College Football Week 1: Top 25 lessons learned about the Top 25

11. Michigan – The Wolverines defense turned in a dominant effort in their win against Florida. Michigan allowed a 46-yard field goal on the opening drive but didn’t allow a point the rest of the game. The Gators returned two Wilton Speight interceptions back, which was alarming, and led to John O’Korn coming in briefly. Tariq Black, a true freshman, looks like the next great Michigan receiver, but it was all about the defense that limited Florida to 11 yards rushing, 192 total yards and 2-13 on third down.

12. Auburn – Jarrett Stidham received the bulk of the preseason love, but the Baylor transfer wasn’t the star in the win over Georgia Southern. The stars were Kerryon Johnson and Kam Martin who tied for the team lead with 136 rushing yards on16 and 14 carries, respectively. They stepped up in the absence of Kamryn Pettway who was held out of the game for a violation of team rules. Stidham was 14-of-24 passing for 185 yards, two touchdowns and a pick.

13. LSU – Much will be said about Ed Orgeron’s ability to get LSU back on track in his first full season as the Tigers head coach after he served as the interim coach last year after the firing of Les Miles. But his best coaching decision was retaining defensive coordinator Dave Aranda and hiring Matt Canada to be his offensive coordinator. Aranda’s defense pitched a shutout against BYU and Canada’s offense scored 27 points on three rushing touchdowns, two from Derrius Guice who had 122 yards. LSU needs to get edge rusher Arden Key back on the field and when they do, this defense should be one of the best in the country.

14. Stanford – The Cardinal were idle this week after they opened in Week Zero in Australia last weekend with a 62-7 win over Rice. Bryce Love ran for 180 yards and a score as he looks to fill the large shoes of Christian McCaffrey. Keller Chryst looked good as he returned from a torn ACL in last year’s bowl game and the Cardinal defense looks as stout as it typically has been. A huge showdown at USC in Week 2 could be a Pac-12 Championship Game preview.

15. Georgia – Quarterback Jacob Eason was injured in the first quarter after only three pass attempts. Freshman Jake Fromm came in and promptly led Georgia to 31 unanswered points. Eason’s injury isn’t believed to be serious, but there could be a lingering quarterback situation (I don’t want to call it a controversy) to see if Fromm can hold onto the job after going 10-15 passing for 143 yards and a touchdown. What’s important is Nick Chubb (15-96-2) and Sony Michel (16-87-1) were excellent and they’ll take the Georgia as far as they can go this year. Encouraging to see former No. 1 recruit Trenton Thompson have a big game. The junior defensive tackle tied for the team lead with six tackles, including two for loss and a sack. If he’s on his game, Georgia is the team to beat in the SEC East.