CFB Blitz: Alabama's new star headlines early Week 1 takeaways

College football is officially back! The weekly CFB Blitz is the spot to catch up on the most important developments from the day's action and examine their significance moving forward.

Alabama's next star QB

So that's why Keelon Russell got the starting job at Alabama. Austin Mack's been with Kalen DeBoer since Washington, but the Crimson Tide coach handed the starting quarterback job to the redshirt freshman ahead of the East Carolina opener. It took Russell just one half to show why his coach is paid over $12 million annually to make such decisions. The dual-threat passer went 11-for-17 for 182 yards in the air and added 54 yards and a touchdown on nine carries as the Tide raced to a 38-7 lead at the half. Now, the Pirates defense isn't exactly last year's Indiana, but it's refreshing for Tide fans to see an effortless offense after the team scored just three points in the bowl game last year.

Russell's 335 total yards ended up being the second-most for a quarterback in an Alabama debut since 1998, trailing only Bryce Young.

DeBoer's offense certainly works with a pocket-passer at quarterback - see Michael Penix at Washington - but Russell's legs add an element that should make life tough for SEC opponents.

Heisman receiver battle is on

The Heisman Trophy is largely a quarterback award at this point, but this might be the year of the receiver.

Friday night was Malachi Toney's time to shine, with the Miami star breaking the school record for single-game receiving yards and scoring three touchdowns versus Stanford. The sophomore clearly already has the award race on his mind, hitting the Heisman pose three times in the win. Saturday was Jeremiah Smith's turn.

The only thing stopping Smith from dominating the NFL right now is that he's not old enough to turn pro until next April's draft. Smith played just the opening half against Ball State with Texas on deck, but he still put up 151 yards and two touchdowns on eight catches. And yes, he might have watched Toney's showing on Friday since he also hit a Heisman pose of sorts after his second touchdown.

Sign us up for a season-long Heisman battle between these two cheat codes.

Hoover stars, but Indiana's defense has questions

New year, new quarterback, same explosive Indiana offense in the defending champions' 52-16 win over North Texas. TCU transfer Josh Hoover was better than advertised, throwing more touchdowns than incompletions in a brilliant debut with the Hoosiers. A bloodied Hoover put up a final line of 13-for-16, 231 yards, and four touchdowns to give him an absurd efficiency rating of 285. However, it wasn't exactly vintage Indiana overall.

"I didn't think we played real well on defense," Curt Cignetti said postgame.

Cignetti admitted the team was off-balance trying to stop a North Texas offense that was entirely new compared to last year, following coach Eric Morris' departure to Oklahoma State. Indiana allowed 5.5 yards per play and posted just one sack after finishing 19th nationally in that stat last season.

The good news for Hoosiers fans is that the runway to sort out the defense is about as long as any team in the country. Indiana doesn't face a ranked opponent until Oct. 17, when Ohio State comes to Bloomington.

Friday's games

Mensah + Malachi = Magnificent Miami

A sensible sedan and a Lamborghini can both get up to 90 miles per hour on the highway, but it's certainly a much easier and more enjoyable experience to hit that number in the sports car. That's essentially the difference between Carson Beck and Darian Mensah playing quarterback for Miami. The Hurricanes nearly won the national title last year with Beck under center, but the offense wasn't always the most enjoyable watch. It took Mensah one game to show why Miami went through the trouble of plucking him from Duke in the transfer portal.

The junior passer completed an outrageous 27-of-30 passes for 401 yards and five touchdowns on a Stanford defense that was shook the entire night. Cooper Barkate followed Mensah to Miami from Duke, but the quarterback appears to have a new best friend in Toney. The 18-year-old - yep, you read that right - torched the Cardinal for a Miami-record 234 yards on 12 catches with three touchdowns. Toney's feat carries even further weight when you consider the elite talent that has come through the Hurricanes' program.

It's only one game - and Stanford's defense ain't exactly the 2000 Baltimore Ravens - but Mensah's addition already looks like the best in the entire sport for the 2026 season.

Patterson might have USC fixed

The book on Lincoln Riley's teams is well known: elite offense and a questionable defense you can be physical with. Poor tackling and other defensive issues have long been the culprit keeping Riley from national title contention at both Oklahoma and now USC. Enter 66-year-old Gary Patters, five years removed from his 21-year tenure as head coach at TCU, to run the defense. The hire may have been slightly unconventional, but Friday night's result showed that sometimes crazy just might work.

The Trojans shut out Fresno State at home, holding the Bulldogs to just nine total first downs and keeping them to only 54 total yards through three quarters of the 39-0 win. The swarming defense posted five sacks and seven tackles-for-loss and put two safeties on the board.

There's no question the USC offense will be cooking at a national championship level - it's a guarantee under Riley's watch. However, a lights-out defense will push them from a Big Ten threat to a serious playoff team.