Q: Do you think Missouri's Chase Daniel can be an impact player in the NFL? At the quarterback position? Or is he just another good college player who won’t be a hit in the NFL?
— Greg Ernest, O’Fallon, Mo.
A: I wouldn’t necessarily predict NFL superstar status for Chase Daniel, but you never know about his ability to stick in the league. He’s smart and very accurate with the ball. What’s more, he has made a career out of a proving the skeptics wrong.

There are dozens and dozens of household names in the college game who don’t make it big in the NFL. That’s not an indictment on their skill. At times, the college and pro games are different animals.

There’s also a pretty steep learning curve for most NFL-bound quarterbacks. If Daniel makes a roster, he could hang around a few seasons before really getting his shot at the field. Happens all the time for guys who were college stars.

Q: Which teams are you still really wondering about? I know Oklahoma is supposed to be good but the Sooners haven’t played on the road yet. Do you think you can’t tell much about a team until they go on the road?
— Francis Hill, Oklahoma City
A: Mainly, I’m wondering if East Carolina and Brigham Young can maintain their unbeaten seasons deep into conference play, setting up what could be a fascinating BCS bowl tug-of-war.

I’m wondering if Alabama’s physical showing against Clemson will show up deep into SEC season. And I’m wondering if Wisconsin and Penn State really are the real deal, perhaps averting what we thought would be an Ohio State cakewalk in the Big Ten.

But it’s difficult to get a read on many of the top 25 teams through early September, Francis, particularly when they are facing overmatched opponents. Even Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said, “There’s nothing to talk about yet,’’ meaning the Sooners are doing as expected and you shouldn’t read too much into their overwhelming statistics.

That being said, Oklahoma is definitely a team to watch. The Sooners have the feel of a team that should contend for the BCS Championship Game.

Road games? Absolutely, a major consideration when evaluating the strength of a team. You might even say a championship contender isn’t truly defined until it wins its first big conference road game.

Q: With Clemson not as good as we thought, is Florida State the best team in the ACC?
— Drew Weaver, Columbia, S.C.
A: Couple of things, Drew.

Let’s not dismiss Clemson just yet. True enough, the Tigers were manhandled against Alabama. But I believe Clemson can still win the ACC. On paper, it still has the league’s best collection of skill players. Maybe the opening game was a needed slap in the face.

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Florida State? We won’t know about the Seminoles until October, but I’m guessing they’ll be closer to a .500 record than a league championship.

Here are my two ACC teams to watch (for this week, at least):

Miami: The Hurricanes lost at Florida, 26-3, but gained plenty of respect in the process. It looks like their defense has made it almost all the way back and the future is nothing but bright. Offensively, the Hurricanes were extremely vanilla, probably because of freshmen quarterbacks Robert Marve and Jacory Harris in the Swamp, but they’ll get better. If Miami wins at Texas A&M on Sept. 20, watch out! At 2-1, the Hurricanes would then have consecutive home games against North Carolina and Florida State.

Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets are incorporating a new run-heavy offensive scheme under new coach Paul Johnson. So far, so good. Georgia Tech earned a valuable road victory at Boston College, 19-16. If it can win at Virginia Tech on Saturday, that’s a 2-0 ACC record and road wins against two decent league teams. So the Yellow Jackets could make a pretty emphatic early statement.