As we’ve finally come to the end of the opening weekend of college football after five days of games I have learned a lot of things.  The first of which is that we over react to every little thing.  If you team lost their first game and you fear that all is lost, take courage because one game does not a whole season make.  Remember that last year’s National Champion Alabama had one loss during the regular season.

With that in mind there were more than a handful of teams that suffered crushing defeats.  Last year’s Big 12 champs took a huge hit at the hand s of FCS power house North Dakota State.  They weren’t the only team to get slapped around by an FCS school however.  Number 25 ranked Oregon State fell to Eastern Washington in an epic shootout 49-46.  All told, seven Division one schools lost in their so-called guarantee games over the weekend.  That is a huge deal in case you are wondering.  It means one of two things, the first of which is that many of these schools overlooked their first opponent because they weren’t a big time team.  The second thing we learned is that anyone can lose if they aren’t prepared in the right way.  There are plenty of great football players and teams that aren’t in big five conferences and they all have a chip on their shoulder.  Let’s not forget what teams like Boise St, Utah and TCU did when they were thought to be second tier.  I’m sure that Alabama Oklahoma and Wisconsin remember.

Granted, FCS is a lot different from those schools but the rules still apply.  Recruiting isn’t perfect and as such many fantastic players slip through the cracks and end up at these small schools.  There is no doubt that the motivation that they receive all summer long is focused on their one shot that season to prove a point to the so-called big boys.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about the winners the losers and the players who impressed me the most during week one.

The winners:

Alabama was an absolute beast in crushing Virginia Tech and looks poised to make a push at a fourth National Championship in five seasons.

Clemson might have been the team of the weekend with an impressive win over Georgia.  Boyd, Watkins and crew look they are ready to take the next step this season and make themselves a player in the BCS.

Washington opened up their new stadium in style with a dominated performance over the then 19^th ranked Boise State Broncos.  Washington has the makings of a third dominating team in the vaunted PAC 12 north division that now looked like the toughest in all of college football.

The Losers:

Oregon State looked great on the offensive end of the field but their defense was terrible.  They really need to look deep and make some changes if they expect to compete with the Ducks, Huskies and Cardinal this season.

Boise State looked about as outclassed as I have seen them in more than a decade.  Steve Sarkisian and the Huskies did and absolute number on the Broncos and that might be hard to bounce back from.

Texas A&M won their opening game against Rice but was unimpressive doing it, especially without reigning Heisman trophy winner Johnny Manziel.  What was even less impressive was the act that Manziel put on when he got onto the field.  He doesn’t have the maturity necessary to lead A&M very far right now and will have problems all season long if he doesn’t grow up.

The Players:

Christion Jones was ridiculous for Alabama on Saturday scoring on a reception, a punt return and a kick return.  Not a bad opening game.

Sean Mannion- Even though the Beavers got beat, Mannion was nearly flawless.  He completed 37 of 43 passes for 422 yards and three touchdowns.

Teddy Bridgewater- the Cardinals rolled over Ohio on Sunday thanks to Bridgewater and his 355 yards passing and five touchdowns.

Tajh Boyd- Boyd was nearly untouchable against the Bulldogs on Saturday night throwing for 270 yards and three touchdowns as well as rushing for two more.

Keith Price- Price appears to be back on the right track after a rough junior year.  Price threw for 324 yards and two touchdowns in the Huskies dominating opening game victory.

Paul Richardson- Richardson appears to be all healed up after missing last season with a torn ACL.  Richardson made his presence felt with ten receptions for 208 yards and two scores as the Colorado Buffaloes exacted revenge on their most bitter rivals.

Jameis Winston- if you didn’t get to see the Monday game between FSU and Pitt you really missed out.  Winston was almost perfect, completing 25 of 27 passes for 356 yards and four touchdowns.  Not too bad for a kid playing in his first college game.

Todd Gurley- even though the Bulldogs got beat Gurley still had an impressive showing as he rushed for 154 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries.