If you don’t like how your favorite team has developed quarterbacks, no problem.
Six teams in the Associated Press’ preseason Top 25 started transfer quarterbacks in their season opener, included three immediately eligible graduate students at Top 10 programs — Vernon Adams at No. 7 Oregon, Greyson Lambert at No. 9 Georgia and Everett Golson at No. 10 Florida State.
Elsewhere, Jake Coker finally got the reins at Alabama, Chad Kelly took over at Ole Miss and Baker Mayfield supplanted returning starter Trevor Knight at Oklahoma.
Yes, the chase for the College Football Playoff could very well be decided by the quarterback transaction wire.
All six of those aforementioned quarterbacks who began their careers at another four-year school won on Saturday, including two (Adams and Golson) who replaced Heisman winners. No pressure, right?
Adams accounted for 340 total yards in his Ducks debut, rushing for 94 and completing 19 of 25 passes against his old team, Eastern Washington.
“It was great going out there and the fans going crazy,” Adams said. “I had goosebumps, my heart was beating and it was crazy. I just have to take care of the ball; we left a couple of plays on the field, but it was an overall fun game.”
Lambert, who left Virginia after spring ball, was mistake-free in the Bulldogs’ opening breeze against Louisiana-Monroe. Lambert might have forced the issue too much with the Cavs, but now he can lean on a Nick Chubb-led running back stable and go-up-and-get-it receivers such as Malcolm Mitchell.
“Greyson did a very nice job of handling everything that was put on him,” said Georgia coach Mark Richt. “There were at least two or three balls that he needed to throw away, and he made wise decisions. Our guys gave him great protection and he put the ball on the money.”
Golson is another who didn’t decide to transfer until after spring ball, and he carefully selected a team in need of a one-year fix. He won the starting nod over Sean Maguire, who originally looked like the fresh-faced heir apparent to Jameis Winston.
Golson, whose experience and ability to extend plays with his feet helped him quickly climb the fall-camp ladder at FSU, threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns in a walk-over 59-16 win against Texas State.
“He reminded me of Jameis,” said receiver Bobo Wilson said. “He made some really good throws.”
Coker, who was once considered Winston’s likely replacement at Florida State, was more solid than spectacular in his first Tide start, which was fine. The senior avoided the killer mistake as Alabama squeezed the life out of Wisconsin, 35-17, with its twin powers of a rugged running game and a brick wall of a defense.
Mayfield, running a version of his old Texas Tech offense — which is new again at Oklahoma under coordinator Lincoln Riley — passed for 388 yards and three touchdowns vs. Akron. Mayfield set a record for most passing yards in an OU opener.
“You don’t set records here every day,” Sooners coach Bob Stoops said. “I knew he would be pretty amped and I was proud that he didn’t try to make too much happen, even when we struggled early.”
Kelly, who was dismissed from Clemson before landing in junior college, “had a really solid day” in his Rebels’ debut, said coach Hugh Freeze. Kelly had two long touchdown passes and showed some wheels, too, in a 76-3 rout of UT-Martin.
The quality of opponent for all six of these transfer quarterbacks will increase — in some cases quickly — but their second chances are off to first-rate starts.
Five things we think we learned in Week 1
1. Kansas is still Kansas. Quarterback Montell Cozart fumbled a spike attempt to stop the clock, costing the Jayhawks a chance to kick a tying field goal in a 41-38 loss to lower-division South Dakota State. Sigh. Thus begins the coaching stint of David Beaty, KU’s fourth head coach in seven seasons.
2. We need more games between the SEC and Pac-12. Texas A&M pulled away from Arizona State to win 38-17 but this was compelling theater for nearly 60 minutes. It was also the only scheduled meeting this year between the conferences, so bragging rights go to the SEC West over the Pac-12 South. Just wait ’til next year — Alabama vs. USC (Arlington, Texas), and UCLA at Texas A&M.
3. Christian Hackenberg might need counseling. Penn State gave up a whopping 44 sacks last season, but the line was supposed to be better this season. Uh, no. Temple hounded and sacked shell-shocked Hackenberg 10 times in the Owls’ 27-10 upset victory.
4. Notre Dame looks Playoff worthy. The Irish look scary-fast on defense (and that’s not something you often say about Notre Dame), and quarterback Malik Zaire is surrounded by a deep cast of weapons and talented big uglies up front. The utter ineptitude of the Texas offense had something to do with it, but a 527-163 edge in yards in a 38-3 victory was an impressive start for ND.
5. Texas A&M has the best pair of defensive ends in the country. Sophomore Myles Garrett and junior Daeshon Hall combined for six sacks, three forced fumbles and three quarterback hurries against ASU. New Aggies coordinator John Chavis knows how to deploy these weapons.
Five fine debuts
1. Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA. It’s not accurate to say he lived up the hype; the freshman exceeded it. The true freshman completed 28 of 35 passes for 351 yards and three touchdowns, with no turnovers. Plenty of his throws were as pretty as the San Gabriel mountains that serve as the Rose Bowl backdrop.
2. Tanner Mangum, QB, BYU. One game, one Hail Mary. He launched a 42-yard strike that landed in the hands of Mitch Mathews at the front of the end zone for a 33-28 win at Nebraska. Mangum, a former top recruit who is technically a true freshman (although the returning church missionary will turn 22 this week) now takes over full time for hard-luck senior star Taysom Hill, who suffered a season-ending injury.
3. Christian Kirk, WR/RET, Texas A&M. The Aggies stole the top player in the state of Arizona from Arizona State’s backyard, and then really made the Sun Devils pay. Kirk had a 79-yard punt return for a touchdown and then turned a short pass into a meandering cross-field 66-yard dagger of a score with 3:45 left in the game.
4. Malik Jefferson, LB, Texas. The Texas future depends on getting more recruits like Jefferson, whose play might have been the lone bright spot for the Longhorns at Notre Dame. Jefferson made nine tackles, including 2.5 for loss.
5. Joe Mixon, RB, Oklahoma. Mixon, suspended all of last season, joins Samaje Perine to create a dynamic backfield pair for the Sooners. Mixon caught a 76-yard touchdown pass and had 142 yards of offense in the season opener.
Five players to watch
1. Robert Nkemdiche, DT, Ole Miss. It was fun to see the 296-pound former running back rumble 31 yards with a touchdown reception, and he later blocked a UT-Martin field-goal attempt. More Nkemdiche on offense, please.
2. Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama. He should be illegal. Big, strong, powerful and fast, the physical freak fired a Heisman warning shot with 147 yards on just 13 carries against Wisconsin. He scored three touchdowns, including runs of 37 and 56 yards. Feed him.
3. Karl Joseph, S, West Virginia. The preseason All-American wants to be known as more than just a big hitter. His three interceptions in a shutout of Georgia Southern will help change the discussion.
4. Will Likely, DB, Maryland. Richmond kept punting the ball to him, so the 5-foot-7 waterbug returned eight punts for 233 yards and a touchdown. He broke the single-game conference record for punt return yardage, which had stood since 1939.
5. Joey Julius, PK, Penn State. The 5-foot-10, 255-pound kicker won Twitter on Saturday because everyone on social media can’t get enough of seeing big guys squeezed into jerseys kicking field goals.
Five best Week 2 games
1. Oregon at Michigan State (Saturday, 8 p.m., ET, ABC). Ducks quarterback Vernon Adams took a shot to the head late in Saturday’s game, but he said he was OK. Less certain is the health of Oregon’s secondary, which gave up 438 passing yards to Eastern Washington. Spartans quarterback Connor Cook leads a potent attack in a matchup that will create ripple effects in the College Football Playoff.
2. Oklahoma at Tennessee (Saturday, 6 p.m., ET, ESPN). The Sooners beat the Vols 34-10 in Norman last season, but UT is far more grown up now. Oklahoma’s revamped defense will be challenged by QB Josh Dobbs and the super one-two backfield combo of Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara.
3. LSU at Mississippi State (Saturday, 9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN). LSU got in only a possession on offense and defense before its season opener against McNeese State had to be canceled due to weather. Meanwhile, Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott is already in midseason form.
4. Boise State at BYU (Saturday, 10:15 p.m. ET, ESPN2). Tanner Mangum makes his first career start for BYU against a tough Boise State defense. The winner gets to stake an early claim to a big-bowl berth as the Group of Five “champion.”
5. Temple at Cincinnati (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, ESPNNews). The Owls look to bring another top quarterback to his knees, this time the Bearcats’ Gunner Kiel in a top-notch AAC clash.
NFLDraftScout.com: Film Room Review
Analyst Rob Rang’s five prospect takeaways for Week 1. Players listed including position, school, year (Height, weight and current NFLDraftScout.com overall rating and by position).
1. QB Christian Hackenberg, Penn State, Jr., 6-4, 238 (#28 overall prospect, #2 QB): The entire offense collapsed in Saturday’s shocking 27-10 loss to Temple, but he struggled with his accuracy even when given time to look downfield. He showed little agility, balance or spatial awareness and everyone needs to pump the breaks on talks of an early departure for the NFL.
2. WR Laquon Treadwell, Ole Miss, Jr. (6-2, 212, #19, #2): Playing in his first game since suffering a horrific leg injury last November, Treadwell caught four passes for 44 yards against overmatched Tennessee-Martin. While he showed some rust in dropping at least one pass, Treadwell did display he still has the burst, agility and confidence to warrant a first-round projection.
3. WR Bug Howard, North Carolina, Jr. (6-4, 210, #3 WR in Class of 2017): In finishing with six catches for 114 yards and a TD in Thursday’s loss to South Carolina, Howard showed off the size and strength to post up cornerbacks along with the ability to adjust to off-target passes and make plays after the catch.
4. DT Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss, Jr. (6-4, 296, #11, #1): Clearly the best player on the field Saturday, Nkemdiche showed off his burst and core strength while consistently splitting double-teams, being a force against the run, blocking a field goal and even catching a 33-yard touchdown as a fullback.
5. RB Derrick Henry, Alabama, Jr. (6-2, 242, #49, #2): On his two breakaway touchdown runs, Henry cleanly stepped through the line and then showed uncommon speed for a back of his size. And on a 2-yard touchdown plunge later, it was clear Henry is every bit as powerful as his frame suggests.