Week 0 gave us a few clear signals before the full college football grind gets going, and a handful of teams left a very different impression after their opening weekend.
North Carolina was one of the biggest winners. The Tar Heels opened with a 15-10 victory over TCU in Ireland, and for a team coming off four wins under Bill Belichick in 2025, that was a real statement.
Billy Edwards Jr., the former Maryland and Wisconsin transfer, didn’t have to light up the stat sheet to make it work at quarterback. He played the role North Carolina needed, kept things steady, and did enough for the Tar Heels to leave with the win.
The real eye-opener was the defense. Even without defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, North Carolina held TCU QB Jaden Craig to 175 yards through the air.
Edge rusher Melkart Abou Jaoude was disruptive all day and lived in the backfield. It’s still early, but North Carolina looked far better in Week 0 than plenty of people expected.
Virginia also made a loud early-season statement in the ACC. Entering Saturday shorthanded against NC State and having dropped the previous four meetings with the Wolfpack, the Cavaliers answered with a 34-8 rout. Former Penn State and Missouri transfer Beau Pribula was sharp in a very specific way: he only threw 11 passes, but completed nine for 155 yards and two touchdowns while adding 110 rushing yards.
That was Virginia in a nutshell - controlled, physical, and relentless. The Cavaliers ran the ball effectively, defended at a high level, and looked like a team that knows exactly how it wants to win. They won the ACC regular season a year ago, and while Miami and others are part of the picture again, Virginia came out of Week 0 looking every bit like a serious contender.
North Dakota State, meanwhile, made its own kind of first impression. In its first season at the FBS level in 2026, the Bison rolled past Jacksonville State 33-7 and looked like they belong at this level right away.
Nathan Hayes may be the next quarterback in a line that includes Carson Wentz. He threw for 160 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, and North Dakota State’s defense smothered a Jacksonville State offense that managed only 170 total yards.
The Bison’s schedule still has some tests ahead, and games against UNLV and Hawaii could end up shaping their 2026 story. But after one game, they’ve already looked like a force in the Group of Six.
Not everyone got the kind of start they wanted. Florida State beat New Mexico State 34-17, but the result didn’t exactly settle anything in Tallahassee. Mike Norvell is under plenty of pressure heading into the 2026 season, and this was not the kind of performance that quiets the noise.
Ashton Daniels, the former Stanford and Auburn transfer expected to stabilize the quarterback spot, came out looking uneven. He finished with 202 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception.
For a game that was supposed to build confidence around the Seminoles’ new QB situation, it did the opposite. Florida State still looks like it has a quarterback problem, and Norvell’s clock keeps ticking.
TCU had its own quarterback questions after the opener. The Horned Frogs went into the transfer portal and landed Harvard standout Jaden Craig after losing Josh Hoover to Indiana, and there was at least some belief TCU could keep humming on offense in 2026. Craig is known as a pass-first quarterback with dual-threat ability, but his debut against North Carolina was rough.
Playing in steady rain and without star receiver Jordan Dwyer, Craig completed 20 of 32 passes for 175 yards. He had a few chances late to swing the game, but the accuracy just wasn’t there, and North Carolina closed the door. He may need a game or two to settle into FBS football, but this was not the start TCU was hoping for.
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Virginia Win Over NC State Just Brought Early Validation For Tony Elliott
The opener against NC State gave Virginia a needed early jolt, and it also handed Tony Elliott a little national recognition to go with it. After the Cavaliers rolled to a 34-8 win in their season and conference opener, Elliott was named the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week, a nod that lands with extra weight after Virginia finally broke through against an opponent that had been a thorn for the program.
There was more than one coach in the spotlight, too. Offensive line coach Joey Orck earned the Shriners Childrens East-West Bowl Coach of the Week award for the way his unit helped set the tone up front, underscoring how much of Virginias encouraging start came from control at the line of scrimmage. For a team looking to turn one big win into something sturdier, those acknowledgments only add to the sense that the Cavaliers may have found an early formula worth building on. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State May Have Found Its Next Difference Maker At Running Back
Week 0 offered an early look at several new faces around college football, including a Virginia debut that gave Cavaliers fans a reason to pay attention beyond the final score. The cross-country slate featured breakout runs from a handful of backs and a few quarterbacks who immediately changed the feel of their new teams, with Virginia getting a first glimpse of what its latest transfer addition could bring to the offense.
Chandler Pribula, who arrived from Missouri, showed the kind of dual-threat balance that can alter a game even in late August. He threw for 155 yards and two touchdowns while adding 110 rushing yards without an interception, the sort of all-around opening act that gives Virginia an early offensive foundation and plenty to sort through as the season starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Tony Elliott Just Created Two New Virginia Questions
Virginia opened the season with a win over NC State, and Tony Elliott came away with more to think about than just the result. The defense held up even without Kam Robinson, with backup Myles Brown leading the team in tackles and showing the Cavaliers they may have more depth at linebacker than expected.
The bigger questions now sit with Robinsons return and how Elliott wants to use Beau Pribula moving forward. Robinson was held out as the staff stayed cautious about his comeback from a torn ACL, while Pribula was a major part of the offense as a runner and in the passing game, creating a fresh balance that gave Virginia something to build on and something else to sort out. [Read more 🡒]