We now know: South Alabama and Southern Miss were right there where they wanted them to be. South Alabama won 21-20. USM won 44-35. Florida State 45, Ole Miss 34. The eventual winners defeated 64 points deficits in the three games that featured Mississippi’s Division I FBS team. It was the most impressive thing I have ever seen in half a century of watching Mississippi college football. These are the kinds of comebacks that you might only see once a season. Three camebacks were seen in one long Labor Day weekend. Both the Florida State and Southern Miss comebacks were very similar. FSU and USM seemed to be on the brink of being eliminated. Then, USM scored a touchdown just before the half to make it a 25-point game. Florida State scored just before the half to make it a 22 point game. Both cases saw the trailing team take the second half kickoff, and drive for touchdowns. It was as if the late-first-half touchdowns had flipped a switch that completely changed the game’s dynamics. Florida State and Southern Miss won the game after being dominant for 29 minutes. It was almost as if Orlando had witnessed Deondre Francois (FSU freshman quarterback) transform from a high school jayvee quarterback into a college All-American quarterback in just one football game. He was a skittish and unsure about himself. His mechanics were terrible. He was throwing the ball instead of aiming at it. He changed as the game progressed and his confidence increased. His teammates also grew along with him. This kind of comeback at Florida State is now as common as the Seminole war song. Florida State won for the seventh consecutive season after coming back from a halftime lead. This was the third consecutive time that the Seminoles had come back from being 13 points behind. It was almost like Jimbo Fisher predicted it when he gave his pre-game speech. He told his players, “No matter what happens keep chopping.” He repeated the message to his players: “Just keep cutting.” FSU continued to chopping. Anyone who pays attention can learn a lot from this first weekend. In recent years, college football’s nature has changed. The games of today, which are almost double-feature length, will allow for more comebacks. The games can go on for up to four hours due to all the passing, all incompletions and clock stoppages, as well as all the TV commercials. Both players and fans have found them to be endurance tests. These types of comebacks are rarer today than they were in the late 20th century. A 25-point lead seemed impossible when teams ran the ball and the clock was running. But not now. Football games are now a lot like basketball, with a 30-second time limit. There is no limit to your potential. More plot twists can be achieved by longer movies. They allow for more plot changes. What now? A season is not made up of one week. These openers were not the end of the season, even though they were important. They were also non-conference games. USM has not won anything. Except for the undefeated goal, all goals State and Ole Miss had are still there. Southern Miss and Ole Miss fall down a division with the Golden Eagles hosting Savannah State and Ole Miss welcoming the Wofford Terriers. Both must take care of their business and be healthy. The State has the chance to be well in a short time. In what could be a winnable SEC opener, the Bulldogs face South Carolina. They should learn from FSU and keep chopping. Rick’s Sports Daily blog.