College football is back! Whilst Week 0 may feel like an appetiser for the rest of the season there was still plenty of action to go around, including Bill Belichick apparently revitalising his college coaching career as North Carolina pulled off the upset over TCU in Dublin. Outside of the Emerald Isle, several Power Four teams looked to get off to winning ways, with some looking more impressive than others.

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San Jose State 26 @ 42 USC

Trojans looked set for big win before fourth-quarter lapses allowed Spartans back in.

UCS’s home opener was all about the new talent on the Trojans’ roster. With starting receivers Tanook Hines and Terrell Anderson absent due to injury, the door was open for debutant wideout Trent Mosely to make a big impression. And that he certainly did, with seven passes reeled in to the tune of 118 yards and a touchdown. Mosely’s team-mates were clearly impressed with his performance, with RB King Miller stating, ‘that kid moves differently. I mean, he’s special. I love to see him play’. Mosley also had a 41-yard punt return that highlighted the elusiveness that makes him such an exciting prospect.

Mosely wasn’t the only newcomer to make an impact. Receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt and running backs Riley Wormley and Shane Alston also picked up touchdowns on their debuts. Head coach Lincoln Riley has proven that he is an excellent recruiter and the young talent he has built around Jayden Maiava, entering his third season as starter for USC is testament to that. Maiava had a strong showing in the Coliseum with 286 yards and two touchdowns through the air with another picked up with his legs, and Riley was impressed with the team’s performance through the first three quarters.

“Really dominated the game there through three quarters,” he said. “A lot of exciting ball. [We had] a lot of guys [in] their first games as Trojans make a lot of big plays out there.”

However, things were not up to par when the starters were pulled late in the game.

“Fourth quarter, not up to our standards,” Riley continued. “A bunch of guys got opportunities, and we had several that did not play the way that we anticipated. There will be a lot to learn and grow from. The way our starters played, that deserved to be a single-digit score game.”

The Trojans’ defense under new defensive coordinator Gary Patterson looked strong until fourth quarter lapses allowed San Jose State to make a comeback of sorts. Spartans new QB Luke Weaver looked impressive as he diced up the Trojans back-ups, leading three scoring drives that made the final score slightly more flattering, although head coach Ken Niumatalolo was impressed with his team’s resilience.

“That’s far and away the best football team they’ll play all year, and our guys were able to get open,” Niumatalolo said. “We were able to protect against them, and so those things are encouraging. And when things did break down, it’s exciting to see Luke extend some plays. That’s going to bode well for us in the future.”

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NC State 8 @ 34 Virginia

QB Pribula leads the Cavaliers to comfortable win over conference opposition.

Transfer quarterback Beau Pribula shone in his debut for Virginia with a dominant performance that bodes well for a promising season for the Cavaliers.

Pribula, who had previous stops at Penn State and Missouri, demonstrated his dual-threat ability with 155 yards and two touchdowns through the air whilst picking up a further 110-yards with his legs.

“I thought he was very decisive, very efficient with the ball,” Virginia coach Tony Elliott said. “He protected it, didn’t put it in jeopardy for the most part. He was looking for checkdowns. If it wasn’t there, he was pulling it down, keeping us ahead of the chains. It was fun to watch him play.”

Virginia was without star linebacker Kam Robinson, sidelined with a knee injury, but the defensive unit was easily able to contain NC State QB C.J Bailey, whose offense started the game with two three-and-outs followed by a tipped interception on the third drive.

“The world’s not going to end, but it was disappointing as hell, to say the least, to see how we played today,” Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said. “I own that. That’s on me. Everybody can blame the head coach. That’s great. I’m going to go in there and work my [backside] off for these guys and help them.”

Virginia also looked exceptionally strong in the ground game, highlighted by a deep position group at running back that saw five different players with at least six carries each. Jekail Middlebrook led the group with 64 yards followed by Xavier Brown with 40. Xay Davis, Noah Vaughan and Peyton Lewis combined for a further 44 yards.

“We’re going to need all five of those guys throughout the course of the year,” said Elliott, after the Cavaliers totalled 258 yards on the ground.

Following an impressive conference win to open the season, Virginia looks set to make some noise as they attempt to chase down ACC favourites Miami.

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New Mexico State 17 @ 34 Florida State

Seminoles just too much for their opponents as Singleton shows out.

With Florida State looking to recapture some of the magic of their opening game upset over Alabama last season, new QB Ashton Daniels, who was two-season starter at Stanford before a stint at Auburn that saw him start four times, had a strong but not perfect showing on his debut in Tallahassee. Daniels went 17-of-27 passing for 202 yards, including a touchdown to Samuel Singleton Jr as well as an interception.

“I think the team did well, I think the offense did well,” Daniels said. “Obviously, there’s some plays that we want to have back. But I think that we responded very well to some negative plays, putting points on the board.”

Singleton showed off his effectiveness as an all-purpose back, with nine carries for 42 yards and a score on a two-yard run. That scoring drive was set up by Singleton’s 46-yard kickoff return, while he also pulled in four passes for 54 yards.

“I believe in myself, I believe in what I can do,” Singleton said.

Fellow running back Ousmane Kromah also had a big game with a 52-yard fourth quarter run that contributed to his first 100-yard game for the Seminoles, finishing with 115 yards from 14 carries.

A big improvement for Florida State was redzone success, an area in which they struggled last season. Against the Aggies, they were six of six in the red zone with four touchdowns and two field goals, and they will need to sustain this level of scoring consistency if they want to stand out in a competitive ACC. It was a far from perfect performance against a lower level opponent, with concerns around the offensive line and pass defense that will need to be addressed during the season.

Despite the defeat, New Mexico State passer Trey Hedden had a successful outing in which he found himself to have time and space to convert 10 out of 16 third downs. Hedden, who previously played for FCS college Furman, finished with 272 yards and two touchdowns along with an interception as the Aggies put up a strong fight against a Power Four opponent and left the field feeling they could have had an even better result.

“It’s a lot different when you’re playing in these money games and you walk in the locker room and there is some genuine disappointment that there was a great opportunity there,” New Mexico State coach Tony Sanchez said. “I think we all own that, myself included.”