Some 60+ guys early in the season still showing they’ve got something left in the tank. Impressive to get Chiles to perform like that, especially the no TOs.
14. Rich Rod is back, baby. In the third game of the second season of his second West Virginia tenure, the Mountaineers took it to No. 25 Virginia, 38-27, in Charlotte. The key to his trademark zone-read offenses is the quarterback run, and Oklahoma transfer Michael Hawkins Jr. carried 18 times for 123 yards and three TDs. WVU’s other big offseason pickup, last year’s national rushing leader Cam Cook (Jacksonville State), carried 30 times for 123 yards. Basically, the 2026 version of those great Pat White-Steve Slaton rushing attacks circa 2005-07. West Virginia was easy to overlook coming off a 4-8 record last season, but this roster is a much better fit for Rodriguez’s style, which could make the Mountaineers a factor in the Big 12.
15. Guess who else has still got it? Chip Kelly. Northwestern’s new offensive coordinator made an immediate impact in the Wildcats’ 41-7 rout of Colorado. Often-maligned former Oregon State/Michigan State QB Aidan Chiles had the best night of his career, going 17-of-22 for 241 yards, three TDs and no picks, making the Buffs pay for four turnovers. On the other sideline, fourth-year Colorado coach Deion Sanders had an all-too-familiar line in his postgame news conference: “They did a better job coaching than we did.” It’s fortunate his team pulled off that
last-minute 14-13 win over Georgia Tech in Week 1, or CU would be 1-2 heading into Big 12 play.
Also will add this here from the Wolken article a few posts above.
New Mexico's tough luck: For anyone who has studied Jason Eck's history against power conference opponents, it's no surprise the Lobos gave Oklahoma fits in a 14-6 loss. Eck has a tremendous knack for getting his teams to play over their heads in these situations. Still, it will be a bitter disappointment for New Mexico fans that they didn't get a fair shot to tie the game late. Driving deep in Oklahoma territory in the final few minutes, running back Kiefer Sibley sprinted toward the first-down marker on the right sideline on third-and-7 and looked like he stretched the ball very close to the line to gain before going out of bounds. But somehow, the officials marked him 2 yards short, infuriating the New Mexico sideline. It certainly seemed like the Lobos got a tough whistle there. In that situation, the difference between fourth-and-inches and fourth-and-2 is massive, especially for a big underdog against a top defense like Oklahoma. Give Oklahoma credit for stopping the fourth-down run and effectively ending the game, but it certainly felt like New Mexico was just one more first down away from making this game really interesting.