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- TCU’s failures on fourth down influenced loss to North Carolina.
- The bigger takeaway from TCU’s faceplant in Ireland. It misses Josh Hoover more than Sonny Dykes let on.
- Credit Bill Belichick for win, but Virginia takes top prize in ACC after Week 0.
Sonny Dykes (and not Bill Belichick) wears the dunce cap.
That’s your Week 0 headline.
Credit North Carolina for putting another drama-filled offseason behind it and coming home from Ireland with a 15-10 victory over TCU, aided by Dykes’ fourth-down decision-making and the Horned Frogs’ bad quarterback play.
And yet it’s Virginia, not UNC, that looked more like a potential party wrecker inside the ACC.
Here’s what I’m left thinking about after Week 0:
Sonny Dykes gets a comeuppance
Dykes took a cheap shot at former quarterback Josh Hoover when, after Hoover transferred to Indiana, the TCU coach pointed out Hoover’s tendency for turnovers.
“Josh started 31 games here as a quarterback, and (he) turned the ball over 42 times,” Dykes said in May.
OK, but Dykes left out that Hoover threw for nearly 10,000 yards throughout his TCU career. The Horned Frogs had one of the Big 12’s top offenses last season with Hoover at the wheel.
TCU sure could’ve used some of that offense in this faceplant in Dublin.
Hoover’s replacement, Harvard transfer Jaden Craig, lost a fumble against UNC, so fire up the turnover counter. More importantly, Craig failed to ignite the offense. He looked, well, like an FCS quarterback out of his element.
On a pivotal fourth-and-2 in the fourth quarter, Craig rolled out, threw across his body and badly missed his intended target, when he perhaps could have run for the first down.
That was the second time Dykes opted to go for fourth-and-short in the red zone after halftime, instead of opting for short field goals and three points in those situations.
“When you’re not moving the football, you’ve got to try to get the ball in the end zone,” Dykes told reporters afterward.
That’s one way to look at it. Another way: When you’re not moving the ball and you have a quarterback making his FBS debut, take the three points.
It’s easy to criticize fourth-down decisions when they fail, but it’s worth noting Belichick took three points on fourth-and-2 inside the 5-yard line on UNC’s first drive.
“Looking back now, obviously, I wish we had kicked the two field goals, but at the time, it makes sense to try,” Dykes said.
Here’s what makes the most sense: TCU sorely missed Hoover, turnovers and all.
Can TCU recover after losing to North Carolina?
In the preseason, TCU had an over/under win total of 7½ games set by betting handicappers. Those who pounded the under are now dreaming of a winter Caribbean vacation, paid for with gambling winnings.
TCU might need a few more pints of Guinness to be able to stomach this season. Losing an opener in Ireland tends to be a kiss of death.
Let’s review how previous Ireland losers fared:
∎ 2025 Kansas State: Finished 6-6. Coach Chris Klieman retired.
∎ 2024 Florida State: Endured its worst season since 1974. Finished 2-10.
∎ 2023 Navy: Finished 5-7 and missed a bowl game for the fourth consecutive year.
∎ 2022 Nebraska: Scott Frost got fired weeks later. Nebraska finished 4-8.
Losers in Dublin disappear into the abyss. Call it college football’s twist on the Irish goodbye.
Who had best Week 0 victory?
Remember which team went 7-1 in ACC play last season?
It wasn’t Miami. Nor Duke, which won the ACC Championship. Nor SMU, the trendy dark horse pick to win the ACC this season, if Miami falters.
Answer: Virginia.
Well, look who’s back atop the ACC standings. That’d be the Hoos.
Virginia posted the most impressive Week 0 result, a 34-8 stomping of NC State.
This game between ACC teams initially was scheduled as a non-conference matchup to be played in Brazil. When the international trip fell apart and the ACC moved to a nine-game schedule, the game got reclassified as a conference game, and Virginia hosted the Wolfpack.
Dave Doeren took one step closer to the hot seat. Virginia took one step closer to Charlotte, site of the ACC championship game.
All offseason, I considered Miami the runaway favorite in the ACC. If anyone was going to stand in Miami’s way (other than the Hurricanes’ own proclivity for gaffes) of an ACC title, I figured it’d be Louisville or SMU.
Maybe, I was sleeping on Virginia.
Saying Virginia is now the ACC favorite would be a severe overreaction to Week 0, but Virginia should receive more consideration for a Top 25 ranking in the next US LBM Coaches Poll, released after Labor Day.
Jayden Maiava for Heisman? No, not yet, but good start
Let’s state the obvious: Heisman Trophies are not won in August. They also are not won for great performances against Mountain West opponents.
And yet there’s no harm in stat-stuffing against an overmatched opponent. That brings us to Southern California quarterback Jayden Maiava completing 25 of 29 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-26 win against San Jose State.
Oddsmakers give Maiava a longer shot of winning college football’s top award than several other quarterbacks, including the Big Ten’s Dante Moore (Oregon), Julian Sayin (Ohio State) and Hoover (Indiana), but as Lincoln Riley put it before the season: “If you’re not paying attention to (Maiava), then you just don’t know a ton about college ball.”
Accurate.
USC’s brutal schedule includes games against the Big Ten’s big three: Oregon, Ohio State and Indiana. That’s a tough draw for playoff contention, but it also offers repeated showcase opportunities for a quarterback’s Heisman pursuits.
For what it’s worth, Fernando Mendoza threw nine touchdown passes in blowout wins against Kennesaw State and Indiana State last year. Heismans are won in the big games later in the season, but performances like Maiava’s against San Jose State sure don’t hurt.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.