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Gameday Instant Analysis: A look at Week 1
Published: 9/2/2012 1:42 AM
Last Modified: 9/2/2012 12:43 AM

We're finally back to the business of college football.

Somehow, it kind of snuck up on me this year.

The first Saturday of the season looked a little better on paper than it turned out in reality.

Here are some things we learned from the opening weekend:

1. Tulsa isn't quite ready for prime time
I'll admit. I bought the hype. I believed the oddsmakers and took Tulsa to shock the world and break its Big 12 losing streak. But after Saturday it's apparent the Golden Hurricane isn't yet up to that challenge.

Trey Watts is a special player who needs to see the ball as much as possible. But new quarterback Cody Green didn't look sharp after the first quarter, and the defense couldn't make enough plays.

Especially with Houston's meltdown in its season opener, I still believe Tulsa can win Conference USA. But this team needs to get better. Score Saturday as a solid disappointment.

2. OSU owes its fans a refund
I know, you can't play USC, Notre Dame and Alabama every week. Actually, a cupcake here and there can be a tasty treat, especially for a team breaking in a true freshman quarterback and other key positions on its offense.

But OSU's game against Savannah State was ridiculous, a mismatch that the Cowboys shouldn't have scheduled no matter the bind they were in or the excuses they offer.

FCS schools did score four wins over Division I teams this weekend and had three more close calls. But at least two of the winners -- Youngstown State and McNeese State -- would have beaten Savannah State by 40 or more. In 2011, a three-win FCS Southeastern Louisiana team beat Savannah State 63-6.

It's one thing to get in a workout against a lower division foe before heading to Arizona. It's another to pull out all the stops to NOT score 100 on a team.

3. OU is new, but not improved
In case you missed it -- and we wouldn't blame you if you did -- the 2012 Oklahoma Sooners made their debut late Saturday in El Paso.

Unfortunately for OU fans, these Sooners look suspiciously like the group that ended the 2011 season.

The special teams are terrible, the defense is suspect, and the offense seems devoid of playmakers.

We feel certain OU will get it together and win quite a few more games. But after one week, anyway, West Virginia's chances to win the Big 12 title just went up.

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Tulsa World Sports Editor Michael Peters has nearly 20 years of daily newspaper experience. A 1993 graduate of Texas A&M, he worked at papers in Bryan-College Station, Texas, Beaumont, Texas, and Galveston, Texas, before joining the Houston Chronicle as High School Sports Editor in 2008. While in Houston, he coordinated coverage of the 2008 Texas Class 5A state football championships and the 2011 NCAA Men's Final Four.

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