CFW Week 0 Results – Thumbs up to Virginia, Stanford, Memphis
Belichick is alive and well,
celebrating in Dublin
During the offseason, it seems like everyone was writing Bill Belichick’s obituary. You might as well get it out of the way before the season starts. That way you are prepared when he gets axed.
Well, the season began Saturday and those doomsayers can put Belichick’s obituary aside – at least for the time being. Entering the game an 8-point underdog, North Carolina upset TCU, 15-10. It wasn’t a pretty game. There were only two touchdowns, and both were scored in the first quarter. In fact, 80% of the game’s points were scored in the first quarter – 88% in the first half. The second half was about as dull, boring and sloppy as you can get.
Still, it was a big win for Bill Belichick. In last year’s season opener, North Carolina lost to TCU, 48-14. Winning 15-10 on Saturday was quite a turnaround for the Tar Heels. It was quite a turnaround for Belichick.
North Carolina may not win many more games this season. But the Tar Heels will at least be undefeated for two weeks. They don’t play this week. Hopefully, Belichick took time after the game to celebrate in Dublin. Hopefully, he had a shot of Jameson – or two, chased by a big sip of Guinness. Yum!
Belichick’s win was big, but the most impressive team Saturday was another ACC squad – Virginia. The Cavaliers could do no wrong, demolishing NC State, 34-8. I say demolishing because that’s exactly what Virginia did. The Cavaliers all but destroyed the Wolfpack.
And the most impressive player Saturday was Virginia quarterback Beau Pribula. Pribula, the former Missouri quarterback, was 9-11-0, passing for 155 yards and two touchdowns. If that wasn’t enough, Pribula rushed for 110 yards, averaging 7.3 yards a carry. He left NC State in his wake.
The most disappointing player of the day was NC State quarterback C.J. Bailey. Bailey only passed for 84 yards, without any touchdown passes. He turned over the ball twice, with a fumble and an interception. Under Bailey’s guidance, NC State only had 168 total yards.
Like North Carolina, Stanford pulled off its own turnaround Saturday. In last year’s season opener, Stanford lost to Hawaii, 23-20. In that game, Hawaii rallied from a 10-point deficit to win.
The Rainbow Warriors almost pulled it off again. Saturday, Hawaii rallied from a 16-point deficit to take a 27-23 lead with 4:03 remaining in the game. This year, however, Stanford wasn’t going to cave. The Cardinal scored two touchdowns in the final 1:41 of the game and beat Hawaii, 37-27.
And the second most impressive player of the day was Stanford quarterback Davis Warren. Warren is a former Michigan quarterback. In 2024, he engineered late-season Wolverines wins over Ohio State and Alabama. He sat out last season with a torn ACL. During the offseason, Warren transferred to Stanford. In Saturday’s Stanford win over Hawaii, Warren was 22-34-0, passing for 310 yards and one touchdown.
In Saturday’s other upset, a mild one but still an upset, Memphis, a 5-point underdog, surprised UNLV, 27-21. The UNLV loss has to be a big disappointment to second-year Rebels coach Dan Mullen. So much has been expected of Mullen at UNLV, and so far the former Florida coach hasn’t performed to expectations.
Meanwhile, hats off to first-year Memphis coach Charles Huff. Huff’s Tigers entered the game with 45 new players and little to no experience. As the game progressed, UNLV couldn’t keep up with Memphis. The UNLV players were pooped.
The USC Trojans had a grand opening in the Los Angeles Coliseum. The Trojans led San Jose State, 35-3, at the end of the third quarter. USC went on to win the game, 42-26. The Trojans racked up 505 total yards. USC quarterback Jayden Maiava was 25-29-0, passing for 286 yards and two touchdowns.
Welcome to FBS football North Dakota State, and what a welcome it was for the Bison. North Dakota State downed Jacksonville State, 33-7. The Bison defense held Jax State quarterback Caden Creel to just 44 yards rushing.
On the other hand, Sacramento State had a disappointing introduction to FBS football. Eastern Michigan topped Sac State, 28-17. EMU quarterback Noah Kim was 27-38-0, passing for 279 yards and two touchdowns.
Halfway through the third quarter, Florida State only had a 17-10 lead over New Mexico State. The Seminoles went on to beat the Aggies, 34-17.
How did the two former Auburn quarterbacks do? In a winning effort, Florida State’s Ashton Daniels was 17-27-1, passing for 202 yards and one touchdown. He rushed for 30 yards and one touchdown. In a losing effort, UNLV’s Jackson Arnold was 25-37-0, passing for 291 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed for 54 yards and one touchdown.
During the offseason, the University of West Florida moved up from Division II to Division I FCS football. In its debut game as an FCS team Thursday night, West Florida knocked off Southern Illinois, 34-31. Southern Illinois was ranked 16th in the FCS Coaches Poll.
And so it continues. On Friday, a Texas judge issued a temporary restraining order against the NCAA, the SEC and Greg Sankey. The Texas restraining order temporarily prevents the NCAA, the SEC and Sankey from banning former pro athletes from playing college sports. It also temporarily prevents Sankey from enforcing penalties on the SEC schools and coaches if they do use former pro players. The two plaintiffs in the Texas case are former SMU receiver Jordan Hudson of the Cowboys and former Miami linebacker Wesley Bissainthe of the Chiefs. The fallout from this ban is just beginning.
Meanwhile, the Louisiana lawsuit against the NCAA for the same reasons was amended on Friday to include Sankey and the SEC. So far, no legal challenges have been issued against the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC. The MWC is the only Group of Six conference to pass a rule banning former pro players.
Come Saturday will former NFL players Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris be playing for LSU or not? And if they do, what, if anything, will happen? Stay tuned!
The season hasn’t begun and already New Mexico lost its starting quarterback for the remainder of the year.. Jack Layne, who had surgery on his throwing arm during the offseason, will require a second surgery on the arm.
And finally, in Orangeburg, South Carolina, Saturday night it was South Carolina State 87, Savannah State 0. Now, that was a shellacking.
Touchdown Tom
August 31, 2026
https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com
Week 0 Recap
GAME OF THE WEEK: C.J. needed a Bailey’s – Virginia 34, NC State 8 (Touchdown Tom said: Virginia 21, NC State 20). The NC State quarterback needed something. C.J. Bailey had less than 90 yards passing, threw an interception and had a red-zone fumble. Meanwhile, Virginia quarterback Beau Pribula had one heck of a game. Virginia had 413 total yards to 168 for NC State. The Cavaliers dominated ball possession 38:03 to 21:57. NC State only had 10 first downs. Virginia jumped out to a 24-0 third-quarter lead before NC State scored its one and only touchdown of the game. Attendance in Charlottesville: 62,779
RUNNER-UP: Rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated – North Carolina 15, TCU 10 (Touchdown Tom said: TCU 27, North Carolina 20). Don’t write off Bill Belichick just yet. Saturday may have been the beginning of something new for the Tar Heels. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 10-10. It looked like it was going to be a high-scoring game. But it all changed after the first quarter. TCU scored a field goal and a touchdown on each of its first two drives. Then the Frogs never scored again for the remainder of the game. On its last two drives, TCU was stopped fourth-and-short deep in North Carolina territory. On the last of the two drives with a fourth-and-short, quarterback Jaden Craig could have easily run for a first down, but instead he threw an errant pass. On TCU’s previous drive, Jeremy Payne, who ran for 142 yards, was stuffed on fourth-and-one. Yeah, after one quarter of play, neither team could get its offense going. North Carolina did manage to get 5 points and that was the difference in the ball game. Craig, the former Harvard quarterback, didn’t make the transition from FCS to FBS very well. He was disappointing. After the game, TCU coach Sonny Dykes was critical of the ACC officials. TCU had 11 penalties for 89 yards. North Carolina had 3 penalties for 20 yards. Attendance in Dublin: N/A
REST OF THE BEST: Huff had UNLV huffing and puffing – Memphis 27, UNLV 21 (Touchdown Tom said: UNLV 30, Memphis 24). UNLV was the better team in the first half. Memphis was a changed team in the second half – a better team. Memphis quarterback Marcus Stokes, a transfer from West Florida, got better and better as the game went along. Memphis outscored UNLV 20-7 in the second half. Meanwhile, UNLV’s offensive line got worse in the second half. They couldn’t protect quarterback Jackson Arnold. The teams combined for 878 total yards. Both defenses were pretty bad. It was a good win for first-year Memphis coach Charles Huff. It was a bad loss for second-year UNLV coach Dan Mullen. Attendance in Las Vegas: 31,384
What a finish – Stanford 37, Hawaii 27 (Touchdown Tom said: Stanford 28, Hawaii 23). This was like watching three different games. Stanford won the first game, 23-7. Memphis won the second game, 20-0. Stanford won the third game, 14-0. Stanford scored its last two touchdowns in the final 1:41 of the game. Stanford running back Micah Ford was amazing. He rushed for 99 yards and three touchdowns. Stanford had 483 total yards. Attendance in Palo Alto: 23,222
Week 0 Results: 2 winners, 2 fumbles (50 percent)
Elsewhere Around Florida
West Florida 34, Southern Illinois 31 – Attendance in Pensacola: 6,124
Florida State 34, New Mexico State 17 – Attendance in Tallahassee: 65,915
Florida A&M 20, Albany State 7 – Attendance in Tallahassee: 14,047
South Dakota State 70, Stetson 7 – Attendance in Brookings: 19,192
Superlatives
Week 0’s Best Passers:
Stanford’s Davis Warren – 22-34-0 for 310 yards (1TD); UNLV’s Jackson Arnold – 25-37-0-291 (2TDs); USC’s Jaden Maiava – 25-29-0-286 (2TDs); Eastern Michigan’s Noah Kim – 27-38-0-279 (2TDs), and Hawaii’s Micah Alejado – 30-50-0-269 (2TDs).
Week 0’s Best Rushers:
TCU’s Jeremy Payne – 142 yards, and Stanford’s Micah Ford – 99 yards (3TDs).
Quotes of the Week
“Lane Kiffin doesn’t give a hoot about norms or rules, and he’s also not the only coach looking to add pros to the roster. Never mind raiding the NFL’s waiver wire is a slap in the face of college players who’ve been in the program practicing all season,” USA Today sports columnist Blake Toppmeyer.
“LSU is an outcast. LSU is just spitting in the face of Greg Sankey and the other SEC members.” ESPN’s Paul Finebaum.
Touchdown Tom
https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com
P.S.
Not exactly college football related, but as the Labor Day Weekend approached and college football fans were hyped for the start of another season, the number one song in the country…
…85 years ago, this week in 1941, was “Green Eyes (Aquellos Ojos Verdes)” by Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra
…80 years ago, this week in 1946, was “To Each His Own” by Eddy Howard and His Orchestra
…75 years ago, this week in 1951, was “Come On-a My House” by Rosemary Clooney
…70 years ago, this week in 1956, was “Hound Dog/Don’t Be Cruel” by Elvis Presley and “My Prayer” by The Platters
…65 years ago, this week in 1961, was “Wooden Heart” by Joe Dowell and “Michael” by The Highwaymen
…60 years ago, this week in 1966, was “Sunshine Superman” by Donovan
…55 years ago, this week in 1971, was “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” by Paul & Linda McCartney
…50 years ago, this week in 1976, was “You Should Be Dancing” by The Bee Gees
…45 years ago, this week in 1981, was “Endless Love” by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
…40 years ago, this week in 1986, was “Higher Love” by Steve Winwood
…35 years ago, this week in 1991, was “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” by Bryan Adams
The next CFW – Week 1 Forecast – will be posted Thursday morning, September 3.
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