The good, the bad, and the weird: College football's Week 1 roundup

College football is sport at its zaniest.

The coaches, the college towns, and the fact that the game is played by those (mostly) 18-to-21 years old contribute to Saturdays that are never dull. And with 130 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision, you never know where the most memorable moments of the weekend will occur.

Each week this season, theScore is here to break it all down - from the good to the bad to the weird. Here's what happened in Week 1 and why it matters:

The good

Freshman quarterbacks

"Let the kids play" is baseball's catchphrase this season, but college football might want to adopt it, too.

Eight months after Trevor Lawrence led Clemson to the national title as a true freshman, three 2019 class members helped their teams to fourth-quarter comebacks in their debuts.

Bo Nix, Sam Howell, and Hank Bachmeier were the Nos. 2, 6, and 11 quarterbacks in their class, per 247Sports. They won the starting jobs at Auburn, North Carolina, and Boise State, respectively. They showed why on Saturday.

First, Bachmeier took the Broncos to Tallahassee, Florida, and beat a favored Florida State team that desperately needed the victory. The California native completed 30 of 51 passes for 407 yards and a touchdown in the 36-31 victory.

Boise State trailed 31-13 with 4:07 remaining in the first half. After completing less than 50 percent of his throws early, Bachmeier went 17 of 23 for 215 yards in the second half.

Howell, meanwhile, delivered a 24-20, upset victory over South Carolina in which his Tar Heels rallied from a 20-9 deficit entering the final quarter. He finished his debut 15 of 24 for 245 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The winning strike to Beau Corrales came with 8:26 to play.

There was also this impossible completion:

Nix endured the biggest struggle of the three freshmen but also faced the toughest opponent in No. 11 Oregon. His overall numbers - 13 of 31, 177 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions - reflect that.

But the Auburn quarterback completed 60 percent of his passes in the fourth quarter, including the game-winning touchdown throw to Seth Williams with nine seconds left.

In the fourth quarter, the trio of quarterbacks combined to complete 18 of 25 passes for 277 yards and three touchdowns.

Oklahoma - in nearly every facet

Who was the more valuable addition for Oklahoma after Sunday's performance: Jalen Hurts or Alex Grinch?

It took Hurts just three quarters to outproduce the best game of his three-year Alabama career, as the Sooners rolled to a 49-31 win over Houston.

On the final play of the third quarter, he rushed in from 1 yard for his sixth total touchdown. He threw for as many touchdowns as he did incomplete passes.

His final stat line: 20 of 23, 332 yards, three touchdowns passing; 16 rushes, 176 yards, three touchdowns running. The Sooners never punted while Hurts was in the game.

It was a statement from Lincoln Riley, who continued to do no wrong as an offensive play-caller. But it also was a statement from Hurts, who may have taken an early lead as he vies to become Oklahoma's third consecutive Heisman Trophy quarterback.

We had no idea what to expect from Alex Grinch, the defensive coordinator who Riley hired from Ohio State to fix the Sooners' leaky defense.

Facing an offensive savant in Dana Holgorsen and an electric quarterback in D'Eriq King, Oklahoma forced consecutive three-and-outs to start the game.

While the Cougars finally got on the board with a touchdown in the second quarter, a hold for a field goal right before halftime kept Oklahoma in control, 21-10, and made sure the Sooners had momentum coming out of the locker room.

The Sooners were more aggressive than they've been in recent seasons. Linebacker Kenneth Murray and edge rusher Ronnie Perkins showed the potential to be game-changers. Oklahoma didn't force a turnover, but it didn't matter. The team showed progress. (Counterpoint: Oklahoma still gave up 31 points and was up against a Houston team with a new head coach.)

Oklahoma seemed to solidify itself as a playoff contender once again. The only hiccup the Sooners need to address? Their new kicker, Calum Sutherland, missed two field goals in the first half.

Big Ten run defenses

Tulsa running back Corey Taylor created a pregame headline by estimating he and backfield mate Shamari Brooks could run for "100 yards apiece" against No. 18 Michigan State's defense.

The Spartans, meanwhile, did their talking on the field, sending the Golden Hurricane backward into a negative 73-yard rushing performance in a 28-7 Michigan State win. (Taylor and Brooks carried the ball 13 times for minus-1 yard.)

Friday's victory helped set the tone for a weekend partially defined by the Big Ten's dominant defensive performances to begin the season.

After one week, five of the top 10 run defenses in the country come out of the Big Ten, with Michigan State (obviously) ranking No. 1. Wisconsin made one of the weekend's largest statements, hammering South Florida 49-0 while limiting the Bulls to 26 yards on the ground.

Elsewhere, Ohio State held Florida Atlantic to minus-22 yards rushing in the first half of a 45-21 win. Maryland and Penn State held FCS foes Howard and Idaho to 5 yards combined as they won 79-0 and 79-7, respectively.

Bigger tests certainly await, but for a conference that missed the College Football Playoff in each of the last two seasons, this was an encouraging start.

The bad

Tennessee

This wasn't supposed to happen.

Yes, Tennessee went 9-15 over its previous two seasons. But the Volunteers entered 2019 more experienced and with a veteran quarterback. In fact, they made Phil Steele's list of most improved teams this preseason.

Georgia State, 2-10 a year ago, didn't make that list. The Panthers are in their seventh year as an FBS program. They've made two bowls and had one winning season. Until Saturday, they were 0-8 against Power 5 programs, with one close loss (23-17 at Wisconsin in 2016).

The Panthers defeated Tennessee 38-30.

Tennessee's loss, apparently so damning that its official Twitter account went dark for 20 hours, throws an unexpected curve into Jeremy Pruitt's second season in Knoxville.

Winning six games and reaching a bowl was already a tough task when you're in the SEC and play Alabama and Georgia every single season. The Volunteers also play No. 8 Florida and go on the road to Kentucky and Missouri. (The Tigers had a befuddling loss of their own at Wyoming). This week's nonconference game against BYU is no walk in the park, either.

Tennessee appeared to have issues in the trenches, giving up 213 yards rushing to Georgia State while averaging 3 yards per carry on offense. It's going to need to fix its problems fast.

Florida State

In the early afternoon Saturday, it looked like we'd be talking about the Seminoles in a different area of this recap. Florida State averaged 10.8 yards per play in the first half, scored four touchdowns and a field goal on its first six possessions, and took a comfortable 31-19 lead into the locker room of its home stadium. (The game was moved from Jacksonville to Tallahassee because of Hurricane Dorian.)

Kendal Briles' offense appeared to give Willie Taggart's program the jolt it needed. With 278 yards on 14 of 17 passing, James Blackman looked like the answer at quarterback.

The second half of Boise State's 36-31 win told a completely different story. The Broncos outgained the Noles 288-68 and outscored them 17-0.

Boise State ran 108 plays, wearing down the Seminoles' defense. Twenty-eight of those plays went for 10 or more yards. Offensively, Florida State averaged just 2.3 yards per play in the second half.

The loss dropped Taggart to 5-8 through 13 games as Florida State's head coach and, for a fan base accustomed to competing for conference and national championships, supporters might begin to feel uneasy.

The Pac-12's perception

The Pac-12 hasn't reached the College Football Playoff since 2016. It fuels the conference's perception, the same way the Big 12 endured a narrative of dysfunction until Oklahoma reached three semifinals in four seasons.

No. 11 Oregon's six-point loss to Auburn on Saturday doesn't eliminate the conference from playoff contention. It doesn't even eliminate the Ducks. It's far too early in the season for definitive statements.

But Oregon sure missed a golden opportunity to start writing a new story in 2019.

The Pac-12 is 3-11 against the SEC since 2011, and none of the wins came against ranked opponents. The last time a Pac-12 program defeated a ranked SEC program was in 2008, when UCLA defeated Tennessee on Labor Day.

Washington and Utah look like potential contenders, and the Ducks have the capability to win the conference. But the Pac-12's blemishes this weekend weren't just in the loss column.

Two of the conference's more prominent programs, Stanford and USC, lost their quarterbacks to injury Saturday. Trojans signal-caller JT Daniels is out for the season, hindering their chances of a turnaround season. If K.J. Costello is forced to miss extended time, the Cardinal's hopes of winning the conference could be dashed, too. Oh, and Stanford and USC play each other this weekend.

The weird

Hugh Freeze's Liberty debut

Hugh Freeze underwent surgery on Aug. 16 after a "potentially life-threatening strand of staph infection" entered his bloodstream, ESPN's Chris Low reported.

Freeze, the new head coach at Liberty, wasn't well enough to coach from the sidelines when the Flames opened the season Saturday against Syracuse.

So he coached from a booth high up in the stadium ... on his hospital bed.

Freeze gave his team a pregame pep talk via video. Cameras caught him looking at what appeared to be a play card in his booth overlooking the field; He telecommuted to the postgame news conference. Freeze even called plays on first and second down, but gave them up on third down because it was difficult to communicate with players from his booth, according to Josh Schafer of the Daily Orange.

It seemed totally unnecessary, but totally college football. Good luck finding a more bizarre scene this season.

Freeze last coached on a college football sideline for Ole Miss in 2016. He resigned from the university in 2017 after it was discovered he made phone calls to a number associated with a female escort service. His six-season tenure in Oxford, Mississippi, also included an NCAA investigation and, after he left, a two-year bowl ban.

Syracuse defeated Liberty, 24-0. We might forget the score, but we'll never forget the moment.

Turnover props that try too hard

The turnover chain is a classic. The turnover chainsaw is clever.

The emergence of the turnover towel might have been the moment this all jumped the shark.

The towel appears to be Nevada's version of a takeaway gimmick in 2019. Kudos to the Wolf Pack for its 34-31 upset of Purdue on Friday, but perhaps the towel is trying too hard?

If that isn't already a stretch, Georgia Tech introduced ... the get-the-ball board.

Force a turnover, write your Instagram handle down for everyone to see.

Georgia Tech has either sparked the demise of the turnover prop or it's tapped into the minds of the players. The Yellow Jackets did force three turnovers in a 52-14 loss to No. 1 Clemson.

'FIHT ON'

Did you stay up for Pac-12 After Dark?

USC defeated Fresno State 31-23 in a game that was both a win and a loss for Clay Helton's program. (The loss, as mentioned above, is that the Trojans lost Daniels for the season.)

Aside from the unfortunate injury, the game was unremarkable. But the ongoing conversation between play-by-play man Jason Benetti and color commentator Rod Gilmore made the broadcast worthwhile.

It all started when cameras found a group of USC fans, chests painted, minus their "G" ...

Then ... the telestrator mistake.

The broadcast circled back to this moment in the second half. Hilarious? Embarrassing?

Par for the course when Pac-12 football strikes midnight on the East Coast.

Mark Cooper is theScore's NCAA writer. You can find him on Twitter @mark_cooperjr.