College football’s Week Zero gave us enough fuel to start doing what the sport does best this time of year: overreacting. And after Saturday’s slate, a few storylines are already impossible to ignore.
Start with North Carolina, because Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels may be more than just a curiosity. A year after opening against TCU with a blistering 83-yard touchdown drive before getting buried 48-14, UNC again struck first against the Horned Frogs in Ireland.
This time, though, the result looked different. The Tar Heels were sturdy, disciplined and disruptive, with a pass rush that flashed real teeth and Billy Edwards Jr. giving them competent quarterback play in Bobby Petrino’s offense.
That doesn’t make North Carolina a finished product. It does make them look improved, and maybe bowl-bound if things break right.
A Sept. 12 meeting with East Tennessee State looks like the kind of game Belichick’s team should handle, but the schedule tightens fast after that with Clemson, No. 4 Notre Dame, No.
7 Miami and No. 24 Louisville all waiting later in the fall.
If UNC drops all four of those, it would need to take four of its remaining six against Pittsburgh, Duke, Syracuse, UConn, Virginia and NC State to get to a bowl. That’s not a stretch impossible to imagine.
Belichick’s team is better than it was a year ago. The bigger question is how much better.
Virginia also made a strong first impression, and it came in a way that should travel. The Cavaliers, one of the ACC’s more experienced teams on defense, paired that with a transfer quarterback in Beau Pribula, who brought 10 games of SEC starting experience into a team coming off an 11-win season.
Against NC State, that combination was overwhelming. Virginia rolled up 258 rushing yards, controlled the game on the ground, suffocated the Wolfpack defensively and walked away with a 34-8 win.
That formula didn’t define Virginia last season, but it sure looked like a way to stay in every game on the schedule this year. And the schedule is a friendly one, with only one currently ranked team on it.
There are still fair questions. Pribula has dealt with injury before, and if he’s going to keep carrying the ball 10-plus times a game, health matters.
The Cavaliers also have plenty of transfers to keep knitting together. Even after the blowout, Miami remains the clear favorite in the ACC.
Still, Virginia’s opener said plenty.
USC provided the kind of roller-coaster that has become a little too familiar for its fans. The Trojans opened against San José State with a first-half shutout, holding the Spartans to 106 total yards and stopping them on fourth down inside the 10.
That part looked encouraging. Then came the fourth quarter, when USC gave up 23 points and forced everyone to relive some unpleasant defensive memories.
The context matters here. With a 32-point lead after three quarters, Lincoln Riley and Gary Patterson went to the bench on defense, while San José State kept its starters on the field.
That goes a long way toward explaining the ugly finish, even if giving up 23 points in a quarter is never going to look good. Starters or not, USC should not be surrendering that kind of production to a three-win Mountain West team in 2025.
But when the Trojans had their first-string defense in the game, Patterson’s unit looked far more like the shutdown group USC has been hoping for. The real test comes later with No.
2 Oregon, No. 17 Washington, No.
1 Ohio State and No. 6 Indiana still ahead.
And then there’s North Dakota State, which made its FBS debut look a whole lot like James Madison’s from a few years back. The Bison, who have dominated the FCS since joining in 2004 and won 10 of 14 national titles from 2011 to ’24, beat Jacksonville State 33-7 despite piling up 13 penalties for 94 yards. The result naturally brought JMU to mind, since the Dukes also announced themselves in the FBS with a 44-7 rout of Middle Tennessee State in 2022.
James Madison didn’t waste time becoming a factor at the higher level, winning eight games in year one, a bowl game in year three and reaching the College Football Playoff in year four. North Dakota State has the kind of profile that could make a similar run.
The Bison are experienced up front, loaded in the trenches, built around a three-man backfield rotation and physical enough to fit Mountain West football. October matchups with UNLV and New Mexico are on the horizon, and the league’s third-easiest schedule gives them real runway.
There are obvious questions, though. Nathan Hayes still has to prove his ceiling, especially with an inexperienced group of receivers.
And the penalties need to be cleaned up. So no, it’s too early to call North Dakota State Dukes 2.0.
But after Week Zero, they sure look like they’re off to a thundering start.
In Other News...
Virginia Tech Just Sent An Early Message With This Kentucky Result
Virginia Tech opened the weekend with a clean statement in Blacksburg, taking care of Kentucky in a 3-0 men's soccer win on Friday night. The Hokies controlled the result from start to finish, and the kind of composed home performance they needed never really let the Wildcats into the match.
Diego Dauzier helped set that tone in goal, turning aside pressure when it mattered and giving Virginia Tech a steady last line of defense. For a team trying to build early momentum, the shutout was the sort of result that can carry weight beyond one night, especially with bigger tests likely ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Just Sent A Message Fans Have Been Waiting To See
Virginia opened the season looking nothing like a team easing into September, rolling past NC State with a performance that controlled the game from start to finish. The Cavaliers leaned on quarterback Beau Pribula and running back Xavier Brown, but the bigger story was the way the entire operation functioned on both sides of the ball, especially with injured starters Kam Robinson and Rico Flores Jr. unavailable.
The most encouraging part for Virginia might have been the tone it set on offense, where the Cavs consistently kept drives alive and left NC State chasing. It was the kind of opener fans had been waiting to see, one that suggested the program can win by dictating the game rather than reacting to it, even if the real test will come when the competition starts asking for more than a fast start. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Just Gave Fans A Reason To Dream Bigger
Virginia opened the 2026 season with a performance that looked bigger than a routine September win, leaning on a defense that forced turnovers and an offense that controlled the game on the ground and through the air. Xavier Brown found the end zone twice, while quarterback Pribula showed exactly why Virginia can build around his dual-threat ability, running for 100 yards and keeping NC State under pressure from start to finish at Scott Stadium.
The conservative approach from Virginia's offensive coordinator left room for the Cavs to keep plenty in reserve, which only adds to the feeling around this team after a one-sided opener. If the rushing attack keeps working this way and Pribula keeps stressing defenses as both a runner and passer, Virginia may have more upside than the box score from opening day could fully capture. [Read more 🡒]