Last night we outlined what our keen eyes would be focused on during the Thursday night games.  Now that the first batch of college football games are in the books, what did we learn?  Below is a game-by-game breakdown.

Murray State at Louisville
What to Watch: Who's getting the majority of the carries, Victor Anderson or Jeremy Wright?  If one could emerge, he could be fantasy-relevant like Bilal Powell was in 2010.  If they split the touches equally, well, then it might be a lost year fantasy-wise in the 'Ville.

What We Learned:  Meh, not impressed.  We didn't have either Cardinal RB ranked highly this pre-season, and last night didn't do anything to change our opinion.  Anderson rushed 9 times for 61 yards and a score, and caught 3 balls for 23 yards.  Wright rushed 14 times for 31 yards.  And that was against Murray State.    Stay clear of this duo until someone takes the bull by the horns and becomes a feature back.


Villanova at Temple
What to Watch:  How does the new coaching staff use RB Bernard Pierce?  This is not a cupcake game for Temple - it's a fierce city rivalry game.  Nova has given them fits over the past few years and is definitely on the level of the other teams the Owls will face in the MAC.  So tonight's game is a very solid test for Pierce.

What We Learned:  This was a promising debut for the new coaching staff at Temple.  They rolled over a sneaky opponent, and they did it with Bernard Pierce leading the way.  He toted the rock 20 times for 147 yards and 3 scores.  Matt Brown did play despite not being listed on the depth chart.  He posted a 11-32-0 stat line.


South Carolina State at Central Michigan
What To Watch:  Does QB Ryan Radcliff look sharp?  Do the Chips' lean on the pass or the run?  For fantasy owners' sakes, let's hope the passing game is featured with Radcliff looking for WR Cody Wilson early and often.

What We Learned:  Radcliff did look sharp in the first half, but then the offense sputtered in the second stanza.  Considering he only threw for 168 yards and 112 of them came on two completions, this is a concern.  Cody Wilson was relatively quiet, only catching 4 balls for 53 yards and 1 TD.  Not a great start considering the competition.


North Texas at Florida International
What To Watch:  Wow!  A conference game to open the season!  North Texas RB Lance Dunbar and FIU's Mr. Everything T.Y. Hilton are two of the best players in the Sun Belt.  Let's hope both of them are an integral part of their respective offenses.  Also keep an eye on FIU RB Darriet Perry, a sneaky good player who could have a big night.

What We Learned:  FIU is freaking good!  T.Y. Hilton was his explosive self totaling 181 yards from scrimmage, scoring 1 TD, and looking dangerous in the return game (although he did have a fumbling problem).  Darriett Perry came on strong in the second half and tallied 94 yards rushing and 2 scores.  RB Kedrick Rhodes could prove to be a vulture.  He posted a 16-77-2 statline.


New Hampshire at Toledo
What To Watch:  Is it possible we are all under-estimating Rocket QB Austin Dantin?  He was a hot fantasy prospect a couple years ago and fell off the map in 2010.  With Eric Page and Adonis Thomas as his weapons, Dantin could become a hot waiver wire pick up this season.

What We Learned: The Rockets played both Dantin and Owens in this one.  The offense looked sharp piling up 512 yards of offense and 58 points.  Adonis Thomas tallied 141 total yards and a score.  Eric Page caught 5 balls for 60 yards and a score.  Player to watch:  Bernard Reedy had a big game, catching 5 balls for 113 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Fordham at Connecticut (POSTPONED - MOVED TO SATURDAY)


Western Carolina at Georgia Tech
What To Watch:  How does the new-look Tech backfield perform against this cupcake?  Is B-Back David Sims for real?  Can QB Tevin Washington effectively master Paul Johnson's offense?  This game might not be a great indicator of things to come, but it will be our first look at these new players.

What We Learned: 365 passing yards for the Rambling Wreck?  That was not what we expected.  It took G-Tech FIVE GAMES to total 365 yards passing last fall.  In their 2010 opener, they passed for 12 yards.  Their top passing performance of last year was 130 yards.  In other words, this was a major anomaly. While WR Stephen Hill was really impressive (4-181-2), don't get too carried away with his performance.  He's a talented guy, but good luck guessing when he's going to explode in this run-heavy offense.  Remember, this was Western Carolina.  As for the rest of G-Tech's offense, QB Tevin Washington looked pretty sharp.  The running backs spread the wealth and we really didn't see anything to make us drool.  We need to see more from this backfield and with Middle Tennessee and Kansas up next, let's hope someone becomes fantasy relevant.


North Carolina Central at Rutgers
What To Watch:  All eyes will be on freshman RB Savon Huggins.  Is he as good as advertised?  Who will QB Chas Dodd distribute the ball to in the air?  Will Mohammed Sanu become his go-to guy or will Mark Harrison steal his thunder?  Or will good-looking redshirt freshman WR Brandon Coleman eat into both of their touches?

What We Learned:  Huggins scored two touchdowns, but only amassed 32 yards on 10 carries.  Sanu was the clear No. 1 WR for the Scarlet Knights, catching 7 balls for 68 yards and 1 TD.  Harrison went 2-47-0 and redshirt frosh Brandon Coleman caught one ball - a 44 yard TD.


UNLV at Wisconsin
What To Watch:  While most will be keeping an eye on Russell Wilson under center, we'll be focused on the running backs.  Is Ball 1A and White 1B?  Or will there be a little bit of a surprise in store for fantasy owners?  This game might get out of hand early which could skew the numbers a bit, but the first half will be very interesting.

What We Learned: While both Ball and White are going to be good fantasy options, and the two could wind up flip-flopping all season with regards to fantasy production, we'd rather have Full Montee on our rosters.  Four touchdowns to one last night - big difference.  Russell Wilson looked great in his debt, albeit it was against UNLV.  


Mississippi State at Memphis
What To Watch:  Can State QB Chris Relf emerge as a reliable fantasy factor?  This would be a great chance for him to break out and dominate.  On the other side of the ball, we'll be watching highly-touted Memphis RB Jerrell Rhodes.

What We Learned: Vick Ballard only touched the ball 10 times, but he made them count in the form of 166 yards and 3 TDs! Chris Relf was solid passing for 202 yards and a pair of scores.  He also chipped in with 51 rushing yards.  All in all, Mississippi State racked up a school record 645 yards of offense.  Rhodes only accounted for 28 rushing yards before suffering an injury.


Wake Forest at Syracuse
What To Watch: Antwon Bailey, it's time to step it up.  He replaces Delone Carter, who's now in the NFL.  Will Bailey continue to be a big part of the passing game (as he was a year ago)?  If so, those in PPR formats will be happy little owners.

What We Learned:  Bailey started slow, but finished strong.  He wound carrying the ball 24 times for 114 yards and 2 scores.  However, he failed to catch a single ball out of the backfield, which is a mild concern.


Montana State at Utah
What To Watch:  JUCO transfer John White was named the Utes' starting RB last week.  Can he get off to a good start?  Will he see the majority of meaningful carries in this one?

What We Learned: John White carried the load, rushing for 150 yards and 1 touchdown and also catching a TD pass.  He appears to be the clear WR1 for the Utes at this moment.


Bowling Green at Idaho
What To Watch:  Can Falcon WR Kamar Jorden get into the freaking endzone for once?  The man caught a whopping 96 balls last year and only 4 went for scores.  Hit paydirt, will ya!

What We Learned:  No player was more disappointing than Kamar Jorden last night.  Bowling Green passed for 291 yards and Kamar only accounted for 23 of them.  Eugene Cooper stole the show for the Falcons, catching 4 balls for 110 yards and 2 scores.  Anthon Samuel (19-141-1) and Jordan Hopgood (18-45-1) led the team on the ground.  For Idaho, RB Ryan Bass slogged his way to 44 rushing yards on 12 carries.  


Kentucky at Western Kentucky
What To Watch:  Plain and simple, we're fired up to watch the Raymond Sanders vs. Bobby Rainey show.  Is Sanders looking healthy after a few injury setbacks this off-season?  Will Rainey see 30+ touches like he did for most of the 2010 season?

What We Learned:  Rainey got his 30 touches, but he was held out of the endzone.  He racked up 126 total yards on the night, and looked good doing it considering he was up against an SEC opponent.  Raymond Sanders, on the other hand, was unimpressive (13-35-0 rushing and 0 receptions).  The entire Kentucky offense left much to be desired - and that't being kind.


UC Davis at Arizona State
What To Watch:  The entire Sun Devil offense!  Does QB Brock Osweiler look promising?  Does Cameron Marshall look healthy (he's been banged up recently)?  Who will emerge as Osweiler's primary receiving targets?

What We Learned:  Brock Osweiler and Cameron Marshall both looked good in the opener.  Osweiler picked apart the UCD secondary for 262 yards and a pair of scores before calling off the dogs in the second half.  Marshall was beastly in the first quarter, scoring the teams first two TDs.  He only touched the ball 11 times, but he racked up 109 total yards.  Promising start for the Sun Devils.

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