{"id":830887,"date":"2026-08-30T13:42:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T13:42:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/830887\/"},"modified":"2026-08-30T13:42:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T13:42:16","slug":"college-football-week-0-winners-and-losers-bill-belichick-virginias-age-and-sparse-crowds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/830887\/","title":{"rendered":"College football Week 0 winners and losers: Bill Belichick, Virginia\u2019s age and sparse crowds"},"content":{"rendered":"

North Carolina\u2019s Bill Belichick was the day\u2019s biggest winner from a national storyline<\/a> perspective. But there were other highs and lows as the college football season started with Week 0<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here are our winners and losers from Saturday\u2019s eight-game FBS schedule, which whet our appetite for the rest of the college football season:<\/p>\n

Winner: Grown-man football<\/p>\n

Many coaches and programs spent the offseason studying and copying Indiana\u2019s national championship formula: choose older players with proven production instead of betting everything on young potential. Virginia supplied an early example of why that might be a good idea in its blowout victory over NC State.<\/p>\n

The Cavaliers own the most experienced roster in the Power 4<\/a> after adding 29 transfers who had already played nearly 23,000 combined snaps elsewhere. NC State had the sixth-least experienced roster. The difference was difficult to miss.<\/p>\n

Virginia offensive coordinator Des Kitchings recognized that NC State could not stop his veteran offensive line or quarterback Beau Pribula from running the ball. Virginia ran 57 times, threw only 11 passes and controlled possession for more than 38 minutes of a 60-minute game.<\/p>\n

Pribula, a transfer from Missouri, ran for 110 yards and completed nine passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns. He played to his strengths. Virginia finished with 258 rushing yards and converted all four times it chose to keep its offense on the field on fourth down.<\/p>\n

Kitchings deserves credit for refusing to overcomplicate an obvious advantage. The larger winner was Virginia\u2019s decision to build an older roster ready to overpower a younger one. After a 34-8 demolition, last year\u2019s ACC runner-up might be even more dangerous.<\/p>\n

UNC looks like totally different team in win over TCU<\/p>\n

David Ubben and Jayne Orenstein<\/p>\n

Winners: Andrew Luck\u2019s QB choice<\/p>\n

Davis Warren already knew something about comebacks before Stanford needed him to deliver one against Hawaii.<\/p>\n

The 119th-ranked quarterback in our preseason QB Tiers<\/a> \u2014 lowest among projected Power 4 starters \u2014 overcame leukemia in high school<\/a>. He walked on at Michigan, won the starting quarterback job in 2024, then transferred home to California for one final shot after the Wolverines struggled and he tore his ACL.<\/p>\n

Saturday, Hawaii rallied from 23-7 down with 20 consecutive fourth-quarter points before Warren led the Cardinal on a seven-play, 60-yard go-ahead drive. He was 5-for-5 on the drive for 58 yards and ended the night 22-for-34 for 310 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions, giving coach Tavita Pritchard his first win as coach after being hired by Luck, Stanford\u2019s general manager<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pritchard knows what an overlooked Stanford quarterback can accomplish. He led Stanford to a 24-23 win over USC as a 41-point underdog 19 years ago in his first start, throwing a fourth-down touchdown pass with 49 seconds remaining in one of the biggest upsets in college football history.<\/p>\n

Beating Hawaii wasn\u2019t an upset, but the Cardinal definitely looked better offensively with Warren than they did a year ago, when they finished 122nd in scoring (18.8 points per game) and lost their opener to the Warriors in Honolulu.<\/p>\n

Losers: California home crowds<\/p>\n

Who wasn\u2019t excited about the return of college football this weekend? Virginia fans showed up in force \u2014 a crowd of 62,779 for the first home sellout in 18 years at a game that was originally scheduled for Brazil<\/a>. Florida State nearly sold out its home opener against New Mexico State with 65,915 in the stands (67,277 capacity).<\/p>\n

UVA announces today\u2019s attendance is 62,779, 8th largest in Scott Stadium history.<\/p>\n

Virginia also breaks the student attendance record. pic.twitter.com\/IrynG2Wxt1<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Preston Willett (@PrestonWillett) August 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The West Coast? Maybe not as excited. No. 14 USC played San Jose State in front of a sparse crowd<\/a> at the LA Memorial Coliseum in a game that was scheduled after the USC-Notre Dame rivalry wasn\u2019t renewed for 2026.<\/p>\n

To be fair, it was hot. Very hot.<\/p>\n

Kickoff temperature reached 94 degrees, with a real feel of 10 degrees hotter according to AccuWeather, and the largely unshaded stadium offered the ambience of an outdoor air fryer. USC reported the final attendance figure as 51,144 (77,500 capacity).<\/p>\n

What was Stanford\u2019s excuse? It was 76 degrees at kickoff up the coast for the opener against Hawaii. The announced attendance was 23,222 \u2014 about 5,000 fewer fans than the 2025 season average. Stanford Stadium\u2019s capacity is 50,424.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the crowd at Hawaii-Stanford game just after kickoff pic.twitter.com\/pLm1V0FcfF<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) August 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Winner: USC\u2019s freshman class<\/p>\n

USC\u2019s No. 1 recruiting class<\/a> didn\u2019t spend opening day waiting for the future. It made an immediate impact in a 42-26 win over San Jose State.<\/p>\n

Thirteen of the 34 enrollees appeared on the opening two-deep, and 15 made their college debuts on offense, defense and special teams.<\/p>\n

The Trojans started freshmen at all three receiver positions, tight end and defensive end. Trent Mosley, Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Tron Baker and Mark Bowman \u2014 the entire starting receiver and tight end group \u2014 combined for 18 catches, 214 yards and both USC receiving touchdowns.<\/p>\n

47 YARD RETURN FOR TRENT MOSLEY \ud83d\ude24 @uscfb<\/a> <\/p>\n

Watch on NBC pic.twitter.com\/0teZxjWOSE<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 USC on BTN (@USConBTN) August 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Mosley, a four-star recruit, supplied the breakout performance: seven catches for 118 yards and a touchdown, plus 56 yards on two punt returns. Baker, a three-star recruit, caught all four of his targets for 45 yards. Freshman running back Shahn Alston added 30 yards and a touchdown.<\/p>\n

Five-star defensive end Luke Wafle contributed two tackles, half a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. He also put some heat on the quarterback<\/a>. Elbert Hill IV, Talanoa Ili and Madden Riordan made two tackles apiece.<\/p>\n

The freshmen didn\u2019t merely occupy jobs; they justified them and some of the hype.<\/p>\n

Winner: Miami\u2019s 2027 recruiting class<\/p>\n

Mario Cristobal\u2019s team will make its debut on Friday night at Stanford, but a huge star in the Hurricanes\u2019 2027 recruiting class was on display for a nationwide audience Saturday.<\/p>\n

A\u2019mir Sears reclassified from 2028 to 2027 because he believed he was ready to accelerate his path to Miami.<\/p>\n

A’mir Sears is NEXT LEVEL \ud83d\udca5 3 INTs and 2 TDs in Columbus’ big upset win over #1 Bishop Gorman pic.twitter.com\/LHu3oDNKPz<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) August 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

With Cristobal and Hurricanes legend Michael Irvin in attendance, the five-star athlete intercepted three passes and caught two touchdowns as Miami Columbus stunned No. 1 Bishop Gorman 33-28 on ESPN.<\/p>\n

Sears has resisted comparisons to Travis Hunter, saying he wants to create his own legacy. But intercepting three passes and scoring twice against the nation\u2019s top-ranked team will not make those comparisons disappear.<\/p>\n

Winner: The local walk-on<\/p>\n

Belichick won a huge game, and an unlikely player played a huge role in it. North Carolina rebuilt its defensive line with transfers from Penn State, Delaware, Richmond and Florida. Its opening-day star, though, was an unranked walk-on from Raleigh, N.C.<\/p>\n

Xavier Lewis entered Saturday with no career starts, 167 defensive snaps, eight tackles and half a sack as a freshman. In his first start, the undersized 6-foot, 260-pound sophomore racked up seven tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and a quarterback hurry in UNC\u2019s 15-10 upset of TCU. The Tar Heels had six tackles for loss and three sacks as a team.<\/p>\n

Lewis played defensive end, defensive tackle, tight end and running back at Rolesville High School and helped lead his team to the state championship game. In the portal-and-NIL era, UNC\u2019s biggest opening-day revelation was a local walk-on who simply stepped up.<\/p>\n

Loser: The celebration police<\/p>\n

College football entered 2026 with a more sensible penalty system. Offensive pass interference was reduced from 15 yards to 10, while targeting suspensions now escalate only for repeat offenders or egregious hits.<\/p>\n

Those are sensible changes. But I\u2019m not a fan of all the changes.<\/p>\n

TCU running back Jeremy Payne gained 7 yards for a first down during the third quarter of a 15-10 loss to North Carolina, appeared to briefly swipe under his nose and then pointed downfield, a traditional first-down gesture. He received a 15-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty for it.<\/p>\n

Instead of crossing midfield, TCU went backward. Two plays later, quarterback Jaden Craig was sacked and fumbled. North Carolina turned the mistake into a field goal that extended its lead to five.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t a fan of the call. Payne didn\u2019t taunt the opponent or perform any of the more serious hand signals \u2014 including gun gestures or throat slashes \u2014 that are also supposed to trigger automatic penalties. But his brief motion toward his nose still earned him a costly penalty.<\/p>\n

The NCAA deserves credit for making punishments more proportional. But rewriting the rulebook accomplishes only so much if ordinary football emotion can still be treated like an act of hostility. There must be room between taunting someone and briefly enjoying a first down. Payne\u2019s penalty made no sense.<\/p>\n

Winner: Charles Huff\u2019s moving company<\/p>\n

It is far too early to declare Memphis the Group of 6\u2019s Playoff favorite, but the Tigers already own a result the selection committee may remember come December.<\/p>\n

Memphis\u2019 27-21 win at UNLV gave the American an important victory over a program that reached three consecutive Mountain West championship games. An even larger opportunity awaits on Sept. 12: a trip to Boise State, one of the rebuilt Pac-12\u2019s leading contenders. Win there, and Memphis would own road wins over prominent teams from the two conferences most likely to challenge the American for the guaranteed berth.<\/p>\n

What makes Memphis\u2019 start more remarkable is how quickly Huff constructed this roster. The Tigers added 81 newcomers \u2014 61 transfers and 20 freshmen \u2014 while returning only four starters from new Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield\u2019s final 8-5 team.<\/p>\n

Huff brought 18 players with him from Southern Miss, where the Eagles went 7-6 in his lone season after leaving Marshall. Nine started Saturday, including eight on defense. The former Golden Eagles accounted for 53 tackles and four of Memphis\u2019 six sacks, while running back Jaylin Carter \u2014 among the Southern Miss transfers \u2014 led Memphis with 97 rushing yards and a touchdown.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the latest example of the portal era\u2019s strange new version of continuity. Huff changed the address on Southern Miss\u2019 most useful pieces, and they were ready to deliver on opening night.<\/p>\n