Week 1 Recap and Major Upset in College Ball

Quarterback’s Debut Strong Mark NFL Week 1

• Peyton Manning’s first game in the orange and blue of the Denver Broncos was a resounding success. The Bronco’s defeated the Pittsburg Steelers 31-19. Manning threw more than 250 yards and 2 TDs in his return to football after a more than 600 day layoff due to multiple neck surgeries. The Bronco’s offense looked relatively feckless, but Manning and coach John Fox turned to a no-huddle offense that lead to major improvements.
• While Manning’s debut with the Bronco’s included his 400^th touchdown pass, in New Orleans Robert Griffin III threw the first two of his career helping the Redskins upset the favorite Saints 40-32. The score does not reflect the dominance the Redskins showed, holding a 3 score lead for much of the second half. Griffin was a strong 19-26 for 320 yards and the two touchdowns, adding 42 yards on the ground to help the Redskins pull off the massive upset.
• While RGIII’s debut was spectacular, fellow high draft pick Andrew Luck’s debut was  less stellar. Luck threw three interceptions and only one touchdown in the Colts 41-21 loss to the Chicago Bears. Bear’s quarterback Jay Cutler threw for 333 yards and two touchdowns, including 119 and one of those TDs, to recently acquired receiver Brandon Marshall.
• While not a debut, probably the most shocking quarterback performance of the opening weekend was that of Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets. The much maligned quarterback threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns, after failing to lead the first team offense to a touchdown in the first three preseason games. Aided by a small dose of Tim Tebow, the Jets rolled over the Buffalo Bills 48-28.
• There are two more games tonight as the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Baltimore Ravens and the San Diego Chargers take on the Oakland Raiders.

Biggest Upset Ever?

• Louisiana Monroe pulled of one of the biggest upsets in NCAA history by defeating the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday in Little Rock. Lead by quarterback Kolton Browning, and his 481 yards of total offense, the upstart Warhawks defeated Arkansas, previously ranked the #8 team in the country.
• Browning threw a 33 yard touchdown to Brent Leonard to tie the game with 47 seconds left, and then took care of the rest himself by running in a touchdown in overtime, after Arkansas had kicked a field goal, to win the game.
• Arkansas was dealt a blow when starting quarterback Tyler Wilson did not play in the second half after being continually pounded by Monroe. It was Louisiana Monroe's first victory over a ranked opponent.
• Arkansas dropped out of the top 25 rankings, the second biggest drop in the history of the rankings. Second only to Michigan's fall from #5 to unranked after losing to Appalachian State to kick off the 2007 season.