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1. The league's top defenses still have a lot to prove. Texas and Oklahoma were wholly unimpressive in their debuts, although Texas' mistakes weren't nearly as costly. Of the three supposedly elite defenses in the Big 12, Oklahoma looked the worst, giving up 341 yards and two touchdowns through the air to Utah State's Diondre Borel. Meanwhile, Nebraska gave up 179 yards on the ground to Western Kentucky in a performance coach Bo Pelini called "an absolute embarrassment." Texas wasn't gashed as badly against Rice, and gave up just 219 total yards, but the Longhorns' defensive backs missed a handful of big plays. All three have to get a lot better to equal either of their 2009 editions.

2. The most impressive team in Week 1: Oklahoma State. Dana Holgorsen's Air Raid went nuts on Saturday night, racing all over the field at Boone Pickens Stadium for 544 yards and 65 points -- 38 in the first half. Kendall Hunter ran for four touchdowns and the Cowboys won the turnover battle 2-0. The Cowboys made fans a little nervous after letting Washington State inch to within 17-10 from an early 17-0 deficit, but Oklahoma State answered with the game's next five touchdowns to put the game ... uh ... out of reach.

3. He's baaa-aack. Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin once again showcased his big-play capability, rushing for a 30-yard touchdown and throwing for two more -- a 68-yarder to Brad Taylor and a 23-yarder to Terrance Williams. He completed 19 of 36 passes for 242 yards and ran for 59 yards on six carries, a 9.8 yard average.

4. Kansas? Well, the Jayhawks are just not very good. Hard to envision a worse start for Turner Gill at Kansas. At least Ole Miss' 49-48 loss to an FCS team in double overtime was fun to watch. The Jayhawks' 6-3 debacle had to be painful for fans watching at home and even more so for those in attendance. It's hard to find many positives from a mistake-laden performance at home against the Bison, who went 3-8 last season. I'll try: My preseason prediction of the Jayhawks as the Big 12's most improved team at season's end is looking pretty good. There's nowhere to go but up, but it's still hard to believe how far Kansas has fallen since a BCS bowl win in 2007. I got a few complaints after I pegged the Jayhawks at No. 12 in my preseason power rankings. I doubt I'll get any when they're right back there again on Tuesday morning. When Kansas suits up next weekend against No. 19 Georgia Tech, it will have been more than 11 months (Oct. 10, 2009 vs. Iowa State) since the program has recorded a win.

5. I was 100 percent wrong about Kendall Hunter. It's easy to forget how good a guy can be when he struggles as long as Hunter did last season. The ankle injury must have affected him longer and more than anyone thought. You heard all spring and preseason about how Holgorsen thought Hunter was even better than he had been told, and Hunter validated all of that on Saturday night. Dominant, unstoppable, whatever. Use all the hyperbolic terms you want. Kendall Hunter was all of them, topping 200 yards in the first half. He should have been higher on my top 25 list, and he should have been higher on my ranking of the Big 12's running backs. He's better than Alexander Robinson at Iowa State. He's better than Roy Helu at Nebraska. Neither is capable of putting on the show Hunter did on Saturday night. Oklahoma's DeMarco Murray and Kansas State's Daniel Thomas? We'll find out over the next three months. All three topped 200 yards in impressive debuts.

1. The Big East has a lot of work to do: It's folly to panic after the first week of the season. On the other hand, it was a brutally bad opening week for the Big East. Pitt, Connecticut, Cincinnati and Louisville all lost. UConn and Cincinnati were dominated. In fact, the only team to beat an FBS opponent was Syracuse, which won at Akron. This season began with a lot of promise for the league. Now, once again, there will be an uphill battle for respect.

2. No clear favorite exists: We knew the Big East was fairly wide open, but at least Pitt was viewed as a solid favorite. It's clear after the first week that every team is flawed in some way. West Virginia is the only one of the preseason contenders still undefeated, but the Mountaineers needed a while before they could put away Coastal Carolina at home. Buckle up for a wild conference title race.

3. Truly offensive lines: The first week was filled with poor offensive line play by several league teams. Pitt's issues on the interior of the line were exposed by Utah. Rutgers struggled to push Norfolk State off the ball with its rebuilt line. West Virginia still hasn't solved its right side. And Cincinnati got blown up by Fresno State's defense. For these teams to get better, they first have to get right up front.

4. Not the same old Syracuse: The Orange won their season opener for the first time since 2003. Allow that fact to sink in for a moment. Syracuse destroyed Akron 29-3 on the road despite committing three turnovers. The Zips aren't a good team, but for the Orange to dominate an opponent on the road without their A-game is new territory. Doug Marrone's team should be at least 3-1 after its first four games -- and maybe better if it can knock off Washington this week in Seattle.

5. Butch Jones' honeymoon is over: You never want to follow the most successful coach in school history. So Butch Jones already faced that challenge in succeeding Brian Kelly at Cincinnati. Then the schedule did him no favors by making him play his first game at Fresno State. After his team got manhandled in the second half there, Jones now has to lead his team to NC State and against Oklahoma in two of the next three games. The Bearcats could be in for a rough start to the season, and Jones could hear some early grumbling from fans who were spoiled during Kelly's run.

Five lessons from the week that was in Big Ten football.

1. Shoelace is the answer in Ann Arbor: So that's what Rich Rodriguez's offense is supposed to look like. Denard Robinson made Rodriguez look like a genius in a critical game against Connecticut, as he dazzled with both his feet and with his arm. Robinson made a decent Connecticut defense look bad throughout a 30-10 win, and his speed will be tough for Big Ten defenses to handle, especially now that he can throw the ball accurately. Michigan needs to be a bit more careful with his touches after he took several big hits Saturday, but if Robinson continues to grow and his offensive line stays healthy, the Wolverines will put up a lot of points.

2. Bolden continues rapid rise: Rob Bolden has been playing college football for less than a month, but he's already making a big impression in Happy Valley. Bolden had an impressive debut Saturday against Youngstown State, completing 20 of 29 passes for 239 yards with two touchdown passes and an interception that wasn't his fault. After some freshman mistakes early on, Bolden settled down nicely and threw two touchdown passes to Brett Brackett on intermediate routes. He'll likely have a rough time next week at defending national champ Alabama, but this kid looks like he'll only get better for the Lions.

3. Ohio State's offense will be fun to watch: Defense and special teams remain hallmarks of Tresselball, but Ohio State's offense gives you another reason to tune in this season. The Buckeyes displayed good balance in their opener but got more players involved, particularly in the passing game. Terrelle Pryor had an impressive debut (17-25 passing, 247 yards, 3 TDs), and he got help from running back Brandon Saine (9 carries, 103 rush yards, 2 TDs) and wide receivers Dane Sanzenbacher (3 receptions, 113 yards, 1 TD) and DeVier Posey (4 catches, 41 yards, 2 TDs). Ohio State displayed perfect balance in the first half -- 16 rushes, 16 passes -- but it just felt the reins had been loosened a bit. Ohio State had nine different players record a reception.

4. Purdue, Illinois still works in progress: The only Big Ten squads to lose Saturday showed why they're still figuring things out. Purdue started slow, made mistakes at the wrong times and couldn't generate much of a run game at Notre Dame. Illinois' offense disappeared after halftime, and a shorthanded defense couldn't hold Missouri's Blaine Gabbert in check. But there were some positives for both squads, as Purdue controlled the clock and received a big performance from defensive end Ryan Kerrigan. Illinois' defense performed better than expected, and freshman quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase showed some promise despite an ugly stat line. Not the ideal start for either squad, but don't be surprised if things turn around soon.

5. Run games revealed: We learned quite a bit about the rushing attacks in the Big Ten in Week 1. Teams like Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan State and Indiana that struggled at times on the ground in 2009 received strong opening performances from Duane Bennett, Adam Robinson, Darius Willis, Le'Veon Bell and Edwin Baker. Ohio State, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan continued to do their thing on the ground. On the flip side, Northwestern continued to struggle to generate a rushing attack, and Penn State's offensive line couldn't spark Evan Royster against FCS Youngstown State. Purdue missed Ralph Bolden in its loss to Notre Dame and needs to find an answer in the backfield.

It was a terrific opening weekend for the upper echelon teams in the Mountain West Conference, with TCU, BYU and Utah posting big wins in their marquee games against opponents from the automatic qualifying conferences. New Mexico -- not so much.

We will know much, much more after Monday night, but here is what we learned through the games so far:

Don’t sleep on TCU. The Horned Frogs are happy to have everybody talking about Boise State and the national championship race. TCU has largely been left out of that discussion. But a 30-21 win against Oregon State on Saturday night should serve as a reminder that TCU has an experienced, talented squad returning and could be legitimate national championship contenders.

Andy Dalton needs to cut down on the interceptions, but if the option works as well as it did against the Beavers, then TCU should win all its games this year. TCU rolled up 278 yards rushing. The defense limited Jacquizz Rodgers to 75 yards on the ground, a very good sign for a unit missing four starters from last season. One area that needs to be shored up -- cornerback. Greg McCoy was often a target for Ryan Katz.

BYU made two quarterbacks work, for now. It may be unorthodox in Provo, but BYU made its two-quarterback system work in the opener against Washington. Riley Nelson and Jake Heaps rotated series and both finished with 131 yards each. Nelson threw two touchdown passes and had 45 yards rushing. He had 17 pass attempts to 23 for Heaps. The offense did sputter on two drives in the fourth quarter with a chance to put the game away, but the defense stepped up with Washington mounting a late drive, batting down Jake Locker’s pass with 1:55 to win.

Could New Mexico be the worst team in FBS? It was the most lopsided game of the weekend, a 72-0 drubbing at the hands of Oregon. What is staggering is that every FCS team playing against a top-division opponent came closer than the Lobos did to the Ducks. New Mexico had eight first downs, 107 yards of total offense and five turnovers. It trailed 59-0 at halftime and gave up 720 yards. Embattled coach Mike Locksley, who went 1-11 in his debut season, is going to need to find some answers fast to keep his team from sliding.

Fresno State could be a dark horse. The Bulldogs had an impressive 28-14 win over Cincinnati late Saturday night behind Ryan Colburn, who tied a career-high with four touchdown passes. Coach Pat Hill expected improvement out of Colburn, but he had to have been pleased with the way his defense played. Going into the game, he worried about the way his team would be able to handle the spread because it has struggled against that offense in the past. Fresno State held the Bearcats and Zach Collaros in check, holding him to 219 yards passing and just 9.1 yards per completion. Robbie Rouse didn’t do much in his debut, with 40 yards on 20 carries.

Middle Tennessee could be fine without Dwight Dasher. The Blue Raiders lost to Minnesota 24-17 on Thursday night, but it wasn’t a blowout without its top playmaker, ineligible for taking a $1,500 loan. Middle Tennessee had the lead at one point in the game, and the play of new quarterback Logan Kilgore was encouraging. He went 13-of-18 for 172 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Without Dasher, Phillip Tanner stepped up with eight carries for 75 yards and a touchdown. Of the five Sun Belt teams playing AQ opponents, Middle Tennessee played the closest game.

Week 1 lessons have to be taken with a grain of salt, as scores against unheralded opponents can often be misleading. Taking these games at face value, here are a few things revealed in the ACC after this weekend.

New coaches made a difference. Mike London led Virginia to its first season-opening win since 2005, and he did it against his former team and alma mater, Richmond. The Spiders are a championship program to be respected (just ask Duke, which lost to Richmond last year), and was the biggest threat at an upset, but the Cavaliers ran the ball effectively and got what they needed despite scheme overhauls on both offense and defense. In Tallahassee, first-year coach Jimbo Fisher had his offense running with precision in a commanding route of Samford. He left no doubt who was the better team, unlike last year when the Seminoles escaped with a win over Jacksonville State. The Noles looked focused and prepared and ready to make a statement.

North Carolina won’t back down. There were many reasons North Carolina could’ve folded against LSU -- including its 30-10 deficit heading into the fourth quarter, but the Tar Heels rallied together and with six seconds still remaining had a chance to win. There were young players and walk-ons seeing their first collegiate snaps, but there was enough leadership to keep the team together -- and in the game.

BC linebacker Mark Herzlich is back. It was one of the most anticipated comebacks of the season, but in the weeks preceding the Eagles’ opener against Weber State, it was in doubt because of a stress fracture in his foot. Herzlich delivered, though, and he was in good enough shape to deliver a few hits, too, as he was in on five tackles.

The ACC avoided embarrassment. There were no losses to FCS teams, and no implosion in Atlanta -- two scenarios the ACC has encountered in recent years. Last year, Virginia lost to William & Mary at home, and two years ago Clemson was embarrassed by Alabama in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff. This year, the ACC started out 9-1 with the only loss to LSU, the toughest competition of the weekend. Two games remain -- against Boise State and Navy -- but both are respectable bowl opponents.

There’s life after C.J. Spiller. Clemson running backs Andre Ellington and Jamie Harper proved the Tigers’ offense can function without their former star. Each of them scored twice against North Texas, and both surpassed the 100-yard mark. It was the first time Clemson has had two players top 100 rushing yards in a game since James Davis and Spiller accomplished it against Maryland in 2007.

What did we learn in the Pac-10's opening week?

1. Pac-10 quarterbacks were as advertised (mostly): While the level of competition varied, the four Pac-10 quarterbacks who were showcased in New York and at ESPN put up huge numbers. USC's Matt Barkley, Arizona's Nick Foles, Washington's Jake Locker and Stanford's Andrew Luck combined to complete 72.5 percent of their throws, averaged 300 yards per game and threw 12 TD passes and just one interception (a Foles pass that bounced off his fullback's hands). Of course, Locker lost at BYU, turning the ball over on downs twice in the fourth quarter after incompletions.

2. New QBs were solid if unspectacular: Three conference QBs made their first career start. Oregon State's Ryan Katz was mostly solid against a good TCU defense, throwing for a pair of TDs with no interceptions, though completing just 9 of 25 passes isn't ideal. Oregon's Darron Thomas shook off an early interception to complete 13-of-23 for 220 yards with a TD in the blowout win over New Mexico. Finally, Arizona State's Steven Threet completed 14 of 21 passes for 239 yards with two TDs and an interception. While none of the three was gangbusters, each suggested he can get the job done.

3. The Mountain West strikes again: Thank God for New Mexico, otherwise the Mountain West Conference could crow about another strong showing versus the Pac-10. Washington fell at BYU and Oregon State went down to No. 6 TCU. Sure, both were road games. Sure, both were against two of the MWC top three teams. But many projected wins for the Pac-10 in both. The visit to BYU was supposed to be the launching point for Locker's Heisman Trophy campaign. Didn't happen, and suddenly the Huskies' high hopes entering the season are in question. And Oregon State was hoping to get off to a rare fast start with a strong showing against the Horned Frogs. Moreover, with UCLA's loss at Kansas State and Washington State's poor showing at Oklahoma State, the Big 12 also got into the act, pushing the conference around. Going 6-4 on the opening weekend was not what the Pac-10 wanted.

4. Play defense; win the conference: USC gave up 588 yards and 36 points at Hawaii. Bad. UCLA gave up 31 points and 313 rushing yards to Kansas State. Bad. Washington State surrendered 65 points and 544 yards at Oklahoma State. Yuck. Oregon State yielded 30 points and 278 rushing yards vs. TCU. Ugh. While Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon and Stanford probably feel good about their defensive numbers, the mostly poor competition leaves each with an incomplete. Clearly, there's a lot of offense in this conference. So whichever team can pair stops with points is going to win this thing.

5. FCS teams have no chance vs. the Pac-10: Arizona State, Cal and Stanford buried three FCS teams by a combined count of 168-29. While that's really not something to celebrate, at least one BCS conference can't say the same this morning.

It’s difficult to wave that SEC flag too passionately this first week, especially with what transpired in Oxford, Miss.

The one-sided mismatches everywhere you looked were unflattering enough, but then Ole Miss managed to lose one of those games that was supposed to be a mismatch. Jacksonville State won 49-48 in double overtime at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, becoming the first FCS team to beat an SEC team since 2004 when Maine upset Mississippi State.

Florida had its struggles on offense, and so did LSU on both sides of the ball.

Here’s a look at what we learned in the SEC in Week 1:

1. Wide-open Tide: With Heisman Trophy running back Mark Ingram watching from the sideline while recovering from knee surgery, Alabama served notice that it can be just as explosive in the passing game as it can the running game. The Crimson Tide finished with 334 passing yards in their 48-3 thrashing of San Jose State and showed an assortment of different formations and looks, no doubt giving Penn State a few things to think about next week. Greg McElroy threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to Marquis Maze, and A.J. McCarron tossed a 29-yard touchdown pass to a diving Julio Jones. The Crimson Tide also showed a little bit of the Wildcat and Pistol formations. Obviously, this is an offense that can do a lot more than just turn around and hand the ball off to the tailback, although Alabama still does that as well as anybody.

2. Beast of the East: Yeah, it’s only one week of football, but the Eastern Division race could be as good as it’s been in a long while. Florida has some serious issues to work through on offense, like finding a consistent running game, identifying some playmakers at receiver and solving its center-quarterback exchange problems. Meanwhile, both Georgia and South Carolina look to be much improved. Assuming the Bulldogs get A.J. Green and Washaun Ealey back this week, they’re really going to be a load on offense, and the Gamecocks also won handily over Southern Miss on Thursday without five starters in the lineup. The first big East battle is on tap for next weekend when Georgia travels to South Carolina.

3. Get the ball to Shepard: Supposedly, the LSU offensive staff was serious about getting the ball to Russell Shepard this season, and it looked that way in the first half against North Carolina. But the Tigers decided they were going to establish the run after getting ahead by 20 points at the half, and Shepard sort of disappeared from the plan. He’s clearly their most dangerous offensive weapon, and the Tigers have to find a way to get him the ball 12 to 15 times a game. The same goes for Rueben Randle. There are no more excuses the rest of the way.

4. Ole Miss exposed: As stunning as Ole Miss’ 49-48 double-overtime loss was to Jacksonville State, the real shocker was seeing the Rebels’ defense ravaged in the second half. This wasn’t just any defense, either. Ole Miss has talent and depth in its front seven. A lot of those guys have played together the past couple of years, but to blow a 31-10 second-half lead to an FCS foe is unfathomable. The fourth quarter has to go down as one of the worst 15 minutes in recent Ole Miss history, and the play that will define the Rebels’ struggles is that 30-yard touchdown pass by Jacksonville State on fourth-and-15. Getting back up from this flop and making it a successful season will take some doing.

5. Quarterback answers: There were more questions than answers for the majority of SEC teams at quarterback. For some, there are still a bunch of questions. For others, a lot of those questions were answered. Auburn’s Cameron Newton and Georgia’s Aaron Murray both had big debuts. The same goes for Tennessee’s Matt Simms. Ole Miss’ Nathan Stanley started well, but he wasn’t on the field when the game was decided. Houston Nutt went with Jeremiah Masoli during the overtimes. And at Mississippi State, it’s fair to say the Bulldogs have their quarterback of the future. Redshirt freshman Tyler Russell threw four touchdown passes to tie a school record in his debut, and his future may very well be now. The most acclaimed of the first-time starters was Florida’s John Brantley, but he looked surprisingly pedestrian in an offense that never found any rhythm.

What we learned about Notre Dame in its 23-12 win over Purdue:

1. Runs, too, shall pass: So much attention was put on new coach Brian Kelly's pass-based offense. But the opener proved that the Irish can run the ball too. In fact, they ran it 10 more times than they passed it, with Armando Allen and Cierre Wood combining for 151 yards on 25 attempts (six yards per carry). Notre Dame will need to continue to run the ball effectively to beat the physical teams on its schedule.

2. The defense does have depth: One of Notre Dame's biggest concerns, and the coaches acknowledged it, was a lack of depth on defense. It didn't seem to be too much of a problem versus Purdue. Starting safety Jamoris Slaughter went out early with an injury, while linebacker Darius Fleming was sidelined often by cramping. But the defense simply filled in, and nose tackle Ian Williams said a solid rotation on the line kept him fresh. This is still a defense that can't afford too many injuries, but it may have more depth than originally thought.

3. Coaching matters: The Irish had only two penalties and one turnover. They were very solid on special teams and were well-conditioned when the fourth quarter hit. In other words, they looked like a solid all-around team for the first time in a long time. There is still much room for improvement, but the team appears on the right track under Brian Kelly.