AP Top 25 Takeaways: 'Bama's Young worthy successor at QB U

Updated Sep. 5, 2021 12:29 a.m. ET

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Georgia is trying to bring defense back.

In the centerpiece game of the opening weekend of college football, the fifth-ranked Bulldogs put on a relentless, ferocious, smothering display of defense

In the age of offense, when Nick Saban's Alabama dynasty has turned into QB U., Kirby Smart has built a devastating defensive machine built of blue-chippers.

Nakobe Dean, five-star. Adam Anderson, five-star. Nolan Smith, five-star. Travon Walker, five-star.

You say defense is dead? Georgia says not if you have a roster full of future early round NFL draft picks.

“We frustrated them and confused them,” Smart told reporters. "We didn’t do very good offensively either, but we did have some moments we could run the ball. They weren’t able to do that.”

The Bulldogs sacked Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei seven times, forced the Tigers to totally abandon the run (nine running back carries for 24 yards) and held Clemson to its lowest point total under coach Dabo Swinney.

It was the lowest scoring game between top-five teams since Oklahoma beat Texas 12-0 in 2004.

Two and half weeks before from the official start of fall and it is already tempting to start counting down the days to the Southeastern Conference championship game and a possible Georgia-Alabama matchup.

Ninety-one, by the way.

‘BAMA’S NEW STAR.

Welcome to the Bryce Young era of Alabama football. It looks as if it will be a lot of fun — unless you're playing the Crimson Tide.

Young set a school record for touchdown passes by a quarterback making his first start with four as the Tide

Young has a chance to be even more dynamic than the guys who have come before him at Alabama. Those guys, Tua Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts and Mac Jones, are all scheduled to start for NFL teams next week.

Young is undersized, listed at 6-feet and 194 pounds but that might be a stretch. Doesn't matter. Those Kyler Murray comps looked pretty good in Atlanta. Young was 27 for 38 for 344 yards.

“He plays like a veteran out there," coach Nick Saban said.

No one should be terribly surprised that Young is really good and Alabama again appears to be a fully functional Death Star even after saying goodbye to six first-round draft picks off last year's unbeaten team.

Young, the former five-star recruit from California, came into his first career start as one of the odds on favorites to win the Heisman Trophy.

Still, fans with Alabama fatigue after watching Saban's dynasty win half the national titles in the last dozen year might have had some fleeting hope that breaking in a new QB could make the Tide a touch more vulnerable in 2021.

Maybe that will prove to be true at some point, but don't bet on it.

WHAT'S REAL?

A theme coming into the season was trying to determine what from last year was relevant.

The pandemic distorted a lot of seasons for a lot of reasons.

Especially in conferences such as the Big Ten where teams played abbreviated schedules that didn't start until weeks into the fall.

That was just part of what made No. 19 Penn State at No. 12 Wisconsin such an interesting opener. Neither team was particularly good last season. Were the down years an ominous sign for two solid programs or an anomaly?

The Nittany Lions came away with the

"Our defense played extremely well, gutsy,” Penn State coach Franklin said.

Graham Mertz and the Badgers offense looked a lot like the spotty crew it was in 2020, imploding in the red zone frequently.

And Penn State's new-look offense left a lot of be desired, too, though the return of running back Noah Cain from injury appears to be a difference-maker.

The Nittany Lions and Badgers played the first scoreless first half in a Big Ten game since Michigan and Northwestern in 2014. Better known as the

The Badgers and Nittany Lions are two of several Big Ten teams that face challenging first five weeks of the season, making the opener feel even bigger.

By mid-October a serious challenger to No. 4 Ohio State — if such a thing exists — should emerge.

Neither Penn State nor Wisconsin look up to the task of keeping up with the Buckeyes' dizzying array of skill players, but there is time to build.

For those who thought No. 17 Indiana's feel-good story could carryover into 2021, well, it's probably already time to adjust expectations. No. 18 Iowa put an

AROUND THE COUNTRY: Fans are back. It's

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Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.APpodcasts.com/

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Kyler Murray

Tua Tagovailoa

Jalen Hurts

Bryce Young

Noah Cain

Mac Jones

Clemson Tigers

Wisconsin Badgers

Penn State Nittany Lions

Georgia Bulldogs

Fresno State Bulldogs

Alabama Crimson Tide