Underwood, Dabo, Harrison, Iowa ... and 7 Other Things.

The Vikings signing veteran safety Harrison Smith is a classy and shrewd move. Smith is a MINN favorite who bleeds purple but was released earlier this year. The Vikings resigned him yesterday and his presence on the field and locker room could pay major dividends this season.

Iowa, a team known for having their fair share of offensive woes, exploded yesterday, hanging 41 on Northern Illinois. The level of talent the Hawkeyes will face in the Big Ten will be considerably higher, but the points they put up in Game 1 is a reason for hope.

That wasn't a game last night in Baton Rouge. Sure, points were scored, tackles were made and missed on and on, but that wasn't a game: that was a funeral. LSU put the final nail in the Clemson coffin and may have signaled the end of the storied career of one Dabo Swinney.

James Franklin looked at home on that Virginia Tech sideline and for the first time in a really, really long time, that Hokies program looked alive. Franklin never got the credit he deserved for what he built at Penn State, but his early imprint on the Va. Tech program is unmistakable.

The way LSU looked last night makes you wonder why Lane went through all that legal mumbo jumbo this week. His team has more than enough talent to contend for the SEC title and based off of that one game sample size, why carry on with the madness?

I'm not sure what kind of clock they're using in Ann Arbor, but no matter how many times they run that first Hail Mary back it always shows the same thing: game over. The fact that the Wolverines were given another play and won the ballgame on that play will forever carry an asterisk.

The Florida Gators, a team where discipline had been an option for the better part of the last decade, showed a great deal of it yesterday in their opening season win over Florida Atlantic. If the Gators can return to their powerhouse status, things could become even more interesting in the SEC.

Former NFL safety Eric Weddle sounded the alarms during the offseason. Weddle went on the record essentially saying Bryce Underwood, the Michigan signal-caller was overrated. After watching his play last night, I wouldn't say overrated ... I'd rather call it underdeveloped.

Even in the loss, you can't help but be impressed with the way DJ Lagway showed up and showed out yesterday. The kid has the goods to do major things in Waco and beyond and were it not for an injured ankle, we might be talking about the Bears being 1-0.

Looking back at that LSU-Clemson game makes you want to ask is LSU that good or is Clemson that bad. The answer to both is ... yes.

Texas looks complete. Cam Colemand and Arch were connecting, the new running back room found room to run thanks to that massive Longhorn line and their renewed sense of toughness, the defense was swarming, and the stage for next week's showdown with Ohio State is set.