Week 0 overreactions: Zachariah Branch steals spotlight, Notre Dame marries bully-ball with finesse, other notable takeaways

Week 0 is in the books, and while I cautioned in a very column on Friday not to make sweeping conclusion about the first weekend of the 2023 season, college football is the ultimate small-sample-size sport so we might as well have a little fun with initial opinions, right?

Here are a handful of Week 0 overreactions before we turn our attention to the true start of the season next week. 

ZACHARIAH BRANCH LADIES AND GENTLEMEN

Of the many issues with Nexflix’s Untold: Swamp King series about Urban Meyer, Tim Tebow and the 2006-09 Florida Gators was the series mostly ignored the fact that Percy Harvin was one of the most electric players of my lifetime. 

No. 1 in Orange & Blue was special, and while I don’t know if he’ll ever be Percy Harvin, No. 1 in Cardinal and Gold sure looked it in his debut, too. 

USC freshman wideout Zachariah Branch stole the spotlight from reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams in USC’s 56-28 win over San Jose State, totaling 232 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, including a scintillating 96-yard kickoff return.

While many made Reggie Bush comps with the former 5-star prospect, Branch gave me Harvin vibes in his first game with the Trojans, capable of horrifying defenses as a receiver, rusher and returner due to his open field vision, one-cut ability and breathtaking speed. 

At 5-10, 175-pounds, Branch is capable of breaking arm tackles, but he terrorized San Jose State with his elusiveness and speed — just like Harvin did for those Florida teams. 

USC is already blessed with a wealth of skill talent, and Branch looks like he will be the most fun of the bunch to watch. 

Oh, and like Percy Harvin back in the day, Branch will be unstoppable in next year’s EA Sports College Football. 

NOTRE DAME THE BULLY … BUT WITH SOME FINESSE NOW, TOO?

The Irish drubbed Navy 42-3 in Dublin, and had they wanted to, they could’ve beaten their rival without every throwing the ball. Led by bookend tackles Joe Alt and Blake Fisher, Notre Dame’s offense line lived up to its preseason billing, straight bullying a Navy front that finished in the Top 10 in run defense in 2022. 

Notre Dame rushed for nearly 200 yards at 6.1 per clip. The Irish had a rushing success rate of 67%, which is absurd. Audric Estime ran straight through Navy on the game’s opening two drives, getting most of the rest of the afternoon off. 

Yet while the Irish were expected to have an above-average run game, what was more encouraging was the potential their passing attack teased. Everyone knew Sam Harman would be a major upgrade at quarterback, but Notre Dame’s skill talent looks much improved, too. 

Hartman was solid Saturday (266 yards and four touchdowns), and displayed many of the very traits that made him so attractive in the transfer portal in the first place — operating the offense, recognizing defensive coverages pre-snap, timing, etc. 

Still, Hartman wasn’t overly accurate early, only unlike in recent seasons at Notre Dame, that didn’t matter. The Irish’s collection of wideouts — from freshman Jaden Greenhouse to sophomore Jayden Thomas — made plays. They got open. They had contested catches. In all, eight different players hauled in a pass — none of which was a tight end. This was a different-looking Notre Dame offense. Bully-ball meets finesse.

Will it be enough to beat Ohio State, USC or Clemson? Time will tell. But the initial signs were certainly encouraging. 

DIFFERENT DOESN’T MEAN BETTER … YET

The same cannot be said for USC’s defense in Year 2 under Alex Grinch. 

Not yet, at least. 

It’s definitely too early to make a definitive statement that the Trojans will once again field a unit that ranks in the 100s nationally in a slew of categories, but despite a bunch of new personnel via the transfer portal, some of the same fundamental issues that plagued USC in 2022 were present for swathes of the opener against an overmatched opponent. 

Poor tackling. Wide open receivers. A lack of resistance against the run. An inability to get off the field on key third downs. 

Chevan Cordeiro is a fun dual-threat quarterback, but the notion that San Jose State is some high-flying offense is a bit hyperbolic. This is not Washington or Oregon here. Last season, the Spartans ranked No. 72 in scoring and 64th in yards per play. 

And yet, at times, SJS was able to move the ball consistently against USC. For the game, the Trojans allowed 7.3 yards per rush — a major bugaboo for their defense in 2022. After living and dying via turnovers last season, they didn’t force a single takeaway. They also had brutal busts like allowing a conversion on 3rd-and-22 when Grinch sent the house and the defense completely lost contain, or late in the first half when the secondary totally lost wideout Nick Nash for a long touchdown.

Transfers Bear Alexander, Anthony Lucas and Mason Cobb were all disruptive in flashes, but the end results looked largely the same. USC is going to score. I doubt it will be 56 points per game, but with Williams, Branch, Dorian Singer and others, the Trojans are going to terrify opponents each Saturday. But if the defense remains this much of a question mark, this is not a College Football Playoff contender. 

The good news is they have 6-7 weeks to figure that out. The bad news is San Jose State might be the 6-7-best offense on their schedule with Notre Dame, Utah, Washington, Oregon and UCLA all to come starting in mid-October. 

VANDY HAS LEGIT SEC SKILL TALENT BUT WHAT ELSE?

A year after going a surprising 5-7 and ending a long SEC losing streak, there was optimism that Clark Lea’s Vanderbilt Commodores could make another leap in Year 3 in Nashville. 

Maybe let’s pump the breaks on that a bit. Vandy survived to beat Hawaii 35-28, and although the ‘Dores clearly have legitimate SEC speed and playmaking ability at receiver, their lines of scrimmage resembled G5 units against the Rainbow Warriors. 

Will Sheppard (six catches for 68 yards and two touchdowns) and Jaden McGowan (six catches for 72 yards and a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown) are going to put fear in SEC defenses this fall. 

Sophomore quarterback AJ Swann has an NFL arm. 

But Vandy’s offensive and defensive lines left a lot to be desired. Perhaps it was just the Week 0 jitters. Lea & Co., have been optimistic the DL would make the biggest jump on the team this season, and the OL returns four upperclassmen starters. Yet a year after rushing for more than 400 yards against Hawaii, Vandy averaged just 1.5 yards per carry. The ‘Dores allowed three sacks. Defensively, they rarely pressured Hawaii quarterback Brayden Schager (351 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions) without blitzing. 

Outside of next weekend’s game against FCS Alabama A&M, Hawaii will be the worst team on Vandy’s schedule for the rest of the 2023 season. But if you’re looking for a glass-half-full overreaction, maybe that’s the worst Vandy plays up front this fall, too. 

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