Football Whisperer's Week 1 College Football Review

Texas 59 Texas State 7

Much is expected from Sark and the Longhorns and in the first week of their season, they showed why many think they’ll be in the thick of the national championship race. The offense was clicking on the ground and in the air as Arch seemed to pick up right where he left off at the end of last season. New weapons Cam Coleman, Hollywood Strothers, and Ralek Brown looked right at home behind that massive Texas offensive line. On defense, the Longhorns were swarming all afternoon, and they looked alive on all three levels. It was only one game, and the opponent was severely overmatched, but compared to how they looked during that first week of 2025, the Longhorns appear to be for real.

What Stood Out: Will Muschamp is back running that Texas defense, and his presence was evident The Longhorns were intense, decisive and physical—all trademarks of a Muschamp-led defense. Having him leading the way on that side of the ball should pay huge dividends as the season progresses and the stakes become higher.

Michigan 13 Western Michigan 12

This one will go down in history as a Michigan win, but if you watched the game, I’m sure you’ll agree that Western Michigan was the dominant team. They played bully ball with one of the Big Ten big boys, going toe to toe, and blow for blow … in Ann Arbor no less. The game will always be remembered for the clock controversy, but what I took away from it was the way Western Michigan dominated both lines of scrimmage for the balance of the evening.

What Stood Out: The jury is still out on the Bryce Underwood Experiment. The young man has talent, but at this point he still looks like the player who walked on to campus last year showing no signs of progression. This world of NIL, salary caps, and player salaries is about as unforgiving and impatient as they come which means the margin for error will only continue to get smaller.

Alabama 48 East Carolina 10

Tide fans all over the world were holding their breath, waiting to see if Keelon Russell was as good as advertised. I’m here to say you can finally exhale as the young man from Texas was impressive in his first collegiate start. Granted it was only East Carolina, but still, he showed a strong command of the offense, the pocket awareness of a veteran, and he never looked like he was chasing the game: he waited for it to come to him.

What Stood Out: The physicality of the Alabama team jumped off the screen. Tough, hard-nosed play was something the Tide was known for under Saban and with his departure the team didn’t have the same nastiness that made opponents fear them week in and week out. Those qualities are back and after two seasons of soul searching, so is Alabama.

Oklahoma 51 UTEP 0

The only thing that kept the Sooners from having a deep playoff run last year were injuries to their quarterback and a lack of a running game. Well, John Mateer looks happy and healthy, and a big part of his joy is that he’s no longer being asked to carry the passing and running game. Tulsa transfer Lloyd Avant just missed the 100-yard mark, and his pounding presence bodes well for the long-term Sooner prospects.

What Stood Out: For the first time since arriving back in Norman, Oklahoma looked like a Brent Venables team. On offense they were crisp and decisive. On defense, they flew to the ball and on special teams they were spectacular. Much of the talk in the SEC this year has been about Texas, Georgia and the possible resurgence of LSU under Kiffin, but we may want to start paying a little attention to what’s happening up north.

LSU 51 Clemson 10

LSU won by 41, but to be perfectly honest, the game wasn’t even that close. LSU dominated from first whistle to last and there were points in the game where I actually felt sorry for the kids in orange. With Lane’s imaginative offensive concepts and the resources, he has at his disposal the Tigers will be a tall task for whoever lines up across from them.

What Stood Out: The decline of Dabo and Clemson is one of the most incredible stories in the history of college football, for all the wrong reasons. Three short years ago you could pencil Clemson in as a playoff lock. Dabo and his unwillingness to conform will almost surely end his tenure and may have done irreversible harm to this once proud program.

Virginia Tech 73 VMI 3

James Franklin was unceremoniously released last year after stewarding Penn State through the scandal of the Paterno years. He deserved better and he took his frustrations out on the field yesterday against VMI. The Hokies were dominant and in control all game long and if this is any indication of what we can expect from them, that ACC chase with SMU, Miami, and Virginia at the head, just got a lot more interesting with the Hokies throwing their hat in the ring.

What Stood Out: Virginia Tech did what they were supposed to do: they manhandled a lesser opponent. That might sound bland, but when you look at their record over the last decade, they typically struggle in these types of games. Not yesterday as Franklin and his men were all business … and they still have the coolest entry in all of sports, made cooler because now, they might have the team to match.

A Few Extra Points

Michigan may have been looking ahead to Oklahoma, but that doesn’t take anything away from Western Michigan: they still showed up and left it all on the field. Texas and Ohio State will be a doozy next week and my eyes will be on that Texas secondary. If they can slow Smith down, I’m confident Collin Simmons and that Texas defense will have more than enough juice to make this one interesting. Miami looks like the real deal under Mensah, Garry Patterson is breathing life and toughness into that USC defense and Oregon is still the best-dressed team in the land, but they haven’t figured out that toughness thing yet. That's the part the Ducks keep missing.