Texas quarterback Arch Manning (16) catches a high snap in the second half of an NCAA college football game against Ohio State, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025., in Columbus, Ohio. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

First impressions are not always accurate, but they tend to be lasting.

Results from Weeks 0 and 1 were sounding alarms in some quarters, raising expectations in others and confirming what was anticipated in the majority of college football hotbeds.

A final evaluation in December will validate whether optimism, pessimism, or contentment were warranted.

Even with Week 2 in the books, the elation and panic ignited by Weeks 0 and 1 still linger.

The eye-test revealed that Bill Belichick has his work cut out for him at North Carolina, Arch Manning is far from a lock for the Heisman, and conditions within Alabama football are not optimal.

How many times do you think Belichick was thinking about his Super Bowl glory days at New England during TCU’s 48-14 trouncing of his Tar Heels in the season opener?

Manning’s performance was less than championship-caliber in a 14-7 loss to Ohio State, and the sky began falling in the state of Alabama as Florida State cruised past the Tide, 31-17.

At UCLA, partisans are impatiently awaiting the start of basketball season after losses to Utah and UNLV.

On the sunny side of the street, Ohio State looks like a team fully capable of successfully defending a national championship, LSU head coach Brian Kelly tamed a restless pride of Tiger backers with a win at Clemson, and USC’s rushing attack is reminiscent of Student Body Right.

The conference standings and national rankings will soon start rotating like the wheels in a slot machine, and that movement will provide ample opportunity for arm-chair quarterbacks to judge, predict, applaud and condemn over the next four months.

Not historic, but still special

In the first regular season meeting between Michigan and Oklahoma, and only the second overall, the Sooners defeated the Wolverines, 24-13, last Saturday.

Previously, the Sooners prevailed, 14-6, in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Day 1976.

Michigan’s acceptance of the invitation to the Orange Bowl was made possible by the Big Ten’s suspension of a long-standing policy which limited post-season participation of conference teams to the Rose Bowl only.

Flexing SEC muscles

Discounting the conference game between Ole Miss and Kentucky, SEC teams went 13-1 last weekend. Florida was the only conference team to suffer a loss.

The Big Ten went 15-3, with Iowa, Michigan and UCLA losing to Iowa State, Oklahoma, and UNLV, respectively.

With TCU idle and Virginia playing North Carolina State in a rare non-conference meeting, the Big 12 and ACC both finished the weekend at 10-5.

Summer Snoozers

As sure as the sun rises and sets over Notre Dame football, the first three weeks of the season will produce a bewildering number of routs.

Only 12 of the 83 games contested during Week 2 featured matchups of Power 4 conference teams.

The Big 12 led the way with six teams in action against Power 4 opponents, posting a .500 record.

By primetime, 22 of 52 games (42 percent) had already been decided by 30 or more points. Ohio State, Florida State, Tennessee, Alabama and Washington all scored at least 70 points. Four of the six shutouts last Saturday were decided by at least 66 points.

Making the grade

Iowa State kicker Kyle Konrardy, who broke the school record with a 63-yard field goal against South Dakota on Aug. 30, kicked a game-winning 54-yard field goal with 1:52 remaining in a 16-13 win over Iowa.

Last season, Konrardy’s 54-yarder with :06 left was the difference in Iowa State’s 20-19 victory over Iowa. His 63-yarder is the third-longest in FBS since 2000.

Commenting on the decision to allow Konrardy to attempt the 54-yard field goal, Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell said, “Again, he’s earned the right to have that, and you’ve got to, again, you win football games with your A-players, making A-plays in the moments. Obviously, Kyle has proven now over the course of his time here to be able to do that in a really powerful way for us.”

Bullish on USF

South Florida is staking an emphatic claim to the role of frontrunner among Group of Five teams for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

After toppling Boise State and Florida, the Bulls will seek a third consecutive win over a nationally-ranked opponent when they take on Miami tomorrow on the road.

In the program’s first road win against a ranked opponent since 2011, South Florida

upset the Gators, 18-16, on Nico Gramatica’s 20-yard field goal as time expired.

Two Florida penalties — one each for pass interference and unsportsmanlike conduct — advanced the game-winning drive.

Notable

– Joe Moorhead’s record as head coach at Akron dropped to 8-30 after last Saturday’s loss at Nebraska. Akron has yet to score a point through two games.

– Prospects are much brighter for former Penn State quarterback Beau Pribula, who threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns in Missouri’s 42-31 win over Kansas.

– Since 1985, Nebraska has lost only two home openers. The win over Akron extended Nebraska’s current winning streak in home openers to seven.

– The 66-point margin of defeat at Oregon was the largest for an Oklahoma State team since 1907.

– For only the third time in school history, and the first time in the modern era, Michigan will not play consecutive games at home. The other seasons were in 1924 and 1937.

– After defeating Oklahoma State, Oregon is now 40-1 at home since Sept. 22, 2018, including 21-1 under head coach Dan Lanning.

– Arizona State’s 17-game streak of not punting on an opening drive was snapped last weekend at Mississippi State. The streak began in November 2023.

Quotable

– “What (do) they have, a $35 million roster? I don’t have a $35 million roster. Maybe we can put our money together and we come up with $35 million, but I doubt it.”

— Grambling head coach Mickey Joseph after his team endured a 70-0 loss at Ohio State

– “For 3½ quarters, we were the better team, and then we didn’t finish. You can’t start the job and not finish the job.”

— SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee after his Mustangs gave up a 38-24 fourth-quarter lead and lost to Baylor in 2OT, 48-45

– “It’s amazing to go out there and just know, if we play at a level that we know we can play at, it’s going to be total domination.”

— Oregon receiver Gary Bryant Jr. after Oregon routed Oklahoma State, 69-3

– “I will do a better job and we’ll get better from this. I want it to hurt, and I think it will hurt all of us for the next 20 hours or so and then we know who’s next (Pitt), so we’ve got to get to work and we’ve got to get these guys ready to go.”

— West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez after the Mountaineers lost to Ohio, 17-10

“We created it. We deserve it. If you play football like that, you’re going to be criticized. It comes with the territory, right?”

— Florida head coach Billy Napier after his team committed 11 penalties for 103 yards in an upset loss at home to South Florida

Jim Caltagirone, a former member of Penn State’s sports information department, comments on the national scene for Gameday. He can be reached at jimclion4ever@gmail.com