The opening weekend was not exactly kind to the SEC, which has long been considered the nation’s top football conference.
No. 1 Alabama, the conference’s bell cow, dominated USC in one of the premier matchups of the weekend, but No. 5 LSU fell to a Wisconsin team that wasn’t even considered a threat to win its own conference.
Team such Arkansas and Tennessee needed late miracles to pull out their wins over Group of Five opponents and Florida needed a second-half surge to defeat UMass.
And then there was Kentucky.
At one point the Wildcats led 35-10 against Southern Miss and ultimately lost 44-35.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever in my career, ever wanted to apologize for a game, but that’s a tough pill to swallow right there, and I do,” coach Mark Stoops said after the contest. “I didn’t think I would ever do that. That’s a tough loss and our fans deserved better. And I’ll tell you this, we’ll play better.”
Similarly, Mississippi State clanked a potential game-winning field goal as time expired to give South Alabama the stunning upset.
That’s not to say there weren’t other bright spots. No. 18 Georgia used its running game to defeat No. 22 North Carolina in the debut of coach Kirby Smart. A&M choked away a lead late in the fourth quarter, but rallied to beat No. 16 UCLA. And Missouri lost its first conference opener since 2001, but it scored a touchdown, which is an improvement over last year.
Alabama fans celebrate after a touchdown against USC on Saturday. (Getty)Overall, the SEC finished Saturday with a 6-5 nonconference record with a game still to go. While almost all of the top teams carried their weight, the conference as a whole didn’t live up to its billing. And with a couple wins coming late in the game, it will be interesting to see moving forward whether this weekend was an aberration or a trend.
Here are the rest of the winners and losers from college football’s first weekend:
WINNERS
Lamar Jackson, Louisville:

A full offseason working with renowned QB mentor Bobby Petrino looks*to have done wonders for the second-year quarterback. In just one half vs. Charlotte on Thursday, the dual-threat Jackson threw for six touchdowns and ran for two more. Jackson’s six passing touchdowns tied an 18-year old school school record set by Chris Redman and his eight touchdowns overall shatters the previous Cardinals’ record of six total touchdowns in a game.
James Conner, Pittsburgh: Former All-American James*Cook fought off cancer and an ugly season-ending knee injury in 2015 to return to college football*as one of Pittsburgh’s biggest stars. Back in May, Conner announced that he was finally cancer-free after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in late*2015. A triumphant return was enough for Conner to make our Winners list this week, but he further cemented his status with an impressive two-touchdown performance vs. Villanova.
The entire Ohio State offense: Quarterback*J.T. Barrett’s seven touchdowns — six passing and one rushing — set a new OSU record, as did*the 776 total yards of offense the Buckeyes put up against Bowling Green. Granted, that’s Bowling Green and not a Big Ten powerhouse, but Urban Meyer should be pretty happy with his team’s opening performance.
P.J. Fleck head coach of the Western Michigan Broncos reacts after his team’s win against Northwestern. (Getty)Western Michigan: The Broncos knocked off Big Ten opponent Northwestern, 22-21, on the road for the Broncos’ first season-opening win since 2004. It was the Broncos’ first win over a Big Ten opponent since 2008.
Army: Army’s season got off to a great start with a dominant 28-13 upset over Temple in Philadelphia on Friday night. Temple won 10 games last year and was thought to be one of the better teams in the AAC East, but the Black Knights’ triple-option attack gashed the Owls all night. Sophomore Andy Davidson, a converted linebacker, led the way for Army, racking up 121 yards and two scores. The Army defense forced three Temple turnovers as well — all interceptions of Phillip Walker, Temple’s senior quarterback. The win was the first FBS road win for Army since 2010. The Black Knights combined for only six wins in Jeff Monken’s first two seasons. His third season looks like it has the potential to be much better.
Malcolm Perry, Navy: The Midshipmen’s No. 4 quarterback began the game vs. Fordham in the stands with his classmates, but was called into action — much like a modern-day Superman — after an injury to QB Tago Smith. After trading his street clothes for a full uniform, Perry finished the game with seven carries for 30 yards including a 16-yard run.
Kansas and Central Florida: Congratulations are in order for both teams as they got their first wins since 2014 on Saturday night.
Kansas beat FCS Rhode Island and it wasn’t even close. Coach David Beaty did not want a Gatorade bath (and didn’t get one), though KU students stormed the field. After doing so they were politely asked to return to their seats.
KU students rush the field. Are told by the PA to go back “for the respect of this program.”
— Jesse Newell (@jessenewell) September 4, 2016
KU students on field but goalposts stay standing. pic.twitter.com/rO0QuWvnNx
— Jesse Newell (@jessenewell) September 4, 2016
UCF also beat an FCS team. The Knights pasted South Carolina State 38-0. Can the two winless teams from a year ago get a conference win this year? Or simply a win over an FBS team?
Bonus Winner – Steve Spurrier: Just because his return to Florida has been awesome and he got his name on the field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Saturday night.
The Gators are on @SECNetwork and Steve Spurrier is really, really excited about it.
He even channeled Usain Bolt. pic.twitter.com/s810lpWIaK

— ESPN (@espn) September 4, 2016
LOSERS
Western Kentucky:*The Hilltoppers very literally stumbled out of the gate to start their 2016 season. It wasn’t pretty …
Buffalo:*Buffalo’s season got off to a disastrous start with a 22-16 home loss to FCS Albany. The win was the first-ever over an FBS foe for the Great Danes, who went 3-7 last year, including 2-6 in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Bulls trailed for much of the game but were able to take a 16-14 lead midway through the fourth. But then Albany went back in front with 9:37 to go. Buffalo had two shots to regain the lead, but turned it over both times. Not good.
Virginia: The Bronco Mendenhall era got off to a terrible start as the Cavaliers were soundly beaten at home by FCS Richmond, 37-20. The Spiders moved the ball with ease all day, racking up 524 yards of total offense in the program’s third win in 33 tries against Virginia and the first since 1946. While the defense struggled, the offense wasn’t much better. Virginia turned the ball over four times, including three lost fumbles. Richmond’s lead grew as large as 30-7 in the fourth quarter. Things won’t get easier for the Cavs either. They travel to Oregon next weekend.
Kentucky: Given the SEC’s awful weekend, Kentucky losing to a Southern Miss team that was in the Conference-USA title game a year ago isn’t bad at all. But the way the Wildcats did it was pretty awful.
Kentucky had the game in the bag at 35-10. Right? Nah. Southern Miss scored 34 straight points to take a 44-35 win. So. Miss forced three Kentucky turnovers and Golden Eagles offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson got a little revenge. Dawson was let go by UK after the 2015 season. That scoring streak probably felt really good to him.
It’s the first FBS win for Southern Miss coach Jay Hopson, who took over for Jeff Monken, now the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And it continued a bad day for the Stoops brothers as Kentucky coach Mark followed brother Bob (Oklahoma’s coach) with a loss.
Southern Miss coach Jay Hopson gets the water bottle bath! pic.twitter.com/FLkxG21CF8
— Dr. Saturday (@YahooDrSaturday) September 4, 2016
Arkansas State: Toledo visited the Red Wolves on Friday and it was a disaster for Arkansas State as Toledo won 31-10 in coach Jason Candle’s debut.
Arkansas State entered 2016 as one of the preseason favorites for the Sun Belt Conference. Part of that optimism was because of Pitt transfer Chad Voytik, who played poorly Friday. Voytik was 11-for-24 for 124 yards passing while Toledo QB Logan Woodside was 23-for-31 for 371 yards and three scores.
The Sun Belt is still within reach for ASU. But when you’re at the top of your conference you’re supposed to take care of business at home against non-Power 5 teams.