Welcome to the NFL: Rookie QBs, Analysts Struggle; College Roundup: Bears Shock Auburn, Stanford Cruises

Six top quarterbacks were drafted in the first round of the '24 NFL draft, and three of them made their professional debut yesterday.

it wasn't pretty.

No. 1 pick Caleb Williams, the former Heisman Trophy winner from USC, had a rough day in his first game for the Chicago Bears. Williams completed less than half of his passes (14 for 29) for less than 100 yards (93) and no TDs. His vaunted running ability was nowhere to be seen, as he gained only 15 yards on five carries.

The Bears won the game, beating Tennessee 24-17, by scoring two defensive touchdowns on a blocked punt and a pick six. 

No. 12 pick Bo Nix (Oregon) started for Denver, with the Broncos losing to Seattle 26-20. Nix also had a sobering NFL introduction, throwing two costly interceptions. He completed 26 of 42 for only138 yards and no touchdowns. He did rush for 35 yards and a late TD, but the magic promised by coach Sean Payton is going to take some time to materialize.

The best of the bunch was No. 2 pick Jayden Daniels, last year's Heisman winner from LSU. Though his Washington Commanders lost 37-20, Daniels played respectably. He hit on 17 of 24 passes for 184 with no touchdowns or INTs, but ran the ball well, gaining 88 yards on 16 carries and scoring on two short runs.

The three other QBs drafted in the first round didn't play. No. 3 pick Drake Maye was beat out for the starting job in New England by journeyman Jacoby Brissett, who led the Pats to an upset win over Cincinnati.

No. 10 pick J.J .McCarthy (Michigan) is out with a season-ending knee injury. He was battling much--traveled Sam Darnold for the starting job. Darnold had a great game yesterday in the Vikings' 28-6 win over the Giants. 

No. 8 pick Michael Penix, Jr. (Washington), taken by the Atlanta Falcons right after they signed free agent Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract, didn't get on the field yesterday in the Falcons 18-10 loss to Pittsburgh. But if Cousins doesn't play better than he did against the Steelers (16-26 with two interceptions), Penix may see action sooner than later.

Elsewhere in the NFL:

GOAT quarterback Tom Brady made his debut as a TV analyst to mixed reviews. I only saw a little of the Dallas-Cleveland blowout, but Brady seemed a bit awkward, tentative, and predictable. Hopefully, he'll get more comfortable in the booth and provide some insight and criticism.

Meanwhile, the man he replaced, Greg Olsen, did his typical brilliant job on the Atlanta-Pittsburgh broadcast with new partner Joe Davis on the No. 2 team.

Former Stanford, 49ers and Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh got a win in his first game with the Los Angeles (I always want to say San Diego) Chargers, beating the Raiders 22-10.

Tonight the 49ers open the season against Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets. The big questions for the 49ers relate to wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and offensive tackle Trent Williams, both of whom signed last week after long holdouts. 

Will they be game-ready? Or will they have sub-par seasons like the last two 49ers who held out and signed late--Deebo Samuel and Nick Bosa?

As usual, it's "Super Bowl or Bust" for San Francisco, who many believe has the best talent in the NFL. 

In the annual NFL players' poll, the 49ers had nine players ranked in the league's top 100, and more impressively, seven in the top 30.

The 49ers on the list included: running back Christian McCaffrey (No. 3), Williams (No. 7), linebacker Fred Warner (No. 11), tight end George Kittle (No. 14), Bosa (No. 27), quarterback Brock Purdy (No. 28), receiver Deebo Samuel (No. 30), Aiyuk (No. 66) and linebacker Dre Greenlaw (No. 76). 

Is it any wonder Coach Kyle Shanahan is under pressure to produce a Super Bowl champion every season?

Let's turn to college football...

Cal posted one of the biggest wins in Justin Wilcox's eight years as head coach, winning on the road at Auburn, 21-14. Quarterback Francisco Mendoza was 19 of 21 before halftime and the Bears defense forced five turnovers.

The Bears kept their poise in front of a hostile crowd of 80,000, unlike Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne, who threw four interceptions.

Last season Cal turned the ball over 28 times, fourth most in college football. In their first two games this season, the Bears have yet to commit a turnover, while forcing eight.

"There's no sacred coach or player in our program," Wilcox said after the game. "The only sacred thing is the football."

Stanford throttled FCS school Cal Poly 41-7, breaking the game open in the second half after leading 14-7 at intermission.

Quarterback Ashton Daniels had a productive game, hittine 19 of 23 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns. Highly-touted freshman QB Elijah Brown saw action late and impressed, hitting seven straight passes for 97 yards and a TD. 

Coach Troy Taylor will need to get Brown on the field more often over the course of the season. Otherwise, the highly-recruited former Mater Dei H.S. star may be listening to million dollar "transfer here and play now" offers from other schools.

The Stanford Stadium "crowd" was announced at 22,624 but appeared to be much less than that, despite a promotion offering $4 tickets.

Stanford has a bye before traveling across the country to face a Syracuse team that upset Georgia Tech on Saturday. That begins a stretch of five tough games for the Cardinal, who then are on the road at Clemson, home against Virginia Tech, at Notre Dame and home vs. SMU.

Unless he can get some production from his running backs, Taylor will be facing an uphill battle in all five games.

Oregon struggled again. After an embarrassingly close win over Idaho, the Ducks needed two touchdowns on kick returns and a last second FG to beat Boise State, 37-34, despite another great effort by the best running back in the country, Ashton Jeanty.

It's still early, but a lot of folks, including this writer, may have overrated Oregon.

Colorado can't win without an offensive line. The Buffs have no running game and can't protect QB Shedeur Sanders, who was sacked six times and under fire all day in a 28-10 loss to Nebraska.

Texas is for real. The Longhorns exposed both Michigan's inept offense and over-rated defense in a 31-12 win. Texas QB Quinn Ewers is looking like Heisman material.

Clemson bounced back from an embarrassing spanking by Georgia to rout App State. QB Cade Klubnick was almost perfect--24 for 26, 378 yards, 5 TDs--as the Tigers roared with 35 points in the first quarter.

Notre Dame was a four touchdown favorite over Northern Illinois, but lost 16-14 at home. Coming off a big win at Texas A&M, and looking at a fairly easy schedule the rest of the way, the Irish were pegged by many as a playoff team. Now, coach Marcus Freeman has big questions to answer.