11 Lessons Learned: USC's not that good, and neither are Florida, Texas, BYU ...

September is barely even half over ... how does your team's title hopes look? More than likely they are quite shaky right now because it wasn't a great weekend for very many teams near the top of the polls.

So while wondering if there is ever going to be a more painful Saturday for Nebraska, Michigan State's Kirk Cousins, South Florida's Matt Grothe, USC's Pete Carroll and all those BYU fans who couldn't wait for their conquering heroes in their first home game, here are 11 lessons we learned in college football this weekend.

Lesson 1: Nobody is as good as we thought.

You're telling me Florida allowed the hated Vols to have a moral victory by winning by only 10?

Bye-bye, BCS. Max Hall and the BYU Cougars probably will have to settle for the Las Vegas Bowl this season. (US Presswire)

And invincible USC lost to a team that went winless last year?

And Alabama played another JV team?

Just an FYI to you, pigskin fans -- everyone is vulnerable AND overrated at the same time. Thank you, media hype machines.

Lesson 2: Now we understand why Florida and Texas played tomato cans the first two weeks.

I think they were hiding something.

These two didn't look much like the top two teams in the country. Tennessee, who lost to UCLA last week, played the Gators tough in the Swamp, even making Tim Tebow look human at times. (Did I actually just write that?) Meanwhile, Colt McCoy looked not-so-Heisman-like as UT found a depleted Texas Tech team difficult to shake as well. This coming on the heels of a toe-to-toe first half at Wyoming last week. (Wyoming!)

Lesson 3: Coaches making brash WWE-like boastful comments might just work.

Lane Kiffin's first-press-conference promise of beating Florida didn't come about, but by proclaiming that those comments helped take the pressure off his team and let them play relaxed just shows that we're probably going to see more coaches make more chest-thumping comments at their introductory press conferences.

Great. Just great.

Lesson 4: My comments about USC not being the bee's knees this year were true.

• Dodd: Trojans' dynasty might be done | Thoughts on a football Saturday

Despite the national media going SC-crazy over the game-winning drive at Ohio State, I gave heed that this wasn't your usual, scary top-five Trojans team. First and foremost was because of their punchless, mistake-filled offense. Although you can go ahead and classify the 16-13 Huskies victory as an upset -- and it is -- it's not the Earth-tilting, scratch-the-record stunner that people are making it out to be.

In fact, USC will probably lose two or three more this year anyway.

Lesson 5: It was a terrible day to be a BCS buster.

• BYU got bombed by Florida State, 52-28.

• Utah saw its 16-game winning streak snapped at Oregon 31-24.

• Unbeaten Tulsa crashed hard to big brother Oklahoma 45-0.

• Toledo, who looked so unstoppable vs. Colorado, got skunked 38-0 by Ohio State.

The Cougars getting dominated by the 'Noles had to be the most surprising. That was a complete whitewash. At home. And to an ACC team! Ouch.

Lesson 6: Smaller, intimate stadiums are a lot better than big megastadiums that leave you needing binoculars.

I spent this weekend going to two great stadiums for games:

• At Bulldog Stadium for the Boise State-Fresno State game, the atmosphere was electric, loud, and it seemed like the crowd's vocal chords were about 10 feet away.

• At the new Stanford Stadium for the Cardinal’s victory against San Jose State, the stands are 30 feet closer than the old stadium. With an upper deck that seems to sit right on top of the field, there's not a bad seat in the house.

Lesson 7: Baseball players make good football players -- or vice versa.

There were a number of impressive performances around the country from guys who pull double duty on the diamond in the spring.

• Golden Tate, Notre Dame Outfielder/WR: Had seven catches for 131 yards, a touchdown and a beauty of a swan dive into the Michigan State band.

• Chad Jones, Pitcher/Safety: Had two interceptions and over 60 yards in returning them in LSU's 31-3 victory against UL-Lafayette.

• Eric Decker, Minnesota Outfielder/WR: Had eight catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns in the 35-21 loss to Cal. He also threw a touchdown pass. What, he couldn't sell popcorn, too?

• Toby Gerhart, Stanford Outfielder/RB: Ran for 113 yards and two touchdowns in the 42-17 victory against San Jose State.

Lesson 8: You actually CAN go home again, but the family might still treat you like a redheaded stepchild.

Former Iowa player and coach Mike Stoops brought his unbeaten Arizona team to Kinnick Stadium and got punked 27-17. The Hawkeyes allowed only eight first downs in seeing the Cats lose to a Big 10 team for the seventh consecutive time.

Lesson 9: It's a good thing Miami didn't take Sports Illustrated's advice and drop the football program.

Landing in the AP Top 10, this program is back again. Much of its ascent can be attributed to the exceptional Jacory Harris. The soph signal caller wins the Most Improved QB award after dissecting Georgia Tech on Thursday (20 for 25, 270 yards, three TDs) and vaulting Miami into the national mix.

Remember, though, there's Virginia Tech this week and Oklahoma in two weeks. Can't wait for those.

Lesson 10: Speaking of over-reactionary media honks, the San Jose Mercury News wins in the crazy hyperbole department.

After a 42-17 loss to Stanford, SMN columnist Mark Purdy had this headline: "SJSU's season on the brink of disaster".

Considering they've lost to USC, Utah and Stanford, it's not a shocking 0-3 start. And the Spartans have fixable problems to work on after giving up a kickoff return, punt return and interception return for touchdowns vs. the Trees.

Lesson 11: The hands of defensive backs have gotten worse.

I don't know if you've noticed, but it looks like the number of dropped sure-fire interceptions is off the charts so far this season.