College Football's Week 1 Winners and Losers

As expected, the first weekend of college football turned out to be very exciting.

The best part is it's only going to get better, and each week will get more intense.

Obviously, each week also has winners and losers.

But not just in terms of the record, some are individual players and coaches in addition to the teams.

Also, just because a team got a W in the column doesn't mean they won in the grand scheme of things—and vice versa.

So for a reaction to Saturday's performances, here are college football's Week 1 winners and losers.

Winner: Jarrett Lee

He didn't miraculously perform, but Jarrett Lee earned some major confidence points from head coach Les Miles on Saturday night.

Lee was only 10-of-22 passing, but had one TD with no interceptions against a defense that's considered one of the best in the country.

He managed the game almost flawlessly, which earns himself a W after LSU's first game.

Loser: Brian Kelly

When you're the head coach of Notre Dame, you're under the spotlight 24/7/365.

That being said, Brian Kelly's Irish had a lackluster performance against South Florida, and now the cynicism is brewing.

It also doesn't help that Notre Dame must travel to Michigan next week.

That game could very well be the turning point for the 2011 Fighting Irish.

Winner: Stephen Garcia

Despite all his offseason off the field ineptitude, South Carolina QB Stephen Garcia rallied the Gamecocks en route to a season saving comeback.

Sitting the bench must have struck a competitive nerve for the veteran, to which he thrived on once given the call to duty.

Garcia finished the night 7-of-15 for 110 yards and one TD, as well as five carries for 56 yards and two TDs.

I think it's safe to say that he won his starting job back. 

Loser: Ole Miss Rebels

They've been on the bottom of the SEC barrel since Eli Manning left, and it's getting worse and worse.

Last season they were upset by Jacksonville State at home in double overtime and now have lost another home/season-opener in 2011.

This time it was the BYU Cougars who came back after the Rebels held a 13-0 lead with just under ten minutes to play.

Winner: Skip Holtz

It can't get much better for Skip Holtz to start a season.

Notre Dame was ranked No. 16, the game was at The Golden Dome, his dad is a legend there and the Big East is continuously criticized for being weak.

Well, Skip defied the odds on Saturday and his Bulls held on from a 16-0 lead to win 23-20.

Talk about family bragging rights.

Loser: Auburn Defense

There was reason to suspect that the Auburn Tigers' defense was going to be in a rebuilding session.

Obviously, we knew they were going to have their hands full once the SEC games began.

But not trouble like the beat-down that Utah State put up.

Gene Chizik's defense allowed almost 450 total yards, gave up 38 points and was on the field for almost 38 minutes.

In addition, they forced no turnovers and allowed the Aggies to go 3-for-3 on fourth down and 10-of-17 on third down.

Not to mention they allowed 27 first downs.

Wonder how they're going to stop SEC offenses?

Winner: Utah State Aggies

Although they lost, the Utah State Aggies won in a much broader perspective.

First and foremost, they hung with the defending national champions on the road until the bitter end.

This is a team that went 4-8 last season and 2-6 in the WAC conference.

It's a major confidence boost for this school, and you can only expect them to get better.

So if you get the chance, check out Utah State in 2011 because they are going to turn some heads.

Loser: TCU Horned Frogs

There was a lot of criticism about whether or not the TCU Horned Frogs should have been ranked No. 14 in the preseason polls.

Well, a loss to unranked Baylor in the season opener on the road doesn't help their cause.

When the rankings come out this week, don't be surprised if TCU is knocked out of the Top 25.

Winner: Robert Griffin III

21-of-27 for 359 yards and five TDs with no interceptions.

Those were Robert Griffin III's passing stats against a TCU defense that finished No. 1 in the nation a year ago.

Griffin has definitely entered the list of other Big 12 stud QBs such as Landry Jones and Brandon Weeden,

If he plays like this all season, the Baylor Bears will surely shock the college football world.

Loser: Connor Shaw

Well he got the start over Stephen Garcia, but Connor Shaw failed to produce and was taken out.

He finished 3-of-9 for 21 yards, and carried the ball seven times for 26 yards.

When Shaw left the game, South Carolina was down 17-0 almost halfway through the second quarter.

Then not even five minutes into the second half, Garcia gave the Gamecocks the lead 28-24, and they never looked back.

Sorry Connor Shaw, better luck next year.

Winner: Brian Moniz

He only completed 20 passes for 178 yards and one TD against Colorado, but Bryan Moniz used his legs like the college Michael Vick on Saturday.

He had 14 carries for 121 yards, including three TDs.

If Moniz keep thrashing defenses like this all season, he could very well make a case for a Heisman, but he's better than Colt Brennan as he can run the ball as well.

Loser: Jordan Jefferson

It's a shame that Jordan Jefferson had to miss out on LSU's game one win the way he did, but you have to live and learn.

That being said, it might be a different story had Jarrett Lee not played a solid game.

However, he did, and Jefferson may have lost his starting role for the season if Lee keeps putting up W's against national contending teams.

Winner: Mother Nature

Mainly in the Notre Dame and Michigan games did Mother Nature dominate, but it was still very impressive.

The amount of rain that came down was astounding, and only if there wasn't lightning, we may have actually seen football players get grass and/or mud stains on their jerseys.

So Mother Nature, next time you come around, how about just some rain until it gets cold enough to snow?

We like football in messy conditions because it's suppose to be played like that.

This isn't a game that's for sunny and 75 all the time, and Mother Nature is quite aware of that.

But we can do without the lightning.

Loser: Pac-12

Oregon lost in a much bigger fashion than expected, USC barely held on to a Big Ten weak link (Minnesota) and Colorado was dominated by Hawaii.

Additionally, Washington narrowly escaped from Eastern Washington, and Oregon State was upset by Sacramento State (a I-AA school) 29-28 in overtime.

Sure Stanford won, but they played San Jose State and Washington State thumped Idaho State.

Even Utah struggled against Montana State, as did California with Fresno State.

Not a good weekend for the Pac-12.

Winner: Michigan Fans

Michigan football is on its way back up after only one Big Ten championship since 1997.

They have a Michigan-man at head coach in Brady Hoke, and once again the biggest sports stadium in the country will be rolling all season with good reason.

It's been awhile since Wolverine fans have had something to really cheer about, but 2011 is off the a great start.

Loser: Mark Richt

He was on the hot seat last season, and now Mark Richt's seat is only hotter.

A loss to Boise State in (virtually) Georgia's backyard wasn't what he had in mind, and now they get South Carolina this up coming week.

If the Dawgs' go down against the Gamecocks, there may be a new head coach in Athens.

Winner: Tommy Rees

Despite not getting the start, Notre Dame QB Tommy Rees proved that he deserves to be starting next week at Michigan.

After coming off the bench Rees threw for almost 300 yards on 24 completions with two TDs, but did have two picks.

However, it was much better than Dayne Crist, and Tommy did manage to mount a comeback in the second half.

You can count on him the rest of the season in South Bend. 

Loser: Rick Neuheisel

He hasn't produced the results he expected since getting hired by UCLA.

When at Colorado, Rick Neuheisel was solid in getting three bowl wins in four years, as well as two final Top Ten rankings.

He was also decent in Washington where his Huskies won a BCS game and finished No. 3 in 2000.

Since getting back to college he's been lacking, so don't be surprised if he gets canned mid-season.

Winner: Frank Beamer

It's no surprise the longtime Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer was offered a contract extension.

He's been their man in charge since 1987, and it appears that he's going to retire from there as well.

His Hokies dominated in Game 1 versus Appalachian State, and are in prime position to repeat as ACC champs.

Not to mention only twice since 1993 has Beamer's Hokies failed to finish ranked in the coaches Top 25.

Loser: Notre Dame Stadium

There were two lightning delays that seemed to take all day, and by the time the game had ended LSU and Oregon were closing in on halftime.

It's bad enough there was one delay, but because of two in one day it took over five hours to play the game.

In addition, lightning actually struck just outside the stadium, which obviously was cause for concern.

Sorry Golden Dome, but you lost this week, let's just hope for your sake that the Irish actually improve this season.

Winner: Ohio State Fans

After all the offseason mishaps with the Ohio State football program, the Buckeye faithful can resound with cheers of hope after the Week 1 thrashing of Akron.

And sure it was Akron, but based on history Luke Fickell is already ahead of Jim Tressel.

When Tressel took over in 2001, his first game was also against the Akron Zips.

That year though, the Bucks' only won 28-14, not 42-0.

Loser: Oregon State Beavers

They lost to an inferior college football division and have to play in the Pac-12.

On Saturday, Oregon State was upset 29-28 in overtime by Sacramento State of the Big Sky conference (an FCS conference).

If the Beavers want any advice on how to handle being in this type of situation, they should consult Michigan (loss to Appalachian State in 2007), and/or Ole Miss (loss to Jacksonville State in 2010).

Winner: Zach Collaros

When the Cincinnati Bearcats were making a BCS run in 2009, senior Tony Pike went down and sophomore Zach Collaros took over.

Needless to say, he kept Cincy on track en route to throwing for over 1,400 yards and ten TDs with only two picks through seven games played.

Last season was his first year as a full-time starter and although he produced, the Bearcats only went 4-8.

Collaros is off to a great start in 2011,  it should be interesting to see if he can keep them rolling.

Loser: Houston Nutt

When he was at Murray State and Arkansas, Houston Nutt was a solid college football coach.

Since taking over Ole Miss in 2008 however, the Rebels have gotten progressively worse.

Yes they were 9-4 his first two seasons, but those were teams in which he inherited, not recruited.

And last season was bad as Mississippi went 4-8 overall and 1-7 in conference.

A tough loss to BYU in the 2011 opener puts him on a short leash for this fall.

Winner: Big Ten

This past weekend the Big Ten (with their 12 teams) had a record of 10-2.

And it was almost 11-1 as Minnesota nearly upset USC on the road, a great effort nonetheless.

The biggest win arguably came from Northwestern when they defeated Boston College 24-17 on the road with backup QB Kain Colter.

I cannot wait until Big Ten conference play begins! 

Loser: Oregon Offense

Last season the Oregon Ducks finished with the No. 1 ranked scoring offense in putting up almost 47 a game.

Well, if you go back to the national championship game versus Auburn, the Ducks apparently can't do work against the SEC.

Auburn held them to only 19 points, and LSU this time around only to 20 (and their final score against LSU came with 13 seconds left).

Even with LaMichael James and Darron Thomas, the Ducks only compiled 95 rush yards on 28 carries, whereas last season they averaged 286.

Much work needs to be done if Oregon is to get back in the fight for a national title.

Winner: Florida International

Head coach Mario Cristbal is doing a great job at a school that is being overlooked due to their geographic location.

Florida International football is on the rise, and anyone who really follows college football should be aware of it.

They didn't even have a program until 2002, and after 2010 Cristobal won them their first conference championship.

Expect them to get better, and expect Cristobal to get some offers in the near future.

Loser: Colorado Buffaloes

Apparently making the switch to a new conference doesn't help, because Colorado was beaten 34-17 by Hawaii of the WAC on Saturday.

So with that, what do you think is going to happen when they get into conference play?

Failure most likely.

And it's a shame because the Buffaloes were once a solid program in the Big 12, but not since the days of Gary Barnett have they been relevant.

Winner: Big East

The first seven schools that played in the Big East this weekend all came away with wins.

Only West Virginia has yet to play, and they are considered the preseason conference champion.

That said, 2011 will be a year of much improvement from the conference, as they will garner more recognition and respect this season.

Regardless of who wins the Big East, don't be surprised if they win their BCS game and have a dominating showing in bowl season.

It's a great start for a conference that really needs it.

Loser: Purdue Boilermakers

Sure the Big Ten won from an all-encompassed standpoint, but Purdue barely managed to defeat Middle Tennessee State of the Sun Belt conference on Saturday. Middle Tennessee State finished 6-7 last year.

Obviously the Boilermakers had a ton of work to do before 2011 began, but only defeating Middle Tennessee State 27-24 is a cause for concern.

Winner: Robert Woods

It's not everyday a true freshman starts at the FBS Division I-A level in college football.

Well, WR Robert Woods was given that opportunity Saturday against the Minnesota Golden Gophers of the Big Ten.

All he did was catch 17 passes for 177 yards and three TDs. No big deal, he just happened to set a school record for most receptions in a single game—in his first collegiate start.

Expect big things from him as his career continues (understatement of the year).

Loser: Dan Persa

After a season-ending injury in 2010, Northwestern QB Dan Persa was watching in Game 1 of the 2011 season—and he saw watch backup Kain Colter throw for almost 200 yards on 17 completions.

Colter did throw one pick, but he got the win on the road, and Boston College isn't the east place to play either.

That said, we may have a QB controversy on our hands at Northwestern.

Winner: Michael Floyd

Head coach Brian Kelly made a bad decision in starting Dayne Crist over Tommy Rees in Notre Dame's opening game.

However, he also made a correct decision in giving WR Michael Floyd a second chance after his off the field issues.

In turn, Floyd was very gracious and produced at a high level.

Does 12 catches for 154 yards and two TDs sound good?

Yes, and we will see more of Floyd's dominance next week as Michigan has trouble defending the pass.

Loser: Dayne Crist

After battling injuries throughout the 2010 season, Tommy Rees took over in South Bend and led the Irish to four straight victories to close out the year.

Dayne Crist won the starting job in the offseason though and was given the nod in Week 1 versus South Florida.

Well, he didn't produce, as evidenced by his 7-of-15 day with one interception—not to mention that interception came in the end zone, which nullified an Irish scoring opportunity early on.

Winner: Will Muschamp

It's hard enough that Will Muschamp had to take over the Florida Gators, an SEC school with high standards each season.

But it's even more difficult to replace the shoes of a coach (Urban Meyer) who was responsible for two National Championships and coached Tim Tebow.

Well, Muschamp got the first win, which always is a big relief. He'll be battle-tested in the SEC, but the Gators are off to a solid start.

Loser: Brandon Weeden

Yes, Brandon Weeden is arguably the best QB in the Big 12 and definitely an exciting one to watch.

But he gets the individual loss from this past Saturday, as evidenced by throwing three interceptions against Louisiana-Lafayette.

For as great as Oklahoma State is supposed to be, the Ragin' Cajuns are a team that shouldn't have had any stops against the Cowboys' offense.

Nevertheless, Weeden threw three picks—two of which got returned for TDs. If he plays like that against Oklahoma or Texas A&M, there's no way the Cowboys can win the Big 12.

Winner: Brandon Herron

Being able to make plays is what defense is all about; that's what you have to do in order to have success on the dark-side of the ball.

And Michigan's Brandon Herron did just that by intercepting a tipped pass and proceeding to take it back 94 yards for a TD.

He then scooped up a fumble in the second half and returned that 28 yards for a TD.

When you're constantly making plays on defense, whether you're around the ball or not, it all comes down to effort—because effort is ultimately how you win a championship.

Loser: Washington Defense

Sure the Washington Huskies got the Week 1 win—too bad it was a 30-27 nail-biter against the Eastern Washington Eagles (an FCS school from the Big Sky Conference).

Not to mention it was at home, and the defense played unbelievably awful. They allowed a total of 504 yards, 30 first downs and were on the field for only 29 minutes and 18 seconds.

Yes, they managed to force four turnovers, but that won't happen against pretty much every other FBS school. The Husky D just better hope their offense scores close to 50 a game, otherwise we're looking at a really bad season for Washington.

Winner: Boise State Broncos

It was their first win over an SEC school, not to mention the Georgia Bulldogs were ranked No. 19.

Plus it was basically in Georgia's backyard, and Boise still managed to dominate.

Now the Broncos become fans of the Bulldogs and hope Georgia can do some damage in the SEC. If they do, there will be a good chance of Boise not only crashing the BCS, but also having an outside shot at the national title.

Loser: Michigan State Spartans

For all the solid talent Sparty has returning in 2011, they had a disappointing performance against the Youngstown State Penguins Friday evening.

For starters, it was only 14-6 at halftime, and being the defending co-Big Ten champion from 2010, Michigan State did not thoroughly dominate this game.

Let's face it, if coach Mark Dantonio's squad plays like this against Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Nebraska, it's going to be a season to forget.

Winner: Kellen Moore

He played well on the road against a team that has much improved from 2010.

For the game against Georgia, Kellen Moore was 28-of-34 for 261 yards with three TDs to only one pick.

It was arguably the best performance of his career because of the magnitude of the situation.

Moore also proved that he is just as good as, if not better, than Stanford's Andrew Luck.

Chances are the Heisman comes down to them, but Moore's performance against an SEC school in Georgia surely gives him an edge.

Loser: Longhorn Network

The University of Texas got greedy with this one, plain and simple.

What's the point of having your own network if those around where you're located can't watch it?

In an article by Gary Dinges of the American-Statesman, the Longhorn Network was a big disappointment:

"

"'The lack of availability for the game will no doubt hurt business at many bars and restaurants around town,' said Charles Milligan, co-owner of Doc's Motorworks on South Congress Avenue. The standoff between ESPN and major cable providers has Milligan so miffed he posted a sign in front of the restaurant that reads, 'UT and ESPN get your crap together.'

"'I'm just so frustrated,' he said. 'We've had a million calls all week. It's a tremendous letdown for everybody.'"

"

So much for having your own network.

Winner: Jordan White

If there was one thing that did go right for the Western Michigan Broncos, it was the performance of WR Jordan White.

He had 12 receptions for 119 yards and was able to exploit the Wolverines' defense all game.

Keep an eye on him as the season continues, because White could very well match some of the nation's top WRs' numbers in 2011.

Loser: Georgia's New Uniforms

The helmet looks cool, but the all red combo isn't working.

Had Georgia went with a black jersey to pair with the red pants, that would have been sweet (or black pants with the red jersey).

Pretty much any other color combination than red on red.

It doesn't look good when South Carolina does it, nor does it when the Houston Texans try to pull it off—and it doesn't work here.

Maybe that's why they lost, but I doubt it.

Winner: Air Force Rushing Attack

Doesn't it seem rather contradictory that Air Force is primarily a ground football team?

You would think they love to air it out, but the Falcons—well, all they do is pound the rock.

Who thought Falcons could run? I didn't.

In any event, Air Force runs the ball very well, and they did so to start the 2011 season by compiling 391 yards on 61 attempts for an average of 6.4 yards per carry.

If they keep this up, we may see the Falcons in the Mountain West Conference title race.

Loser: Missouri Tigers

Even though QB Blaine Gabbert is gone, there are still high expectations for the Missouri Tigers.

That being said, there's no way they're going to compete with Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and/or Oklahoma if they perform the way they did against Miami of Ohio.

Although the Redhawks are the defending MAC champions, the Tigers are in the Big 12! There's no way this game should have been 10-6 going in to the fourth quarter.

If Missouri wants to contend for the conference title, they need to pick it up—and fast.

Winner: Steve Addazio

The former Florida Gators offensive coordinator, Steve Addazio took over the Temple Owls football program that saw some solid success under Al Golden (now at Miami).

And the Owls answered the call for their new head coach, as they won 42-7 over Villanova.

Make no mistake about it, the Owls are a program on the rise because of Golden, but Addazio has been passed the torch and will produce results.

Addazio is too good of a coach, and Temple is too good of a non-AQ school for them not to have success.

Loser: Michigan Event Staff

Feel bad for the Michigan event staff, because although they did an excellent job in getting everyone in The Big House to safety, they had to do it twice—and the game didn't even play out three-fourths of the way.

Michigan Stadium also has a capacity of almost 110,000, but, that doesn't include players, security, coaches, staff members, food vendors, media etc...

Altogether you could be looking at 120,000-plus people at that game.

Unreal.

Sorry Michigan event staff, but those lightning delays had to be your worst nightmare. 

Winner: Baylor Bears

Folks, the Baylor Bears are finally on the football map.

They've long-time suffered at the bottom of the Big 12 mainly because of Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M, but this year will be different.

After their outstanding offensive explosion against the TCU Horned Frogs (who by the way were ranked No. 14), the Bears have earned a lot of national recognition.

Obviously QB Robert Griffin III is getting much of that, but don't discount head coach Art Briles either. He won two Conference USA titles at Houston and has since gradually improved with Baylor.

Get excited Bears fans (not named Chicago), because this is going to be one fun season for you.

Loser: Anyone Who Took Auburn -22 Against Utah State

I'm not a betting man, but if I was given Auburn -22 against Utah State, I would have taken it.

How could anyone not directly affiliated with the Utah State football program see this type of performance coming?

It was unbelievable to watch the defending national champions almost lose to a team that finished 4-8 a year ago.

This just gives more reason as to why you shouldn't bet on college football because you just never, ever know.

Be sure to check on John on Bleacher Report, and you can follow him on Twitter.