Coupon-busters
You're always guaranteed a couple in the early stages and this didn't disappoint.
Championship newcomers Peterborough were easily swatted aside 4-0 by Plymouth in a headline-grabbing score whilst Blackburn Rovers losing at home to Morecambe also raised plenty of eyebrows.
For a while Sutton United also threatened to add their name to the list of surprise winners, but after taking a lead against Cardiff, the EFL newcomers succumbed to a 3-2 loss.
The amount of games that went to spot-kicks (extra-time has been scrapped) also showed how tight some affairs were - a total of six Championship sides bowed out to lower-league sides, four of them via penalties.
Fans' appetite for cup football
For quite a big proportion of clubs playing tonight, this was either the first time back at their home ground in a long time or another quickfire chance to visit after last weekend.
That was reflected by some of the attendances, most notably from away fans.
Sunderland, naturally, took a big following with them to Port Vale.
But there were countless other away fans who could enjoy once more basking in the joy of tins on the train and a new ground to visit after months upon months of being restricted to iFollow streams on phones and laptops.
Lovely stuff.
Even the biggest EFL stars enjoyed a watching brief
Sander Berge was purchased for a club-record fee of £22milllion barely 18 months ago and if reports are to be believed, he could be about to depart Sheffield United for a considerably higher amount before the month is out.
So the sight of the Norwegian, not involved in his side's 1-0 win against Carlisle United, taking a seat on his own to survey the contest in one of the empty stands at Bramall Lane was a nice image.
It shows that despite the competition's perceived lack of importance from some quarters, it still means an awful lot to those involved - and those not.
Royals' faith in youth to be applauded
Many sides, especially those in the Championship, made changes. It's understandable given the riches at stake as teams chase the Premier League dream.
But you have to give credit to Reading, who recorded a remarkable statistic in their meeting with fellow second tier side Swansea.
Granted, the 3-0 loss was far from what manager Veljko Paunović would have wanted.
But the fact that 17 of the 18 players in their matchday squad graduated through their academy must be applauded.
There can be no shame in losing to a Swans' side boasting the likes of Matt Grimes, Joel Piroe and Ben Cabango and the occasion will have stood the young players in good stead going forward.
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