to give them a huge boost. Could this be the Kevin Jones era?
The Hokies also have Keith Burnell, who has great speed and had a very strong spring. With Burnell and Jones, the Hokies have quality replacements. They're fortunate to be in such good shape behind Suggs. They shouldn't be in dire straits.
Quarterback Grant Noel, Vick's successor, threw a lot of short passes against Connecticut that got him confidence early. He had threw a wide receiver screen to Andre Davis, which ran for a 50-yard TD. It was nice to see Noel get off to a good start. True freshman Bryan Randall, Noel's backup, could see some action as well.
Young 'Noles get the job done
Due to injuries, Bobby Bowden was forced to use a ton of freshmen in Florida State's 55-13 season-opening victory over Duke. The Seminoles had around 10 redshirt and true freshmen on the field.
Receiver Craphonso Thorpe, at 6-foot-2, 179 pounds, caught a TD pass and looks like he could be a Snoop Minnis-type player. At 6-2½, 230, running back Eric Shelton showed he has a very bright future and can get the job done. Others contributing were quarterback Adrian McPherson, who played very well in the second half, kicker Xavier Beitia and receiver P.K. Sam.
The Seminoles fell behind 6-0 with a blown coverage that allowed Duke running back Chris Douglas to haul in a long TD reception from D. Bryant. After that, the Seminoles had special teams set them up for some quick scores with two blocked punts for touchdowns. Redshirt freshman QB Chris Rix avoided the pass rush of Blue Devil DE Nate Krill to toss one of his two TD passes.
Florida State has to play Georgia Tech, Clemson and Miami and, as a young team, may run into some trouble. Saturday's UAB game will be a much sterner test for Florida State than Duke. It will be interesting to see how these freshmen react to playing a game against a better opponent.
Buffs come up big
Colorado had a huge 41-14 win against Colorado State. Defensive back Michael Lewis was around the ball a lot and came through with a 41-yard interception return for a TD. The Buffaloes also capitalized Colorado State's inexperience at quarterback, with D.J. Busch and Bradlee Van Pelt, who combined to throw four interceptions.
Colorado State had already lost leadership on defense with graduation of Rick Crowell and had to deal with running back Cecil Sapp's injury. Plus, the Rams were playing their first game, while Colorado was coming off a loss to Fresno State the previous week.
A first for Friedgen
Maryland got an excellent 23-7 win against North Carolina to start the Ralph Friedgen era. The Terrapins fell behind 7-0 on Willie Parker's 77-yard TD run less than two minutes into the game, but they regrouped and scored 23 unanswered points.
It was a huge win for Friedgen, the new head coach who is already a difference-maker at Maryland. The players were well conditioned, playing hard in the fourth quarter and outlasting North Carolina. The Terps could have even extended their lead, but they missed two field-goal attempts. Running back Bruce Perry made up for the graduation loss of Lamont Jordan with a productive day.
The opener was a pivotal game because the Terrapins feel their next four games are very winnable -- vs. Eastern Michigan, vs. West Virginia, at Wake Forest and vs. Virginia. Maryland could possibly be 5-0 before facing Georgia Tech on Oct. 13. The Terrapins could win as many as seven or eight games.
Longhorns long on RB talent
While Victor Ike is an outstanding feature back, Texas had a strong fourth quarter from true freshman running back Cedric Benson in its victory over New Mexico State.
The Longhorns had running back depth with Ike and Ivan Williams. And now they're going to have even more depth with Benson, a heralded player who came in and showed he can be an impact player right away.
Just win, Joey
Oregon's Joey Harrington completed less than half of his passes against Wisconsin, but he did what he always does -- win the football game.
Stats don't tell Harrington's story; last year he only completed 52 percent of his passes. But he's in the Heisman Trophy hunt and has a chance to lead Oregon to the Pac-10 championship because he is the ultimate winning quarterback who shows tremendous confidence, poise and resourcefulness in the fourth quarter.
Forget about the low completion percentage. When Harrington has to do the job, he does it.
Kudos to Carr, Kittner
Fresno State's David Carr clearly established himself as the top senior QB in the country along with Kurt Kittner (Illinois). Both Carr and Kittner have had outstanding starts to their senior seasons.
Carr was 21-of-34 passing for 340 yards and four TD passes in his excellent game against Oregon State. Carr was on target with intermediate passes and long passes and showed touch on shorter passes. He is a tremendous leader who really inspires the Bulldogs. He could end up being a top 10-15 pick in the first round.
In Illinois' 44-17 win over Cal, Kittner benefitted from the return of receiver Brandon Lloyd. Lloyd, who missed last season with a broken leg, is back at 100 percent and caught eight passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns.
Bruins buck the odds
All the experts said UCLA would have to get off to a good start to have any chance of beating Alabama, which had the support of an emotional home crowd in Tuscaloosa to start the Dennis Franchione era. It would be "roll Tide, roll" if the Bruins stumbled at the start.
Well, the Bruins didn't start well. UCLA blew a coverage, allowing Alabama to take a 10-0 lead. Everything was going the Crimson Tide's way. But UCLA rallied to win the game 20-17.
Penalties were Alabama's downfall. The Tide had 15 compared to none for UCLA. DeShaun Foster turned in a solid effort for the Bruins, whose comeback showed what kind of team they are this year.
Manning legacy carries on at Ole Miss
We know how good Peyton Manning was at Tennessee and how good Archie Manning was at Mississippi. Now, there's Eli Manning, who had a big game for Ole Miss on Saturday. Granted, it was against Division I-AA Murray State, but Manning was on target with just about every pass, completing 18 straight passes in the first half and throwing five TD passes.
The Rebels will probably have to score more than 30 points to win a lot of SEC games because their defense is questionable. But Manning, a third-year sophomore, got his career off to a great start and certainly looks like he can be a big-time player. This weekend, Ole Miss plays at Auburn in a key game to watch.
No misstep from Miami
Miami cleared a big hurdle, beating Penn State at Happy Valley. The Hurricanes dominated the game, jumping out to a 30-0 lead at the half.
They ran the ball effectively with Clinton Portis and got good play out of quarterback Ken Dorsey. Unfortunately, senior receiver Daryl Jones suffered a sprained knee ligament and will miss at least Miami's next game.
Tight end Jeremy Shockey turned in an outstanding effort. Shockey, only a junior, has already established himself as the best TE in college football. He's the best pass-catching tight end in the country, a better prospect than Bubba Franks, who was a mid-first-round pick two years ago.
Everyone cited Miami's tough schedule, saying the 'Canes couldn't win a championship. Penn State was considered a tricky road opponent, but Miami was in control from start to finish. The 'Canes' next big tests are Washington at home on Sept. 15 and at Pittsburgh on Sept. 27.
Orangemen need some "O"
It's a shame that Syracuse can't get any offense. If the Orangemen had any offense , they would be 2-0 and coach Paul Pasqualoni would be in great shape. Instead, they're 0-2.
Before the season began, everyone said Pasqualoni was on the hot seat. Although the team has played hard, Syracuse lost to Georgia Tech 13-7 because the offense didn't produce. And the same thing happened at Tennessee in a 33-9 loss.
The Orangemen were in the game for the first half and did a great job of putting the clamps on Vols quarterback Casey Clausen and company until the second half when Tennessee began making plays. But with Troy Nunes struggling at QB, Syracuse couldn't generate any offense.
The loss spoiled a great effort by their defense, led by defensive end Dwight Freeney. He continues to be an unstoppable force off the edge like Corey Moore was at Virginia Tech two years ago. Freeney is spectacular.
