McCombs: What we learned in the first week of college football

The long wait is over. No more preseason prognostications or projections.

The time has come to judge teams, not by what's on paper, but what they do on the field.

If you're like me, you couldn't wait for college football season to get here.

When South Carolina and North Carolina lined up Thursday evening in Columbia, they officially ushered in the first college football weekend of the 2013 season. And given the Labor Day holiday, it was a long weekend.

Here are some things I found interesting in Week 1.

Since the game, he's taken a beating from the same people in the press that built him up. But while Clowney looked tired (it WAS 94 degrees at game time) and appeared to take plays off, people should know better than to pile on.

I've got a hunch if you ask Georgia players a week from now how they feel about Clowney, there won't be any nonsense about him being out of shape.

Two games. Someone want to tell me what you have to do at Texas A&M to get a two-game suspension?

Johnny Manziel, depending on how you look at it, either blatantly walked all over NCAA rules or had a soft spot in his heart during the offseason for sports memorabilia dealers. He sat for a half.

But two games? Indictments must be coming down.

There are some folks hoping that in a couple of weeks, Alabama, still stinging from last year's loss to Johnny Football and the Aggies, helps Manziel sort out his feelings.

It's the same tough Alabama defense, but the offense was dreadful, accounting for just 206 yards. Of course the Tide won going away anyway, 35-10, thanks largely to two special teams scores by Christion Jones.

Maybe it'll be LSU that dethrones the champs, but I know I don't expect it to be Texas A&M.

But the Bulldogs came out of the scrum with their backs to the walls. They have the poor fortune to face No. 6 South Carolina and a motivated Clowney this Saturday and LSU soon after. A second loss would likely end any national title hopes Georgia had and seriously dampen the Bulldogs' SEC prospects, as well.

First, Seminoles freshman quarterback Jameis Winston is going to dominate the inferior teams in the ACC. Second, in its conference debut, Pitt cemented its place as another inferior team in the ACC.

Go ahead, schedule an FCS school for your opener next season. Do it. I dare you.

This story was originally published September 4, 2013 at 1:10 AM with the headline "McCombs: What we learned in the first week of college football."