One of the worst things a sports bettor can do in the first week of any season is overreact. Easier said than done, I know. Yet there's only so much you can really take away from the first game of a college football season. Especially with all the turnover and cupcake “tune up” games early on. 

Nevertheless, there are always notes to be made and some indications of where a player and/or team could be headed. Let’s get the magnifying glass out and see what catches the eye.

The real takeaway is college football should stop being played anywhere other than college campuses, but I digress. What really stood out was Jaden Craig's putrid performance in his QB debut for the Horned Frogs. The Harvard transfer was 20/32 for 175 yards, 0 TDs and 0 INTs for a whopping QBR of 27.1.

Let’s play devil's advocate here. What if that showing was less about Craig and more about this UNC defense, which after further review, wasn’t really the worst part of that 4-8 team last year. If there is one thing saggy ball Bill Belichick might still be capable of, it’s coming up with a defensive scheme over the course of an offseason for his first opponent. Not to mention it’s been rumored that Bob Diaco has stepped up with Steve Belichick's absence. Diaco is a former DC at Notre Dame that I’m somewhat familiar with. I thought he did a good job. Not built to be a head coach, but certainly solid when focusing on one side of the ball.

I’ll be keeping an eye on the Tar Heels defense.

Don’t be fooled by the final score - the Trojans were in complete control of this game. USC had a 28-0 lead at halftime, and were 1 yard away from it being 35-0 as Maiava got tackled short of the endzone on 4th down. 

I personally think USC held a lot back in this game, including aggressiveness on defense. The Trojans only recorded one sack, but they also didn’t bring any pressure. According to Yogi Roth on The Victory Podcast, USC didn’t dial up one blitz all game. With Gary Patterson in charge of the Defense, he’s a seasoned vet who doesn’t want to show his cards for future opponents this early. I think that USC defensive front, albeit young and inexperienced, looks big and nasty. This USC defense has a chance to be the best Lincoln Riley has had since arriving in Southern California.

But the Trojans D is just an honorable mention. The real takeaway from this game was freshman WR Trent Mosley. This dude is listed as 5’10 180 but he plays like he’s 6’3 225.

I’m not calling USC Wide Receiver University, but they might not miss Malaki Lemon all that much with how much of a stud Mosley appears to be.

Dave Doeren fucking blows. This guy has been in Raleigh way too long. Sure, it’s nice to have some 8-4 and 9-3 seasons, but those quickly vanish when you start the season getting your ass kicked for 4 quarters against a conference opponent. That performance was unacceptable. There is just no way you should only score 8 points against Virginia, especially with a returning QB who people were excited about in CJ Bailey.

Your takeaway could be that Tony Elliot and Virginia might be a problem, and I wouldn’t argue that. Hell I’d agree with it. But my bigger takeaway is that Dave Doeren is a coach on the way out. Trying not to overreact…but I have NC State on FADE WATCH.

If you told me Micah Ford had 25 carries and 3 touchdowns but didn’t break 100 yards rushing, I would have called you a liar. But that’s what happened. I’m not trying to nitpick here, but if you take away Ford's 28 yard rush, the Stanford RB ended the game with 24 carries for 71 yards. That is just not good enough. Not when your offensive line is twice the size of Hawai'i's defensive line.

It’s great that Stanford got an early W they desperately needed, but you’d have to think their running game should have had a much better showing in their home opener. Could be a cause for concern moving forward, especially against Miami next week.

I won’t shit on Jackson Arnold too much. He had a slow start and a poor finish, but in between made enough plays to give me hope that his pairing with Dan Mullen might be the best thing for him in his overall disappointing career. What I really want to take away from this game is that Charles Huff, the new Memphis head coach, deserves some respect. This guy went on the road and had his defense HUNGRY. Again, Memphis shutout UNLV in the 4th quarter. That is very impressive. They also recorded six (6) sacks on Arnold.

Huff could be a coach to keep an eye on.