9/4/2017 football Edit

Week 1: College football's breakout stars

Mike Farrell • Rivals.com

Rivals National Columnist

Mark Pszonak contributed to this report.

The first full weekend of the college football season is in the books and with it came many standout performances. Here are three guys who had what could be breakout weeks as they take the next step in their development.

The skinny: Dobbins picked up his offer from Ohio State in mid-February and only waited a couple of weeks before he committed to the Buckeyes. He also considered Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M at the time of his decision. Dobbins impressed everyone since his arrival in Columbus, and with Mike Weber hampered with an injury, he rose to the occasion in the season-opener against Indiana. During the Buckeyes' 49-21 victory over the Hoosiers, Dobbins rushed for 181 yards on 29 carries, plus added two receptions for 24 yards. His role is sure to be diminished a bit when Weber returns, but the Buckeyes have definitely added another offensive weapon to their arsenal.

Farrell’s take: Can you have a breakout game in your first college action? Yes, you sure can. Dobbins was highly regarded and ranked coming out of high school despite missing nearly his entire senior season with a broken ankle. His combination of speed, leverage and the ability to catch the ball had him remain in our 2017 Rivals100 despite questions about how effective he would be upon his return. In a great year at running back in the 2017 class, we had him only behind Najee Harris (No. 1 in the country), Cam Akers (No. 3) and D’Andre Swift (No. 35). We believed in him and now believe even more.

The skinny: Brown took official visits to Alabama and Cal in late January, but he decided to stay in-state and committed to Ole Miss over Mississippi State on National Signing Day. As a true freshman last fall, Brown finished with 29 receptions for 412 yards and two touchdowns. Much bigger things seem to be ahead of him this fall if the Rebels’ 47-27 victory over South Alabama was a sign of things to come. Finishing with a school record 233 yards receiving on eight receptions and two touchdowns, Brown and quarterback Shea Patterson are a duo to watch for the remainder of the 2017 season.

Farrell’s take: Brown was a big and thick receiver with great physical skills coming out of high school as our No. 9 wide receiver and No. 53 player overall in our 2016 Rivals100. And there were some internal arguments that he should be ranked higher. At Under Armour week, he was one of our top performers all week, showing excellent hands and especially the ability to make big catches in traffic. He led everyone on game day with four catches for 79 yards including a 53-yarder he took to the house.

The skinny: Adams committed to Notre Dame in late June over Penn State, Pittsburgh and Stanford, approximately a week after his first visit to South Bend. Adams has been productive since arriving in Notre Dame, but may be ready to take his game to the next level after his performance on Saturday during the Irish's 49-16 victory over Temple. Rushing for 161 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, Adams may be able to take some of the pressure off of new starting quarterback Brandon Wimbush this season if he continues with this productivity.

Farrell’s take: Like Dobbins, Adams had a major injury in high school as he tore his ACL his junior year. He rebounded with a big senior season but never cracked four stars again for us because he didn’t look like he had the same burst he had as a sophomore when he rushed for over 2,000 yards. Now he’s showing that sophomore burst again and could have a season that makes everyone wonder why we had him rated so low.