It was a fine opening weekend for the 2006-2007 college football season.  Some elite teams looked good, some others didn't.  A Heisman candidate was injured and lost for the season and Notre Dame survived a scare.  Let's get to it.

---Boston College 31, Central Michigan 24.  The boys from Bean Town barely hung on against the Chippewas.  Central Michigan hung tough for a while but Boston College eventually pulled away.  People are treating this as a near-upset, but the game wasn't that close.  After B.C. took a commanding 31-10 lead they took their feet off the gas and Central Michigan furiously stormed back.  B.C. didn't take the comeback seriously until Central Michigan had the ball and a chance to tie or win on the game's last possession.  Typical of big underdogs, the Chippewas made some coaching mistakes throughout the game to undermine their chance at victory including a trick play that led to an interception to end the game.  B.C. did what it needed to earn a road win, but they don't look all that hot right now.

---Northwestern 21, Miami (Ohio) 3.  The Wildcats struggled offensively, but stuffed the run and new quarterback Mike Kafka showed some surprising running ability.  I'm not sure how long that brilliant offense can survive with the tragic demise of coach Randy Walker and departure of offensive coordinator Mike Dunbar to California.  Lest we forget, new head coach Pat Fitzgerald was a two-time All Big Ten linebacker from gritty Chicago who people compared to Dick Butkus.

---Minnesota 44, Kent State 0.  So much for this being a game.  Back Amir Pinnix showed up, and now has a backfield mate in big Alex Daniels, a converted linebacker.  They combined for 272 yards and four touchdowns on the day.

---Arizona State 35, Northern Arizona 14.  Without two busted coverages for long touchdowns, Arizona State wins this in a laugher.  However, the game was tied at 14 in the 4^th quarter until the Sun Devils started running the ball and also secured an interception return for touchdown to put away pesky NAU.

---Fresno State 28, Nevada 19.  Nevada's funky pistol offense got plenty of air time, but not many points.  Fresno's new quarterback Tom Brandstater played well and the home team hung on against last year's WAC co-champions.

---Michigan 27, Vanderbilt 7.  The Wolverines' new aggressive defensive scheme performed well aside from being unable to defend one trick play that led to Vanderbilt's only score.  LaMarr Woodley had at least two sacks.  The Wolverine offense didn't look all that hot as quarterback Chad Henne misfired on many attempts.

---Texas 56, North Texas 7.  This one was a laugher.  New Longhorn QB Colt McCoy played well before the home crowd and Texas romped.

---Oregon 48, Stanford 10.  Dennis Dixon looked good as the Ducks' starting quarterback, completing 70 percent of his passes.  Jonathan Stewart ran for over 100 yards and looks like one of the country's finest backs.

---Penn State 34, Akron 15.  Things thing was played in the rain and slop.  Anthony Morelli had a decent game and eased some concerns about his ability to manage a game, tossing three touchdowns and throwing for 208 yards.

---Ohio State 35, Northern Illinois 12.  Ohio State dispatched with this game with brutal efficiency, racing to a 28-0 lead minutes into the second quarter.  Troy Smith is already in midseason form and the new defensive faces played well enough before the game got out of hand.  NIU back Garrett Wolfe was heroic in defeat, rushing for 172 yards and catching passes for another 115.

---West Virginia 42, Marshall 10.  An efficient win for the Mountaineers during the first game played between these two in-state "rivals" in many years.  Steve Slaton rushed for over 2000 yards and Pat White threw a pair of touchdowns.

---Tennessee 35, California 18.  Much like the Central Michigan/B.C. game, California didn't make a comeback until their opponent took its foot off the gas.  This one was ugly, with Tennessee attacking the Cal offense and making some big play with its own offense.  Both California quarterbacks were terrible.  Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge was efficient in victory, making good passes on safe plays that led to broken plays and three long Volunteer touchdowns.

---Florida 34, Southern Miss 7.  The Gators were a bit slow out of the gate, but the defense did its job and Chris Leak had an efficient day in completing 70 percent of his passes and tossing three touchdowns.

---UCLA 31, Utah 10.  A big win for the Bruins, seemingly 30-year-old quarterback Ben Olson looked spectacular in throwing for over 300 yards and three touchdowns in dismantling the Utah defense.  UCLA's defense played great as well, holding Utah to 10 points.  UCLA has to be mindful of its early-season success and work to sustain it throughout the year, as we've seen similar efforts before where they play great early before falling apart in October and November.

---Auburn 40, Washington State 14.  As expected, the Cougars held tough on the road for a while before Auburn's talent took over.  Kenny Irons looked fantastic, rushing for over 180 yards.

---Notre Dame 14, Georgia Tech 10.  A gritty performance from Georgia Tech kept them close in this game, but Notre Dame did what it needed to to to escape with a victory.  I don't see this game as a chink in the Irish armor, as GT has done this before against heavily favored foes.

---USC 50, Arkansas 14.  The Trojans looked fantastic in victory against before a raucous road crowd.  John David Booty looks like yet another great quarterback for USC.

---TCU 17, Baylor 7.  Yet another one of those games where a gutty underdog has a good team on the ropes and either cannot find enough offense or makes mistakes to inevitably hand the game over to the superior squad.  The Bears have a newfangled offense in the mold of Texas Tech, but it will take time to really get going.  That's always the case with new offenses, sadly.  Look no further than...

---Montana State 19, Colorado 10.  The Buffaloes looked flat in defeat, losing to a I-AA foe.  Call this part of the price for a new coaching regime, as Dan Hawkins looks to slowly build the program back up.

---Louisville 59, Kentucky 28.  This was an entertaining game, with Louisville surging to a huge lead before Kentucky made some wild plays to get back into this ever-so-briefly.  Then, star tailback Michael Bush broke his leg.  Thing is, Louisville just kept on scoring, ending up with 59 on the night.  Bush's injury was saddening, but for all the worry, his backups combined for 235 yards and three touchdowns of their own.