5-at-10: Labor Day rewind: Five lessons from the opening weekend of college football

Gang, we pride ourselves on being here every Monday through Friday. Is it Labor Day? Sure it is. But we're here, laboring away. (See what we did there Spy?)

That said, there is normally an abbreviated version of your 5-at-10 on holidays and during vacation. Instead of the 2,000-word opus we normally trot out, we'll keep it short (relatively) and sweet (mostly) with a top-five list of the college football lessons we gleaned from the opening weekend.

It was excellent times. Mostly.

From the "Talks too much" studios, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

photo Alabama defensive back Vinnie Sunseri (3) is pursued by Virginia Tech running back Trey Edmunds (14) as he returns an interception for a touchdown in their football game in Atlanta on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013. Leading the blocking for Sunseri is Alabama linebacker C.J. Mosley (32).

1) Alabama is really good. Yes, they did not play as well as a lot of people thought they may, including the 5-at-10. That said, let's rise up and try to have perspective on this: Alabama did not play well. The offense struggled to find a comfortable pace. The special teams and defense accounted for three of the Tide's five TDs. But.... BUT, they beat one of the nation's top-20 programs over the last 20 years by 25 points. And that's when they did not play well. What other team in the country can beat a BCS big shot by almost four TDs when they bring their C-minus/D-plus offensive game?

2) The Fab 4-plus 1 picks started like the Beastie Boys and Orson Wells. Yep, a banner 5-0 start against the spread for the 5-at-10's picks opened the year. Let's review:

• Ole Miss covered the 3 at Vandy with a late TD.

• LSU covered the 4 against TCU with relative ease. LSU looked the part, didn't they?

• UCLA worked Nevada, easily covering the 18 with a 58-20 win. UCLA may be the team we ride for a while this year. We like the cut of their jib.

• UAB covered. Getting 5, they lost to Troy 34-31 in overtime.

• Oklahoma State covered the 13 in a 21-3 beatdown of Mississippi State.

Here's hoping you bankrolled some entertainment to start the season. Giddy-up

photo Tennessee head coach Butch Jones got solid play from several freshmen in the Vols' win over Austin Peay on Saturday.

3) Tennessee handled their BID-ness efficiently and directly. Yes, you anti-Johnny Vols Fans will say, "but it was only Austin Peay," and that's true. But the Vols walked the walked and dropped the hammer. That's how you steamroll an overmatched opponent, smashing them quickly and overwhelming them completely. Tennessee scored on its first seven possessions and as Weeds pointed out, did not commit a penalty. That's impressive stuff in week 1.

4) Insanely painful weekend for Johnny Bulldogs Fans and Johnny Mocs Fans. Wow. And for Georgia to lose Malcolm Mitchell for the season adds injury to the insults. That said, Todd Gurley is a man. As is Tajh Boyd.

5) We still have a slew of things to cover, so No. 5 will be a final top 5 in 10 words or less - yep, the famous 5-in-10 by the 5-at-10.

a) Johnny Goofball: Lessons lost on Manziel the punk.

b) Gus Bus debuts with win: Big plays lift Malzahn, Auburn to win.

c) Upset specials: Seven FCS teams collected $2.3 million combined - and got wins.

d) Oregon is for real: Yes it was a cupcake, but yikes at the speed.

e) Louisville will go undefeated: 49-7 win over Ohio impressive; hey, a Mike Dyer sighting.

Enjoy and discuss what you learned from week 1. Also, Paschall and the TFP sports editor will be on Press Row starting at 1 p.m. on ESPN Radio 105.1 FM. Give us a holler at 648-051. It don't cost nothin'.

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