We love a good surprise.

Entering the first full weekend of the 2022 college football season, the Top Five clash between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Ohio State Buckeyes was the featured game. How could it not be?

Saturday night, though, the Buckeyes' victory basically just put an exclamation point on exciting results elsewhere around the country. And by elsewhere, we mean in Gainesville, Florida, where the Gators took down the visiting seventh-ranked Utah Utes in a fantastic game.

Also, you know we're talking about the glorious disaster that was Iowa and South Dakota State.

Welcome, again, to B/R's Weekly Awards. Let's ride.

Team of the Week: Florida Gators

I believe it's fair to suggest that, so far, Florida fans are content with the Billy Napier era.

On the night Anthony Richardson made his much-anticipated debut as Florida's full-time quarterback, the Gators celebrated a massive upset. His third touchdown and Amari Burney's last-minute interception secured a 29-26 triumph over Utah.

Without question, Richardson emerged as the star of the evening. The talented dual-threat QB quieted the questions about his inexperience, throwing for 168 yards while running for 106 yards and three touchdowns.

Utah bounced back after Richardson's late go-ahead touchdown run and reached the 7-yard line, but Burney iced the victory with a diving pick.

As a result of the win, Florida will be soaring from its unranked position into the AP Top 25.

Game of the Week: UNC's Wild Win

Mayhem.

North Carolina went to Appalachian State as a slight underdog and fell behind early. The hosts jumped out to a 21-7 lead, but UNC responded with 34 straight points to carry a 41-21 advantage into the fourth quarter. It seemed the Tar Heels would survive the trip to Boone.

But then, the Mountaineers put together an incredible rally. They stormed back with four touchdowns in 11 minutes to tie UNC at 49. After the Heels took a 56-49 edge with 2:50 to play, App State answered.

Wisely, the Sun Belt program went for a go-ahead two-point conversion. The play-call was perfect: Chase Brice had a wide-open receiver, but Dashaun Davis started to backpedal—and the ball drifted through his fingertips.

It wasn't over yet.

UNC's Bryson Nesbit returned the onside kick for a touchdown, actually giving App State a second chance. And the Mountaineers promptly drove down the field for Brice to throw his sixth touchdown, setting up a potential game-tying two-point conversion. This time, UNC stopped Brice about a yard shy of the end zone for a nerve-testing, exhilarating 63-61 win.

Absolute mayhem.

Gut Punch of the Week: Pitt's Winning Pick-Six

Nothing like a little heartbreak to start your season.

In the first Backyard Brawl since 2011, West Virginia found itself on the wrong end of a game-changing interception. The worst part? Mountaineers quarterback JT Daniels could not have thrown a better ball to a more preferable player.

The score was locked at 31 with 3:17 to play. WVU had a terrific chance to upset 17th-ranked Pitt. Daniels dropped back and fired an inch-perfect pass to wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton, who'd already collected seven receptions for 83 yards and two touchdowns in the game.

Stunningly, the ball ricocheted into the waiting arms of Pitt corner M.J. Devonshire. He picked up five blocks and sprinted 56 yards untouched to the house.

As my high school offensive line coach would say, "Come on, Q. You hit 'em in the worst spot: Right in the hands."

Rude Welcoming of the Week: Old Dominion Monarchs

Virginia Tech has a proud football tradition. Lately, though, the Hokies have endured a rough stretch.

After legendary coach Frank Beamer retired, Justin Fuente led Tech to a combined 19-8 record in his first two seasons. But from 2018-21, the Hokies mustered a 25-25 mark. The school moved on from Fuente in mid-November last year.

As usual, the incoming hire brought a fresh wave of optimism. Virginia Tech landed Brent Pry, who coordinated a top-10 defense at Penn State in 2021 before coming to Blacksburg.

During his debut, though, the Hokies fell to Old Dominion for the second time in five seasons. Although the VT defense only surrendered 245 yards, five turnovers led to 17 of the Monarchs' points in their 20-17 upset win. Fourteen penalties didn't help the Hokies, either.

The takeaway may seem that Virginia Tech should stop traveling to Old Dominion. The bad news is the Hokies are already slated to play in Norfolk four times in the next nine seasons.

Sickos Game of the Week: Iowa's Disgusting Win

I expected two things in this nonconference clash: Iowa would win an ugly, low-scoring game. Both things happened, without question.

And what a hilarious mess it was.

This is yet another reason we love the absurdity of Saturday afternoons—especially in the early window of games. Honestly, it's only a game that college football sickos could love.

Terrible, unimaginative offense. Superb defense. The punter, Iowa's Tory Taylor, being the MVP of the day and setting up a game-winning safety. Iowa, uh, sealing the victory with another safety.

It had everything. Which, to some degree, was nothing.

Shoutout to the Sickos Committee for landing a prime Game of the Year candidate in Week 1.

Doink of the Week: Wyoming Cowboys

I have never seen this happen.

Tied at 34 in the final seconds of regulation against Tulsa, Wyoming had a shot at a winning field goal. John Hoyland stepped up for a 44-yard kick, and there was no question he had the distance.

As preposterous #CollegeKicker luck would have it, though, the attempt caromed off the literal top of the starboard upright, bounced upward but didn't go through.

Seriously, have you ever watched something like that?

Fortunately for Hoyland and the Pokes, they managed a 40-37 victory in double overtime thanks to a pair of kicks from the sophomore.

Best of the Rest: Week 1

Resume-Builder of the Week: Ohio State Buckeyes

We couldn't not highlight a key game, of course. About 13 weeks from now, Ohio State may be touting this victory on its College Football Playoff resume. Despite a slow start and leg injury to star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the Buckeyes ultimately pulled away to knock off fifth-ranked Notre Dame 21-10. Heisman Trophy candidate C.J. Stroud threw for 223 yards and two scores.

Golf Claps of the Week: Top 25 SEC Wins

Along with Florida's upset of Utah, both Arkansas and reigning champ Georgia notched some quality wins. Arkansas never trailed in a 31-24 win over Cincinnati, and UGA showed no mercy to former assistant coach Dan Lanning in his debut as Oregon's head coach. Georgia looked sensational on the way to routing the Ducks 49-3.

Debut of the Week: James Madison Dukes

The newest team to the FBS, James Madison had an emphatic first game. Transfer quarterback Todd Centeio—previously at Colorado State and Temple—accounted for 397 yards and six touchdowns in a 44-7 demolition of Middle Tennessee. Given that JMU appeared in three of the last six FCS national title games, early FBS success would not be a surprise. Still, that's a heck of an introduction to the highest level.

The Terrific Trio: Week 2

Tennessee at No. 17 Pitt (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)

Pitt is aiming to follow up its dramatic victory over WVU with a solid nonconference win. However, the visiting Vols—who are barely outside the latest AP Top 25—boast a dynamic quarterback in Hendon Hooker. He accounted for 3,558 yards and 36 touchdowns last season and registered 233 total yards and four combined scores in Tennessee's painless opening win against Ball State.

No. 14 USC at Stanford (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)

Several games are worthy of consideration in an otherwise soft weekend, but we'll focus on Lincoln Riley's first matchup with a quality opponent. As expected, USC cruised past Rice in the opener. Stanford, meanwhile, poses a much greater test. You may recall that Stanford's victory over USC in early September last season ended Clay Helton's tenure with the Trojans and ultimately led to Riley's hiring. Seems like a rather important storyline, no?

No. 10 Baylor at No. 25 BYU (10:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)

The lone Top 25 matchup of the weekend is a late-night kickoff worth staying up to watch. Baylor, the reigning Big 12 champs, heads to Provo for a fascinating clash with BYU—one of the country's most experienced teams. Baylor had no issue dispatching Albany in Week 1, and BYU straight-up steamrolled South Florida.