ATLANTA -- When Clemson last took the football field nearly eight months ago, its defense was shredded for nearly 600 yards in an ugly 70-33 loss to West Virginia in the Discover Orange Bowl.

Nearly eight months later, the No. 14 Tigers found redemption in a 26-19 victory over Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at the Georgia Dome on Saturday night.

"We let them know not a lot of people thought much about our football program, especially our defense," said new Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables. "We wanted them to take it personally."

Few programs wanted the offseason to end faster than Clemson. How many times can you hear the same joke?

Like "West Virginia just scored again."

At least the 2012 college football season is finally here.

Some things looked much the same: Alabama, which walloped No. 8 Michigan 41-14 in Dallas on Saturday night, might still be the team to beat in the hunt for a BCS national championship. The No. 2 Crimson Tide, the defending national champions, had to replace a slew of starters on defense, but still bulldozed the Wolverines, taking a 31-0 lead before UM quarterback Denard Robinson even tied his shoes.

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Paul Moseley/MCT/Getty ImagesAJ McCarron and Alabama looked dominant against Michigan on Saturday.

Alabama's best competition might come from the West Coast. No. 1 USC hammered Hawaii 49-10, and No. 5 Oregon routed Arkansas State 57-34. Trojans quarterback Matt Barkley, the Heisman Trophy favorite, threw a 75-yard touchdown to Marqise Lee on the first play from scrimmage and passed for 377 yards and four touchdowns by the time he was done. The Ducks scored seven touchdowns in the first half and finished with 605 yards of offense.

No. 7 FSU scored 69 points against overmatched Murray State, while No. 19 Oklahoma State scored 84 against overwhelmed Savannah State.

No. 3 LSU, which lost to Alabama 21-0 in last season's title game, looks like it will use the same formula for success. The Tigers had two 100-yard rushers and their menacing defense overwhelmed North Texas in a 41-14 victory.

Like Clemson, the 2012 opener offered plenty of teams fresh starts. No. 18 Ohio State routed Miami (Ohio) 56-10 in coach Urban Meyer's debut. Buckeyes quarterback Braxton Miller passed for 207 yards with two touchdowns and ran for 161 yards and one score.

UCLA's Jim Mora, Colorado State's Jim McElwain, Arizona's Rich Rodriguez, Arizona State's Todd Graham, North Carolina's Larry Fedora, Illinois' Tim Beckman, Arkansas' John L. Smith, New Mexico's Bob Davie and Kansas' Charlie Weis also won with their new teams.

The opening weekend introduced us to several new potential stars in Tennessee receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, Georgia running back Todd Gurley, Miami running back Duke Johnson, Oklahoma State quarterback Wes Lunt and Alabama running back T.J. Yeldon.

Not every team was fast out of the gates. No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 6 Georgia, No. 12 Wisconsin, No. 23 Florida and No. 24 Stanford struggled to put away seemingly overmatched opponents.

The good news? It was only the first weekend of the 2012 season.

There was all that USC hype this offseason, particularly the talk about Matt Barkley and his sparkling receivers. Toward the end of the summer, there was a creeping feeling that it might be a tad too much.

Then Barkley found Marqise Lee for a 75-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage against Hawaii.

And there it was: Yeah, these guys are pretty darn good and pretty fun to watch.

College football was back, and so was USC. After a two-year bowl ban due to NCAA sanctions, the idea that the Trojans would immediately jump into the national title hunt has been entertained since Barkley shocked many by deciding to return for his senior season. But now the lights were on for real, and USC made a statement.

We're back. For real, ya'll.

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Kirby Lee/Image of Sport/US PresswireMarqise Lee and the Trojans lived up to their preseason hype in a win over Hawaii.

It wasn't just Barkley, the preseason Heisman Trophy favorite, throwing for 372 yards and four touchdowns, or Lee grabbing 10 receptions for 197 yards and returning a punt 100 yards for a TD. It was the complete package of the evening.

It was the defense looking better than expected, holding the Warriors to just 264 yards, despite having injury issues and using a number of first-year players. It was the L.A. Coliseum again packed and enthusiastic. It was the Trojans looking a little bit like they did during the Pete Carroll era, when they ruled college football.

Of course, it's just one game … against an overmatched foe. While some will already start imagining USC's showdown with an SEC team for the national title, there's plenty of football ahead. USC looked good in the opener, but it's clearly not a sure thing.

Up next: A road trip to East Rutherford, N.J., to face Syracuse. The Orange should offer a bit stiffer challenge, though we won't really get the measure of the Trojans until a Sept. 15 trip to Stanford.

But the Trojans are back in the college football conversation after a two-year layoff. They have plenty of weapons on both sides of the ball. They started their season the right way.

Just 11 more games and a Pac-12 title matchup to fully get to know these Trojans.

His feet were at eye level with Boise State's defensive linemen, green and white spikes -- and 244 pounds above them -- in flight.

A handful of games were played Thursday evening, but it felt like college football made its full and triumphant return with Le'Veon Bell's hurdle and dash on Michigan State's third offensive play of the season on Friday night.

The run comprised 23 of Bell's 265 total yards in the Spartans' 17-13 win, but it also signaled the sort of you-can't-help-but-audibly-say-wow moments that only the sport seems to muster.

I am in a both enviable and exhausting position, in the midst of seeing three games in four days in a 2,000-mile circuit through the Midwest, Deep South and Atlantic regions of our country.

It began Friday with a soaring Spartan, Bell, and a grind-it-out effort from Michigan State in a primetime game played under the glow of the lights and new video boards at Spartan Stadium.

The second stop, after a few hours' sleep, was the second Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game inside the Georgia Dome. The venue actually played host to three games in three nights, including Georgia State's Thursday evening opener against South Carolina State. Tennessee put on an offensive show Friday night against North Carolina State.

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Paul Abell/US PresswireTajh Boyd's feet helped Clemson get past Auburn in Week 1.

There were a few empty seats for that one, but they were all filled with vociferous denizens in orange (Clemson) and navy (Auburn) for the Saturday finale. Both teams made their fair share of mistakes, but they played one of the more competitive games of the day, with Clemson making enough plays in the second half to escape by a touchdown, 26-19.

There was no Dabo Swinney maniacal celebration, like there was after last year's win against Auburn, but there was Evander Holyfield, accepting a Tigers jacket from the coaching staff on the field. Swinney said Holyfield spoke Friday to his team, which won a slugfest to make the former heavyweight champ feel at home. I'm 2-for-2 in seeing backs with 200-yard games. Andre Ellington exceeded Bell's rushing total, going for 231 yards on 26 carries. There's no doubt that Ellington, who has dealt with a number of injuries, is electrifying when he's on the field.

Evidence of that came in the second quarter, when Ellington rolled over a would-be tackler, kept his balance and sprinted for 68 yards to set up his team's first touchdown.

Bell still gets the nod there in a tale-of-the-tape comparison of the highlight-makers, but the fact that it's even debatable is reason enough to keep an eye on Ellington and Clemson.

The trip continues Sunday, in the air to Charlotte N.C., and then in the car to Blacksburg, Va., for Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech's Labor Day meeting. Like Spartan Stadium, it'll be my first time to see the Hokies' home atmosphere for a night game.

"Enter Sandman" and 66,000 screaming fans at Lane Stadium? A nice cap to the holiday weekend. Plus, it's a game between two division contenders in the ACC. And to think, we're just getting started. Welcome back, college football. Stay a while, won't you?

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Make no mistake that Le'Veon Bell, from first-quarter hurdle to final touchdown, was the star of Michigan State's 17-13 victory against the Boise State Broncos. He finished with 265 total yards on a cold-tub-worthy 50 touches, immediately launching himself into the Heisman discussion.

But here is the reality for the Michigan State Spartans: Their fate as a Rose Bowl contender -- or something more -- isn't hitched to Bell's running as much as the team's unproven passing game and particularly its play at receiver. That's the likely difference between a trip to Pasadena and a trip to Tampa or Orlando come bowl time.

That the Spartans are one critical (but fixable) weakness away from having a legitimate stake in the Big Ten and national title races, in a season that might provide one of the more favorable paths to both goals than they'll see in coming years, is just one of the big takeaways coming out of the first Saturday of the 2012 college football season. We learned a lot in Week 1 (with a few games still to come), from Clemson's improved defense to the (seemingly) rocky starts for a pair of top-10 squads to an impressive performance from an SEC East team.

To read the rest of Travis Haney's story, click here .