1) Florida State Seminoles (1-0, 0-0, +136) - In a Week One high on drama but low on actual upsets, one of the biggest surprises was Florida State’s 31-17 win over the No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide. The Seminoles are coming off of a 2-10 season last year in which they had exactly one win against an FBS opponent (Cal), so this win over Alabama might prove to be a turning point. Whereas I am not too concerned about other Week One losers like Texas or Clemson, I am worried about the Tide. They managed only 87 rushing yards on 29 attempts against the Florida State defense, and committed a total of 8 penalties for 70 yards. And in the 4th quarter, when they were trying to mount a comeback, Alabama’s offense had 15 plays for a total of only 89 yards and 7 points.
This game was only the sixth match-up between Alabama and Florida State, and the first time they ever played in Tallahassee. It’s also interesting to note that these two have never played each other in a bowl game or other postseason game.
2) Ohio State Buckeyes (1-0, 0-0, +132) - In the first game of their national championship defense campaign, Ohio State looked like they were still the most complete team in the nation. Their defense stifled quarterback Arch Manning and the preseason no. 1 Texas Longhorns in a 14-7 win, holding the Heisman Trophy contender to a 17/30 passing day, with only 170 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. If there is any area of concern for the Buckeyes, it is with their own offense, which had only 215 yards of total offense and was 3 for 12 on third down conversions. This was only the fifth ever match-up between the Buckeyes and the Longhorns, but was the second time they played each other this calendar year, with Ohio State beating Texas 28-14 in the Cotton Bowl sem-final game back in January.
3) Miami Hurricanes (1-0, 0-0, +131) - Miami won their 18th consecutive home opening game with a 27-24 victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, which was the 28th all-time match-up between these two teams. This was also the first time these two teams had played each other when both teams were ranked in the AP Top Ten since 1988, an “infamous” 31-30 Fighting Irish victory. This game was pricklier than most, with Miami taking a 21-7 lead in the second half, before Notre Dame fought back to tie it. At one point, the Hurricanes had possession of the ball for 12:46 to Notre Dame’s 0:12, and ran 22 plays to Notre Dame’s 1. However, the Irish didn’t give up, and it took Miami’s kicker hitting a field goal with 1:04 left in the game to win it.
4) LSU Tigers (1-0, 0-0, +127) - Tyger, Tyger, burning bright, in the forests of the night; what immortal hand or eye, could frame thy fearful symmetry?
LSU was the beneficiary of the other top SEC teams’ stumbles on Saturday, as they now seem like a conference championship contender after surviving Death Valley and defeating the Clemson Tigers 17-10. LSU’s coach Brian Kelly was able to avoid the ignominy of a fifth consecutive opening season loss, and the Bayou Bengals’ defense proved to be elite, holding Clemson to only 31 rushing yards on 20 carries, and only 13 first downs with an abysmal 3 for 13 3rd down conversion rate.
LSU also now holds a 4-1 all time edge over Clemson, including a victory in the 2020 National Championship. Interestingly, this was the first time that the Tigers played the Tigers in a regular season game; the other three matches were in the 1959 Sugar Bowl, a 7-0 LSU win, the 1996 Peach Bowl, a 10-7 LSU win, and the 2012 Peach Bowl, a 25-24 Clemson win.
Flammable felines - what a weird subject for poetry.
5) Iowa State Cyclones (2-0, 1-0, +120) - Iowa State got the Week 0 win against conference rival Kansas State in Dublin, 24-21. The Cyclones then went on to beat FCS South Dakota 55-7, while the Wildcats needed a last minute field goal to beat FCS North Dakota 38-35. This year was the fourth consecutive year that the “Aer Lingus Football Classic” has been played in Ireland. The losers of that game have gone on to finish 4-8 (Nebraska), 5-7 (Navy), and 2-10 (Florida State). Let’s see if Kansas State can break that curse.
6) South Florida Bulls (1-0, 0-0, +104) - It was a big week for football in Florida, with five of the state’s six FBS teams coming away with Week One wins. Although they might have been overshadowed by FSU, South Florida’s Thursday night beatdown of the Boise State Broncos 34-7 also has to rank as one of the biggest surprises of the new season. Despite being outgained by Boise State, USF’s defense was able to dominate the game by causing three fumbles and three more turnovers on downs, including stopping the Broncos twice in the second half inside South Florida’s 30-yard line. A lot of pundits are now identifying the Bulls as the favorites to seize the Group of 5’s automatic playoff bid, although they will have a lot of competition from within the American Conference, including from Memphis, Navy, and Tulane.
This game was the first ever match-up between South Florida and Boise State. It was the first game that Boise has played in the state of Florida since September 2, 2021, when they lost to Central Florida 31-36, a team that was coached by Gus Malzahn and had Dillon Gabriel at quarterback.
7) Auburn Tigers (1-0, 0-0, +102)
8) South Carolina Gamecocks (1-0, 0-0, +95) - I know that it’s very, very early in the season, but there is a fascinating scenario in which we go into Week 14 of the season with all four of the traditional SEC v ACC showdowns having potential playoff implications: Louisville-Kentucky, Florida-Florida St, Georgia-Georgia Tech, and South Carolina-Clemson.
In Week One, South Carolina defeated the ACC’s Virginia Tech 24-11 in what ESPN dubbed “The Beamer Bowl” because South Carolina’s coach, Shane Beamer, is the son of Virginia Tech’s former coach, Frank Beamer. Cool. This was the 21st time these two programs have played each other, with the first game being played in 1905, and with South Carolina leading the series 12-7-2. However, it had been over 20 years since the last time they played; they used to play each other much more frequently back when they were both independents. The Gamecocks have also dominated the rivalry recently having won 5 of the last 7, and with Virginia Tech not having an outright win since 1974.
9) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (1-0, 0-0, +88)
10) Utah Utes (1-0, 0-0, +87) - Utah dominated former Pac-12 conference mate UCLA 43-10, and suddenly the Utes look like they could be a contender in a wide-open Big 12 title race. Last year, they started 4-0 until quarterback Cam Rising got injured, and then proceeded to lose seven of their last eight games, never scoring more than 28 points in a game. Against the Bruins, Utah’s offense had 492 total yards, held the ball for 37:28 of game time, and went 14 for 16 on their third down conversions. New quarterback Devon Dampier was 21/25 for 206 yards and 2 touchdowns.
11) TCU Horned Frogs (1-0, 0-0, +84)
12) Tennessee Volunteers (1-0, 0-0, +82)
13) Nebraska Cornhuskers (1-0, 0-0, +78)
14) Texas A&M Aggies (1-0, 0-0, +69)
15) Kentucky Wildcats (1-0, 0-0, +66)
16) California Golden Bears (1-0, 0-0, +62) - In a classic Pac-12/Pac 10/Pac 8/PCC showdown, California defeated the Oregon State Beavers 34-15, the 78th time the two teams have played each other. The Golden Bears had one of the most unusual seasons last year, finishing 6-7 but including a win at Auburn, a one-point loss to No. 8 Miami, a two-point loss to No. 22 Pittsburgh, and a loss in the LA Bowl to UNLV. And they could be set up for a nice run in the ACC this season, as they avoid playing Clemson, Miami, and Florida State in the regular season.
Fun fact: Cal and Oregon State first played each other in 1905, a 10-0 win for the Bears. Cal leads the series 41-37.
They have never tied.
17) Rice Owls (1-0, 0-0, +60)
18) Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1-0, 0-0, +54)
19) Central Michigan Chippewas (1-0, 0-0, +52)
20) Tulane Green Wave (1-0, 0-0, +51) - Group of 5 teams went 2-21 against the Power 4 in the first two weeks of college football, with one of the wins being Tulane’s 23-3 victory over Northwestern. (The other was Hawaii over Stanford.) Now, Northwestern might be the worst Power 4 football team in 2025, but don’t count out the Green Wave, especially their quarterback, BYU transfer and definitely-not-a-virgin Jake Retzlaff, who threw for 152 yards and a touchdown, but also rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown. Tulane still has non-conference games against Duke and Mississippi, but they should be able to compete for the American Conference championship and a possible playoff berth.
Fun facts! This was the fifth ever match-up between Northwestern and Tulane, but the first since 1956. Tulane leads the series 4-1. Tulane wanted to honor the 20th year anniversary of their 2005 team that was displaced by Hurricane Katrina by wearing road white jerseys at all of their games, but Northwestern said no. The U.S. News & World Report lists Northwestern as the 27th best medical school in the world, but leaves Tulane unranked.
21) Kansas Jayhawks (1-0, 0-0, +50)
22) North Carolina State Wolfpack (1-0, 0-0, +46)
23) Wisconsin Badgers (1-0, 0-0, +45)
24) Virginia Cavaliers (1-0, 0-0, +44)
25) Minnesota Golden Gophers (1-0, 0-0, +43)
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